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Joy Behar Page
Hollywood Murder Mystery; Interview with the Hasselhoffs
Aired December 02, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: This week the Republicans cut off unemployment benefits for millions of Americans and Senator Scott Brown cast the deciding vote. But that doesn`t mean those families can`t have fun. Because tomorrow night Senator Brown is having a hundred dollar a plate Christmas party in Boston. And I think all of the people who just lost benefits should go.
So here`s the information. The party is at the Park Plaza Hotel, 50 Park Plaza, Boston, Mass., at 6:30 p.m. Dress to impress and have fun.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, a shocking twist in the murder of big time Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen. A man believed to be connected to Chasen`s death shot and killed himself last night as the cops closed in. Joy will have the latest.
Then uproar over Bridalplasty a show where brides to be compete for plastic surgery procedures. So, has reality TV finally gone too far? Joy will ask the outrageous show`s host.
Plus, the Hoffs are here. David Hasselhoff and his lovely daughters chat about the past few turbulent years and their new show.
That and more starting right now.
BEHAR: In a stunning twist right out of a Hollywood movie, a person of interest in the murder of celebrity publicist Ronni Chasen shot himself last night at a California hotel as cops tried to question him.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. TONY LEE, BEVERLY HILLS POLICE: Our detectives were here on a follow up and this person was a person of interest from the Chasen incident. That`s all we have at this point and as the captain mentioned, this person shot himself. It was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, pronounced dead later on and the investigation is ongoing at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Here to discuss this mysterious case are publicist and friend of Ronni Chasen, Howard Bragman; criminal profiler Pat Brown; and retired L.A. County sheriff`s lieutenant Gil Carillo.
But first let me bring in CNN entertainment correspondent, Kareen Wynter on the scene in L.A. Kareen, what do we know about this so-called person of interest?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Joy, we probably could have learned a heck of a lot more about this person of interest, but guess what? Again, Beverly Hills police -- cops are really clamping down on all reports in this case.
First the Ronni Chasen autopsy report, right -- that`s been on a security hold all week long.
BEHAR: Right.
WYNTER: But we just found out from the coroner`s office that, guess what, that autopsy report on the guy who offed himself in the Hollywood apartment building behind me, well, you know what, the press won`t be getting their hands on it. That`s also on a hold. We can`t even release the identity to you.
So, again, very, very difficult covering this case but we do know, Joy, that this man, he was apparently in his early 40s, an African- American, and leave it up to neighbors here inside this building -- by the way, it`s an extremely gritty part of town -- to fill in the blanks as to who this person is.
Again their accounts, nothing confirmed by police. But they say he was a drifter. That he was very shady and, you know, was evicted three months ago and would periodically show up here. They just really described him as shady, Joy.
BEHAR: I see. So we don`t know if he had -- they think he had an accomplice or anything like that. We don`t know anything about him.
The neighbors were saying that the guy was bragging about having a gun and getting $10,000 for a job. What about that? What do you know about that?
WYNTER: Can you believe that? If that is in fact true you can only wonder. Hey what else -- what other skeletons do you think he has in his closet? Of course we don`t know that. But again, neighbor accounts, witnesses here said that that`s just the type of guy he was.
When he would show up here he would say, hey, are the cops looking for me? Have you been seeing them scouring the property? And then almost bragging again, in their words, and they`ve been doing press interviews all day long saying that he was about to collect a huge lump sum of money, $10,000, for a job. He wouldn`t elaborate on exactly what that was.
And other neighbors said he gave another story that he had won some lawsuits; so again, definitely someone with perhaps a questionable past. The big question is why did he turn the gun on himself? If police say this was just a person of interest, he wasn`t a suspect, we just wanted to talk to him, why did he pull the trigger? Absolutely mysterious.
BEHAR: Yes.
Well, that is the interesting part of the story. What are the police saying is the next step?
WYNTER: Talking to the press. Maybe we can help them on this case. I don`t know.
BEHAR: I don`t think so.
WYNTER: No. You know what? They may have to go back. It may not happen, not in this lifetime. But you know what, there are the 911 tapes, the surveillance video. You know that posh Beverly Hills community? They have those mansions that are lined with security tapes. They may have to go back to the drawing board. They are not saying at this point. But one thing is for sure.
And Joy, just so you know, we`ll give you an idea of the backdrop here. Again, a very gritty part of town, it is the heart part of Hollywood, a lot of transients here; such a far cry from the posh Beverly Hills community. And so it`s a seven-mile difference by the way so police traced this guy all the way here. You know there was something they were looking for even if he perhaps wasn`t the trigger man or accomplice, he perhaps knew something that would have perhaps cracked this whole case open. Now he`s dead.
BEHAR: Ok. Thanks very much for all the information that you have Kareen.
Let me turn to my panel now. Howard, you were a friend of Ronni Chasen. What do you make of these developments? Was the guy a hit man? What do you think?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, CELEBRITY PUBLICIST: Well, I just read something literally seconds before I sat down. And a very credible journalist, Allison Hope Weiner, has said that the police have a pretty good idea of who did it. That it was a business deal gone bad, and this guy was indeed the hit man.
And that`s -- when we talked about it a few days ago, joy, I said, it`s about money. And I think that still stands and I think that`s where we`re at.
BEHAR: Well, it does -- it does look like what you were saying, Howard.
Pat, this guy reportedly bragged about having a gun and getting $10,000 for a job. What connects him to Ronni Chasen and why would he kill himself?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, that`s a good question. I`m sure the police had some reason to be coming out and surveilling him. Sounds to me like a low life psychopathic thug.
