Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Continuing Coverage of the Death of Anna Nicole Smith
Aired February 09, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Anna Nicole Smith`s shocking death. Tonight, breaking developments, what killed Anna Nicole? The ugly battle over her baby daughter. And a revealing emotional look at Anna Nicole`s life in her very own words. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the remarkable story of Anna Nicole Smith`s stunning death.
Welcome to the weekend. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Hi there, I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Tonight, we are bringing you every remarkable new development today in the shocking death of Anna Nicole Smith, plus her link to Marilyn Monroe. and Anna Nicole`s startling comments before she died in her own words.
HAMMER: This unbelievable story is still developing at this hour. So let`s bring you up to date on what we know right now. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the latest on the autopsy performed today on Anna Nicole. Investigators revealing what may have led to Anna Nicole`s sudden death and what might have killed her.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there in court for the paternity battle over Anna Nicole`s baby. And would you believe Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband is now claiming that he may be the father. You heard me right, Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time we do not make a determination of the cause and the manner of death.
HAMMER (voice-over): Investigators pour over the remains of Anna Nicole Smith, trying to unravel the mystery of her death, while a continent away, attorneys duke it out over Anna Nicole`s body, trying to unravel the continuing mystery of her baby`s paternity.
DEBRA OPRI, ATTORNEY FOR LARRY BIRKHEAD: My client wants custody of his child.
RON RALE, ATTORNEY FOR ANNA NICOLE SMITH: Makes me dig in my heels even more.
HAMMER: And just when you thought it couldn`t get any weirder.
ANDERSON: Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband, Prince Frederick Von Anhalt, says he might be the father of Anna Nicole Smith`s baby?
HAMMER: Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband? It`s clear the death of Anna Nicole Smith is spiraling into the same kind of bizarre media circus that her life was.
JAMIE BUFALINO, "PEOPLE MAGAZINE": She`s really generated a lot of response from people and this end is really just the last instance of the fact that she`s had kind of a crazy celebrity.
HAMMER: In Hollywood, Florida, medical examiners are ruling out physical trauma as a cause of death. But they say it will take weeks of testing to tell us anything more.
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: There are three major possibilities. One is that the death is due solely to natural causes. The other possibility is that the death might be due to some medication or chemicals. And the third possibility is that there`s a combination of natural causes and medication.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can show you these new pictures of Anna Nicole, taken in January, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida, the same place where yesterday a private nurse found Anna Nicole unconscious in her hotel room.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a judge is refusing to order an emergency DNA test on Anna Nicole Smith`s body.
OPRI: There would be a serious issue as to the preservation of evidence.
HAMMER: That test was requested by attorneys for Larry Birkhead, Anna Nicole`s ex-boyfriend. He claims he`s the father of Anna Nicole`s infant daughter Dannielynn. Wait until you hear the reason they want Anna Nicole`s DNA tested: they want to make sure no one switches the baby before any paternity test.
OPRI: We do not want a bait and switch.
HAMMER: Anna Nicole Smith claimed her companion and former attorney, Howard K. Stern, is the dad. Her attorney tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson all of the baby switch talk is just plain nuts.
RALE: I don`t think there`s ever been any kind of evidence of a baby switch.
HAMMER: So, as attorneys, police and medical examiners, and, most of all, TV news channels swarm all over the place, pouring over every detail of her death, many mysteries remain. One question, did drugs play a role in Anna Nicole`s death?
Drugs were reportedly behind the death of Anna Nicole Smith`s son Daniel, who collapsed while visiting her in the Bahamas. And drug talk is swirling over Anna Nicole`s death as well. And TV news shows updated every detail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had known that some prescription medications had been found in Smith`s hotel room. We now know that none of these prescription drugs were in her name. They were in the name of Howard K. Stern.
HAMMER: But medical examiners can`t say for sure if drugs played a role in Anna Nicole`s death. Still, that`s not stopping some of her estranged relatives from saying so on national TV. Anna Nicole`s mother on "Good Morning America."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she had to many drugs, just like Danny. And I tried to warn her about drugs and the people that she hung around. She didn`t listen.
HAMMER: And on the phone with Larry King, Anna Nicole`s sister voiced a similar suspicion.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Are you surmising then it was drug-related?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That would be my first guess.
HAMMER: But amid the circus, it`s easy to forget that a tragic life has come to a tragic end, and even as he bitterly fought Anna Nicole`s lawyers in court, Larry Birkhead mourned her death on his website, writing, "good night my sweet Anna Baby," a sweet tribute to a life shrouded in controversy and a death shrouded in mystery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So with all of these unbelievable developments today, perhaps nothing topped the news that Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband is claiming that he may be the father of Anna Nicole`s baby. Wow! Joining me tonight in New York, Court TV anchors Lisa Bloom and Michel Bryant. Good to see you both.
