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Showbiz Tonight
Royal Couple Visits America; Former "Price is Right" Model Wins Lawsuit; Secret Pasts of Celebs on Soaps
Aired November 01, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: I`m Brooke Anderson.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CO-HOST: And I`m David Haffenreffer. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, is the prince charming the public with his new wife? Tonight, Charles and Camilla take the United States by storm, even as the late Princess Diana still graces magazine covers. But tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the hard question: are the royals still relevant?
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): From daytime to the bigtime. The surprising, inside story of how Hollywood`s biggest names got their start on soap operas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been quite awhile since I heard from you, pretty lady.
HAFFENREFFER: Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals how the world has turned for some of your favorite stars.
ANDERSON: Tonight, Jane Fonda reveals her remarkably long battle with eating disorders. A painful struggle with anorexia and bulimia that lasted 30 years, through 20 films, two kids, and a fitness empire.
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: I had to be perfect in order to be loved.
ANDERSON: Tonight, Jane Fonda opens up about the pain, and the person she credits with helping her recover.
EARTHA KITT, ACTRESS: I`m Eartha Kitt. And if happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Hi there, I`m Brooke Anderson.
HAFFENREFFER: I`m David Haffenreffer. A.J. Hammer has the night off.
ANDERSON: Tonight, the monarchs take Manhattan. The future king of England, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla, are spending a week here in America.
HAFFENREFFER: But there`s a big difference from the normal monarchy madness that always surrounded Princess Diana. And do you have to ask why? The big reception for the royal couple tonight in New York City. And that`s precisely where CNN`s Mary Snow is live for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, David.
And just a short time ago, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived here to the Museum of Modern Art. As you mentioned, there`s a gala reception here tonight. They are joined by hundreds of guests that include everyone from Yoko Ono. Henry Kissinger just arrived a few minutes ago. Also, Barbara Walters, other media types. And of course, there always are royal watchers who are standing outside waiting for their arrival.
However, some say the crowds are not as big as when Princess Diana was here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): It`s their first visit to the U.S. as a married couple. They`re here to strengthen ties with the U.S., talk a little politics, wine and dine with dignitaries, and test out Camilla`s popularity in a nation some call Diana country.
J.D. HEYMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: The last time that everybody remembers him being here was with Diana, which is of course, a famous, famous trip that everyone, you know, recalls with a great deal of nostalgia.
SNOW: Twenty years ago Princess Diana and Prince Charles toured the U.S. Hollywood style, including a memorable evening at the White House when a very radiant Diana stole the show by dancing with actor John Travolta.
This time around, an older, more reserved couple appeared to America. Their first stop today, Ground Zero, to unveil a memorial to British victims of September 11.
But that`s not what the British newspapers are focusing on. All they can talk about is how little America cares about the royal family, calling their trip a, quote, "royal bore."
The latest polls actually prove it. America could care less. A whopping 81 percent of Americans polled say they weren`t interested in the royal couple`s visit. Only 19 percent said they would actually like having a personal meeting with them.
But when asked if they`d like a personal meeting with Prince William and Harry, 30 percent said they would. Wonder why?
It seems it`s growing ever harder for the royal family to stay relevant, something that Prince Charles himself grapples with.
PRINCE CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: The most important thing is to be relevant. And so it isn`t easy, as you can imagine.
SNOW: He talked about it candidly in an interview with "60 Minutes."
PRINCE CHARLES: It`s easy to just dismiss anything I say. So what I`ve -- it`s difficult. What I`ve tried to do is to put my money where my mouth is.
SNOW: Wherever he may put his money, we know that at least a little of it went into what the British papers call team Camilla. CNN London`s Richard Quest gave SHOWBIZ TONIGHT a peek.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For instance, we know that she has three full-time dressers, a hairdresser and a colorist, a makeup artist, a full-time lady in waiting, two press officer stewards, butler, a valet, a doctor, 50 dresses, and a selection of hats.
The one thing that people always unkindly say about Camilla is, she`s no Diana, but she does scrub up well.
SNOW: Snideness aside, the Diana-Camilla comparisons don`t seem to be bothering the royal couple.
HEYMAN: Charles and Camilla aren`t trying to compete with that. They could never compete with that. That would be like asking them to compete against Julia Roberts. I mean, they`re not in that league.
SNOW: It`s a league Diana held on her own, a kind of celebrity that America thrives on.
Singer Elton John had a special relationship with the princess, even singing a special rendition of "Candle in the Wind" at her funeral. Just hours ago he told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT what it is about the people`s princess that still speaks to Americans today.
ELTON JOHN, MUSICIAN: She touched people. She had a complete unique gift of when she met people, making them feel special. She had the great gift of being a caring, loving person. And that`s a great gift to have. Not many people have it.
