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Dr. Drew
Devastation Across the South; Prince William and Kate Say `I Do`
Aired April 29, 2011 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST: So now here we go.
The royal nuptial, will it last? I`ve had my doubts. We`re asking a psychic.
Speaking of royalty, the King himself joins us -- Larry King.
But first, devastation across the South, mourning across the nation. I`m going to talk to a man who barely survived a monster tornado that destroyed his house.
So let`s get going.
My goodness, these pictures are just -- they`re mind-bending. It`s really one of the worst outbreaks of violent weather to hit in decades in the Southeastern region of the U.S.
The death toll keeps going up. Over 300 people are confirmed dead. More than 1,700 injured just in Alabama. The devastation is so widespread, President Obama visited today. He was very reassuring.
He told officials that they`ll continue to receive federal help. He seems to be handling it very, very well. But there`s more on this devastation.
Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PINSKY (voice-over): An armada of deadly storms lashes the South.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s get out of here, man. It`s getting real.
PINSKY: Hardest hit by far, Alabama, where tornadoes plowed a path of destruction hundreds of miles long. Twisters ravaged five other states, too. Entire towns wiped out, hundreds killed, thousands injured, and thousands more are devastated, homeless and despairing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s absolutely devastating. I don`t know how to do this.
PINSKY: Now neighbors, communities and the nation pull together in unity and in mourning.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I`ve never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PINSKY: It is. It`s heartbreaking.
Reynolds Wolf, he is from Alabama, and he`s in Tuscaloosa, which has seen so much of the devastation.
Reynolds, what is the latest?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest is that obviously, the storm`s gone, but the cleanup remains. And also, the death toll continues to rise.
At this point in the state of Alabama, alone, we`re talking in excess of 200 people. And I do expect the number to rise over the coming days and weeks.
Let`s give you just a quick view, Dr. Drew, you and our viewers from across America.
As we look in just about every direction, it doesn`t matter where we point the camera. You`re going to see some kind of wreckage, some kind of devastation, everything from insulation from houses, to cars, to roofs that have been shattered, trees. You better believe that the vegetation has truly taken a beating.
As we pan around this direction, too, you can see these vehicles which have been tossed nearly 100 yards all the way into the side of these homes over back in the distance, and even here in the foreground, even more destruction. But I`ve got to tell you, out of the death and destruction that we`ve been talking about over the past day or so, there have been some amazing stories of survival, including one from a man by the name of Chris Wozniak, who somehow managed to survive inside that rubble when the tornado hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WOZNIAK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: When I went outside and looked this way, the tornado was just -- filled the horizon, horizon. There was just a spot of daylight on either side, and the rest of it was just a wall of tornado. You couldn`t see anything. It was literally coming directly at me.
And that`s when I ran into the house, and attached the dogs to me. I grabbed the motorcycle helmet and put it on. And I got in the tub.
And then the ground is rumbling, and then the house started to shake violently. And I knew at that point that I was going to get just directly hit. And it was a surreal thing because I couldn`t believe it. It was like, I am not in a tornado.
It just doesn`t seem like that should happen, you know? But being inside the bathroom, which had no windows, you know, I thought I`m going to get trapped in this little room. And I -- you know, I didn`t know if it was the right thing to do, but I thought, you know, maybe if I open the door, I`ll have some kind of escape hatch.
So, when I opened the door, the front of the house flew away, and then that Krispy Kreme truck sailed right through upside-down, right through the living room, and then the roof blew off. And I dug down, I pushed the dogs down as best as I could inside the tub.
But at that point, the back of the house also blew out and the dogs got sucked out. They were just like -- they were like kites on a string. You know, but they were tethered to me on their leashes, and I was able to hang on to them and push them down. You know, and then the rest of the house just fell on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Dr. Drew, I`ve been a meteorologist at CNN for the past six years, a meteorologist in television for the last 19. I`ve never quite heard a story like that regarding a tornado. I mean, absolutely amazing.
The guy had the wherewithal to actually put on a motorcycle helmet after he saw the funnel, had his two dogs that were actually flying like kites for a time. I don`t know how you mentally come back from something like that.
PINSKY: Well, that`s the interesting question here, which is now it`s about the rebuilding. How are people doing? And did President Obama`s visit today raise spirits at all?
WOLF: You know, I think it did. It did. And he came in to do a couple of things.
