Attorney Frank Azar brings the “Strong Arm” to Anna Nicole Smith Custody Case

By Jenny Shank, 3-01-07

I’m ashamed of myself for adding to the number of words written about the Anna Nicole Smith case, but there’s been an important development that will leave no resident of Colorado unmoved: according to today’s Rocky Mountain News: “Frank Azar, an Aurora attorney known for his local television ads, has joined the legal team representing Anna Nicole Smith’s mother.” That’s right, “the strong arm” himself, known to all in the Front Range from his ubiquitous television commercials, will help Anna Nicole Smith’s mother pursue custody of her granddaughter. 

I feel invested in the outcome of this case, as I personally contributed to Azar’s rise: In 1994, when I was working my first high school job at a Blockbuster Video on Hampden Avenue in Denver, I made Frank Azar’s membership card.  I remember my hands shaking with excitement as I fired up the lamination machine. 

Some might be shocked to learn that Azar held out from joining Blockbuster until 1994, but hey, he had no time for movies because he was busy getting people checks for their wrecks.  In this era of Netflix, Tivo, and Youtube, the memory seems quaint, but to this day, whenever I see the portly lawyer on one of his commercials, I think, “We’ll always have Hampden.”