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Jan 6, 9:16 PM EST

George Harrison's Estate Sues Doctor

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- A doctor forced a weakened George Harrison to autograph a
guitar for the physician's ****age son two weeks before the ex-Beatle died of
cancer, a lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.

Filed by Harrison's estate, the suit alleges that the musician tried to resist
the request by saying, "I do not even know if I know how to spell my name
anymore."

The suit alleges that Dr. Gilbert Lederman responded by saying, "Come on, you

The estate seeks possession of the guitar and two cards it says Harrison signed
as he was treated by Lederman, a Staten Island-based expert in treating large
tumors with high doses of radiation. Harrison died in November 2001 after
battling lung cancer and a brain tumor.

"This lawsuit is strictly allegations. Frankly, I think it's absurd,"
Lederman's attorney, Wayne Roth, said Tuesday. "He didn't coerce Mr. Harrison."

Harrison's wife and son believe a National Enquirer story about Harrison's
death that featured Lederman's son holding the instrument was orchestrated by
Lederman to raise the item's value, a lawyer for the Harrison estate said
Tuesday.

"George was literally lying there dying and the doctor forced George to sign a
guitar," Paul LiCalsi, an attorney for Harrison's estate, said Tuesday. "The
doctor should not be permitted to profit from this behavior."

Roth said Lederman's son still plays the guitar and the family has no intention
of selling it. The instrument, appraised in connection with a state
investigation of Lederman's treatment of Harrison, is worth less than $10,000,
Roth said.

The estate also accuses Lederman of violating Harrison's privacy by
orchestrating invasive media coverage in the interest of promoting his medical
practice.

Lederman conducted interviews about Harrison with several news outlets, many
within hours of the ex-Beatle's death, the suit charges.

The state Health Department reprimanded Lederman for talking to the press about
Harrison without his consent. Lederman accepted his censure, reprimand and a
$5,000 fine, do***ents show.