And obviously, one of the things that he accomplished by coming here was really being able to connect with what has taken place in this community. I mean, there`s so much you can gain by what you see in video or the stories that you hear. But to really come and experiences it firsthand was definitely an amazing thing. And yes, the people fed off of that.
The problem is --
PINSKY: Reynolds -- go ahead.
WOLF: -- when you look at the harsh reality of it, it is going to be devastating to really deal with the over 200 people that have died in this storm, possibly one of the most damaging in our nation`s history.
PINSKY: Let me ask you a meteorological question. I heard somebody speculating this morning that this particular tornado we`re looking at here -- I don`t see the very one, but something like that -- was actually up to perhaps a miles across, and it stayed on the ground for something like 100 miles, and maybe that is some sort of new record?
Is that accurate?
WOLF: It may, indeed, be the absolute record.
The thing that`s amazing, Dr. Drew, is when you have these tornadoes, many of them are graded by a scale. EF, which stands for Enhanced Fujita Scale, ranges anywhere from F-0 to an F-5. F-0 being the weakest, F-5 being the strongest, with winds in excess of 300 miles per hour.
Most tornadoes, Dr. Drew, are very weak, from an EF-0 to an EF-1, maybe a 2 or 3. They don`t last very long, they only remain in contact with the ground for just a few seconds.
This one is really an anomaly of science. This thing was, as you mentioned, over a mile wide at times, was on the ground for over 100 miles.
There`s a possibility we may have a trail of destruction as it hopscotched across the landscape, then makes then (ph) even farther than that. That is not supposed to happen. It did in this case, and certainly with destructive effect.
PINSKY: Wow. Reynolds, thank you so much. And please -- you know, everyone is thinking about you guys there in Alabama. And thank you for the report. I really appreciate it.
Very quickly, I want to mention that this is National Take-Back Day. Now, if you remember earlier this week, we talked about the dangers of prescription medication. This is an opportunity now this Saturday to dispose of them in a proper way instead of leaving them around the house where kids can get at them or from contaminating a local environment.
Remember, if you leave these around your house, kids get the idea that they`re very casual, it`s no big deal. We`re saying get rid of them. And here now, this weekend, National Take-Back Day is an opportunity for you to do it in a safe way.
Your local law enforcement is organizing this. You can call them to find out more.
And now, up next, the other big story of the day, of course, is the royal wedding. We`ll get into that.
And later, TV royalty joins us -- Larry King.
So stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PINSKY: Today was the wedding of the century. You`re all talking about it, and two billion of us tuned in to see Kate Middleton marry her prince and become Duchess Catherine.
Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HRH PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: I, William Arthur Philip Louis --
ROWAN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: -- "take thee, Catherine Elizabeth" --
PRINCE WILLIAM: -- take thee, Catherine Elizabeth --
WILLIAMS: -- "to my wedded wife" --
PRINCE WILLIAM: -- to my wedded wife --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HRH PRINCESS CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: I, Catherine Elizabeth --
WILLIAMS: -- "take thee, William Arthur Philip Louis" --
PRINCESS CATHERINE: -- take thee, William Arthur Philip Louis --
WILLIAMS: -- "to my wedded husband" --
PRINCESS CATHERINE: -- to my wedded husband --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PARKER: I was actually surprised how moving this was, but there was the crazy hats, the whispers, the double kiss.
We`re going to talk about it all.
So, joining me now is Lady Victoria Hervey. She`s a British socialite and model with ties to the royal family.
I`ve got Cat Ommaney from BRAVO TV`s "The Real Housewives of D.C."
And the royal watcher and features editor for "OK" magazine, Eloise Parker, who is in London live.
Give us the update. What`s the dirt right now, Eloise?
ELOISE PARKER, ROYAL WATCHER, "OK" MAGAZINE: Well, the wedding is still in full swing. We`re now in the middle of the night, the evening party, which is expected to go on until the early hours.
And Kate has changed into her second Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen gown, and it`s another beauty. The atmosphere here has been electric all day.
PINSKY: Now, Prince Harry and Prince William were whispering at the altar, and everyone has been guessing what they were saying during the ceremony.
Take a look at this.
A lip reader has actually translated this. Is that right?
PARKER: That`s right. Yes. Prince --
PINSKY: Give us the scoop. What did they say? What are they saying too each other? And then we have got the married couple also whispering in the carriage here.
So what was all that about?
PARKER: Well, the words that you heard Prince Harry say there were, "Wait until you see her." Of course, Prince William, protocols say he couldn`t turn around and sneak a peek. So he got his little brother to do that for him.
