In this Sept. 6, 2006 file photo, Robert John Burck, 'The Naked Cowboy,' is photographed at Jambox Recording studio in New York.
Most New Yorkers and visitors to Times Square know of The Naked Cowboy. !http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif!!http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/CRIME/02/14/naked.cowboy/art.naked.jpg!
The Naked Cowboy is part of the scenery at New York City's Times Square.
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For the past 10 years, he's the guy you've seen on the sidewalk, with the great body, strumming his guitar and singing, dressed in a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and underwear -- and nothing else, even in the dead of winter.
As a native New Yorker, I will admit that at times, it has been my guilty pleasure to walk or drive by The Cowboy to see if he can bear the elements. To my amazement, he's always there and pretty naked -- in rain, sleet, snow, heat or bitter cold.
His character is part of the USA Network's "Characters Welcome" campaign; he appeared in a music video for the song "Rockstar" by the multiplatinum artist Nickelback; and he's featured singing in the video game "True Crime: New York City at Times Square."
He also has appeared in several movies and television programs, including "Starship Dave," "Survive This," "Mulva: Zombie A** Kicker," "Steve Harvey's Big Time," "New York Minute," "Creature Feature," "Lonely Planet," "Troma's Edge," "American Icon" and "The Howard Stern Show."
He even appeared in a Chevrolet commercial that debuted during Super Bowl XLI.
And this isn't the first time a pseudo-celebrity (sorry Cowboy) has sued and won. Remember Vanna White? She was awarded $403,000 when Samsung used a robot, wearing a blond wig, jewelry and a dress, that turned letters on a game board similar to White's role on "Wheel of Fortune," the TV game show.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jim Cooper