This is no professional hit man. I mean, I`ve heard it already that because the guy used a nine millimeter with hollow points and did a great pattern on her chest there that he was a professional hit man. But I own a nine millimeter, I have hollow point. You put me point blank with her and I`ll do the same pattern.
I don`t think I have been a professional hit person in my lifetime. So I think he`s -- he may have been a hired thug --
BEHAR: Yes.
BROWN: -- which you know. And if he was and there was definitely information linking him, the police showed up, he didn`t want to go back to prison. That`s what he did.
If he killed Ronni he knew he was going back for life and he would kill himself. So I think it was a good possibility he was indeed the person who did it.
BEHAR: Oh, that`s interesting.
Now, Gil, you saw a preliminary coroner`s report on Chasen`s body. What did that tell you about the killer if anything?
LT. GIL CARRILLO, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF (RET.): It didn`t tell me anything other than the shot grouping. That`s about it.
BEHAR: Ok. Well, you know, she was shot --
CARRILLO: I also use a nine millimeter and I don`t know that I could shoot that accurate.
BEHAR: She was shot in the chest not the head. Pat, was that significant? Do you think that maybe, you know, it was personal from somebody? So he didn`t mess up her face if it was a hit?
BROWN: Right. Well, that is one the questions I`ve had. And of course, if you`re not able to do the crime scene reconstruction, you can`t tell where the guy was shooting from. It`s possible he was shooting from a vehicle that was too high up that he couldn`t shoot at her head. It`s possible he was standing there and couldn`t shoot at her head that basically he was shooting down at her body.
If he was at the same level I wonder why he wouldn`t have gone for a head shot. People will say it`s because you can hit the body more easily but I mean we`re talking about at 30 yards, yes, you go for the body but this woman is right in front of you. You can do a really pretty good head shot and make sure she is darn well dead.
I`m surprised that they didn`t. Maybe it is because there`s an emotional tie. Don`t mess up her face because we want -- you know, her family doesn`t have to deal with that. I don`t know. It`s a good question.
BEHAR: Ok. Howard, let`s just assume it was a hit. Ok. So TMZ is reporting that she left over $6 million in a 1994 will. There is a motive right there for somebody to collect the money. What about that?
BRAGMAN: Well, absolutely. The motive is that she was a very wealthy lady. She was a successful lady. And that really dovetails with the report that it was a business deal gone bad. She had a very -- reportedly a very valuable art collection that had Picassos and Hockneys. Money is always the motive in these things, Joy. We really don`t have to look a whole lot further.
And when you`re in Hollywood, you hear all sorts of interesting business deals, the kind of business she was in to invest in this technology, to invest in this movie. So that wouldn`t be surprising to me at all.
BEHAR: Well, I guess they might have some suspects then pretty soon.
This case is so fascinating to everyone in the industry. I wonder if people out there are as interested in it as we are. Do you think they are, Howard?
BRAGMAN: Yes, I actually think they are. I get e-mails. I get calls. People want to know.
You know, this was not a woman who would typically be gunned down. It`s a great Hollywood mystery. You put her next to celebrities. You put her at the premiere of this high profile movie. And it`s everything that people want to know about. That`s why it`s become such a big story.
BEHAR: Right. She was supposedly very likeable, too, which makes it even better.
Ok. Thanks very much, guys. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up a little later on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, Britney Spears says a report claiming she was beaten up by her boyfriend is a complete lie and now she is ready to sue.
And "Kiss" front man Gene Simmons and former "Playmate of the Year" Shannon Tweed drop by to talk about the new season of their hit reality show.
Now back to Joy.
BEHAR: From "Knight Rider" and "Bay Watch" to "Dancing with the Stars" David Hasselhoff has entertained audiences for years. His new A&E reality show "The Hasselhoffs" is a sneak peek at his life as a single dad to two daughters chasing showbiz dreams of their own.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR-ANN HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELHOFFS": Thank you so much for the meeting, dad. But we want to be as prepared as possible.
DAVID HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELHOFFS": What happened?
T. HASSELHOFF: Right now we`re rusty and suck I just want to go in being the best that I can be and not him going, wow. The Hasselhoff daughters, they suck.
D. HASSELHOFF: Don`t be depressed. Just calm down. Do some vocalization here at the piano. I`ll go in the studio and get the tracks and turn up the radio. And let`s just play and practice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: With me now are David Hasselhoff and his lovely daughters Hayley and Taylor-Ann. Welcome to my show.
D. HASSELHOFF: We love it.
HAYLEY HASSELHOFF, STAR, "THE HASSELHOFFS": Thank you.
T. HASSELHOFF: Thank you.
D. HASSELHOFF: We love it being here.
BEHAR: You`re such a showbiz dad. Now, these girls are entering into showbiz.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: Are you like a stage dad? Is that your thing?
D. HASSELHOFF: I`m a -- I`m a father. I mean, I am very protective of them so when they went on, when I first saw them perform, and when they were shooting a video I first, I started to cry because I said, oh, my God. They`re good. Thank God, they`re good. And they were really good.
BEHAR: So those are tears of happiness.
D. HASSELHOFF: They were tears of happiness.
BEHAR: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: But also tears of like, wow. I was so impressed that they really were good already right out of the box.
BEHAR: Well, you know, you girls were on, well, one of you, I don`t know which one, Taylor-Ann? You were already --
T. HASSELHOFF: Me. I was on "Huge" in ABC Family.
BEHAR: Yes. You have been on television already, right?
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: Yes, so you`re in "Huge". So you`re an actress.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: And you also?
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes. I was at -- I did a little thing on "The Young and the Restless." I did a scene with my dad actually.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes, well, since they were little kids that`s what they wanted to do.
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: They did.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: Is there sibling rivalry?