SNOW: It`s a hard reputation for Prince Charles and Camilla to live up to, especially in America`s eyes. But the bottom line is that the royal family doesn`t want to repeat the Diana era.
HEYMAN: This is a new era. It`s a quiet era. It`s not about all the glamour of that era. We`re not going to go back to that. For most Americans, this will just be another, you know, nice foreign dignitary visiting the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Prince Charles and Camilla will be in the U.S. for a week. Tomorrow they go to Washington. They`ll also be visiting San Francisco and also New Orleans on Friday -- Brooke.
ANDERSON: They are making the rounds. Thanks, Mary. Mary Snow, live from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Charles and Camilla: are the royals still relevant? Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Send us an e-mail at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
HAFFENREFFER: Tonight, it`s jail-time for a man who went into Jennifer Aniston`s home in Malibu. In court today, a homeless man pleaded guilty to entering her home back in August, in a plea deal that sends him to jail for a year. He was also ordered to stay at least 1,000 yards from Aniston and her home for 10 years. That`s the toughest restraining order you can get under California law.
When the man went into her house, he told Aniston`s staff that he was, quote, "looking for Jennifer." Fortunately for the actress, she was not at home.
ANDERSON: Tonight, a former "Price is Right" "Barker`s beauty" is celebrating a big victory in court against the show host, Bob Barker.
Holly Hallstrom was one of Barker`s beauties on "The Price is Right" for nearly two decades. Then, in 1995, Hallstrom was fired from the game show. She says host Bob Barker fired her because of her weight, a claim Barker denies.
Barker sued Hallstrom for slander. Hallstrom countersued for wrongful termination, and in the end, Hallstrom won.
Joining us for a "SHOWBIZ Newsmaker" interview, Holly Hallstrom.
Welcome.
HOLLY HALLSTROM, FORMERLY MODEL ON "THE PRICE IS RIGHT": Hi, Brooke. Thank you.
ANDERSON: Now in 1977 when you first got this job, very prestigious position. You were a model presenting the items, presenting the products. Was it a dream come true for you?
HALLSTROM: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that -- and in those years, those early years, it was fun. I would pinch myself saying, "I can`t believe I got this job." You know? It was great.
But then over the years, the producers changed. Mr. Barker became executive producer. And the whole -- the whole atmosphere on the set kind of went downhill.
ANDERSON: Especially in 1995. It seems it all came crashing down. You were fired. You were told it was because of your weight. But you`ve said publicly it was because you wouldn`t defend Bob Barker against another model on the show, Diane Parkinson, who was suing him for sexual harassment.
HALLSTROM: Sexual harassment. Yes. And Mr. Barker came to me, and he said, "I`ve set up interviews and talk shows, and I want you to say specifically that Diana`s lying. And that she`s a liar."
And I -- I found the whole thing tacky, and I didn`t want to have anything to do with it. And then later on, he asked me to recall his firing of a director differently than it happened. And it was downhill from there.
ANDERSON: We were watching some video. Clearly you were not overweight from what we`ve seen.
HALLSTROM: Now, as a disclaimer, that was 10 years and 40 pounds ago. Last year was hard, Brooke, let me tell you. I ate my way through 2004.
ANDERSON: Well, it`s amazing. Because over the past decade, you were offered multimillion dollar settlements.
HALLSTROM: Yes.
ANDERSON: But you didn`t take it.
HALLSTROM: No.
ANDERSON: Until now. You lost your home. You went bankrupt. Living out of your car at one point. Many people watching this show might think you were nuts. Why did you want to keep going for so long?
HALLSTROM: Well, you know, there -- there`s a flaw in our judicial system that allows a powerful or rich defendant to just drag the little person through the courts until he breaks you. And I was determined that was not going to happen to me. And I...
ANDERSON: They didn`t want you to speak out against Bob Barker.
HALLSTROM: No. And that`s why I refused the larger settlements, because I wanted to retain my right to free speech.
ANDERSON: First Amendment rights.
HALLSTROM: And also, I think it`s important that people know that in the workplace, you cannot be forced to do anything illegal, whether it`s lie for your boss or endure sexual harassment, or in Mr. Barker`s case, racial discrimination, he was also sued for.
ANDERSON: You wanted to get a message out there?
HALLSTROM: Yes.
ANDERSON: Monetarily, what are we talking here? Millions?
HALLSTROM: Millions!
ANDERSON: Wow, you seem very excited.
HALLSTROM: With a lot of "S`s." Yes.
ANDERSON: What are you going to do with the money?
HALLSTROM: I`m going to spend it! No. Actually, I`m setting up a foundation. Is this ironic or what? I`m setting up a foundation to help people who find themselves in similar situations, when you have a legitimate lawsuit, you`ve got all the evidence, the testimony, everything. But you`re up against some big, rich, powerful defendant who can just drag you through the courts until they break you. And no one should have to make the choice between their home or their lawsuit.