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Nice to see you A.J.
HAMMER: This is just something else. In fact, last night on the show, when we were just dealing with the news of Anna Nicole`s death, I suggested that what if neither Howard K. Stern nor Larry Birkhead proved to be the father. Well, look what unfolded today. Out comes Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband, Prince Frederick Von Anhalt, saying he`s the dad.
BLOOM: yes, we`re going to call him the husband formerly known as prince, right?
HAMMER: Let`s listen to something he told reporters earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE FREDERICK VON ANHALT, CLAIMS HE IS FATHER OF SMITH`S BABY: They are not the fathers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know that for a fact?
VON ANHALT: Well, I can tell you they`re not the fathers. I would have said I`m the father, that wouldn`t have been good, because I am married already. I`m married. I have a wife. So I want to stay out of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Additionally, he said his affair with Anna Nicole began in `95. So, if you do the math, not long after Jay Howard Marshall died. He said he is, in fact, the father. He`s going to seek testing once the courts work out what they have to work out. What do you make of all of all this?
BLOOM: Well, it doesn`t make a lot of sense, until you factor in that Anna Nicole just died. He didn`t come forward until after she died. So is he just trying to do the right thing? Maybe he figured he was the dad, but the baby was with Anna Nicole, was going to have a good life. Now that she`s gone, he wants to step up to the plate. That`s a possibility.
HAMMER: Sure.
MICHEL BRYANT, COURT TV ANCHOR: Well, I guess, anything`s possible. I interviewed the prince a few years ago. An interesting man, the only thing I remember about the interview was it was June, and he had a fire going in the house. That`s all I remember. The rest is kind of a blur. But when I heard this attached to this case, I figured this is it, we`ve gone too far. I have to throw the penalty flag. Something is a little off here, because it makes no sense in the big scheme of things.
BLOOM: Yes, but keep in mind, there`s a real human being, and while we laugh at the prince and so on, there`s a five-month-old baby, whose mother just died, and that baby has no idea what`s going on, except that her primary attachment is gone. We need a parent to get in and bond with her and a court needs to address this immediately, and not allow everybody to keep playing games.
HAMMER: And the scary part about this, and this is just a day later now, so does this really mean we can expect to see all the nuts coming out of the woodwork?
BRYANT: Well, this is the most amazing development, because it suggests just that, that if this guy can step forward with this outrageous claim, who else is coming up.
BLOOM: There`s a simply solution. It`s done every day on the Maury show. It`s called DNA test. All right, for a couple hundred dollars per applicant for the job of the baby daddy, everybody comes forward, does a DNA test and we get the answer.
BRYANT: And that`s where we`re going.
HAMMER: That is where we`re going. And to help facilitate all of this, the judge did not allow for the DNA test -- emergency DNA test to take place today. However he has ordered that the body of Anna Nicole Smith be preserved until February 20th, while he works on his decision. How unusual, Lisa, is that?
BLOOM: No, that`s not unusual in a case where the cause of death is very suspicious, because we don`t want to lose evidence. We don`t want to have Anna Nicole`s remains be buried and someone then comes forward with a new theory of what her death was. So we want to preserve everything, so that everybody can make their arguments. That`s a smart move. It`s a sane move.
HAMMER: The reason, according to Debra Opri, the attorney for Larry Birkhead, and Larry Birkhead, of course, the plaintiff in this paternity suit, claiming that he is the father. He and Anna Nicole were involved. The reason that the lawyer`s saying they want Anna Nicole`s DNA, and this was confusing to a lot people, is because she wants to make sure that Anna Nicole is linked to the baby that is tested for paternity. In other words, she`s fearful of a baby switch, which seems nutty to a lot of people.
BRYANT: At first blush it does. But I`m telling you right now, if she doesn`t do that, and somehow down the road it turns that it isn`t the right baby, or you can`t connect Dannielynn to Anna Nicole, you`re going to see a lawsuit by her client, and she`s going to call her malpractice insurance carrier and say, hey, I`m in trouble here. She`s doing the right thing, and it proves that she`s putting her client`s interests above her own.
BLOOM: I can tell you Debra Opri is a very fine attorney. She represented James Brown, the singer. She represented members of the Jackson family. She knows what she`s doing. She`s crossing every I, dotting every T. This is a case where people have been playing hide the baby. It`s not surprising to think they might play switch the baby. She`s just being careful.
HAMMER: And very quickly, even though the autopsy today was inconclusive, in terms of cause of death, they`re awaiting some tests and toxicology, it could take a couple of weeks, that doesn`t mean that there won`t be an extraordinary result of what they find out?
