Remember I’m with Busey? The show, which had limited success in its original Comedy Central run, has reached something of a cult following in subsequent years. That show, paired with a stint on Celebrity Apprentice and a onetime legitimate acting career, has made Gary Busey a fixture in pop culture. Now, those travelers lost on the interstate, as well as the super highway of life, can get a little help from the star. He has licensed his voice—along with his Buseyisms—to Navtones.com, an independent developer of celebrity GPS voices.

While on their journeys, passengers will get a dose of Busey’s sage advice along with their driving directions. He will offer such wisdom as “do not pet the lions or the gorillas,” “be in the silence and let the journey be in the noise” and “don’t look in to the rearview mirror to clean your teeth, or you could rear end a log truck in Oregon and remove your teeth forever.”

We could all use a little spiritual enlightenment from Mr. Busey.

—Mackenzie Allison

According to a recent report by the Associated Press, The Nelson Mandela Foundation is putting its stamp on South Africa’s textile clothing industry with the launch of an international clothing line. The foundation’s objective with the line is to sustain its charities while also helping the country’s textile clothing industry.

The line, titled “46664,” after Mandela’s prisoner number at Robben Island Prison, will debut in August at its own store in Johannesburg, as well as department stores and online. The line will include sportswear for men, African-influenced women’s wear and couture garments.

No matter how admirable the intent, however, some detractors find the line to be too expensive: A T-shirt will cost 180 rand ($26), while a man’s collard shirt will cost about 600 rand ($86)—lofty price tags for a country with a minimum wage that is fewer than $200.

Come August,  sales will determine whether charity or price won out.

John Wayne Enterprises (JWE), LLC, the exclusive owner and licensor of the John Wayne brand, has entered into a publishing agreement with the independent publishing house powerHouse Books.

The book, out this fall, will include never-before-seen photographs from the family’s personal archives, as well as images from some of Wayne’s 175 feature films. Comments from family members, friends and co-stars will recount first-hand examples of John Wayne’s personality.

The agreement with powerHouse Books marks the company’s first foray into publishing.

Celebrities license their names to all sorts of things. You name it, a celeb is probably backing it. Ideally, permission is given well in advance of the product hitting the shelves. This, however, was not the case concerning the “Ian Leather Sofa” from Crate & Barrel.

A tribute to the Studio 54 owner turned hotelier Ian Schrager, the businessman is putting the furniture company over a barrel with a cease-and-desist letter concerning the namesake couch.

Why? Schrager reserves the use of his name for his own brand.

Crate & Barrel take note: Discussing a licensing agreement with Schrager right off the bat probably would have avoided some embarrassment.

You live and you learn, right?

Celebrities gone wild makes for good TV—celebrities gone crazy makes for good TV and T-shirts.

By now, unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the exploits of the recently unemployed Charlie Sheen. The actor, who made a comeback with Two and a Half Men, has enjoyed something of a whirlwind media tour—debasing  his boss, show creator Chuck Lorre, to anyone and everyone who will listen.

The once critically acclaimed actor from Wall Street and Platoon parlayed his media exploits into a social-networking firestorm and jumped on the Twitter train. Now, according to irishcentral.com, the fallen star has agreed to a merchandising and licensing contract with the concert promoters Live Nation. The company will focus on producing Charlie Sheen memorabilia.

Live Nation execs have deemed him a “folk hero” for standing up for himself in light of his recent termination.

The company is hoping to have some items for sale as soon as next week. Merchandise will include mugs, T-shirts and badges with some of the actor’s famous catchphrases, including “winning.”

More Charlie Sheen rants? Nah. A T-shirt? Maybe…

Pizza Prints has made a licensing deal for two new WWE Edible Image designs—flat-printed decorations that are made of starches and FDA-approved edible food colors—for pizza featuring Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown Superstars.

So what’s the deal? With a natural cheese flavor, these pizza decorations allow consumers to literally “consume” their favorite stars.

