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Joy Behar Page
"Celebrity Apprentice" Dish; Muslim Terrorist Hearing; Shirley Jones Talks about Her Career; A Doctor Discusses Surprisingly High Number of Teens with Eating Disorders
Aired March 10, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: Is Gary Busey really crazy? Is Jose Canseco really on steroids? Is Marley Matlin really deaf? Can Dionne Warwick really the winner and does she really know the way to San Jose?
Tonight Richard Hatch and Nene Leakes, Star Jones` nemesis, talk about their fellow "Celebrity Apprentice" cast mates. You do not want to miss this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, Richard Hatch and Nene Leakes of the "Celebrity Apprentice" give Joy the details of the show`s drama. And Nene opens up about her growing feud with castmate Star Jones.
Then, as congress holds hearings on the home grown terror threat, Joy explains why she thinks this is a bad idea that will make the Muslim community in the U.S. less willing to help.
And everyone`s favorite TV mom is here. Shirley Jones of "The Partridge Family" tells Joy about her legendary career and weighs in on stepson David Cassidy`s recent troubles.
That and more starting right now.
BEHAR: She appears on Bravo`s "The Real Housewives of Atlanta". He appeared naked on the very first season of "Survivor", which by the way, he won. Both of them are trying to outdo the competition and each other on this season of Donald Trump`s "Celebrity Apprentice".
I`m happy to welcome to my show, Nene Leakes and the fully-clothed, Richard Hatch. Hello Richard, how are you?
RICHARD HATCH, "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE": How do you know Joy? How do you know I`m fully-clothed?
BEHAR: I see you. I can see you. Maybe the bottom is naked, I don`t know.
But you know, I hear there`s a lot of drama this season. First of all, do you and Nene get along, Richard?
HATCH: I love, Nene. How are you doing, sweetheart?
NENE LEAKES, "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE": Hi Richard. I`m doing good, how are you Richard? You look good.
HATCH: Thank you. So do you. I`m doing well. I have a tough road ahead here in real life. But yes, Nene and I got along great.
BEHAR: What`s the tough road ahead, just quickly, because I want to talk about the show?
HATCH: Well, tomorrow I have a sentencing hearing, and the judge will decide whether I belong in jail again or not.
BEHAR: Oh, maybe you`ll run into Lindsay Lohan there.
LEAKES: I`m so sorry to hear that, Richard. Hopefully everything works out for you.
BEHAR: Ok.
HATCH: I hope so.
BEHAR: So Nene, does Trump tell you to ratchet up the fighting and everything or not?
LEAKES: Absolutely not.
BEHAR: He does not.
LEAKES: No.
BEHAR: So you`re just naturally high strung all of you?
LEAKES: I think that there`s a whole lot -- you`re ready to bust out laughing -- there`s a whole lot of different personalities in the group. But he`s never said that to us.
BEHAR: Really.
LEAKES: Yes.
BEHAR: Because you know what to do when you go there.
LEAKES: You know, to be honest with you, when I went I had no preconceived notions about anybody. And I will tell you this about me, I am not strategic, and I`m not a back stabber. I don`t form alliances, I`m really your home-girl and I`m very loyal.
BEHAR: Ok.
LEAKES: So that game was tough for me to play because I`m a loyal girl.
BEHAR: All right. Now, Richard, you are the men`s project manager on the first task, you butted heads with David Cassidy. So let`s take a look at that clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HATCH: We`re going to price at a reasonable price. We`re going to talk to you about --
DAVID CASSIDY, "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE": How about this?
HATCH: David, please. Hold on.
If you`re going to get something done, you`ve got to focus on what`s important.
CASSIDY: I think you should have a minimum --
HATCH: David, be quiet for one second and let me tell you what they are --
$5 bucks a slice; $500 celebrity charge.
CASSIDY: You want to get $500 to $1,000 --
HATCH: Could you get over there please?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ok. You did push him. You know, in the real world which is like in a business, you know, in a bank or something, you would be brought up on charges for something like that. Seriously. But this is television.
HATCH: You know, Joy, Joy -- Joy, you and I have met several times. I`ve pushed you harder than I pushed him.
BEHAR: Maybe I`m stronger than he is.
HATCH: I didn`t push him. You know, this was just a guiding him or trying to emphasize to move. And there was a lot of exaggerated drama from him. And I feel some compassion for the man. I mean he`s obviously dealing with some issues that are beyond the show.
BEHAR: Oh. Well, I`ll have to interview him and find out what those are.
So what did you think of the way he treated him. Is it ok with you too? You don`t think he pushed him and bullied him at all?
LEAKES: That`s the first time I saw that. We don`t get to see what the guys are doing. Just as a viewer, it did seem like Richard was being, you know, mean to him.
BEHAR: He was being mean. See.