ANDERSON: Admirable...
HALLSTROM: Yes.
ANDERSON: ... that you want to use some of it for a good cause.
HALLSTROM: Isn`t that ironic?
ANDERSON: Holly Hallstrom, thank you for being here.
HALLSTROM: Thank you, Brooke. Thank you.
HAFFENREFFER: Bette Midler`s party was the place to be on Halloween in New York City, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there.
Midler came dressed as a rose. Yoko Ono was an angel. Eartha Kitt, a fairy godmother. Mariah Carey just -- well, she just came as herself, but there were two Andy Warhols, John Lithgow and Chevy Chase.
The stars were also celebrating the Divine Miss M`s 60th birthday, and the 10th anniversary of her favorite charity, which creates and restores parks in New York. We asked celebs about that charity, and about the inspiration for their costumes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETTE MIDLER, ENTERTAINER: When I`m on the street and I see plastic bags on the streets, I pick them up. And I hope that everyone else will, too.
KITT: I love the cause. And I do think that empty spaces should be utilized. But in a positive way. I think that we need more spaces to sit and think and share nature.
JOHN LITHGOW, ACTOR: We were just goofing around in my "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" dressing room. And I was putting on other people`s wigs. Suddenly I was Andy Warhol.
CHEVY CHASE, ACTOR: I just like the wig. I didn`t know who I was.
MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: Darling, I put this together at the last minute. Yester Pasteur (ph) put the whole ensemble together, and I just kind of flopped into it and said, here I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: And there she was. More than 1,000 people showed up at the party, and were treated to a performance by Sir Elton John.
ANDERSON: I spoke with Elton earlier today. He told me he dressed as a devil for Halloween yesterday.
Some "Desperate Housewives" stars began their careers on the soaps. And they aren`t the only members of Hollywood royalty who went from daytime to the big time. That`s coming up.
HAFFENREFFER: Plus, it`s a big night for "Sex and the City" fans. We`re going to tell you what`s up with Carrie and company, coming up in the "SHOWBIZ Guide."
ANDERSON: And Jane Fonda gets candid about a secret she kept for three decades. Her painful struggle with anorexia and bulimia, still ahead.
HAFFENREFFER: Now, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who played the original landlord, Mr. Roper, on "Three`s Company"? Was it Don Knotts, Norman Fell, Pat Harrington or Richard Masur? We`ll be right back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAFFENREFFER: All right. So again tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who played the original landlord, Mr. Roper, on "Three`s Company"? Was it Don Knotts, Norman Fell, Pat Harrington or Richard Masur? Well, the answer is "B," Norman Fell. Don Knotts, of course, joined the cast in 1979 as Mr. Hurley.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT uncovers secrets from the stars` past lives, secrets you won`t believe. Many of Hollywood`s biggest names got their start on the soaps. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas live in Hollywood with that story.
Hi, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.
Well, daytime soap operas have been a breeding ground for some of the big stars you`re seeing on the big screen and on primetime television. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did a little research and found some surprising starts for some of your favorite stars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (voice-over): SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did some digging into the past. Some of your favorite Hollywood A-listers who have made it to the big-time have a history steeped in daytime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who`s that?
VARGAS: Playing up the passion and romance, at least two of Wisteria Lane`s stars got their start on daytime television. Jesse Metcalfe plays John Rowland, a gardener who`s landscaping and loving on the side in the hit ABC TV "Desperate Housewives."
So it shouldn`t be a surprise to any of his fans that he got started on "Passions" playing Miguel Lopez Fitzgerald, a guy who certainly loved his bubble baths.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shall I wash your back?
JESSE METCALFE, ACTOR: Sure.
VARGAS: His primetime love is no stranger to daytime drama herself. Eva Longoria may play a sexy housewife at night, but we found this clip, playing dirty in daytime for her role on "The Young and the Restless."
EVA LONGORIA, ACTRESS: I got the distinct feeling she recognized me.
VARGAS: Changing dirty diapers wasn`t in any of Tom Selleck`s scripts when he started at "Y&R." But the leap to the big screen required a lesson or two in fatherhood.
TOM SELLECK, ACTOR: We`re going to need some kind of cleaning fluid to get it off.
VARGAS: Keeping the older babes safe from harm`s way, David Hasselhoff, who starred in the smash hit "Baywatch," got his CPR training on daytime, too. He played Dr. William Snapper Foster Jr. on "The Young and the Restless."
Marisa Tomei`s Oscar-winning role in her debut film, "My Cousin Vinny," proved she had all the right stuff for the big screen. While her biological clock was ticking loudly for that role...
MARISA TOMEI, ACTRESS: My biological clock is ticking like this, and the way this case is going, I ain`t never getting married.