BRYANT: Oh no, of course not. I mean, did anybody think we were going to find she was shot, stabbed, bludgeoned? No, there was no surprise.
BLOOM: It could have been a heart attack.
BRYANT: It could have been, but again, is it drug related? If it is, we`ll find that out. And It will be, I think, something shocking.
HAMMER: All right, that`s what happened today. I want you guys to stick around. We`ll talk about what`s next in the bizarre case, coming up a little later. Lisa bloom, Michel Bryant, from Court TV, thanks.
ANDERSON: You have heard what the investigators had to say and now we want to know hat you think. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day: Anna Nicole Smith, do you think foul play was involved?
Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us an e-mail, SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. Remember, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that let`s you express your opinion on video. Send us a video e-mail, just go to our website, that`s CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT.
HAMMER: Now Brooke, you spoke with Anna Nicole Smith`s attorney today about a bizarre aspect of this case.
ANDERSON: That`s right A.J. Next, I asked Ron Rale about the outrageous claim that Anna Nicole`s baby daughter could be switched with another, yes, you heard right. Also, the startling similarities between Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe, in both life and death. We`ve also got this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JADA PINCKETT SMITH, ACTRESS: I was saddened, you know? I feel -- my heart goes out to her little infant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That, of course, Jada Pinkett Smith. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes right to the stars to get their emotional reaction to Anna`s shocking death. More of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of the shocking death of Anna Nicole Smith. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
HAMMER: Now from coast to coast, America has simply been riveted by the story. And Brooke, I know you spent the entire day out there at the Los Angeles county courthouse. Dozens of reporters, camera crews from all over the world were there.
ANDERSON: That`s right A.J. And that`s because Larry Birkhead`s attorney, Debra Opri, filed an emergency request to extract DNA from Anna Nicole Smith`s body. Get this, she said she was doing it to make sure Anna Nicole`s baby, Dannielynn, wouldn`t be switched with another baby. The judge denied her motion. I spoke with Anna Nicole Smith`s attorney, Ron Rale, and wait until you hear what he told me about the whole baby switch idea.
First, though, I asked him where the case goes from here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: To this paternity battle, and what`s to happen next with the DNA testing? Where does it go from here?
RALE: Well, Brooke, let me just clarify one thing from your introduction here. The application by Mr. Birkhead today was for an emergency order of this court to have Anna Nicole`s DNA extracted from her remains today, or within 48 hours. That request was denied. There was also a request today for emergency custody by Mr. Birkhead.
He had a request that Dannielynn be brought back from the Bahamas to him here in California. That was denied. There is another hearing scheduled, but the emergency relief that they were saying had to happen, did not happen. It was denied.
ANDERSON: Yes, because the court order already existed for DNA of Anna Nicole Smith and the baby, but this was just to expedite that.
RALE: Right, that`s Correct. And so, it was not expedited.
ANDERSON: Well, Deborah Opri mentioned that she wanted Anna Nicole`s DNA to connect her to the baby, didn`t want any sort of bait and switch situation with the baby. How do you respond to that?
RALE: I mean, I don`t think there`s ever been any kind evidence of a bait and switch. It`s OK for the judge to order DNA of the mother, the alleged fathers and the child. So that`s OK. There`s -- there`s never been an issue of a bait and switch. So now we don`t -- we still don`t think it`s really necessary, because you can determine paternity just from Mr. Birkhead`s DNA and the baby`s DNA.
So I don`t know if that answers your question, but it`s not a big issue. Whether they had Anna`s DNA or not. I just didn`t like the idea of trying to get her DNA, giving me notice of a court appearance right after she died, to come to court here on what I consider a frivolous appearance, which was denied.
ANDERSON: And you say you`re very concerned about Howard K. Stern. Opri said Birkhead is inconsolable, beside himself. How is Howard K. Stern?
RALE: You know, I should have been in Florida already. I talked to Howard finally last night. It`s the worst I ever heard him. I know his family is going to be with him and he needs his friends and family, because I`m a little worried. I mean, this is really bad. Howard loved Anna dearly. I promise you, I had plenty of conversations with both of them. If you saw how close they were -- I could tell you, Howard has always put Anna before himself. So, this is very, very scary.
ANDERSON: Ron Rale, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ron Rale told me Howard K. Stern plans to be reunited with Dannielynn shortly. He also told me that, as of now, there are no funeral arrangements for Anna Nicole.