LEAKES: I mean it came off that way. I`m not saying that`s actually the way it was. But as a viewer watching the show, it appeared that Richard was being mean. Did I see Richard hit him or shove him really hard? No, I didn`t see that.
BEHAR: Well, I mean you know, the guy did get kicked off the show.
LEAKES: Yes.
BEHAR: So maybe it didn`t help him.
But anyway. So Richard now, you know --
HATCH: Well, he --
BEHAR: Yes. Go ahead.
HATCH: Keep watching, you`ll see, the guys get to express what really happened and what they really feel, and who I am a little bit better. Very, very tough position to be the first project manager when you don`t know one another.
BEHAR: Right. Well, then, just to go back on your past, you were very conniving on the "Survivor" show, you know. And you won --
HATCH: Yes.
BEHAR: You won that. I mean, so it worked.
HATCH: I heard Nene say she was not strategic. And I thought, ooh. I`m not going to say that. I`m very strategic.
LEAKES: You think that --
HATCH: No, I -- I believe you, darling. I`m sure. I`m saying I was very strategic. I am when I go into these and you know what you`re doing. And we were all there for our charities. We respect one another`s charities but I was there -- I was there to win money for my charity.
LEAKES: I would have to say, although we`re fighting for charity. I personally felt it didn`t have to be as back stabbing, because you are fighting for charity. So I mean what kind of person are you to fight for charity and be such a back stabber.
BEHAR: Well, because you have to win.
LEAKES: Yes, you have to win. But you`re fighting for charity.
BEHAR: Ok. Now, you had your own share of drama with Star Jones because --
LEAKES: Yes.
BEHAR: -- what went -- on Wendy Williams you said something a little bit nasty against her.
LEAKES: You think so?
BEHAR: You said I wouldn`t spit on Star if she was on fire.
LEAKES: Ok. All right. All right.
BEHAR: That`s not -- there`s no love there exactly.
LEAKES: You know, I would sprinkle a little water on I guess.
BEHAR: A little water -- so, you`re backtracking a little off of that one?
LEAKES: No, no, no. I`m not. I`m standing to what I said.
Star was very bossy on the show. It`s just really -- the truth. She was very bossy, she was strategic. And she did form alliances, and she manipulated. She manipulated people along the way. And I didn`t like that.
BEHAR: Ok.
LEAKES: The reason, I didn`t like it was because she was saying one thing to me, and doing another. And I didn`t like it. So I called her on it.
BEHAR: Ok. Now, La Toya Jackson, who is another contestant on the show, she was on my show last week, and she said that -- exactly what you said. But she said that you allowed Star to manipulate you. Watch, watch, watch.
LEAKES: Ok.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LA TOYA JACKSON, "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE": I didn`t realize it at the moment. And I hope she`s not offended by it, but she allowed Star to control her.
BEHAR: She did?
JACKSON: Not realizing it. Star used her as her mouthpiece. So she was back pulling the strings.
BEHAR: Star was the puppeteer and Nene was the puppet.
JACKSON: That`s how I viewed it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ok. So what`s your response to that, Nene?
LEAKES: You know, that`s cool. That`s how she saw it. But I would have to say she did do some manipulating. She did. I would have to be -- I would have to side with La Toya.
BEHAR: For some reason I can`t picture it because you seem a very, you know, strong girl. I don`t see how you could be manipulated.
LEAKES: I am very strong. I`m very strong, but we were trying to form a relationship outside of "The Apprentice", I would go to dinner with her, I go to lunch with her. She met my husband, my children. I double dated with her and her fiancee.
I just learned that she -- look, I just really believe -- I try and give everybody a chance. That`s what I was trying to do. When she showed me her true colors, I lost it. I really had to straighten her out on it. Because I just think that anybody that has ever worked with Star would side with me. That means you`re on my side.
BEHAR: Well, maybe Star will come on the show and she`ll give her side of this.
LEAKES: Maybe she will.
BEHAR: Yes, because, you know, we like to be -- we`re fair and balanced over here at HLN.
LEAKES: I want you to be fair. I`m just -- I`m just being honest with you, though. I can only tell you about my experience with her. I find her to be a difficult person.
BEHAR: Ok. Well, stay right there, you guys, there`s more dish when we come back.
Before we go though, I recently got some advice on being a grandma from a past winner of "Celebrity Apprentice". Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: Everything and anything this child has. If you`re smart, what kind of woman needs to change? The child won remember, so why bother?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with "Celebrity Apprentice" contestants Nene Leakes and Richard Hatch. Ok, you were going off during the break on whatever it was you were going off on. So let`s hear it.
LEAKES: Well, what I was saying about Star is, she is a little bit, she can come off very a uppity or -- or very -- and just not likeable by the things that she says. She says things like, you know all of my friends are A-list stars and actors and lawyers and doctors. And I leave on the Upper East Side of New York. And I went to school for 100 years, and I have all these degrees.