VARGAS: ... she was worlds away from motherhood on the soap drama "As the World Turns."
Faking the big o on the screen for her starring role in "When Harry Met Sally," Meg Ryan got her start playing Betsy Stewart Montgomery Andropoulis -- that`s a mouthful -- a jilted wife on "As the World Turns."
Julianne Moore knows something about twins, being nominated for twin Oscars for "The Hours" and for "Far from Heaven." But her fans remember her best as identical twins on the daytime drama "As the World Turns."
JULIANNE MOORE, ACTRESS: Haven`t I told you to go away?
VARGAS: Kelly Ripa, that`s her hamming it up with Regis Philbin. But anyone who knows Kelly knows she grew up on the tube. Before she got her gig talking for a living, her fans watch her blossom into a woman as Hayley Vaughan Santos on "All My Children." She found love on the screen and off and married her daytime co-star, Mark Consuelos.
And are you ready for this? Before he was "Living La Vida Loca," Ricky Martin was shaking his bon-bon on daytime, as well. He played the sultry Latin lover, Miguel Morez, on "General Hospital."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: And Ricky Martin isn`t the only pop star to get his start on soaps. Country music star Leann Rimes played Madison on the ever popular "Days of Our Lives."
Brooke, back to you.
ANDERSON: And quite a hairstyle Ricky Martin had as well. Sibila Vargas, thank you so much.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s time now for the "SHOWBIZ Guide," where throughout the week, we help you decide where to spend those hard-earned dollars on movies, DVDs, music and more.
Out on DVD today, a special edition of the cult classic "Office Space," the "Sex and the City" complete series, and the final chapter in the "Star Wars" saga, "Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of The Sith."
Live in New York City is Gitesh Pandya, editor of the web site BoxOfficeGuru.com -- dot com, rather.
Gitesh, good to see you again.
GITESH PANDYA, EDITOR, BOXOFFICEGURU.COM: Good to be here.
HAFFENREFFER: Of course, "Revenge of The Sith" made a whole bunch of money at the box office, $380 million in the process. All the fans, of course, got out to see it right when it hit the theaters. At this point, what do they have to do to lure those same fans in to buy the DVD?
PANDYA: Well, fans are celebrating because they can now have the full collection of six "Star Wars" movies out on DVD with "Episode III." There are a lot of bonus features, including George Lucas doing a commentary for the whole film. Plus, a lot of behind-the-scenes looks. My favorite is called "The Chosen One," where George Lucas looks back at Darth Vader over all six films.
HAFFENREFFER: And this is what they mean when they say they`ve got their devoted audience already there. They`re going to run out and buy this thing as soon as it hits the stores.
PANDYA: Absolutely.
HAFFENREFFER: "Sex and the City" is out with this incredible looking, you know, boxed-up set of every one ever done before. You know, for the "Sex and the City" person, this is -- this is something that they can`t live without?
PANDYA: Well, this is the definitive collection. For the biggest fans, you`ve got to have it. It`s 19 disks with every episode from all six seasons of the Emmy-winning show. Plus a bonus 20th disk with a lot of special features on there. It is an Ensexlopedia, is what they call it, which looks at the whole retrospective of the whole show. Plus a location guide of where the women shopped and all the great New York City places. And plus a lot of bonus features like a behind the scenes documentary, too.
HAFFENREFFER: But haven`t they already released every season individually up to this point?
PANDYA: They`ve done all of that. However, this has a lot of bonus things on there. And the packaging is fantastic. It`s like a photo album with all the disks inside. So if you have $300, which is the retail price, this is the one to get.
HAFFENREFFER: Twenty seconds left. "Office Space." This is a cult movie. Didn`t do very well at the box office.
PANDYA: Right.
HAFFENREFFER: But Jennifer Aniston is in it. Tell me about this release and how it`s going to grab even more of a market for those people who hadn`t seen it in the theaters?
PANDYA: Well, this is called "Special Edition with Flair." So it has a few bonus items on there. A bunch of deleted scenes, a documentary with Mike Judge. And also the packaging looks like a beat up old file cabinet. So it`s one of the cult classics that you have to have.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s a great film. Gitesh Pandya, good to see you.
PANDYA: Thank you.
HAFFENREFFER: From BoxOfficeGuru.com.
ANDERSON: The inside story of memogate, from the only person at CBS to be fired over the scandal. Mary Mapes tells all, coming up.
HAFFENREFFER: Plus, Jane Fonda`s long battle with eating disorders. What she blames it on, and very specific details of how bad it got. All coming up in a special report.
ANDERSON: And queer eye for the queer guy. We`re getting a look at how Carson Kressley dresses up his digs, ahead in "Tuesday InStyle."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It`s time now for "Tuesday InStyle." Carson Kressley is "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy`s" fashionista, transforming drab to fab for other people. But now, we get a look at how Carson styles his own home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: InStyle thought it would be fun to see Carson Kressley`s apartment, because he`s the style guy from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." We know how he dresses. We wanted to see how that translated to his environment.