And they`re very close, and Harry`s always got William`s back. And, of course, he just said, "Wait until you see her." And when William did see her, he turned around to Kate and said, "You look beautiful."
PINSKY: Oh, that`s sweet.
All right. We`ve got to talk about the styles, too.
What`s with the hats? Check this out. This is Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Right?
Lady Victoria, do you think that was a hit or a miss? I want to see the hats first. Hold on a second.
Get the hats up there. I want to actually see them, because you`ve got to see this to believe it.
To me, this looks like a scene from "The Producers." She`s wearing a pretzel on her head.
Right?
LADY VICTORIA HERVEY, BRITISH ARISTOCRAT: I think she`s getting a lot of flak in London, I think in the press. But I don`t think it`s as bad as what`s being out --
PINSKY: Have you ever seen the musical "The Producers"?
HERVEY: I mean, I wouldn`t personally wear that hat.
PINSKY: Somebody walks out with that hat on, I swear to God.
All right. But you don`t think it was that bad though.
HERVEY: It definitely wouldn`t have been my hat of choice. I think there were a lot more glamorous ones.
PINSKY: Do you think it`s part of the sort of quirky British kind of -- was it a little tongue-in-cheek, kind of pushing the limits with it do you think?
HERVEY: I think so, definitely.
PINSKY: Yes. All right. Fair enough.
HERVEY: I mean, here we go now. I actually quite like the one on the right.
PINSKY: With the big plume?
HERVEY: The blue one was not so much my choice.
PINSKY: You don`t like the pretzel so much.
All right. Well, William and Kate made history when they stepped on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The couple kissed in front of the crowd not just once, like their parents did, but twice.
Now, Cat, that I guess is especially racy for a royal wedding. A lot of people are pointing out the differences between this wedding and Princess Diana`s.
What do you think?
CAT OMMANEY, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF D.C.": I think the fact that she giggled afterwards and it was very relaxed and it was lovely, and I just -- I thought it was fantastic. Great to see.
PINSKY: Have you ever met William, yourself?
OMMANEY: No, I haven`t. No. Not William, no.
PINSKY: But Harry?
OMMANEY: Yes, I met Harry. Yes.
PINSKY: But Harry.
They really do seem like a happy couple. Is that your sense?
OMMANEY: I think so. I mean, I think they`ve been together, like, 10 years now, and they look like they`re best friends.
And I think the whole atmosphere was very relaxed. And the fact that she looked so confident walking down the whole length of the aisle, looking as good and as happy, and I thought it was fantastic. You know, a good effort.
PINSKY: OK. I`m going to ask both Cat and Lady Victoria, why do we care? Why are people so into this thing? And frankly, I`ll tell you --
HERVEY: Why do you care in America or why do you care worldwide?
PINSKY: Why does one care? Why are people caring so much about this wedding? What is it doing for people? What is it tickling in them?
HERVEY: I think there`s always going to be an interest in the monarchy. It doesn`t matter if -- in the past there`s been times where -- especially in England right now, it`s come at a time when there was, like, a lot of depression. And sort of after Diana, this is something so new, and the fact that she`s so accepted by the monarchy is quite refreshing.
PINSKY: So it`s something hopeful?
HERVEY: And I think she was really elegant.
PINSKY: Yes, she was.
Cat, what do you think? Why are people, particularly in this country, the renegade country that was so -- we were so anxious to break off with the monarchy. Why do we give a darn?
OMMANEY: It`s so funny being here in America whilst it`s all going on. There`s one place I`d love to be, and that`s London right now because of the atmosphere. And it`s great.
I mean, everyone`s been so excited. And I`m a Brit, and I`m very excited and really enjoyed watching it.
You know, it`s good to bring people together. It`s good for everyone to be joyous about the occasion. And I think it`s fantastic. And I`m really proud to be British and watching it today. Yes, definitely.
PINSKY: So, from your guys -- again, I`m the only American here on the panel --
HERVEY: It was quite emotional.
PINSKY: It was emotional. I agree with you.
HERVEY: I think that when Prince William, when you saw his car driving up, I almost kind of had a tear. It was emotional.
PINSKY: So what is this tapping into? So Cat is saying it`s a little bit of historical importance. And I agree with that. We`re watching history in real time.
HERVEY: Well, I mean, a lot of historical importance. But I think the last time those boys were seen in this sort of occasion was Diana`s funeral.