T. HASSELHOFF: No. I mean, everybody says that. We were like --
BEHAR: You`re saying yes. You`re saying no.
H. HASSELHOFF: No.
D. HASSELHOFF: Watch the show.
H. HASSELHOFF: We`re -- we`re in the program together. There`s obviously going to be sister rivalry in every family but I think it`s like what makes it so beautiful about our family is we truly are best friends.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
H. HASSELHOFF: We do everything together. We have all the same friends. I call her about everything. She is the first person that I call about anything and everything.
BEHAR: Oh so.
H. HASSELHOFF: He`s the second. He and our mom are tied, they`re both second. And we are -- we`re just a very close family.
BEHAR: You know that -- what -- the Kardashian girls were here the other night and they were saying, one of them, they revealed that one of them lost her virginity at 14. This is like big news.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: You girls are going to have to top this, you know. You can`t just have a regular show. What are you going to do on your show to top the Kardashians?
D. HASSELHOFF: Well, I lost my -- I lost my virginity at 13. I mean I -- I lost it. I mean, I didn`t really lost it, I know where it is. But, yes. Still back in -- in Baltimore.
BEHAR: What I`m -- what I`m driving at is --
D. HASSELHOFF: No. We`re not going to drop that, Joy.
BEHAR: No but you know a reality show, you got to juice it up. You`ve got to keep them --
H. HASSELHOFF: Well, that`s what we`re a little worried about it.
T. HASSELHOFF: We`re real. We`re very real and I feel like our show is very heart-warming.
D. HASSELHOFF: We don`t -- yes.
T. HASSELHOFF: It`s -- it`s all about family and us three.
H. HASSELHOFF: And hopefully that makes it different enough for people to like it.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: It`s kind of like we`ve been followed by the tabloids and followed by the press for so long.
BEHAR: Right.
D. HASSELHOFF: This was kind of our opportunity to say, hey, come on in.
BEHAR: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Come on in. You know what? You`ve been knocking at the door and writing all of this stuff. Let us show you who we are. You know?
And we went and watched the show, Joy, the other day. We went, oh, my God. Maybe it`s a little boring because it really is about a heart-warming family who does love each other and has a great sense of humor about life.
BEHAR: Well, you have to juice it up. I`m telling you, David.
D. HASSELHOFF: We`re trying. Yes I told the girls to go --
H. HASSELHOFF: Don`t scare us.
BEHAR: A heart-warming story doesn`t play, you know what I`m saying?
D. HASSELHOFF: No, no. We`re going to go out to a club; an underage club tonight.
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: Somebody`s going to have to --
(CROSSTALK)
H. HASSELHOFF: We`ll say it`s all your fault.
D. HASSELHOFF: That`s a good idea.
BEHAR: You were the subject of a very funny Comedy Central roast.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: And -- and you have a great sense of humor about it. I want to show everybody a little clip from that.
D. HASSELHOFF: Oh, good.
BEHAR: Comedy Central.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is my "Knight Rider" fans? I know you`re out there.
What a lucky break. What are the odds an alcoholic gets cast in a show about a car that drives itself?
D. HASSELHOFF: That`s a good one, huh? That`s a good one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
D. HASSELHOFF: I actually -- I actually used that one time when I was stopped. I said, officer, I wasn`t driving. It was the car.
BEHAR: You did really.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes, it didn`t work.
BEHAR: But you know, you`re pretty open about your drinking and everything, you got to be.
D. HASSELHOFF: You know, you got to be open about it. You know what I mean. When they follow you around like me, I mean and even if I -- I`m in London right now doing Peter Pan playing "Hoff the Hook" and I`m -- believe me I`ve been sober for a long time.
BEHAR: Good.
D. HASSELHOFF: I walk by a pub you know and the next day it comes out Hasselhoff was in that pub, you know.
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: So, you know, you get it whether you like it or not and that`s kind of part of the show.
BEHAR: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Is how we deal with it. How my daughters were dragged into it is why when I stopped being laughing about it. When Taylor-Ann was dragged into it and then Hayley lost a job. She was going to have a big job at one of the big stores for modeling. And because some stuff came out about me --
BEHAR: That`s not fair.
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: No, that`s -- that`s when it really got bad.
BEHAR: Yes, I mean, you should be the one to suffer not them.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes. So --
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: -- so that`s kind of what the show is about, kind of what we`ve gone through and how we`ve addressed it.
BEHAR: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: So you`re going to laugh about it because you can`t sue everybody.
T. HASSELHOFF: No.
BEHAR: No, you can`t. You`d like to.
D. HASSELHOFF: I have and I want --
H. HASSELHOFF: He has.
BEHAR: He has?
D. HASSELHOFF: It crossed -- they sue me, yes and we get things like --
H. HASSELHOFF: Like sue them, dad.
D. HASSELHOFF: -- sorry, yes we are always sue them, dad. Sue them. And then -- yes, they`re fighters. Like if I`m, you know, if we`re taking a picture and someone says say "cheese" to the cheeseburger Taylor-Ann just jumps out of my arms and wants to fight them. You can`t fight everybody.
T. HASSELHOFF: I do.
BEHAR: No you can`t. Now, let`s talk about your stint on "Dancing with the Stars."
D. HASSELHOFF: Sure.
BEHAR: Ok. You were kicked off.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: I mean were you shocked that -- that day when they said ok. You`re the first to go? And why did they throw you off first?
D. HASSELHOFF: You know, I don`t really -- we still don`t know.
T. HASSELHOFF: It was fine with me.
D. HASSELHOFF: We don`t know. You know? But you know after eight -- eight weeks of watching everybody else get thrown off I was kind of happy. And say it was hell, it`s hard.