BEHAR: Well, she is a lawyer, you know?
LEAKES: So? I mean that`s -- I mean, who really cares at the end of the day. I`m not walking around, everybody, Star is a lawyer. I mean, that`s what she`s supposed to do for herself. Me, I mean, I really don`t care and I think her problem is, you know that we`re on the same show.
BEHAR: Yes.
LEAKES: And we`re given the same check. And I only went to school for two years, I could have save that 98 years, she went to school for 106.
BEHAR: Well, you know, she is -- she did go to school.
LEAKES: For 100 years.
BEHAR: She was an assistant D.A. in Brooklyn.
LEAKES: That`s nice.
BEHAR: She does live on the Upper East Side.
LEAKES: Well, good.
BEHAR: She does like champagne. I know that about her.
LEAKES: I live on the country club in Atlanta which is secured and very luxury homes. Do I need to walk around and say, oh you guys, I`m one of the country club wives of Atlanta? And my car is fabulous, and I`m eating at all the luxury restaurants and I wear nothing but Louis Vuitton. And oh, I get my hair done three times a week.
I mean, I don`t have to say all of that. That is so stupid.
BEHAR: Ok.
LEAKES: And it sounds like insecurity.
BEHAR: Ok.
LEAKES: It really does, don`t you think?
BEHAR: Well, I -- I`m not saying --
(CROSS TALK)
LEAKES: Do you walk around and talk about you get your hair done how many times a day?
BEHAR: I -- I get it done every day, twice.
LEAKES: Yes but do you have to walk around and say that?
(CROSS TALK)
BEHAR: One is for "The View" and then again here.
LEAKES: Yes, but do you walk around and tell everybody, excuse me, I get my hair done twice a day? Excuse me.
BEHAR: Hey Richard, which team are you on? Nene or Star?
HATCH: Well, you know, I do respect intelligence and I think Nene was just making a few comments about kind of how education -- you know, I don`t brag about education.
BEHAR: Right.
HATCH: But I think intelligence is an important thing. And being able to communicate rationally is important. I don`t appreciate bragging, but I didn`t see Star bragging.
So --
(CROSS TALK)
BEHAR: Oh right.
HATCH: -- so I really -- I can`t, you know --
LEAKES: Well, let me just say this to Richard. Book sense is great, but you do need some common sense.
BEHAR: Right.
LEAKES: And if you had any you would know not to walk down the street or come into a room and say, I went to school for 100 yrs and I live here and there. I mean, you do need some common sense to get in this world, to go through the world.
BEHAR: Well, you know, you guys picked her as the project manager, though. Because she is a lawyer and she is a strong woman. And she -- maybe she -- she is a little bit of a bully, maybe, or a manipulator, whatever you called her. That`s good for the project manager, isn`t it?
HATCH: Well, I think someone that`s labeled bully, et cetera --
BEHAR: A look that could kill.
HATCH: -- problematic.
LEAKES: Yes, what? Say it again?
BEHAR: You`re the project manager, they picked you. I mean, you`re - - you were in jail for God`s sake. So -- I mean, --
HATCH: But there are -- but -- but there are -- but there are some misuses of terms. The term bully and for David to have used the term push or shove or I think he even said physically abusive is offensive, that -- that didn`t occur. And those aren`t -- those aren`t things that should be taken lightly.
LEAKES: Right.
HATCH: This was getting a job done and -- and moving forward. And definitely that can be abrasive to people. But you chose us as -- as project managers.
So I --
(CROSS TALK)
BEHAR: Right they did, you did guys, you guys -- that`s my point.
LEAKES: But you also -- Richard you know the game, and as you said, you came in strategic.
HATCH: Yes.
LEAKES: There were people in -- in the groups that were strategic, and the reason why they chose you as a project manager because they were hoping that you would fail. So that you could get voted out.
HATCH: Exactly.
BEHAR: Is that true?
LEAKES: And so that is -- yes, that is a part of it. And everybody was like let Star do it. Because everybody saw that she was a threat so it would be great if she fail, we could vote her out.
BEHAR: Why did you think she was a threat?
LEAKES: I didn`t think she was a threat. There were people there that did -- I didn`t think anybody was a threat.
BEHAR: Who thought she was a threat?
LEAKES: I mean, lots of people thought she was threat. Some of the guys and some of the girls --
BEHAR: How did she get along with other people? How did she get along with Lisa Rinna?
LEAKES: Oh, she had a disagreement with Lisa Rinna. I think you`ll see that coming up next week. She has a disagreement with La Toya and she also has a disagreement with me. And I believe she has a disagreement with Meatloaf.