The apartment`s in a building that he actually saw when he first moved to New York. In doing renovations for the apartment, Carson made for himself an amazing shoe closet, which is his pride and joy. And it`s got all of his dress shoes and his boots and his tennis shoes.
Carson has a pink bathroom. And this is something that he`s wanted ever since he was a little boy, apparently. And when he first asked his mother if he could paint his bathroom pink when he was a kid, she said, "Not until you grow up and move out of this house." And so he did.
Carson likes to mix styles. And he`s got a dining room that`s got built-in banquettes, which he thinks is elegant, but it`s also practical. He built storage containers underneath the banquettes. And there`s a beautiful Miranier (ph) glass chandelier above it.
Even the dining table is a little bit of a wink to his career, because it`s two C`s, which you can take as Carson or as a Chanel label.
There`s a kind of a classic feel to his bedroom. But he really loves very rich, lux fabrics. He`s done hand-painted walls. He layers the bed with lots of, sort of deep, comfy fabrics, a faux chinchilla throw, kind of crazy stuff like that. And he`s got equestrian prints behind the bed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: To learn more about Carson`s apartment, pick up a copy of this month`s "InStyle" magazine on newstands now.
David, we saw him in the tub.
HAFFENREFFER: Yes, we did. For better or worse.
"Arrested Development" star Jason Bateman undergoes surgery. We`re going to tell you why, and how he`s doing, next.
ANDERSON: Plus, Jane Fonda opens up like never before about her fight with bulimia and anorexia. She talks about how bad it got, and how she got better, coming up in a special report.
HAFFENREFFER: And whose anniversary do you think would make Diddy, Usher, and Whitney Houston clear their schedules for a night? Find out, coming up on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in just a minute. I`m Sophia Choi with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Well, a heated battle raged on the U.S. Senate floor today. It all started after Democratic leaders triggered a closed-door session. They want the GOP to follow through on a promise to investigate prewar Iraq intelligence. After about two hours, a deal was reached and the floor reopened.
Well, it`s going to cost you more to borrow money. Chairman Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve announced another quarter-point hike in short-term interest rates. It is the 12th time in the row the Fed has voted to raise rates.
And no trick or treat here. Officials in Washington State are looking for this woman. She`s suspected of robbing one bank dressed as a witch and then, just a short time later, robbing another in street clothes.
That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi. We`ll take you back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAFFENREFFER: And welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m David Haffenreffer, in for A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson. And you are watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
David, Jane Fonda, Oscar-winning actress, exercise maven, and now a woman who is revealing for the very first time that she battled anorexia and bulimia for 30 years. She said never felt good enough, never thin enough. And you may be surprised at who she says caused her to have these image problems.
CNN`s Paula Zahn sat down with Jane Fonda. It`s a special report. We will have this very revealing and candid interview coming up in just a few minutes.
HAFFENREFFER: And award-winning CBS News producer Mary Mapes lost her job over that -- remember that Memogate scandal...
ANDERSON: I do.
HAFFENREFFER: ... involved with the "60 Minutes II" report about President Bush`s National Guard. She says that she was made into a bit of a scapegoat by the network and fired for that. We`ll have more on that story, coming up in just a moment.
ANDERSON: That`s right, David.
But first, let`s get tonight`s "Hot Headlines." And for that, we go to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, live again in Hollywood -- Sibila?
VARGAS: Thanks, Brooke.
Well, tonight an "Arrested Development" star went under the knife today. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned that Jason Bateman had a benign polyp removed from his throat today at a Los Angeles-area hospital. Now, according to his spokesperson, the 36-year-old actor is doing fine. Production on "Arrested Development" will stop for a few weeks while Bateman recovers.
Tonight, Heath Ledger and his fiancee, Michelle Williams, are reportedly proud parents of a baby girl. Their daughter, named Matilda, was born in New York. Ledger and Williams met on the set of "Brokeback Mountain," which is set to be released next month.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contacted their publicist, but she said she had no comments.
And prince pranced into New York today. Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, kicked off their week-long tour of the U.S. The couple visited the World Trade Center site, where they dedicated a memorial to 9/11 victims.
This is the first official American visit by Prince Charles since 1994 when he came with the late Princess Diana. Camilla and Charles head to New Orleans and San Francisco later this week.
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines." Brooke, back to you in New York.
ANDERSON: Thank you so much, Sibila Vargas, live in Hollywood.
And that leads us again to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Charles and Camilla: Are the royals still relevant? Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight and write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e- mails are coming up at 55 past the hour.