And so I think that`s why it`s -- you know, it`s emotional, that they`ve got this far without her. And she really -- she was really a great mother to them. Really kept them grounded.
PINSKY: So it`s a healing thing.
HERVEY: Yes.
PINSKY: It`s a healing.
You know, one thing I know, though, about people is that we tend to recreate in our present life our family of origin issues. And God knows William and Harry have had some issues in their family of origin. They may be royalty, but they`re people, too.
Are you guys -- you, Cat -- or Lady Victoria -- are you concerned that he`s going to be able to be the right kind of husband?
HERVEY: I`m sure. He`s -- I don`t really have any worries, to be honest.
PINSKY: I do. I would be worried about any guy that came out of the family with the kind of trauma that they went through.
Cat, do you agree with me at all?
OMMANEY: No. Completely disagree. It`s about them being together for 10 years, and they`re great friends. It`s a good start.
HERVEY: Ten years. I agree.
PINSKY: Well, it is a good start. I`ll grant you. Listen --
HERVEY: It`s very different to Charles and Diana.
PINSKY: It is very different. I`ll grant you that. But, still, it`s uncanny. I hope you`re right, by the way. I don`t want to be a negative - -
HERVEY: Don`t be so pessimistic.
PINSKY: I don`t want to be pessimistic, but I just know how people are --
HERVEY: It`s usually English people that are pessimistic, not the Americans.
PINSKY: Well, I just know how people are, how they recreate the past and the present. They just do it and they do it.
Now, maybe they`ll make it through whatever gaffes that come their way. I hope they do.
And I`ve got to tell you, I`m surprised at how moving it was. I was. I want to talk about that in a second.
But dig deep, both of you. What is it -- it seems to be women that are mostly interested in this thing, isn`t it?
I mean, my male friends -- hang on a second. Let me just look around the room.
Gentlemen -- Rhoda (ph), are you interested in this? We have a female stage manager. You`re into it.
All the guys are -- oh, we got a big thumb down from all the camera guys. No, they`re all saying no.
HERVEY: Wait. Were they interested in watching David Beckham?
PINSKY: No, they`re watching Victoria Beckham.
(CROSSTALK)
PINSKY: Now I get the thumbs up from these guys.
HERVEY: Maybe some football fans.
PINSKY: What?
HERVEY: Maybe some football fans. I don`t know. Soccer fans.
PINSKY: We call it soccer here. Thank you.
HERVEY: Sorry.
PINSKY: Football, that`s our sport.
But be that as it may, is it responding -- do people have some fantasy that they`re responding to here? Do women harbor this princess fantasy, do you think? And is that a healthy thing?
HERVEY: It`s definitely -- it`s a fantasy that you grow up with, you know, in your head as a little girl. You read books and, you know, the Prince Charming is going to come and rescue you.
PINSKY: Is that? We`re looking at that in real time?
HERVEY: This is what we`re watching.
PINSKY: Cat, do you agree with that?
OMMANEY: Absolutely. It`s like -- you know, it`s a whole fairytale. The fact that that many people are out in the Mall today waving their flags, and so happy, and people have been camping out for days, that`s just not just females. It`s males as well. Fantastic.
PINSKY: I`ve just got to get somebody from the feminist perspective in here to give their ideas about whether this princess fantasy is good or not.
I just want to say though, I was surprised at how moving it was. It was deeply moving, and it was nice to see -- and you correct me if this isn`t true. It was nice to see a modern young couple take command. It kind of was very moving.
HERVEY: And the queen looked very happy.
PINSKY: But there was a casualness about them that I thought was really cool --
HERVEY: Yes, it was very relaxed.
PINSKY: -- and modern. And I look forward to these people leading that monarchy.
And I think we`re going to have a real person there, real people in these two positions, not just monarchs. I think.
HERVEY: And you could tell the queen was very -- she looked very happy and relaxed about it.
PINSKY: Ladies, I want to thank you.
Eloise, thank you. Any last words from you?
PARKER: I just think it was an amazing day. And I think the couple did look very relaxed. They were very spontaneous. And Kate`s confidence was such a winning attribute today. That`s I think what everyone has been left with.
PINSKY: Well, thank you very much. And it`s really hopeful.
But coming up next -- thank you, ladies, all of you.
Coming up next, we have a very special guest who says she can see the future. You won`t believe what she has got to say about the prince and his new princess. Will it be happily ever after? You do not want to miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PINSKY: Well, here in the studio, I`ve done my little epidemiological study. And we`ve established that my stage manager, Rhoda (ph) -- there she is -- is into the wedding. She likes it.