HAMMER: When Anna Nicole Smith burst on to the scene and became an overnight celebrity back in the early `90s, right away people compared other another Hollywood blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe. Well now, of course, with her tragic death, that startling comparison is being made once again. Here now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Both breathy and blonde and larger than life, the physical similarities were obvious, and not at all accidental. The shimmies, the wiggles, the sex kitten kisses; Anna Nicole Smith created a modern day Marilyn Monroe persona and launched a career.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, FORMER MODEL: A lot of people give me presents that have Marilyn Monroe on them, because they know that I really like her, because I have pictures every where in my house.
KING: In many ways, she wanted to emulate Marilyn Monroe, the blonde hair, the beautiful body, the up and down love lives, the addictions.
VARGAS: Like Monroe, Smith would eventually become famous as a "Playboy" model. Like Monroe, she would die before she was 40. Anna Nicole was found dead Thursday at age 39, alone in a hotel room. Marilyn died at age 36 from a dug overdose, alone at home, in 1962. The lives lived by one girl, born Vicki Lynn Hogen, in Texas, and another named Norma Jean Baker (ph), born four decades earlier in California, in retrospect seem tragically parallel.
SMITH: She`s been my idol for many, many year. I just love her. She`s wonderful.
VARGAS: Both girls grew up lonely, never knowing their fathers, raised by their single mothers. Both married first as teenagers, and posed for cheese cake photos before making it big in "Playboy," Marilyn famously in 1953, Anna Nicole in 1992.
SMITH: She`s a wonderful actress. She`s funny. I love all of her movies. I have everything you can imagine of hers at my home.
VARGAS: And it seemed Anna Nicole took notes on Marilyn`s screen siren schtick. She channeled Monroe`s famous "Seven Year Itch" pose publicly more than once, and emulated Marilyn`s iconic number "Diamonds are A Girl`s Best Friend" from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," as witness in this ad for PETA.
MARILYN MONROE, FORMER MODEL: You know who I`d like to marry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who.
MONROE: Rockefeller.
VARGAS: Another of Marilyn`s classic films, that perhaps Anna Nicole watched closely, "How to Marry a Millionaire." In her own life, at 26, Smith married 89-year-old Texas billionaire oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall III, and found herself in one of the most widely publicized marriages of her time. Just like her idol, whose marriage in 1954 to Joe Dimaggio seemed to trap her in the spotlight, Monroe and Smith, Hollywood beauties from distinctly different eras, whose lives were cut short by tragedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas. By the way, "Playboy Magazine," often credited with helping to really boost the careers of both Marilyn Monroe and Anna Nicole, is considering holding a memorial service for her.
ANDERSON: A.J., did you hear about this? Rosie O`Donnell`s rant on Anna Nicole just hours before she died.
HAMMER: Yes, I did. Always an easy target, Anna Nicole, particularly in recent months.
ANDERSON: Yes, but the timing really, really spooky stuff. And we`ve got that next. Plus what Rosie said after she heard the news.
HAMMER: Brooke, we also speak with Dr. Cyril Wecht, who investigated Anna Nicole`s son`s death. We have new information today. Could drugs have actually played a role? We`ve also got this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: For me to come up and to have all of this fame and fortune, it`s just -- it is a Cinderella story to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The ups, the downs, the changing face of Anna Nicole Smith. Tonight, a revealing look at her emotional interviews and appearances. Anna Nicole Smith`s life --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of Anna Nicole Smith`s shocking death. I`m A.J. Hammer, and tonight, Rosie O`Donnell is speaking out about Anna Nicole`s death, just one day after she went off on her on "The View." In an eerie rant, just hours before Anna Nicole died, Rosie dissed Anna Nicole on yesterday`s show, even going so far as to suggest she was using drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O`DONNELL, "THE VIEW: If I have to see Anna Nicole Smith one more time on television, that woman and her paternity test, and she can hardly even speak now.
(CROSS TALK)
O`DONNELL: She can`t even speak. You know? It`s a tragedy all around. Her son died. She has this little baby. There`s obviously some kind of medication or substance involved. I don`t know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: We got in contact with Rosie`s publicist to see if she had any reaction to the stunning news. All we got was, quote, unbearably tragic.
ANDERSON: As often happens when celebrities die suddenly, people want to get their hands on any memorabilia. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Anna Nicole Smith stuff is flying off eBay`s shelves. Check out the stunning statistics. On Wednesday, only four Anna Nicole Smith items sold on the swap and shop site. Then yesterday, when she died, people bought more than 2,000 Anna Nicole things. Today a signed July 2004 FHM Magazine cover sold for 525 dollars. The average sole price for an Anna Nicole Smith item on Wednesday was about 8 bucks. Today it`s more than 40. And right now there are more than 15,000 Anna Nicole Smith items up for sale on eBay.
