Her voice is famous on a New Jersey boardwalk. She wants to be paid for it.
Every visitor to the raucous Wildwood, New Jersey, boardwalk has heard Floss Stingel’s voice warning to “Watch the tram car, please” at regular intervals as trackless trains trundle up and down the boards.
Stingel’s transit greeting has resonated from the trams for over 45 years. She has been invited to perform it live at ceremonies on the boardwalk and autographed memorabilia at a Wildwood museum. It can even be heard on an episode of “Sex and the City.”
But Stingel has never been paid for her iconic line, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. The most she has received for providing the voice of the Wildwoods, Stingel alleged - referring to the city and its nearest neighbors - is the occasional free tram ticket.
Stingel, a longtime North Wildwood resident, told The Washington Post she appreciated her place in the boardwalk’s history and hadn’t thought to question the city’s usage of her recording, which she provided without signing a contract or obtaining copyright. But last year, she visited the boardwalk gift store and saw plush tram toys on sale that played her voice.
“I was shocked and I was like, ‘How did you get my voice on there?’” Stingel said. “And they said, ‘Well, the city gave it to us.’”
Stingel sued the City of Wildwood, the Wildwood Business Improvement District, the Wildwoods Boardwalk Special Improvement District, the Wildwood Historical Society and several stores and attractions on the boardwalk for misappropriating her likeness, citing not only the plush toys but decades of tram rides that generated millions of dollars for the city.
The lawsuit asks the city and other businesses to compensate Stingel for using her voice for various commercial purposes. If it’s not resolved by next summer, the iconic tram on the Jersey Shore could be forced to temporarily find a new voice.
“You can’t be making millions of dollars off her voice and not give her a penny, just give her free tram car tickets,” said Emeka Igwe, Stingel’s attorney. “That’s just not fair.”
The City of Wildwood declined to comment, spokesperson Lisa Fagan said Wednesday when reached by The Post. The Wildwood Business Improvement District, the Wildwoods Boardwalk Special Improvement District, the Wildwood Historical Society and other defendants did not respond to requests for comment.
Stingel first captured her rendition of “Watch the tram car, please” on a tape recorder in 1971 at the request of her boyfriend at the time, who worked for the family that owned the tram cars, according to her lawsuit. It wasn’t her first performance. Stingel had previously provided commercial voice recordings for her then-employer, South Jersey Gas Company, according to her lawsuit.
Stingel’s iconic line has played continuously in the decades since - an estimated 6,000 times a day whenever the boardwalk’s iconic blue and yellow trams pass pedestrians on the way to the beach, Stingel’s lawsuit alleged.
“It’s nice when people appreciate it,” Stingel said.
Stingel’s slogan - and Stingel herself - have also since been employed in various other revenue-generating pursuits by the boardwalk and related businesses, according to her lawsuit. She attended a ceremony celebrating the tram service’s 60th birthday in 2008 and performed a live version of her tram announcement and autographed memorabilia for the Wildwood Historical Museum. The Wildwood Gift Shop sells plush toy trams that speak Stingel’s line when you press a button.
Such was the renown of Stingel’s voice that it sparked a face off between Wildwood and another boardwalk on the Jersey Shore. Atlantic City used Stingel’s recording when it introduced its own tram service in 2015, the Press of Atlantic City reported. Wildwood officials said the recording, which wasn’t trademarked, amounted to plagiarism of their local brand and threatened legal action. Atlantic City eventually replaced the recording.
The Wildwood tram makes around $2.5 million each year, according to Stingel’s lawsuit. Despite the city’s fierce defense of Stingel’s voice, Stingel has never been financially compensated for her recording or the appearances and images that display her likeness, according to her lawsuit. The most she has allegedly received are free tickets for the now $5 ride.
Stingel said discovering plush tram toys for sale that spoke in her voice last year, which the gift store did not tell her about, prompted her to reconsider the city’s usage of her recording for decades and bring a lawsuit.
“It’s just been so many years,” she said. “I guess I just looked past it until they started putting my voice on toys.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation and a temporary injunction to prevent further unauthorized use of Stingel’s voice, which could force Wildwood’s trams to sing a different tune when they resume after the winter offseason.
Igwe, Stingel’s attorney, said they did not want to permanently remove Stingel’s recording from the boardwalk.
“We hope the tram cars can continue with Floss’s voice,” Igwe said. “All we’re asking for is for the defendants to step up, do the right thing, and compensate her accordingly.”
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