And all my screwball camera guys, a bunch of men, here they are. They`re giving it, no, not so much. They`re not so into it.
But I know that -- Rhoda (ph), correct me if I`m wrong -- I won`t show another picture of you, but the psychic thing is something that women are kind of interested in, too. Right? And I`m sort of fascinated by that.
So we`re going to establish whether -- oh, Rhoda (ph) says yes -- whether or not the prince is going to ride off into the sunset, live happily ever after in this fairytale. We`re going to have some fun here.
Char Margolis, she`s an intuitive medium, and she has some predictions for us.
Now, first of all, will this marriage last? What do you think?
CHAR MARGOLIS, MEDIUM: I feel it will last. I feel -- what I see is they both have a pure intent of wanting to help people.
Now, we create our destiny by the choices we make in life. And we all have free will.
PINSKY: Yes.
MARGOLIS: So I believe that they`re starting off in a really good place. And their intent is to help the poor and to help third-world countries, and to have a family, which I do feel they will have a family. But I feel that they`re like -- they`re in a -- they`re in a place that it`s -- you know, those people who are privileged, much is expected of them.
PINSKY: And I think they kind of understand that.
Now, I look at them and I see -- I think there are going to be bumps along the road. Won`t there?
MARGOLIS: Of course, there`s always going to be bumps.
PINSKY: Well, like everywhere. OK.
MARGOLIS: There`s always but -- well, go on.
PINSKY: I see determination in her particularly.
MARGOLIS: Right. And I feel that if, you know, because if we are proactive and we put positive energy into things, we can make things work.
When Fergie got married to Andrew, I was in England and I was on breakfast television. And they said to me, "What do you think of this marriage of Fergie and Andrew?" And I said, "Well, I see some problems in the marriage."
And they went all -- "Oh," a gasp. You never say anything bad about the royal family on TV. Just in case you go there, don`t ever say anything bad.
PINSKY: Here is fine though, just so you know.
MARGOLIS: Yes. But I do -- there`s always problems in every marriage because there`s always communication issues.
PINSKY: Right. Well --
MARGOLIS: But my feeling is that they will really work at trying to make it. Of course there will be bumps in the road.
PINSKY: OK. Here`s a Facebook question. This is someone who asked us -- this is Angie -- "When will there be children?"
Any predictions on that?
MARGOLIS: You know, timing is always hard for me, but I feel that they will start trying right away.
PINSKY: She`s not pregnant now, is she?
MARGOLIS: I don`t feel she`s pregnant now, but I feel they`ll start trying right away. And she may need a little help with getting pregnant, but I feel she will.
PINSKY: Fertility. Oh, interesting.
MARGOLIS: I feel she will --
(CROSSTALK)
PINSKY: Interesting.
William on Facebook, also, he wants to know, "How will the paparazzi affect this marriage given the horrible history in this family obviously?"
MARGOLIS: My feeling is that much was learned by Diana. And I feel Diana`s spirit is watching over them, because I do believe that we don`t die and there is a spirit world. And my feeling is that it will always be a pain, but they`ll figure it out.
PINSKY: Certainly these two boys --
MARGOLIS: Yes, they`ll deal with it. But they`ll find places to get private. I see little nooks and -- places that they can hide out, like in the countryside and stuff.
PINSKY: It makes sense.
Thank you so much, Char.
MARGOLIS: Yes. My pleasure.
PINSKY: I really appreciate it. Very interesting.
Now, next we have the King, himself. Larry King is going to be here talking about his new CNN special and taking your calls.
You don`t want to miss that. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PINSKY: Welcome back. My next guest, literally, needs no introduction. The whole world knows who Larry King is, and I`ll tell you why he`s here with me. Something I never thought I`d have the opportunity to do, which is introduce Larry King on my program. He`s here to talk about his very first special for CNN. It is called "Unthinkable: The Alzheimer`s Epidemic." It airs this Sunday, 8:00 eastern time, on CNN, and is a profound honor to have one only Larry King with me. Larry, why Alzheimer`s?
LARRY KING, LEGENDARY INTERVIEWER: Well, we`re going to do four specials a year for the next few years on CNN. I was thinking about what would be the first one, got together with my producers, and it`s a subject that`s not covered a lot.
PINSKY: Not thoroughly, anyway.