HAMMER: The medical examiner speaks. Did drugs play a role in Anna Nicole Smith`s death? Dr. Cyril Wecht, who investigated Anna Nicole`s son`s death, with his thoughts on that.
ANDERSON: What`s next in the nasty fight to determine who really is the father of Anna Nicole`s daughter Dannielynn? Will the outcome of this bizarre battle be determined anytime soon? And we`ve also go this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: For me to come up and to have all of this fame and fortune, it`s just -- it is a Cinderella story to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The ups, the downs, the changing face of Anna Nicole Smith. Tonight a revealing look at her emotional interviews and appearances. Anna Nicole Smith`s life in her own words, still to come.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. Tonight, the frenzy surrounding Anna Nicole`s passing is getting even more controversial by the minute.
HAMMER: That`s right, Brooke.
Anna Nicole died suddenly yesterday and tonight there seem to be many more questions than answers. First, a judge said no to an emergency DNA test on Anna`s body for the paternity suit involving her baby daughter. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Prince Frederick von Anhalt, now says he could be the father of Anna Nicole`s baby, Dannielynn.
But the biggest question -- what caused Anna Nicole`s death? The medical examiner says, so far, there`s no evidence of foul play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERPER: There are three major possibilities. One is the death is due solely to natural causes. The other possibility is the death might be due to some medication or chemicals. And the third possibility is that there`s a combination of natural causes and medication.
And at this time we do not have the results of the test which would permit us to make this determination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Toxicologist tests could pinpoint the exact cause of death. Results are expected in about three to five weeks.
ANDERSON: There is perhaps nobody who can give us a better understanding of the investigation into Anna Nicole Smith`s death than Dr. Cyril Wecht, who investigated the death of Anna Nicole`s 20-year-old son Daniel. Dr. Wecht is with is tonight from Pittsburgh.
Thanks, Dr. Wecht, for joining us tonight
DR. CYRIL WECHT, PATHOLOGIST HIRED BY ANNA NICOLE: Hi, Good evening.
ANDERSON: From your experience, Dr. Wecht, what come you think, do they pretty much basically have a good idea at his point, the cause of death? But until they can issue a final conclusive report they just don`t want to say, or is it possible they really just don`t know?
WECHT: They really do not know, absolutely, definitively. There are certain things I will assume that have been ruled out, because if they had found dramatic, natural disease processes that are capable of producing death, such as a myocardial infarction, a traditional heart attack, a pulmonary embolism, large blood clot in the artery from the right side the heart into the lungs, a cerebral hemorrhage, a massive bleed into the brain. If they found any of those things, then I`m sure the medical examiner would have stated that.
The fact that he did not refer to those at all indicates to me that they were not found. Now, when you ask, does he really know, or so on? There are things to be done. Toxicological analysis, there is no way you can see with the naked eye -- I don`t care if you`re the world`s greatest pathologist -- drugs. You must await the toxicological analysis.
Then there are slides to be made of representative sections from the heart, the lungs, other organs, but most specifically heart and lungs that must be studied microscopically.
ANDERSON: Many more steps to take.
WECHT: Yes.
ANDERSON: Well, Doctor Wecht, explain this to us. You know, at the news conference the Broward County medical examiner said that know no pills were found in Anna Nicole`s stomach, she still could have died from an overdose. Huh? Explain that to us?
WECHT: Oh, yes. He`s quite right. A significant percentage of drug- related deaths that I do, do not reveal the pills or tablets in the stomach. Now you look for needle marks, for those people who are injecting themselves. Presumably, he did not find any.
When you take drugs into the stomach it does not take long for them to dissolve and to be absorbed. This is especially true if the stomach is empty and the gastric juices can go to work immediately.
Remember this, we`re talk about Anna Nicole Smith dying suddenly. Yes, in a sense, it`s sudden because she was last seen alive, but I don`t know how long she had been lying there, somebody assuming she was sleeping, and really in a state of increasing unconsciousness moving into stupor coma and death.
ANDERSON: Or --
WECHT: Now, while though metabolic processes are slowed down, dramatically, they still go on and during that time --
ANDERSON: Or there`s this, Doctor Wecht, let me ask you this. There are reports -- unconfirmed I have to say -- that Anna Nicole vomited, may have choked on her own vomit. In an overdose situation, is that the kind of thing that could happen?
WECHT: If she had died as a result of aspiration of gastric contents I believe you would have been told that, too. What the paramedics or whoever made that observation really were seeing was nothing more than an agonal reflux, which we see in any number of cases from a great variety of deaths, heart attack, cancer, stroke, pneumonia, you name it, including drugs.
ANDERSON: OK.
WECHT: So I don`t think that there was anything more than that agonal, perimortem reflux.
ANDERSON: All right.