HAFFENREFFER: Tonight, a blockbuster book is about to hit shelves that might give CBS, the eye network, a black eye. CBS News producer Mary Mapes was fired for her role in a "60 Minutes" Dan Rather segment about President Bush`s National Guard service. Now she is about to spill her secrets, and her charges are shocking.
CNN`s Mary Snow is in New York for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with more -- Mary?
SNOW: David, in a new book, Mary Mapes details what she describes as panic at CBS, right-wing bloggers that helped force her out, and a fateful call from Dan Rather.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Former CBS producer Mary Mapes says, when her story on President Bush`s National Guard service first aired in September 2004, co-workers gave her hugs and kisses. Sixteen months later, CBS fired her. Mapes blames politics and corporate interest.
The story came out during the 2004 campaign. It alleged that George Bush received special consideration to get into the Texas National Guard and didn`t fulfill his service obligations. But the documents that supposedly proved this came under fire. And so did CBS.
In a new book, "Truth and Duty," excerpted in "Vanity Fair" magazine, Mapes stands by her work. On Dan Rather, who worked with Mapes as the reporter, she says Rather initially told her he had confidence in the story and quotes him as saying he was lucky to work with her. But she claims Rather had a very different message when CBS was appointing a special panel to investigate the story.
Mapes quotes Rather as saying, "Now, Mary, this is very bad, and this is going to be very hard. I want you to get yourself a lawyer as fast as you can. You need to start protecting yourself. We all do."
As for her ultimate firing, Mapes said she was fired on a speakerphone, when CBS News President Andrew Heyward called her to say, quote, "Mary, the report is out. It`s very bad. You`re being terminated."
In a statement, CBS News says Mapes` actions damaged CBS News as an organization and brought pain to her colleagues. And it says, quote, "As always, revisionist history must be tested against the facts. Not only are the facts contained in the extensive media coverage that took place at the time, but also in the 200-plus page report of the independent panel."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: A spokesperson for Dan Rather says that he is unavailable to comment because he`s on assignment for "60 Minutes."
David, back to you.
HAFFENREFFER: And that was CNN`s Mary Snow reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Well, tonight, an amazing list of a-listers are coming together for a very special birthday. Diddy, Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Usher, and Queen Latifah are among just a few of the stars who turned out for BET`s 25th anniversary celebration.
Black Entertainment Television held a star-studded gala in Los Angeles with big-name performances and appearances by new stars and old favorites. BET put it all together in a special called "25 Strong." That airs tonight.
Joining us now here in New York is Reginald Hudlin. He`s president of BET Entertainment.
Welcome to the program.
REGINALD HUDLIN, PRESIDENT, BET ENTERTAINMENT: Thank you. Great to be here.
HAFFENREFFER: Want to take a look back at the 25 years of BET, because there have been some amazing and incredible moments out there. Of course, one of the most famous interviews out there was BET had the first interview with O.J. Simpson.
HUDLIN: Absolutely. Big coup for the network, huge ratings, huge tune-in. It really put BET News on the map. And we`ve had a lot of great interviews like that. A lot of people come to BET because they want to speak directly to black America, apologize to black America...
HAFFENREFFER: And this was after the big court case, of course. So this was his first time that he was there in an interview talking to the people.
HUDLIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, Ed Gordon, who went on to be a big star, went to a lot of mainstream networks. A lot of celebrities became celebrities on BET.
HAFFENREFFER: Among others, of course, there have been a lot of news- making events on BET that you just referenced there. But many people may not know that Michael Jackson actually performed with James Brown on stage together on BET. Tell me a little bit about the importance of that event and what it was.
HUDLIN: Well, a lot of people haven`t seen Michael Jackson`s early audition tapes, when The Jackson 5 was just a group in Papa Joe Jackson`s basement. They shot a little Super-8 film. And Michael was doing a James Brown imitation.
He was singing "I Feel Good," doing James` dances. So to see him next to his first idol, side-by-side, two icons of American music, it was very important piece of cultural history.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s been a busy 25 years, certainly. And BET partially began to carve a niche for itself by playing music videos very early in their development stage back then for artists who are not getting air time elsewhere. Tell me about the importance of that decision.
HUDLIN: Well, there was a very erroneous logic that said, "Well, only black people want to listen to black music, want to see black artists on television." Of course, we all know that`s completely wrong.
But at the time, even Michael Jackson couldn`t get airplay on MTV, for example. So BET was a place where you could see extraordinary artists, like Prince, and Rick James, and people who we think of as the biggest folks in music. BET was the place that they could call home.
HAFFENREFFER: We`ve got about 25 seconds left. Quickly, what was it that sparked the light bulb? Who had the idea? And where did the idea come from to start a channel devoted just to Black Entertainment Television?
HUDLIN: Bob Johnson is the founder of the company. He knew there was a hunger for black people to have a range of images. He put together a business plan. Twenty-five years later, we`re celebrating its extraordinary success.