BEHAR: It`s hard work isn`t it?
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes, I felt bad for Kim.
BEHAR: For Kim.
D. HASSELHOFF: I loved my dancing partner.
BEHAR: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Those dancing guys and girls really put their heart and soul into it.
H. HASSELHOFF: They do.
D. HASSELHOFF: And I actually felt bad for my daughters because they were in the audience going, "Oh, no."
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: You know, kind of embarrassing watching dad.
BEHAR: Well, I`m curious what do you girls thought of the fact that Brandy got kicked off so early --
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
BEHAR: -- and she was a good dancer and Bristol Palin kept on until the end.
T. HASSELHOFF: I don`t really know what went on.
BEHAR: What do you think?
H. HASSELHOFF: I think people -- people end up because somebody is so good or because somebody has so many credits on IMDB or whatever. I think they think that people are going to vote for them so they end up voting --
T. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
H. HASSELHOFF: -- for the ones they don`t think people are going to vote for. And then actually it kind of pushes the ones you would think would go further because of their scores to the end.
BEHAR: I see.
T. HASSELHOFF: And we felt like you know maybe everyone thought that they were going to be voting for him so they kind of voted for people that they felt sorry for.
BEHAR: Yes.
T. HASSELHOFF: That`s how I feel a little bit. I was very surprised. We were sitting there going yes right. He`s going to be on. And they go David Hasselhoff. No. And then we were like then they had to come interview us about how we`re so sorry.
H. HASSELHOFF: That was the worst. They had to come over and interview us.
BEHAR: All right. I`m going to take a break. When we come back we`ll talk some more. Ok.
D. HASSELHOFF: Cool.
BEHAR: Hang in there. The Hasselhoffs will return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?
D. HASSELHOFF: Live grenade on the beach. The little girl just pulled the pin on one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hand grenades?
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes. Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Where did they come from?
D. HASSELHOFF: I don`t know but we sure as hell going to find out.
Hey Chris, call headquarters. Get every available life guard down here. Tape off the area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right away.
D. HASSELHOFF: My God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: I`m back with David Hasselhoff and his daughter Hayley and Taylor-Ann. Who has better abs, "The Situation" or David Hasselhoff?
T.A. HASSELHOFF: Daddy.
H. HASSELHOFF: The Hasselhoff. D. HASSELHOFF: Let`s just say --
H. HASSELHOFF: Oh, that`s so cute.
D. HASSELHOFF: There is no situation. There is no situation.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Is that you on the left?
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes. That`s me.
BEHAR: Who is that?
(CROSSTALK)
D. HASSELHOFF: That was me when I was 22 years old on "The Young and The Restless".
H. HASSELHOFF: Oh my God.
BEHAR: You look like a completely different person.
D. HASSELHOFF: Well, thank you. I haven`t aged that well.
BEHAR: Well, you have a different face. You have different hair.
D. HASSELHOFF: I had a different face? That`s my same -- well, it`s a little fuller, you know. I was having a good time back in those days.
BEHAR: How long was the show, "Baywatch"? I mean that`s all over the world.
D. HASSELHOFF: Eleven years.
BEHAR: My God.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes, you know, I was just watching that clip going what the hell show was that? I have no idea. I don`t remember anything about it.
BEHAR: I have some Twitter questions for you.
D. HASSELHOFF: I love Twitter questions because they`re so funny.
BEHAR: You`re considered the German Elvis. I love this.
Why do you think you`re so popular there?
D. HASSELHOFF: Well, we just came back and the last episode of our show, the first episode you see is the girls are singing and they`re not so hot, not so trained or they`re not so on their game. The last episode they performed in front of 10,000 people with me and in my comeback which was just last year.
And I did a single called "Looking for Freedom" in 1989 and the Berlin Wall happened to come down at the same time. And all the people in East Germany didn`t know me as the "Knight Rider". They knew me as the guy who sang the song about freedom. And suddenly the wall was down. It just happened.
And I sang on New Year`s Eve to a million people and became like this German National Anthem for East and West Germany. And this New Year`s we`re going back. On the 31st we`ll be on the Berlin Wall, same spot, with my daughters, 20 years later singing "Looking for Freedom".
And now their careers basically are kind of launched already in the UK and Germany because I kind of threw -- I said, look. I got an audience. Go play. Let`s see how they do.
BEHAR: There`s nothing like nepotism. You know what I`m saying girls? Use it, use it, use it.
T.A. HASSELHOFF: Yes.
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes. But you know what? You still have to win their respect, you know.
BEHAR: Well, they have to step up. They can`t just be -- they`re singers and they`re talented girls.
D. HASSELHOFF: You have to step up to the plate.
BEHAR: Of course. But it is nice to have your father rooting for you like that, isn`t it?
T.A. HASSELHOFF: Definitely.
H. HASSELHOFF: It was a great experience because it was our first time ever performing. We performed once in his "Hoff is Back, Austria" concert and then we came home. It was like, wow. So much fun.
BEHAR: Do you like it in Europe? Do you like to live in Europe?
T.A. HASSELHOFF: Oh, my God.
H. HASSELHOFF: Yes, it was amazing.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Better than here?
T.A. HASSELHOFF: No. We went to Austria, Switzerland, Germany. I mean all the discos that my dad started out in. We went and just played.
BEHAR: All the countries that like lederhosen.
(CROSSTALK)
D. HASSELHOFF: Yes. Lederhosen and the name Hasselhoff.
BEHAR: Well, it`s not a bad idea to have the name Hasselhoff in Germanic countries.
