Edward L. Masry, a flamboyantly pugnacious lawyer who won millions from a utility in a toxic pollution suit and was portrayed by the actor Albert Finney in the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," died on Monday at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 73.

The cause was complications of diabetes, his son Louis told The Associated Press.

Mr. Masry, a crotchety criminal and tort lawyer, and Erin Brockovich, a self-trained legal assistant, filed a class-action suit in 1993 against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. In 1997, they, joined by two large law firms, won a $333 million settlement on behalf of 648 residents of the town of Hinkley, Calif.

The utility agreed to the settlement in a private arbitration and never admitted to causing cancer and other health problems through emissions of chromium into Hinkley's water supply. It did take public responsibility for the pollution.

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, with Julia Roberts winning best actress for her portrayal of Ms. Brockovich, who attended the ceremony with Mr. Masry.

It was not his first brush with fame. Over his 44-year career, Mr. Masry represented politicians, judges, prostitutes, pimps, the actress Pamela Anderson, a television evangelist and a stripper named Lucky Wynn. About the time he was taking up his crusade with Ms. Brockovich, he defended a marina owner accused of dumping toxic batteries into a lake.

In one tangled case in the late 1970's involving a church, he kidnapped (his word) two children in Hong Kong and took them to Australia, which an American judge ruled was not a crime. In that case, he was charged with stealing money from the church to bribe California's attorney general. Mr. Masry defended the church of the evangelist Gene Scott when the state demanded its financial records. He and Mr. Scott burned the order on television.

By his own count, Mr. Masry was jailed five times.

"I've represented such a diverse cast of characters, from the very good to the very bad -- or make that allegedly very bad," Mr. Masry said in an interview with The Ventura County Star in 2001. "I'm probably the most jailed attorney in California who's never been convicted of a felony or ever been brought before the state bar for a hearing on misconduct."

Edward L. Masry was born in Paterson, N.J., on July 29, 1932. His parents started a silk apparel business, but when silk import tariffs were lifted, the business faltered. The family then headed for California.

They bought a tiny bungalow, and for three years Edward had to sleep in an adjacent tent. He later said this experience inspired him to help underdogs. Another part of his attraction to the law, he said in an interview with The Los Angeles Times in 1998, was to make large sums of money like lawyers in the movies.

Mr. Masry joined the Army and was stationed in France for two years. He then took courses at three California universities, but did not graduate. He was accepted by the Loyola Law School after doing well on the placement test.

He took just about any kind of case, from criminal law to First Amendment cases. He became aware of Hinkley when a resident called him questioning why Pacific Gas and Electric seemed so eager to pay so much for her house, which turned out to be near where the chromium pollution occurred.

Soon, Mr. Masry and Ms. Brockovich were signing up plaintiffs in Hinkley. They filed suit when they had 47.

Mr. Masry mortgaged his house as expenses soared. He soon brought in two of California's most experienced trial lawyers to guide the case, Thomas Girardi and Walter Lack. The number of plaintiffs grew to 648.

In September 1994, the parties agreed to arbitration, with a $400 million cap on any awards. PG&E agreed to settle after the arbitrators awarded the first 39 cases $133 million. Mr. Masry's firm got $40 million.

He is survived by his second wife, the former Joette Levinson; his five children, Louis Masry of Moorpark, Calif., and Louanne Masry-Weeks, Nicole Masry-McAdam, Christopher Levinson and Timothy Engelhart, all of Agoura Hills, Calif.; and 10 grandchildren.

Beginning in 2000, Mr. Masry served as a city councilman -- and, for one year, mayor -- of Thousand Oaks.

He trod the council chamber as if it were a courtroom, treating his colleagues like "bumbling fools," according to The New York Times in 2002. Chuck Cohen, the town's land-use lawyer, once responded:

"Mr. Masry you're no Albert Finney."

Edward Masry