So it wasn`t like --
(CROSS TALK)
BEHAR: Meatloaf? Again?
LEAKES: Yes.
So it wasn`t like she was a walk in the park. She`s not easy. I mean, she`s --
(CROSS TALK)
BEHAR: But isn`t that for show, I mean, I remember when Joan River did the show, she had a big fight with somebody and the ratings went up. I mean, isn`t that what we want?
LEAKES: Oh, not from the Upper East Side.
BEHAR: Ok, I`ve got to go.
LEAKES: And not with all these degrees. Now, you wouldn`t dare be caught arguing, would you?
BEHAR: All right, now Star can come on this show and we can get her point of view.
LEAKES: Invite her for me.
BEHAR: Ok, the new season of "Celebrity Apprentice" --
LEAKES: Hi Star.
BEHAR: -- airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on NBC.
We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Despite heated criticism from religious and civil rights groups, New York Congressman Peter King kicked off the first of a series of controversial hearings today on home grown Muslim extremists, who he says threaten United States security. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETER KING (R-NY), HOMELAND SECURITY: Let me make it clear today that I remain convinced that these hearings must go forward, and they will. To back down would be a craven surrender to political correctness and an abdication of what I believe to be the main responsibility of this committee, to protect America from a terrorist attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: So are these hearings about safety or bigotry? With me now to debate this are two people who spoke passionately at the hearing today. Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for democracy and Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.
Welcome to the show you guys.
Dr. Jasser, you agree with King that it`s mostly Muslims we need to be concerned about. What about someone like Timothy McVeigh, he wasn`t Muslim, how do you answer that?
DR. ZUHDI JASSER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ISLAMIC FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY: Well, listen, you can have other hearings for other things and the bottom line is, I as a Muslim can help you fix Muslim radicalization. The vast majority of Muslims would turn in a Muslim -- every Muslim I know would turn in a Muslim if they knew they were going to do something violent.
But the issue is if we really want to treat the problem, we`ve seen the most attacks threatened against our homeland in the last two years than ever before. There`s something we`re doing, Joy, that`s failing.
And if we`re going to treat that, we have to walk it back and look at the disenfranchisement, the lack of identification of Muslim youth. And I as a Muslim am I the only one that can treat that, so it`s appropriate to engage Muslims to fill the Muslim issue with a Muslim solution.
BEHAR: Ok. Congresswoman, how do you respond to that?
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: First of all, I welcome Dr. Jasser`s participation. I know that he could engage with the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, our intelligence authorities. They would all welcome his participation.
But a hearing that was already orchestrated to demonize and to, in essence, isolate one particular group is religious discrimination.
And one thing that came to our minds after 9/11, which I was very close to as a member of the United States Congress actually at the congress as I watched the smoke billow from the Pentagon. Members gathered after that, and stood on the steps and said, "God Bless America".
We sang that song because we know how important our values are, that no matter what happened we would not be denied our freedom of expression or freedom of religion. What happened today was a planned and orchestrated hearing to isolate, as I said, one group of people rather than to secure legitimate information so that we could find a way to solve elements of radicalism which fall in all communities from the Timothy McVeigh incident to the Jared Loughner in incident.
If we`re going to look at radicalism, let`s look at it from all aspects.
BEHAR: Ok.
DR. JASSER: But yes, I think one of the things you`re missing -- of the last 220 terror arrests in this country over 180 were Muslims. So you can have other hearings. But if we`re going to -- I mean it`s almost as if you were putting up this discussion that if you even call it Muslim, you can`t do that. So it brings a paralysis where we can`t even fix the problem and we end up being stuck.
And you can`t -- and basically we`re surrendering to an enemy that has hijacked my religion. I can`t be involved in a reform process, because my country basically any time somebody talks about Islam, makes it seem like we`re all Islamaphobic. And you bring about paralysis and polarization and I think that is just terrible.
We`re not going to get that solution.
BEHAR: Doctor -- go ahead.
JAKCSON-LEE: Well, I vigorously disagree. I vigorously disagree because what I`ve already said, Dr. Jasser, is that you are a Muslim. And I indicated by the way, Joy, that Dr. Jasser was there, another Muslim was present. And the comment had been made that Muslims don`t cooperate and frankly with these Muslims before us today, that obviously was a nonstarter.
But Dr. Jasser can work within his community. He does not need a public forum that gives to the world and gives to America the sense that the only danger to the United States are Muslims. There are 3 million -- 2.6 million to 3 million Muslims in this country. And one out of 30,000 with the 200 that he alleges that have been arrested, my numbers show 100 have been arrested for radical extremist acts.
That does not speak to labelling a religion, a faith as being radical, and that is what this hearing did today. It did not add to any enhancement of how we can best address the question of radicalism in our country.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Let me -- Dr. Jasser --
DR. JASSER: Yes.