D. HASSELHOFF: You know. We went back and we found out where my great, great grandfather lived. I thought it was Hasselhoff, Germany but it is not. It is a little town called Folkestone (ph) which is near Bremen (ph).
BEHAR: Say that again.
D. HASSELHOFF: Folkestone.
BEHAR: Watch it. Watch it. It`s a family show.
D. HASSELHOFF: Isn`t this CNN?
BEHAR: So you would live there, huh?
T.A. HASSELHOFF: Definitely. It was just awesome. It`s so beautiful. The people are so friendly. They`re so respectful.
(CROSSTALK)
H. HASSELHOFF: Oh, it`s awesome.
BEHAR: Ok. Thank you very much for doing the show. I loved seeing you. Catch the series premiere of "The Hasselhoffs" Sunday at 10:00 p.m. on A&E.
We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: It`s Britney Spears`s 29th birthday. Where does the time go? She was just a terrible driver, wasn`t she, with the kid in the car? And she is 29 years old. And the singer is celebrating by battling "Star" magazine`s report that she was beaten by her boyfriend.
Here now to discuss this and other pop stories du jour are Shanna Moakler, actress and host of E`s new reality show, "Bridalplasty," which we`re going to talk about, Danny Bonaduce, actor and radio talk show host on 94.1 WYSP in Philadelphia, and Adrienne Maloof, co-star of Bravo`s "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Welcome.
Danny, the girl has been married two times. Her first husband, Jason Alexander, not the one from "Seinfeld" --
DANNY BONADUCE, ACTOR: I believe their marriage was 55 hours.
BEHAR: Lasted 55 hours. He is now saying that Britney told him that her current boyfriend hit her. But TMZ, I believe, is saying that it`s a fake. So, do you think he`s just full of it? What`s he up to, this kid?
BONADUCE: Well, he`s up to press. I have played the tape over and over and over. It`s an obvious fake. And I know that Britney`s father is a good friend of the Maloofs, so I don`t wish to offend in any way.
BEHAR: Britney`s father is a friend of your family`s?
ADRIENNE MALOOF, CO-STAR "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": Yes. Britney is a friend of mine.
BONADUCE: I still have to remain myself. So, I will tell you here is how I know it`s a fake. It`s separated by tens. One, the other woman`s voice on that phone is ten years older than Britney Spears, no doubt about it. And she also has over a tenth grade education. That out rules Britney right there. I`m sorry.
BEHAR: Why? She sounds like she is very educated on the tape?
BONADUCE: She doesn`t end all her sentences in a preposition nor does she crack gum while speaking. She`s not Britney Spears.
BEHAR: Who`s an idiot that would put a tape like that together and have some college graduate do it?
BONADUCE: Could it be Jason Alexander?
BEHAR: Hello! Don`t you think maybe stars should sign confidentiality agreements on the first date? I mean, it`s really -- you really can`t trust people. They make sex tapes that put them out. It`s pretty bad.
BONADUCE: I`m on the B-list and I have confidentiality agreements. You know, I`ve been burned more than once in my life.
(CROSSTALK)
SHANNA MOAKLER, HOST, "BRIDALPLASTY" ON E!: Like your nannies or your employees. It`s another thing when you meet someone and become friends and you`re like do you mind signing this so we can have dinner together?
BEHAR: Well, hello, prenup.
MOAKLER: Thank you.
BONADUCE: By the way, I got married 12 days ago.
BEHAR: You did?
BONADUCE: Yes.
BEHAR: To who?
BONADUCE: To a wonderful young woman named Amy. She`s a tenth grade math teacher. I`m in love with her for --
BEHAR: I thought you were going to say she has a tenth grade education.
(LAUGHTER)
BONADUCE: No, no. Mine is a college grad. Are you kidding me?
BEHAR: All right. Maybe she did that audio tape. All right. OK. Next story. This one is interesting. An interview about art with Steve Martin in New York City was deemed so boring that the -- I love him, though, you know, -- but the audience actually got their money back. I guess Picasso is less boring if you have an arrow through your head.
He was talking about art, OK? He was hired by the 92nd street "Y." Hired, I mean, (INAUDIBLE). He comes in to talk about art of which he`s a very big collector. And do you think they should have given them refund?
BONADUCE: Absolutely not.
MALOOF: Absolutely not. No.
BONADUCE: Adrianne --
MALOOF: Why would -- that sets precedent for everybody else. So, your show is a little boring? You get your money back? Right? The audience gets their money back? So, I don`t know --
BEHAR: No one gets their money back. You come to see a show, a Broadway show, let`s say. You don`t like it, you don`t get your money back. Too bad about you.
BONADUCE: Also, I think if everybody was misrepresented it`s the "Y," the Y in YMCA stands for youth. Steve martin is a senior citizen. He gets discounts on his movie tickets. So, just the "Y" alone was misrepresentation. I don`t know if he`s a Christian. I do know he`s a male, and I don`t know his associates, but he is definitely not a "Y." So, if anybody --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You don`t want to upset the 92nd street "Y." They`ll hit you with their walkers.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: There is no "Y" group over there. There might be. I`m going to be there next week. I better be interesting, right?
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: What do you think about that in your business? If you think about that in my lifetime, the biggest stories are certainly 9/11. I hate to admit this, but the O.J. Simpson verdict. I remember where I was when that happened. If your show every single night does not have something that incredible and horrifying or riveting on it, do the viewers get their money back?
Do your sponsors get their money back? No. This is what you get. It`s called live television and live performances, and you are not to critique, you are not to reason why, you are to pay your money and see what happens.
BEHAR: But he`s known as a comic, and I think that people thought that he would be funny when he was talking about art, and he wasn`t. Because he`s not a comedian 24/7. People expect that.