The WWE Edible Image designs are available at more than 1,200 independent pizza parlors nationwide.

For those who aren’t fans of the WWE, the company also has licensing deals with Nickelodeon, the NBA, NCAA, 80 colleges and universities, as well as Bob the Builder and Thomas.

What goes good with SpongeBob? Maybe ham and pineapple?

Brando Enterprises and its exclusive licensing representative Brand Sense Partners, LLC (bsp), have closed their latest Marlon Brando licensing agreements in alliance with Renault Auto in the UK and Liu Jo Jeans in Italy. French company Renault Auto licensed clips from Brando’s performance in On the Waterfront for a television campaign promoting Renault’s new Clio model. Additionally, Getty Images, on behalf of Italian retailer Liu Jo Jeans, licensed images of Brando for a print advertising campaign throughout key fashion and lifestyle publications, as well as an in-store point of sale display campaign, including posters and counter displays.

From chocolate-covered pretzels, to cheesecake and key lime pie, Vermont-based ice cream empire Ben & Jerry’s has the flavor thing down. Now, thanks to a partnership with late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon and NBC Universal Television Consumer Products, the company can add potato chips to the list of wacky ingredients.

Late Night Snack features vanilla bean ice cream, salty caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters. The odd concoction was inspired by a Late Night with Jimmy Fallon skit in which Fallon and house band The Roots performed an original song, “Ladysmith Snack Mambazo,” about Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Late Night Snack begins arriving in supermarkets and Ben & Jerry’s locations around the country this week.

American Idol fans take note: a new book, cataloguing the past 10 years of the groundbreaking show, is now available. Licensed by FremantleMedia Enterprises and published by Abrams Image, American Idol: Celebrating 10 Years (The Official Backstage Pass) is designed as a yearbook and takes readers through each season up to the 2010 “class.” Know what Kelly Clarkson’s profession was prior to her American Idol fame or Fantasia’s biggest hit on the show? Find out this and more with the new book.

In other American Idol news, remember Brian Dunkleman? Well, he was Ryan Seacrest’s co-host on the first season of American Idol. He famously walked away from the show after the first season and, well, yeah…

My colleague Elizabeth Reid of The Toy Book and I got to meet Mr. Dunkleman at Toy Fair a few weeks ago while he was promoting Sky Ball League—a new coed game that combines basketball, volleyball and handball. Starting next month, the company will visit several U.S. cities with a televised competition looking for the best Sky Ball players. Elizabeth and I were not aware our interview with Dunkleman was being taped, but it was and here is the proof:  watch?v=ySSh9qKSSLw

Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. has taken legal action to stop the commercial sale and distribution of a DVD/CD set that included recordings and audiovisual footage of Elvis Presley concert performances. Working with a team of investigators, EPE was able to track down the individuals they believe to be behind the release and distribution of the box set.

As of today, EPE has begun action in the Chancery Division of the High Court, England and Wales, against Joseph Pirzada, the alleged source of the infringing materials in the box set.

On February 2, 2011, EPE also filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court, Northern District of Florida, against Bud Glass, an Elvis Presley memorabilia collector, for the alleged illegal sale and distribution of the box set in the United States.

EPE is currently reviewing the evidence and considering filing additional lawsuits against other individuals responsible for the manufacture, sale, and release of this particular box set as well as other bootleg recordings and merchandise.

On February 1, 2011, Elvis Presley Enterprises was also awarded summary judgment against Agostino Carollo (DJ Spankox) in the Chancery Division of the High Court, England and Wales.

In 2009, Carollo requested permission from EPE to create a remix album of Elvis Presley Christmas classics. While the parties had entered into an agreement in 2008 with respect to his first album of Elvis Presley remixes and a follow-up album, EPE advised Carollo in 2009 that it would not support nor endorse such a Christmas remix album. Nevertheless, Carollo released the Christmas remix album, which included EPE’s trademarks, logos, and photographs.