WECHT: But the pills and the tablets are not found in a great percentage of cases in which people do die.
ANDERSON: Understood. Understood.
The medical examiner said it could take three to five weeks before the cause of death is determined.
WECHT: He`s allowing himself the time, that`s right.
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: That`s right. Dr. Cyril Wecht, who knows a lot about this. Forensic pathologist, thanks so much for joining us.
WECHT: Thank you.
HAMMER: Now, the countless appearances, the interviews, the changing face of Anna Nicole Smith. We`ve watched her throughout the years, of course, from her early beginnings as a model and through all the ups and downs. Tonight, the emotional moments from Anna Nicole`s life you may have missed -- in her own words.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: I grew up poor. I had no money. My family was poor. There`s things I wanted to do and couldn`t. I was an abused wife. Just -- there`s tons of things I couldn`t even mention. And for me to come up and to have all of this fame and fortune, it`s just -- it is a Cinderella story to me.
HAMMER: A Cinderella story, meet meteoric rise from rags to riches, but sadly, no fairy tale ending.
SMITH: My background, I never modeled. I was always told I was too fat. I was told that I need to darken my hair. So I really didn`t have a pretty background. I always wanted to, really bad, I wanted to model and be an actress, but it was the same thing get down to 125 pounds.
HAMMER: This is Anna Nicole Smith way back when in happier days after landing the cover of "Playboy" in 1992 and become the face of Guess jeans.
SMITH: It is a dream come true, but it`s going to go further, I hope.
HAMMER: In 1994 Anna married 86-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall and explained their relationship to Larry King.
SMITH: I met my husband in a gentleman`s bar. He had come in and I come over and talked to him.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR, LARRY KING LIVE: This was after the guess jeans, and everything?
SMITH: No, this was during -- before everything. I went over and met him and he had asked me to go to lunch with him, the following day, and I did. And that was the last time that I ever danced.
KING: What did a 23-year-old girl see in an 86-year-old man?
SMITH: I saw -- a very sick man.
KING: You didn`t feel attracted to him?
SMITH: No. There was no physical attraction at all.
KING: How long before he asked you to marry him?
SMITH: Within a week. I turned him down. I said that I had wanted to try to make something out of my life.
HAMMER: Anna`s life turned into a circus after Marshall`s death 14 months into their marriage.
SMITH: This is between lawyers. This isn`t between --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am.
HAMMER: Legal drama followed with a messy court battle over Marshall`s $1.6 billion estate. The world watched as court appearances took their toll on Anna.
SMITH: That night he died on me. Paris made the orders to not do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Marshall, have you been taking new acting lessons?
(BLEE) you, Rusty!
HAMMER: After the battle in court, a battle with her weight, and strange behavior. Audiences watched it all unfold on her reality show.
SMITH: Wow.
HAMMER: The weight went away after Anna signed on as spokesperson for Trimspa but her loneliness didn`t.
SMITH: There`s no boyfriend yet. I get sued all the time. I can`t trust anybody. I don`t go out, you know, because I don`t have any dates to call me to go out. It`s really hard.
HAMMER: Difficult feelings of loneliness. Then, loopy behavior.
SMITH: It`s been kind of boring. I`ve been watching on TV.
HAMMER: Questionable behavior during public appearances and in interviews.
SMITH: Come on, I`m not a writer. I don`t even know how to spell.
SMITH: Like this one SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did right after Anna landed a gig writing a gossip column for "The National Inquirer."
SMITH: I found out that there`s a lot of people out there that don`t like me. And I thought, well, maybe if I did my own column.
What`s up baby.
So I thought, well, do my own column, you know, get people know me and maybe they`ll change their opinion, because I`m a very nice person, you know, we`ll see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, Anna`s final public appearance happened to be at the same hotel where she was last seen alive. She and Howard K. Stern accepted invitation from promoter Don King to a boxing match at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino just last month.
ANDERSON: Coming up, the emotional good-bye. Anna Nicole`s ex- boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, writes a heart-wrenching tribute. His words when we come back.
HAMMER: Also, the battle for Anna Nicole`s baby. What happens to her baby and this big paternity battle? And what about the fortune Anna Nicole stood to inherit? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes directly to the experts for answers. We`ll also have this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was saddened. My heart goes out to her little infant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Hollywood reacts to the passing of Anna Nicole Smith. Ahead, we look at the impression she left on the red carpet, and beyond.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of Anna Nicole Smith`s shocking death. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
Reaction to this startling news has been pouring into SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Over the past 24 hours we caught up with stars from coast to coast to get their very emotional thoughts and stunned reactions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY MARGOLIS, ANNA NICOLE`S FRIEND: You know, devastation, heartache, shock. Still even standing here I don`t believe it. Not even true if my mind, even like a little bit yet.