HAFFENREFFER: Congratulations on 25 years. And thank you so much for coming to share it with us here tonight.
HUDLIN: Thank you.
HAFFENREFFER: Reggie Hudlin from BET. And by the way, "BET: 25 Strong," airs tonight.
ANDERSON: Well, this one is hard to believe, but Carlos Santana is out with his 38th album today. And for "All That I Am," Santana teamed up again with singer Michelle Branch for one of the songs.
Other musicians who appear on the album include Aerosmith`s Steven Tyler, Joss Stone, and "American Idol`s" Bo Bice. Santana sat down with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s A.J. Hammer and told him what it`s like to still be making music that affects people after 38 albums.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS SANTANA, SINGER-SONGWRITER: I think it`s getting -- everything`s getting better and better. We truly are consistent with transcending, and just, like wine, just becoming better and better. So I`m really, really grateful that I get to participate in transmuting people`s lives and giving them a reason to find another way to be passionate about life again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Like wine getting better with age. And tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Santana shares his thoughts on President Bush and the war in Iraq.
Well, for 30 years, Jane Fonda kept a painful secret. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals her secret struggle with anorexia and bulimia. Jane Fonda tells us her story in a special report, next.
HAFFENREFFER: And George Takei kept a secret of his own until recently. Now, he`s out of the closet. And Jay Leno has discovered his tell-all book. Find out all about it in "Laughter Dark."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
Tonight, Jane Fonda`s startling secret revealed. For decades, Fonda, who ironically had a super successful career selling exercise videos, struggled with painful eating disorders. In her book, "My Life So Far," Fonda was candid with her struggles in life.
And in a very personal and revealing interview, the Oscar-winning actress opens up about her dark past and how she was able to keep it hush- hush for so long. Here`s CNN`s Paula Zahn reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In her 60-plus years in the public eye, Jane Fonda has become almost as well known for her buff, toned, sexy body as for her Oscar-winning roles. But for more than three decades, this daughter of Hollywood royalty was hiding a painful secret.
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: You try to fill the hole with something. Some people fill it with alcohol, and drugs, or sex, or gambling, or whatever. And many girls, including me, filled it with food.
ZAHN: Jane Fonda struggled with anorexia and bulimia.
FONDA: I was made to feel that I wasn`t good enough, not by mean people, but just -- I had to be perfect in order to be loved. And if I wasn`t perfect, I`d end up alone.
ZAHN (on-screen): Who expected you to be perfect?
FONDA: I think my father did. And I don`t think that he meant to, or realized, or -- you know, I just think that, down through the generations of Fonda men, there was a tendency to not like women who weren`t really thin.
ZAHN: It was that simple?
FONDA: It was that simple. And I didn`t know that before, but I talked to a lot of the Fonda girls. And apparently, two of his wives suffered from bulimia, as I did for 30 years, striving to be perfect.
ZAHN (voice-over): Fonda`s battle with bulimia began as it does for millions of girls in adolescence. She discovered that her famous father thought she was fat and thought that the only way to be loved by him was to be perfect, to be thin.
In prep school, she learned how to do that. Fonda tells of her first time binging and purging, in her no-holds-barred autobiography, "My Life So Far."
FONDA: We would only binge and purge before school dances or just before we went were going home for the holidays. And then we would manage to ferret away all the chocolate brownies and ice cream we could get and gobbled them up until our stomachs were swollen, as though we were five months pregnant. Then we would put our fingers down our throats and make ourselves throw it all up.
ZAHN: It became Fonda`s ritual, binging and purging, all the while believing that she wasn`t damaging her body.
FONDA: And it becomes a real addiction. And, until you realize, which I did late in life, that the hunger is not hunger for food, it`s hunger for spirit. It`s hunger for wholeness.
ZAHN: And in college, Jane discovered a tool to kill that hunger. While cramming for exams, she became addicted to the stimulant Dexatrim, which kept her awake. It also suppressed her hunger, an addiction she didn`t understand until years later.
FONDA: What an illusion that there were no consequences to be paid. It was years before I allowed myself to acknowledge the addictive, damaging nature of what I was doing.
Like alcoholism, anorexia and bulimia are diseases of denial. You fool yourself into believing you`re on top of it and can stop anytime you want. Even when I discovered I couldn`t stop, I still didn`t think of it as an addiction. Rather, it was proof that I was week and worthless.
ZAHN: Fonda alternated between long stretches of anorexic starvation and frequent bouts of bulimia, some days eating just an apple core or a hard-boiled egg, on other days, binging and then purging as many as eight times a day.
Like millions of others, Fonda`s eating disorders continued into adulthood, through two marriages, two children, 20-plus movies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet the most beautiful creature of the future.
