Last Unicorn Author Peter S. Beagle Mentally Competent Says Lawyer Hired to Prove Otherwise

The lawyer who was hired to prove The Last Unicorn author mentally unfit has resigned, declaring the suit brought against him by his children to be without merit. This is the latest ripple in a seemingly ongoing saga involving Beagle, his erstwhile manager Connor Cochran, Beagle’s children, his longtime girlfriend Peggy Carlisle, and an increasingly upset and angry fanbase that has been going on for most of the century.

A bit of background is in order: in 2001, Peter S. Beagle was going through a very bad patch: debt, divorce, and a dearth of royalties. Cochran promised to revive interest in Beagle’s works and monetize them. To do so, he started a boutique publishing house specifically for Beagle’s works. Merchandising deals came in the process of time, though exactly where the money went is somewhat in doubt.

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The whole thing came to a head in 2013 when Cochran took Beagle on a tour of cinemas, showing a restored version of Rankin-Bass’s 1982 Last Unicorn animated film. Mr. Beagle, who later described the tour as a “death march”, spent his time doing meet-and-greets, Q&A sessions, and signing merchandise. Lots of merchandise. This reporter was there when the tour came to the Alamo Drafthouse in Kansas City, MO, and remembers multiple tables of merch on display, and a line that snaked around itself both before and long after the movie.

It was during the tour that things really began to get serious. Mr. Beagle said he was more-or-less run non-stop, on a schedule that no one in his 70s should have to contemplate. Cochran, on the other hand, said that he gave Beagle adequate rest. People began to notice a real friction between the two, as well as between Cochran and Carlisle. Disturbing eyewitness accounts cropped up, including this rather infamous account of a volunteer “roustabout” at one of the tour stops. Allegations of financial irregularities, of merchandise paid for bot not received, began to crop up as well.

Things came to a head in November 2015 when Beagle filed a suit against Cochran alleging elder abuse, fraud, defamation, and a variety of other issues. Cochran filed a countersuit, claiming that Beagle’s allegations were invalid due to his supposedly deteriorating mental condition.

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Last Unicorn Author Peter S. Beagle Mentally Competent Says Lawyer Hired to Prove Otherwise

See Also:
Fans Against Fraud

The Last Unicorn Author Locks Legal Horns With His Manager

The Sad Strange Legal Battles of Last Unicorn Author Peter S. Beagle

The Truth About Connor Cochran and Working on The Last Unicorn Tour

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