BEHAR: -- let me interrupt for a second.
Isn`t it a bad idea to alienate the Muslim community at home with all the volatility in the world right now? Why provoke the Muslim community the way it seems to be doing with these hearings?
DR. JASSER: Joy, there`s a certain group that wants to provoke this into being all about labelling. But at the end of the day, the negativity toward Islam is over 60 percent now and it was 30 percent over five years ago. And over 70 percent of New Yorkers said recently they don`t think Muslims are doing enough about terrorism.
So set aside these hearings, the best way to melt away that fear is for us to see Muslims leading the charge. We need this public forum, Congresswoman, because so far the groups that are already well-funded from abroad or have a political lobbying group for Islamists, have taken over the mike and have taken the attention of America. And the vast majority of Muslims that are not organized have not been given a voice. That`s what these hearings are finally doing. It`s showing that we`re diverse.
BEHAR: Muslims helped foil seven of the last ten terror plots in the United States.
DR. JASSER: Yes.
BEHAR: So aren`t you worried that this could make Muslims less willing to cooperate with officials in anti-terrorists efforts? It could make them angry that they`re being singled out like this.
DR. JASSER: I couldn`t disagree more. I`ve said and all of us say that yes, Muslims are turning in that final step when it`s an act of violence. But radicalization is a process over years. And that radicalization we can treat best at its core, it`s like trying to treat lung cancer by just cutting out tumors.
JACKSON LEE: Joy --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Congresswoman, you have the last word and then we have to go.
JACKSON LEE: What Dr. Jasser fails to capture is this very little book here that indicates that we have the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion. What he fails to understand is that changing hearts and minds comes one by one, the Muslim doctor, the Muslim teacher, the Muslim community leader, and they exist all over America from different countries are here. Hatred -- I`ve seen them in Iraq; I`ve seen them in Afghanistan. Americans wearing the uniform.
I don`t know if you begin a hearing with a predisposition that says that all Muslims are radical. That we don`t need the mosque, 80 percent of the mosques are radical. Then where are you going. You`re going to further isolate the Muslim community so they don`t want to be engaged.
Law enforcement needs them to be engaged. I implore Dr. Jasser to take the leadership and speak to the people from his forum. We don`t need a Congressional hearing that condemns a whole group of people. That is, in my belief, unconstitutional in terms of the First Amendment.
BEHAR: We`ll have to leave it there. Thank you both very much.
DR. JASSER: Thank you Joy.
BEHAR: We`ll be back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOY BEHAR, CNN HN HOST: Oscar winner Shirley Jones is one of my heroes, and not only because of her work in theater or film, but because as a mother on "The Partridge Family" she spent four years on a bus with noisy, annoying children and didn`t kill anyone or have a nervous breakdown. Fantastic.
(LAUGHTER)
Her new CD is called "Shirley Jones, a Tribute to Richard Rogers." And she`s here with me now. Lovely to see you again. A couple years ago you were on the view, we had fun.
SHIRLEY JONES, ACTRESS/SINGER: We had a good time.
BEHAR: And Marty is the funniest.
JONES: Well, he`s in deep depression right now that he`s not on with me now.
BEHAR: He`s a handful.
JONES: I know he is.
BEHAR: Not for me, for you.
JONES: No, it`s fun. We have a good time.
BEHAR: How long have you been married?
JONES: It`s been 34 years.
BEHAR: It`s been 34 years of laughing?
JONES: It is, Joy. He`s crazy as a loon.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Who`s crazier on a scale of one to Charlie Sheen?
JONES: No, it`s not Charlie Sheen time. But I figure as long as I`m laughing after 34 years.
BEHAR: That`s good to have someone to make you laugh, because the sex goes early.
JONES: Yes, absolutely.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: OK. Now, people still think of you as Shirley Partridge?
JONES: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: Do they still stop you and say --
JONES: Yes, sure. When I decided to do the show, which was 1970 to almost `75 all of the directors and producers and agents and all said, don`t do a television series, because if it is successful, you`ll be that character for the rest of your life. Forget your movie career, it`ll be in the toilet.
BEHAR: You were a big movie star.
JONES: Yes, I did 30 films before the series. And they were right, but it was great for me.
BEHAR: Is it true you turned down the role on "The Brady Bunch"?
JONES: Yes.
BEHAR: The kids weren`t cute enough for you?
JONES: I wasn`t anxious to do a television series. But it was time for me to stay home and raise my kids. For some reason "The Brady Bunch" just sounded too simplistic to me. And when "The Partridge Family" came up, it had music. I was the first working mother on television. I wasn`t just taking a roast out of the oven and diapering, I thought, this is great. It has music.
BEHAR: It used your great talented.
JONES: And working with my stepson, David Cassidy. It was great for me that particular series. I just loved doing it.