MOAKLER: I think most comedians, too, though, in real life when you meet them, you know, I mean, aren`t most of the comediennes too kind of more --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: (INAUDIBLE) ridiculous idea that we`re manic depressive, which is crazy, but we`re not manic depressive.
BONADUCE: Right.
MOAKLER: No, no, no.
BEHAR: Moving on, there`s a new reality show on E! called "Bridalplasty" where the contestants compete to earn plastic surgery procedures that the groom doesn`t see until he lifts her veil. I say, why stop there? Why not have her plastic surgeon give her away? Let`s take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of this. All of this. All of this. All into here. You have a little bit of irregularities in your ear. I think we do all of these procedures, you`re going to look pretty smoking hot. Honestly.
LISA MARIE, "BRIDALPLASTY": Everybody wants that beautiful dream wedding. And even though Derek has told me over and over he`s like no matter what, Lisa, he`s like, you are beautiful. I want to step out there and say, I feel good about me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK. Shanna, you are the host of this show.
MOAKLER: Yes, I am.
BEHAR: Defend it.
MOAKLER: You know what? I think what you were saying earlier when you were saying, you know, on television everything is so sensational. I`m kind of surprised that people are even shocked that this is just so outlandish to them. I think there`s so much more in television that`s really crazy.
BONADUCE: I`m absolutely appalled, but I`m appalled because I didn`t think of it. That`s what bothers me most. I`m going to try and beat it. I`m coming up with a show called amputee come to me and we are going to play for prosthetic limbs, because I think the show is brilliant, and you`re doing a fine job.
MOAKLER: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
MALOOF: Why is it just women? What about the men?
MOAKLER: You know, we could do a groom one. I would love to have --
BEHAR: What the bride gave you (ph) and realizes that she can do better after the surgery? What happens then?
MOAKLER: They`re S.O.L., right? That why we bring the groom.
BONADUCE: That occurred to me immediately. OK. So, you`re the president, you`re the guy, and you`re the president of the dungeons and dragons fan club in college and you marry the chick that looks a lot like Jimmy Durante, and they go on your show that she comes out all smoking hot. How long is she going to stay with the chess club president? I think he`s in big trouble. The set should be here for your show and the set for divorce court should be right next door.
BEHAR: I can`t believe that you made a remark about the 92nd street "Y" for youth and your reference is Jimmy Durante.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: That I can`t get over that.
BONADUCE: I`m 50 years old and well read. What can I say?
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: That really is, you know. Next, it`ll be Georgie Jessel.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Is there a limit on what the surgeon can do? I mean, there`s a wish list, right?
MOAKLER: They all, basically, if you could have any plastic surgery that you`ve ever dreamed of, make your list. And each week, they perform challenges and whoever wins the challenge that week gets a surgery off their wish list. Now, the winning bride, the last bride standing, she gets $100,000 dream wedding and all the plastic surgery off her wish list. So, she really gets the full transformation, but there are brides along the way who win challenges that also gets their --
BEHAR: I mean, what`s her name, Heidi. She`ll get married again if she hears about this show.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Adrienne, would you submit yourself to something like that?
MALOOF: Absolutely not. I`m sorry.
BONADUCE: Although, Adrienne is married to one of the preeminent facial plastic surgeons in the country, Paul Nassif. Paul Nassif is brilliant.
BEHAR: Aren`t you scared to sleep with him? You might come out with a new nose the next morning.
(LAUGHTER)
BONADUCE: Paul Nassif -- her husband built my ex-wife from the ground up. If he could have added a soul to that woman, I`m still might be married to her.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: He`s a plastic surgeon, not a magician.
BONADUCE: Well, exactly.
BEHAR: OK. So, would you do it? You would like (ph) it, right?
MALOOF: No, I would not do it. I personally would not do it. And I personally think that too many surgeries at one time obviously is very dangerous.
BEHAR: Yes.
MOAKLER: They all went in. They were all medically prescreened. They all met with a plastic surgeon. They`re not having like Heidi Montag surgeries. They`re having very realistic surgeries. And some girls were there for the wedding and really only needed something small. And then, there were other girls like one of them was a contestant off "The Biggest Loser." She lost over a hundred pounds in weight, and so, she had the hanging skin. She was there for the wedding.
BEHAR: Yes. I see.
MOAKLER: Then there were girls there that really wanted the plastic surgery.
BONADUCE: They can go on there (ph) with a small procedure?
MOAKLER: Yes. Some girls like just had a bump in their nose. Not really all they wanted.
BONADUCE: What about those who already possess something small and would like it larger?
MOAKLER: You give it on your wish list.
BEHAR: I find it insulting that the doctor says to you, well, you need this and you need this. It`s like, shut up. Mind your own business.
(CROSSTALK)
MOAKLER: They wanted it.
BONADUCE: They whip out a sharpy like you`re a piece of beef and they tell you what are they going to do, but they do it well.
BEHAR: OK. Let me do this next story because it`s really interesting. 52-year-old, Tammy Banovac was so sick of TSA pat downs that the wheelchair bound woman showed up at security in only her bra and underwear. I can`t wait for the latest catch phrase. Don`t touch my jugs.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: She has (INAUDIBLE) on her lap. Oh, that`s what she called, anyway.
BONADUCE: I thought she just give (ph) waxing.
BEHAR: Is this a good way to make her point? I mean, what she up to? Come on, Danny.
BONADUCE: I think she is trying to make a point and I must say especially for women the pat-down is incredibly intrusive. I don`t think the x-ray is nearly as intrusive as people are making it out to be, but I wish to fly as safely as possibly, but the wait at the airport is just too far gone.