And, but I just I wanted to come out to honor her because she was such a really good person, and you know I just (AUDIO GAP) How the media portrays celebrities sometimes it`s very -- it`s disgusting -- I will say it.
And you know, she would want me to come out here and be like, you walk that red carpet for me, girl, you stick out that chest, flip that blonde hair, you show them, you know, that in her honor that I am here for her tonight.
RUPERT EVERETT, ACTOR: Very, very sad. Really sad.
JADA PINKETT SMITH, ACTRESS: I was. I was saddened. You know? I feel -- my heart goes out her little infant, you know? And so, you know, my heart goes out to all of those that loved her.
TYRA BANKS, TALK SHOW HOST: Very sad. Very, very, very sad for Anna Nicole.
JULIETTE LEWIS, ACTRESS: Yes, it`s just sad and ugly when somebody dies and it`s -- you know, not meant -- it`s untimely, and they`re young. And you know, I`ve had lost friends, and it`s just -- it`s always sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You can bet during days and weeks to come stars will have a lot more to stay about Anna Nicole`s tragic death. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will definitely bring it to you.
HAMMER: With the news that the autopsy results today on Anna Nicole Smith were inconclusive, and a judge putting off a decision on the paternity battle over her baby and the demand for DNA testing till February 20th, what can we expect to happen next?
Back with us again tonight, here in New York, CourtTV anchors Lisa Bloom and Michael Bryant.
Thank for hanging around, guys.
BLOOM: Hey, A.J.
BRYANT: You bet.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about what happens moving forward. And particularly what`s going happen with the body. Because we know that Anna Nicole has been estranged her family. We`ve been hearing from her mom and from other family members, but they haven`t really been in contact. The relationships certainly haven`t been good.
What does happen with the body? Obviously the judge ordered it preserved until February 20. But does Howard K. Stern then get control?
BLOOM: OK, you put your finger right on it. What`s easy in every other case is complicated in this case. The closest family member will make decisions about the remains. Well, in Anna Nicole Smith`s case, who is that? Is Howard K. Stern legally her husband? That has to be determined. If he is, then he would make that kind of decision.
If not, her next of kin is a baby, who obviously can`t make decisions. Then we look at her mother, who she`s been estranged from for years. So, it`s a very complicated question. The judge made the right decision saying let`s hold the body. Let`s preserve the body now, for evidence, but in a couple of weeks those decisions are going to have to be made -- by somebody.
BRYANT: I think the only thing we know is that she`s going to stay on ice for about 10 or 11 days. That`s it. When you look at different facts, Lisa`s exactly right the mother has the best blood line. But that`s about it. She hasn`t even seen the family really for 15 years.
HAMMER: Does a judge take that into account, though, in terms of deciding who is going to decide who takes control of things? Because, of course, we`re not just talking about the body, we`re talking about a child here, whose paternity has yet to really be determined.
BLOOM: Well, that`s a different issue. The paternity question is a very thorny one because now we have a new person who has come out and said that might be the daddy, that is Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband, Prince Frederick, right? So, DNA tests clearly need to be done on this baby.
Anna Nicole and Howard K. Stern were hiding in the Bahamas with the baby, to keep those DNA tests from being done. I would suspect that as of today the Bahamian authorities are going to start cooperating. Because they don`t want to be holding a baby there and causing a problem.
BRYANT: No doubt. I`ve talked to them. They said we`re ready to help. We like our celebrity residents here. We like tourists coming spending a lot of money here. We don`t want to muddy the waters and look like the bad guy in this thing.
BLOOM: They don`t want to look like Aruba in the Natalie Holloway case.
BRYANT: Exactly right.
HAMMER: They have always said that they want to do the best they can to maintain the best sort of PR as this thing rolls on.
BLOOM: Sure.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about what is not an insignificant piece of this puzzle; a little sum of about $400 million, which is still at question. Of course, her late husband, J. Howard Marshall, she says was going to give her that money upon his passing. That`s been up in the courts. And it`s still out there and the decision has yet to be made.
BLOOM: Right.
HAMMER: If it is decided that that money goes to Anna Nicole`s Estate, what then?
BLOOM: OK, first question, is did she leave a will? If she left a will, it goes to whoever decided in her will would get her estate.
BRYANT: Assuming the will is uncontested.
BLOOM: Right. Assuming the will is uncontested.
HAMMER: And what are the chances that would happen?
BLOOM: Right. And of course, Howard K. Stern, her lawyer/lover, if he drafted the will, there`s a conflict of interest, potential fraud. There`s a big problem.
BRYANT: Was she of sound mind at any time during the process? I mean, come on.