BEHAR: David Cassidy is your first husband`s --
JONES: It`s Jack Cassidy`s son.
BEHAR: He was a terrific actor, Jack Cassidy.
JONES: Wasn`t he?
BEHAR: He was. And he was funny also. You love a funny man?
JONES: Jack was debonair, handsome, loved women, and all of that, but the other side of him, he wanted to be a comic.
BEHAR: He did.
JONES: He wanted to be a comic.
BEHAR: I remember him. He had a tragic ending.
JONES: Yes, yes, died in a fire. It was awful.
BEHAR: We won`t go there.
JONES: Yes.
BEHAR: You brought up your stepson, he`s on celebrity apprentice. He got kicked off.
JONES: I know. I didn`t see it, but I heard he got kicked off.
BEHAR: He had a whole big to-do with Richard Hatch.
JONES: That`s what I heard, I didn`t see it.
BEHAR: Did he talk to you about it?
JONES: No, no.
BEHAR: He didn`t say, come on, mom. Come and help me.
JONES: No, he didn`t say anything.
BEHAR: So, but -- as someone who basically -- you are one of these people, because of the show that you had and because of your real life, if anybody can speak to the issue of young people in a series, young people on television, how it hurts them, helps them, it`s you. So let`s talk a little bit about that, Miley Cyrus for example.
JONES: I know.
BEHAR: Is she in trouble do you think?
JONES: I have a feeling she is. I think a lot of it has to do with what their home life is at home. I mean, show business is not easy for any of us, let`s face it. It`s a tough business and a lot of letdown, a lot of, you know -- and I think unless they have some sort of stability someplace else, they`re not going to make it. They`re just not going to make it. And that`s been proven.
BEHAR: Danny Bonaduce had trouble.
JONES: Yes, exactly.
BEHAR: A lot of trouble.
JONES: But he had a terrible home life.
BEHAR: He did?
JONES: Yes, a terrible home life. Even David had some problems because his parents were divorced and I was kind of the wicked stepmother at that time. He was only seven years old when I met Jack. I think that`s the basis of it. But let`s face it. I told my kids, never go into show business. I wanted doctors and lawyers, and look what I got.
BEHAR: What did you get? Shawn`s in the business.
JONES: Shawn`s a writer/producer. Patrick did seven Broadway shows. And Ryan, my youngest son, is an art director/set decorator. And my granddaughter is a make-up artist.
BEHAR: It`s in the blood.
If you had to do it over, would you encourage it or not?
JONES: I never did. But the more I discouraged it, the more the wanted to do it. Shawn said, for example, because David went out there and became the top rock star in the world for a while. And I said to Shawn, now, listen, you`re going to college, we have the money. He said, are you kidding? Look what David did. He`s making millions of dollars. Why do I have to go to college, he literally went out and closed the door, and that was it.
BEHAR: How insolent
JONES: I know, tell me about it.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: What a brat.
JONES: He was brat.
BEHAR: Do you have kids that are not in the business?
JONES: No.
BEHAR: You have a bunch of grandchildren, they want to be in the business too?
JONES: Yes, David`s son Bo has a band called Bo Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
BEHAR: That`s cute.
JONES: He just dropped out of Boston University to go on the road with the band. My granddaughter is 13. She has a beautiful singing voice.
BEHAR: What`s her name?
JONES: Juliet Jones Cassidy. She has a beautiful singing voice. They have a little theater where Shawn lives. They`re doing carrousel. She had to go and audition. Grandma I`m auditioning for carrousel. Her best friend, I think you might know my best friend, you know, carrousel was Barbara Ruick playing Carrie and me playing Julie. Barbara and I became best friends. Well, Juliet`s best friend is Barbara Ruick`s granddaughter. And they both made the show, and they`re both playing Julia and Carrie in the show.
BEHAR: When you said your granddaughter was doing carrousel, I got a little chill.
JONES: I know. Imagine Barbara`s granddaughter and my granddaughter best friends and both doing the roles in this theater.
BEHAR: I don`t know if young people remember you were in Oklahoma and Carrousel, you were the biggest star of the day. I want to show a clip of you singing in Oklahoma, all right?
JONES: Good, yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Oh, it`s beautiful. You are just wonderful. I just love you. You`re so great.
JONES: I love you too, Joy. You`re such fun to be with.
BEHAR: More fun than Marty?
JONES: Well, you remind me -- you`re the female version.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Oh, my god.
JONES: No, don`t take that the wrong way.
BEHAR: OK, don`t go anywhere. You guys out there, we`ll be right back with more from the great Shirley Jones.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Well, that was Shirley Jones singing with Frank Sinatra, and she`s back here with me now. Was he easy to work with? Tell me the story about "Carrousel".