If they had a line that said, OK, full naked x-ray, pat-down, I`m going through the naked line every single time. I`m in a completely disrobe, walk right through, get on a plane and have a drink and go I hope you didn`t see me, you know, it didn`t upset you or anything.
BEHAR: You what`s ironic, she missed the flight anyway.
BONADUCE: Of course she did.
BEHAR: She missed the flight. They must have been feeling her up or something.
MALOOF: What was the purpose of the wheelchair? What was the purpose of the wheelchair?
BEHAR: We don`t -- I don`t know. The wheelchair I think it could have been a gimmick or maybe, you know, she needs it. I don`t really know.
BONADUCE: I think she was thinking it was to make things more difficult and more delayed.
BEHAR: I think she is looking for a reality show. OK. Thanks, guys. Be sure to check out "Bridalplasty" Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on E! And you can see Bravo`s "Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills" Thursday at 10:00 p.m. OK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Gene Simmons of Kiss has been rocking audiences for more than three decades, but on his A&E reality show we see a kinder, gentler Gene. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANNON TWEED, ACTRESS: Do you remember how to ride a bike? It`s just like doing you know what. You kind of never forget even when you don`t get it for a long time.
GENE SIMMONS, ROCK STAR: That looks like the stripper place. OK. This is not going to work because you`re on here.
TWEED: Let`s go.
SIMMONS: Well, your weight is throwing the --
TWEED: My weight? What did you just say? My weight?
SIMMONS: Whoa!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: OK. Joining me now are the stars of "Gene Simmons` Family Jewels," the lovely Gene Simmons and his beautiful significant other, Shannon Tweed. Welcome to the show. You guys still haven`t gotten married?
SIMMONS: Who`s talking? Look who`s talking.
BEHAR: I know, but you have kids together.
SIMMONS: Two that we know of.
TWEED: I popped one out without you looking.
BEHAR: Why don`t you make, you know, an honest woman of her finally?
TWEED: Make an honest man of him.
BEHAR: Yes, I know.
TWEED: I`m honest.
BEHAR: Aren`t you worried some young, hot, rich guy is going to scoop her up?
TWEED: Thank you.
SIMMONS: No.
BEHAR: You`re not worried? Why?
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Enough said.
TWEED: Got it going on.
BEHAR: OK. You know, like I mean, Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, they just split up because he`s been, you know, e-mailing and texting and sexting.
SIMMONS: She should have stayed with him.
BEHAR: Really?
SIMMONS: Yes.
BEHAR: For what purpose?
SIMMONS: Because women are forgiving and men are stupid.
BEHAR: That we know, but why should she, that would make her stupid.
SIMMONS: No, if she loves him, he transgressed, punish him, bring him back. Women are here to make us better.
BEHAR: No, they`re not here to waste that much time.
SIMMONS: They`re not?
BEHAR: No.
SIMMONS: Is that why you`re not married, Joy?
BEHAR: Well, I`ll ask you. What are you doing to make it last? Not get married?
(LAUGHTER)
SIMMONS: We, look, at the core of it whether you`re married or not is you better look forward to actually having a conversation and looking forward to being with the person that you love and, you know, the reason there are wife jokes is because married or not, there are a lot of people who don`t actually like the company of each other. I can`t wait to see what`s her name again?
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Come on.
SIMMONS: I can`t wait to be with her. I love the sound of her voice. I love how she smells.
TWEED: And more importantly, it`s good when you like when there`s no conversation.
SIMMONS: Oh, now great. Took about two minutes.
TWEED: Right to body talk.
BEHAR: You`re a rock star. Let`s face it.
SIMMONS: I am?
BEHAR: You`re a big rock star.
SIMMONS: I`m good looking.
BEHAR: And handsome just like Keith Richards.
SIMMONS: Just like Keith Richards.
BEHAR: I mean, rock stars are always attractive to women no matter what they look like.
SIMMONS: No, it`s the other way around. The women are attracted to us.
BEHAR: Yes, I said rock stars are attractive to women.
SIMMONS: To women. I beg your pardon.
BEHAR: Yes.
SIMMONS: Yes.
BEHAR: Now, so, how do you handle women throwing themselves at Gene?
TWEED: I don`t handle it very well.
BEHAR: You don`t?
TWEED: No.
BEHAR: What do you do?
TWEED: I stay home.
SIMMONS: No, no. She`s been on the road with me.
TWEED: I smack him. I elbow him out of the way.
SIMMONS: When the phone rings.
TWEED: Yes. I`m not very nice.
SIMMONS: She goes, blah, blah.
BEHAR: OK. Let`s talk about Simon Cowell. I hear you want his job on the "X-Factor."
TWEED: Even he is getting married.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMMONS: It would -- it would make all the sense in the world, really, because I`m very attractive. I`m really stunning on television. I have all sorts of things to say. And I`m the most qualified person on television to talk about these things. Written songs, managed Liza Minnelli, discovered Van Halen, been in the band for 37 years, created brands, who else?
BEHAR: And could I just say that your high self-esteem is borderline delusional?
SIMMONS: It is true. I accepted that. I think that`s true.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: It`s on the cusp of delusional.
TWEED: It`s one of the things I like about him.
SIMMONS: I look good up there, don`t I? Look at that.
BEHAR: All right. Let`s talk about your A&E show. That`s why you`re here. In the first episode this Sunday, we see you visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. This is serious. Let`s watch it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMMONS: What you see over here is you just about the last pictures taken from Anne before she went into hiding. She was 13 at that time. So, there are no pictures of Anne when she was 14 and actually became 15.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That was very emotional for you, Gene. Tell me why.