ZAHN (on-screen): When you look at pictures of yourself in "Barbarella" today, what do you think?
FONDA: As bulimics usually are, you know, you`re thinner one day than you are the next. And I could usually see what kind of period of time it was. It was not altogether fun. It was a difficult film to make.
ZAHN: I find it absolutely staggering that you have fought bulimia for almost 30 years.
FONDA: And then a point came -- in my forties, I now had -- I was in my second marriage, and I had two children, and I had an amazing life, a lot of people and projects depended on me.
And I suddenly realized that I was either going to die -- I mean, maybe not physically die, because it was never as severe as it is for girls who are hospitalized, but spiritually die, sort of fall into darkness, or I had to opt for life and light. And I opted for light and life. And I went cold turkey. It was very hard.
ZAHN: Was that your impetus for your fitness empire?
FONDA: Yes, in a way it was. It replaced the control that you feel binging and purging with compulsive exercise. And it was compulsive in the beginning, until I started to make peace with myself and my body. And, you know, we`re not supposed to be perfect.
ZAHN: There is such an irony that you, as a woman who struggled with bulimia for some 30 years, would launch a fitness empire.
FONDA: You teach what you need to learn.
ZAHN (voice-over): Despite overcoming her eating disorders and launching a successful fitness empire, the woman underneath those tight leotards and signature leg-warmers was still dealing with self-doubts and a need to please.
FONDA: You know, I was fit, and I was successful, and I was all these things. I still had a lot of self-doubts inside.
ZAHN: To this day, Jane Fonda credits her third husband, billionaire Ted Turner, for helping her to finally overcome these life-long issues and accept herself, imperfections and all.
At 67, through healthy eating and non-obsessive exercise, Jane Fonda`s bulimia is under control. She`s stunning, fit and recovered.
(on-screen): It is stunning to me that this is the first time in your life that you really feel whole.
FONDA: Yes.
ZAHN: Is this a good time of your life?
FONDA: It`s the best. Isn`t that nice?
ZAHN: It is nice.
FONDA: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN`s Paula Zahn reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Jane Fonda`s chilling story is just one of many that are part of a special report on eating disorders called "Walking the Thin Line." You can catch that tomorrow night on CNN`s "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
HAFFENREFFER: "Star Trek`s" Mr. Sulu, George Takei, comes out of the closet. And then comes out with a brand-new book, courtesy of Jay Leno. Have a laugh in tonight`s "Laughter Dark," coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: George Takei, best known for his role as Mr. Sulu in the "Star Trek" series, recently announced that he is gay. Takei is also an author. And on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, Jay seems to have found one of the actor`s lesser-known books.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": And George Takei -- remember he played Sulu on the original "Star Trek"?
KEVIN EUBANKS, MUSICAL DIRECTOR, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Oh, all right.
LENO: He`s now come out and admitted he is gay. He has a new book about it.
EUBANKS: He does?
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: Got a new book right here.
EUBANKS: Yes?
LENO: See, I`m reluctant to show the title, because people might miss interpret it. But it`s a book about him being gay on "Star Trek."
EUBANKS: OK.
LENO: I`ll show you the book. It`s called, "Mind If We Stop at Uranus?"
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You know what? I`m going to leave that one alone.
HAFFENREFFER: Just address your e-mails to jay at "The Tonight Show," something like that.
ANDERSON: Not us.
(LAUGHTER)
HAFFENREFFER: We have been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Charles and Camilla: Are the royals still relevant?
The vote so far: Only 16 percent of you say, yes, they are still relevant. And that means, of course -- do your math -- 84 percent of you say, no, they are not.
Here are some of the e-mails that we`ve received. Megan from Arizona writes, "The royals are the poster family for tragedy and public voyeurism. I just don`t care."
But Joan from New Jersey disagrees. "You bet the royals still count. I`m just glad to see Charles and Camilla so happy and really in love."
You can keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight.
ANDERSON: Well, now it`s time to what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.
HAFFENREFFER: Let`s take a look at the "Showbiz Marquee." Marquee Guy, take it away.
MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow, Hollywood at home. Come along for a special behind-the-scenes tour of where your favorite stars live and lived. Katharine Hepburn, John Travolta, Diane Keaton all make a "Celebrity House Call." When you dial up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, when? Tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, like sands through the hour glass, so are the "Days of our Lives." It`s "Days`" 40th birthday. Deidre Hall has been with that soap for 30 of them. And tomorrow, she`ll be with us, live. Come get your Deidre Hall pass and watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. When? Tomorrow.
This is the Marquee Guy with my favorite soap, "As the Marquee Guy Turns."
ANDERSON: Hmm, I wonder who watches that?
HAFFENREFFER: I think I know.
ANDERSON: That is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
HAFFENREFFER: And I`m David Haffenreffer. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
END