JONES: He was signed to play Billy Bigelow. Frank was signed originally, we did all the pre-rehearsals, we did all the pre-recordings. That`s when you had to prerecord the music.
BEHAR: And then you lip sank?
JONES: Yes, to our own voices. And all the costumes, everything -- all the preparation for the film. And we were shooting in booth bay harbor, Maine. I was up there already to do our first dramatic scene. Frank kept saying, it`s a dream of my life to play Billy Bigelow.
And we get there and he sees two cameras. He said to the director, why the two cameras? You know, Frank, we might have to shoot some of the scenes twice because we`re shooting in two separate processes. Now, I knew that way ahead. Frank knew that way ahead, I was sure. He said, no. I signed to do one movie, not two. Got back in the car, back to the airport and right there in Harbor, Maine on a bridge, we lost our leading man.
BEHAR: Wow.
JONES: The producer. All the chorus people were there for months doing their dances and everything. And the producer came over to me and said, Shirley, where`s Gordon McCrea. I said, I think he`s in Lake Tahoe doing a nightclub act with his wife. He said could you get him on the phone for me.
And believe it or not right there on the dock was a pay phone. I got the hotel in Lake Tahoe, and I got Gordon on the phone. I said, Gordon, how would you like to play Billy Bigelow in "Carrousel"? He said give me three days, I have to lose 10 pounds.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Did he lose it?
JONES: Yes. And he was there in three days. And that`s how he got the part.
BEHAR: But, Sinatra what was with him?
JONES: Sinatra would have been great as the character, but he could not have sung it like Gordon.
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: Gordon`s voice was so right for that.
BEHAR: He was perfect for the part.
You did a CD with Richard Rogers in mind?
JONES: Yes, it`s a tribute to Richard Rogers. Most of the things I`ve done in the past and most of my albums have been Rogers and Hammerstein. This is basically Rogers and Hart which I love. This is slow, swing songs, that`s kind of what I`m going to do in my act at Feinstein`s as well.
BEHAR: When are you going to be there?
JONES: On the 15th to the 19th.
BEHAR: We`re going to come to see you.
JONES: You have to.
BEHAR: March 15th.
JONES: I know, I first met him at Ira Gershwin`s house when he was a kid.
BEHAR: I was reading about you in a little bit. You`re such a fighter. You once got into a big thing with "The National Enquirer," and they retracted something that they wrote about you.
JONES: Yes, they did.
BEHAR: How did you do that?
JONES: I was doing "The Partridge Family." And they said Shirley Jones is drunk every afternoon by 3:00 p.m. and they have to put her to bed in the trailer because she`s married to Marty Ingles now. Everyone on my set said what the heck is this? And Marty said, they got a lawsuit on their hands. And we did. We sued them.
BEHAR: You sued them and you won.
JONES: We won.
BEHAR: Just like Carol Burnett. When everyone says you`re a drinker and you`re not a drinker, there`s a lawsuit.
JONES: I drink, but not like that.
BEHAR: The other night I had on Kathy Bates on my show. We were talking about that nude scene she did in the movie she did with Jack Nicholson. Would you ever do that in your older years now?
JONES: Well, I don`t know my older years.
BEHAR: She was 53 when she did it. Would you have done that when you were 53?
JONES: I did it when I was younger.
BEHAR: What movie?
JONES: I did a film with Lloyd Bridges.
BEHAR: Underwater?
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: No, no. It wasn`t underwater. It was Gene Simmons and Lloyd Bridges, called "A Happy Ending."
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: I was nude from the waist down.
BEHAR: You had boobs and everything out?
JONES: Yes
BEHAR: How old were you?
JONES: I was in my probably late 30s.
BEHAR: And you still had buoyant boobs.
JONES: They weren`t bad.
BEHAR: That`s impressive.
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: Now, no, I probably wouldn`t do it, no. I have to tell you, Marty asked Hugh Hefner if they could do a thing with me, centerfold for older women.
BEHAR: When, now?
JONES: Yes, now. For older women.
BEHAR: He`s a whack job.
(LAUGHTER)
Yes, so.
JONES: Hugh Hefner said what a great idea. I said upfront, I`d love to do it, but I`m not doing anything nude. I`ll show a hip, shoulder, cleavage, but that`s about it. They said -- well, anyway, we took a whole set of pictures for the centerfold of "Playboy." And they were beautiful. I was in a bed with a leg up, an arm here, a hip here. It was really fun. The pictures were great, and they came back and Hefner saw them and he said, well, she`s beautiful and the pictures are beautiful, but will she show more body? I said no way. He said we can`t do it.
BEHAR: That`s wonderful. The only requests I get are from AARP magazine.
(LAUGHTER)
And the other question before I go. I have to hear about the fact that you sang for Ronald Reagan also?