SIMMONS: Kiss was on tour for about two and a half years and when we stopped off in Amsterdam, our camera crews followed us, and we met a 13- year-old boy who was very proud of his grandfather for having survived the holocaust and, you know, all the horrible tragedies. And he invited us to go see the Anne Frank home.
TWEED: And he wanted to do an interview about you as a man, not as a rock star. He was more interested in your history.
BEHAR: Your mother --
SIMMONS: I must tell in all honesty --
BEHAR: Your mother survived, right?
SIMMONS: Yes. I must tell you in all honesty, I thought it was going to be an interesting historical kind of (INAUDIBLE). I walked in and I saw the big photos of Anne Frank, and it just tore me up.
TWEED: Really smacking --
SIMMONS: That just tore me up because my mother was 14, herself, when she was taken to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. She was the only one that survived. These beautiful photos of my beautiful mother, if you take a look at it, that`s about 1949. That`s only five or six years after she came out of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, and my mother is a saint. She continues to have this kind of faith in humanity that if I were in her shoes --
TWEED: Like (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
TWEED: You know what`s interesting too about going in (INAUDIBLE) she had movie, American movie memorabilia on the walls.
BEHAR: Aha.
TWEED: Which we thought was so fascinating because like -- she was like this normal teenager just living up there and not going out for two years and looking at movie magazine.
BEHAR: I know. We have to take a break, but when we come we`ll talk some more. On the way is more the lovely Simmons people.
(LAUGHTER)
TWEED: Just drop my name right there.
BEHAR: You should take his name at this point.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with Gene Simmons And Shannon Tweed. You know, you both had plastic surgery on the show.
TWEED: Really?
BEHAR: Yes.
TWEED: It didn`t turn out that great.
BEHAR: What did you do?
TWEED: I had a face lift and a boob lift.
BEHAR: You did.
TWEED: Yes.
SIMMONS: Me too. I reduced my B cup.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Did you get man boobs?
SIMMONS: I have had man boobs. I continue to have my boobs, and I am proud of my man boobs. They`re hairy.
TWEED: I thought I was the one with the boobs in the family.
BEHAR: So, did it hurt? It hurts, doesn`t it?
TWEED: It hurts.
BEHAR: It hurts.
TWEED: No, but you get pain stuff, so it`s okay.
SIMMONS: But I will tell you that besides being brave and sort of upfront about it, there is nothing like watching footage of yourself with your face slung over your left shoulder like a scarf in the breeze.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: OK.
SIMMONS: There is nothing like that. I tell you what else. When you hear --
TWEED: Squirrel.
SIMMONS: Yes, squirrel. When you listen to it and the face is peeled off, your face is actually making noises.
TWEED: Stop it.
BEHAR: How gross.
SIMMONS: You know, you always think, you know, it`s quiet in there. It`s not. It`s making noises.
BEHAR: So, it`s noisy and painful. Oh, wait. Everybody rushes out to get it. They think it`s like getting a tooth filled.
TWEED: No, it`s not easy.
SIMMONS: It`s not, no.
BEHAR: Now, if you had not become a big rock star, Gene, what would you have become?
TWEED: A teacher.
SIMMONS: A gynecologist.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Why?
SIMMONS: Same results. I tried to help.
BEHAR: And is it true that you also (INAUDIBLE) is that true?
SIMMONS: I did.
BEHAR: When was that?
SIMMONS: In 1804 when I was -- I came to America.
BEHAR: From Israel, right? You were born in Israel?
SIMMONS: I was born there. Came here as a child of 8. My mother smartly put me through something called Yeshiva, a Jewish theological. From 7:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night, you`re doing the full course of, you know, the English sort of indoctrination as well as the old testament kind of stuff. I then saw a 12-year-old girl, a Spanish girl, we called it a Spanish girl in those days because we didn`t think about politically correct.
She got long black hair. She`s jumping rope and all I see, her hair hitting her butt, you know, and I said, I think that`s better. So, I want to go get me some of that. And it`s been a search for that 12-year-old girl, I guess, ever since. I mean, you know what I mean.
BEHAR: Well, he was 13 at the time.
SIMMONS: That`s an older man.
BEHAR: Yes, so you were bar mitzvahed?
SIMMONS: I was.
BEHAR: Your children -- you have girls? What do you have?
TWEED: Boy and a girl, 21 and 18.
BEHAR: You`re raising them Jewish?
TWEED: Not raising them anything. Human beings.
SIMMONS: Human beings, yes.
TWEED: Just human beings.
BEHAR: No religion at all.
TWEED: Not at all.
SIMMONS: But you know, Joy, you`re right. You hit on a very important subject. This Sunday 9:00 p.m., 8:00 central, Gene Simmons Family Jewels does, in fact, debut on A&E with a one-hour special which we talked about --
TWEED: And we showed those two beautiful human beings.
BEHAR: What is it that I hit on?
SIMMONS: Exactly that. Oh, you didn`t hear it the first time? Let me tell you again.
BEHAR: But I mean, I would think that you would want to raise your children Jewish considering what you`ve been through.
SIMMONS: No. If you take a look -- if you`re -- I studied theology and all that stuff. If you take a look at the original sort of patriarchs of Judaism, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they were there before yarmulkes or any anything else. They didn`t even use the word Jew from Judean.
BEHAR: They didn`t?
SIMMONS: No. It was simply a belief in a monotheistic and you know trying not to kill and steal.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: I have to wrap this, but you`ve been charming and I want to wish you Happy Hanukkah. Tonight is the second night.
SIMMONS: Another day above ground is my favorite holiday.
BEHAR: OK. "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" returns with new episodes this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on A&E.
Goodnight, everybody. And Happy Hanukkah out there.
END