BLOOM: Or did she die in what`s called "in testate", meaning without a will. In which case the law would provide that her baby daughter, her next of kin is going to take everything -- unless she`s married. Is she married? You know, Anna Nicole Smith probably had a lot in common with J. Howard Marshall in life. They seemed like they really loved each other to me. Everybody else is skeptical. But look how much they had in common in death. Leaving behind all kinds of legal problems, both of them.
HAMMER: And it brings to mind, a little thing we were talking about at our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT meeting, earlier today. The curse of the J. Howard Marshall money. Of course, he died, the money gets tied up in court. She is fighting with his son, the son dies, then Anna Nicole`s son dies, and now Anna dies.
BRYANT: It`s a great urban myth.
HAMMER: What do you think? Is the money cursed, guys?
BRYANT: It`s a nice story. I don`t know, there seems to be a lot of folks lining up for this money if it`s so cursed. They`re going to roll the dice.
BLOOM: It`s like people who win the lottery and we always hear these terrible stories of all the tragedies that befall them. You`re right. Maybe everybody should just give up and go home, but not likely with $400,000 stake.
HAMMER: Well, and to that end, and as we`re thinking about what is going to happen moving forward. The battle over the money is something that could go on and on for some time to come.
BRYANT: Oh, there`s no doubt about it. First you have to find out who has got the right to the money. Because we have now a $474 million baby, for all practical purposes. And everybody wants a piece of that baby and they just want a piece of that money. I think it`s going to the estate, at some point, but when? You`re right.
HAMMER: On and on and on.
BLOOM: When else do you see men lining up for paternity tests?
BRYANT: Exactly.
HAMMER: All right we have to wrap it up.
BLOOM: They`re running as far as possible.
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: CourtTV`s Lisa Bloom, Michael Bryant. Thanks as always, guys.
BLOOM: Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: You bet.
ANDERSON: We want to know, what do you think? It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day: Anna Nicole death, do you think foul play was involved?
Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight, write to us showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts tomorrow.
Don`t forget, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that let`s you express your opinion on video. So, to send us a video e- mail, just go to our website, cnn.com/showbiztonight.
HAMMER: Coming up, heartbreak over Anna Nicole`s death. Just ahead an emotional good-bye from Anna Nicole`s ex boyfriend, Larry Birkhead. We`re going to share his words with you.
Plus, tributes from all walks of the entertainment world. Why Don King says he felt compelled to speak out about Anna Nicole`s sudden passing. That story, still ahead on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of the shocking death of Anna Nicole Smith.
Anna Nicole`s ex-boyfriend has been embroiled in a paternity suit over Anna`s five-month-old baby, Dannielynn.
Tonight, Larry Birkhead says he`s devastated by the loss. Birkhead posted a heart-wrenching message, in tribute to Anna Nicole, on his website. In it, he said -- "Chance brought us together. Our love couldn`t keep us apart. We loved, we laughed, we shared a connection that couldn`t be broken, regardless of the challenges. I loved her in life and I will love her long after.
Our daughter, Dannielynn, is a constant reminder of the love we shared, and the life that we desired. My heart is broken, my tears are endless. She called me her angel. I called her my sweet potato. And every night, before we went to sleep, she made me say to her, `Good night, my sweet Anna baby.`"
ANDERSON: Another tribute to Anna Nicole Smith tonight. This time, from legendary boxing promoter Don King. A month ago, King hosted Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern at a boxing match at the same Hollywood Florida hotel where Anna Nicole was found unconscious.
Today, in south Florida, King told reporters he didn`t notice anything that would indicate Smith as involved in substance abuse, or anything unusual. This video, you`re looking at right now, is from that boxing match.
King went on to say she was actually upbeat, despite all her recent hardships. King released a whole host of pictures of a woman he called his friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON KING, BOXING PROMOTER: The critics, you know, doomsayers, ill- sayers, naysayers, as well as those that would give her the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), for she had a never-say-die attitude. And she continued to persevere in spite of, not because of. I think that is so vitally important to each and every American. Is when they have, in this country, an opportunity to be what they want to be. And I think that Anna Nicole Smith exemplified that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: King also said he understood why the world is so fascinated by Anna Nicole. He said she is an American icon.
HAMMER: Be sure to stay with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for continuing coverage on the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Coming up on Monday, of course, we`ll have the very latest developments in the investigation into her death, the paternity battle over her baby daughter, and the longstanding battle over her ex-husband`s multi-million dollar estate.
We`ll also show you a side of Anna Nicole few people ever saw. We`re going to hear from the man who first taught Anna how to act. That`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on Monday.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Good night everyone. Take care.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