JONES: Yes.
BEHAR: Was he in politics yet?
JONES: Yes.
BEHAR: He was. I sang at the White House.
BEHAR: Yes?
JONES: I`ve sung for five presidents.
BEHAR: Really? Which ones?
JONES: Eisenhower was the first. Johnson.
BEHAR: What were you, in utero at that time?
JONES: Not quite. Actually I was with Jack Cassidy. The two of us sang.
BEHAR: The two of you sang for Eisenhower?
JONES: Yes.
BEHAR: Who else
JONES: Johnson.
BEHAR: What about Kennedy?
JONES: No. Not Kennedy.
BEHAR: Did you ever meet kennedy?
JONES: No, I never did.
BEHAR: So he didn`t have a chance to come on to you?
JONES: No.
BEHAR: Unfortunately. That`s one of those things to have on your resume, Jack Kennedy came on to me.
JONES: Yes, it is. And Lyndon Johnson and both Bushes. And who was the other one.
BEHAR: Nixon?
JONES: Yes, Nixon.
BEHAR: That must have been scary singing to Nixon?
JONES: Well, it was early in his career, you know, so --
BEHAR: If didn`t like the music, he would put you on his enemies list.
JONES: I know. That`s true.
BEHAR: Shirley, a pleasure always to see you.
JONES: So nice to be with you.
BEHAR: When I`m in L.A. --
JONES: Come to Feinstein`s. And call me when you`re in L.A.
BEHAR: I will.
So if you`re in New York, check out Shirley Jones at Feinstein`s, an evening of story and song, running March 15th through the 19th. And we`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Actress Megan Fox`s new Armani ad has some people thinking she may be anorexic, but her trainer says she not and that she just has a quick metabolism. I wish I did.
Maybe that`s true but many teen are looking at Fox and other celebrities as a standard of beauty, and now a new study reveals eating disorders among teens are much more prevalent than anybody ever thought. Here with me to discuss this is Dr. Catherine Birndorf, clinical psychiatrist and OBGYN and the author of "The Nine Rooms of Happiness." Welcome to the show, Dr. Catherine I`ll call you.
A new study says a half a million teens have an eating disorder. Isn`t that more than we thought?
DR. CATHERINE BIRNDORF, CONTRIBUTING EXPERT, "SELF": I think it`s an unusually high number. But we may not have been asking the right questions to really look at this population as well as this study has.
BEHAR: There are 300 million people in America, so half a million is not that many people, but they`re all teenagers.
BIRNDORF: Right. I think we have to take this very serious because this is a population where they looked at age 13 to 18d found much more so than previously thought that people are suffering from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorders. When they go on for a long time, they`re really hard to treat.
BEHAR: Binge eating is the most prevalent. It is different from bulimia? You eat and don`t throw up?
BIRNDORF: You got it.
BEHAR: I put myself in that category. I forget the second step. I know is a serious topic. I`ll try to control myself. The reason it`s serious is because the median age for the onset for this disorder s 12 years old, which means eight or nine-year-old girls mostly, right?
BIRNDORF: Are thinking about their body image, their weight and if they`re too fat. That seems quite tragic
BEHAR: Why are these things going up?
BIRNDORF: I don`t think it`s clear and I know the media takes a lot of the blame, images like these actresses and models who are waif-like. The media does have a responsibility to be cautious and thoughtful because we are looking at this and eating it up, if you will.
BEHAR: When I was a kid there were skinny mods, too. There`s something else going on.
BIRNDORF: I do think so. I do think models have gotten skinnier and skinnier. When you think what the ideal beauty was when we were young is different than what it is now. There can be airbrushing that accentuate the thinness even more.
BEHAR: What are the signs that your teenager might have an eating disorder?
BIRNDORF: If you`re a parent if you`re worry about this or even thinking about it you should look, listen, serve. See what`s different? Are your kids acting differently? Are they cutting out whole food groups? Are they thinking they`re fat when they`re not? Are they in the bathroom a lot? Have they moved into gym exercising all the time.
BEHAR: So there`s an exercise bulimic?
BIRNDORF: Yes, people who eat but exercise excessively.
BEHAR: What should do you? Confront them and say something is going on with you? I see you`re overeating or you`re too thin?
BIRNDORF: Or you`ve become a vegetarian or vegan all of a sudden. I think you can start with I`m concerned, not accusing them. If they won`t talk to you because we know teens can more or less talk to their parents, then suggest they talk to someone else o if there`s a problem, they seek help and you help they do that.
BEHAR: It could be a psychiatric issue, which means you should see a professional.
BIRNDORF: An eating disorder is a psychiatric issue in and of itself. Whether it co-mingles with depression or anxiety, treat it.
BEHAR: Thank you very much. And thank you for watching. Goodnight, everybody.
END
