<P> In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations, a four - hour television mini-series about the group's career, Ruffin being portrayed by Leon Robinson (who uses the professional name "Leon"). The actor won high praise for his performance, but Ruffin's family was upset by the way the series portrayed him, and filed a lawsuit against the series' producers and Otis Williams, whose memoir had been the source material . The case was dismissed in favor of the defendants, with Williams later claiming that he had no real control over the presentation of the material . </P> <P> Grand Puba of Brand Nubian referenced the singer on the 1990 single "All for One", stating: "I hit a beat and swing a note as if my name was David Ruffin". </P> <P> Rapper Machine Gun Kelly also referenced the singer on his 2013 song "See My Tears" stating: "Fought every temptation shit, I guess I'm David Ruffin huh"? </P> <P> The first song on Fall Out Boy's 2005 CD From Under the Cork Tree was to have been titled "My Name is David Ruffin...and These are The Temptations", but for legal reasons the name was changed to "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued". </P>

Who played jimmy ruffin in the temptations movie