October 13, 2008 --
BRUCE Weber, the super-successful photographer behind the sexy Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs, is suing indie movie actress Anna Thomson for the cost of nursing care he provided for her deceased mother, legendary shoe designer Beth Levine.
Weber has been managed for decades by Levine's niece, Nan Bush, who lives with him and is sometimes referred to as his "wife."
Before Levine died two years ago at the age of 91, Weber had insisted on providing nursing care to the elderly woman.
"Bruce came over one day and said, 'I know some great nurses. I really want to do this for you,' " Thomson told Page Six.
"But after my mother died, and Bruce wasn't named executor of her estate, he sent me a huge bill for these nurses, even though on every one of the checks he produced, it clearly says 'gift.' "
Thomson, a mother of two, is more famous in France than she is in the US. Although she has appeared in such American movies as "Unforgiven," "Talk Radio," and "Desperately Seeking Susan," she's nowhere near as wealthy as Weber and Bush.
The famed lensman "has two lofts in Manhattan, two houses in Montauk, a camp in the Adirondacks and a ranch in Montana," Thomson told us.
"His five golden retrievers are blow-dried. He has a person whose job is to blow-dry the dogs. His dog walker is Portuguese, so now he's hired a tutor to teach his dog-walker English."
Weber, a former male model, is now suing Thomson for $80,000 he paid for Levine's nursing, but Thomson said, "I'm positive he's spent more than $80,000 on the court case." She said that there's more to the case than money, and, "Nan has always hated me because I am adopted."
Bush told us, "It's a family affair, and it's very sad," but declined to comment further.
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