KING: I`ve seen it in spots, but -- and then I met Larry Ruvo, and he owns one of the largest liquor distributorships in America. And his father died from Alzheimer`s. And he got obsessed with the topic. And he financed the building of the Alzheimer`s center in Las Vegas which is an incredible place. We broadcast a lot of the special from there. Frank Gehry designed it, cost $80 million in honor of his father. It`s named after his father. And it resembles a brain.
We decided we will do our special there, and we talked to a lot of celebrities who had it in their families, doctors who treat and deal with it. Ron Reagan and I go -- son of the late president -- one of us takes the Alzheimer`s test. We`re not announcing which one to build a little suspense, but there is an Alzheimer`s test. One is kind of a written thing or memory thing, and the other is an MRI and go through the whole machine.
PINSKY: Is this to see who is predisposed?
KING: Who`s predisposed. There`s no real treatment. There are some drugs that can slow down its onset.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: But it`s not preventable.
PINSKY: Why do you think people are fighting so hard to come up with ways to detect the illness if there`s no treatment?
KING: That`s the puzzling part. I think it`s so that people can, for example, we asked people, as I would ask you, frequently been a guest on "Larry King Live," would you want to know? Would you want to know?
PINSKY: Well, I was going to ask you the same question, interestingly. And for me--
KING: We`re different ages. I`m 77. I`m a young 77, but I`m 77. I -- you know, it`s something to think about. Ron Reagan had to think about it, too.
PINSKY: Would you agree, I worry about it? Do you worry about it?
KING: Every time you forget something.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: OK.
PINSKY: And everyone -- all my patients who`s under a certain amount of normal age-related problem with name finding --
KING: The doctors discuss that. The famous statement they make about Alzheimer`s is it`s OK to forget where you put your keys. Normal. It`s not OK to not know what the key is for.
PINSKY: Right.
KING: If you don`t know what the key is for, you got a problem. And the terrible thing about this disease, you as a doctor would know it better than anyone, it is probably the worst of all diseases. And I say that seriously. Of the ten top diseases in America, it`s number six. It`s the only one growing. And the worst thing is all we have is our memory.
It`s all we have. We`re a collection of our memories. You and I are sitting here with our lifetime of memories. Imagine if that`s all taken away. It`s really -- don`t know who you are, who`s with you.
PINSKY: It`s the foundation of the self. The self dissolves with those memories. It`s our autobiographical self just goes away.
KING: And we wonder why there`s so much anger in -- many Alzheimer`s patients get very angry, throw things, because we`re guessing now. Let`s say we can go inside the brain of the Alzheimer`s patient. How would you like to wake up in the morning not only not know who you are, know that people are coming to see you who you`re supposed to know and don`t know.
How about if you don`t remember if you ate? How about a bright colors frighten you? You throw things. How about you can never be alone?
PINSKY: To me, listen, I`ve been dealing with Alzheimer`s with patients for a long time, and you don`t have to see many cases to start worrying about it in yourself or your family because it`s so pernicious. Let`s look at a clip. This is Larry`s Alzheimer`s special on the late Ronald Reagan. This particular part. Let`s watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: So what was life like when you would visit?
RON REAGAN, SON OF RONALD REAGAN: His personality remained really till the end. He was this very sort of warm presence in the room even when he couldn`t really express himself very well.
KING: He didn`t speak for a long time.
REAGAN: No, not for a long time. Aphasia was something that happened fairly early which is, of course, a tragic irony for somebody who`s known as the great communicator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: You know, I ran across him once. He used to have the office in the Fox building.
KING: Yes.
PINSKY: And he greeted me as though -- he`s so very warm like he was the best friend. he had no idea where he was going, what he was doing, but he still had that warmth.
KING: One day he passed kids playing soccer, and he had them stop the car, and he went out on the field.
PINSKY: Wow.
KING: The tragedy of this, and as I said before, no one knows it better than you, is to not know someone you`re supposed to know. Not know them. I mean, I can`t fathom. And every time I forget something, every time, and I forget something every day, and all that supposed to be normal. I forgot my phone number the other day. My home phone number.
PINSKY: I would have a panic attack.
(LAUGHTER)
PINSKY: That`s how I would respond.
KING: I can help you, doctor. I`ll see you at 6 o`clock.
PINSKY: Hold my hand, Larry.
KING: On Thursday.
(LAUGHTER)
PINSKY: Let`s take another look at Larry King`s Alzheimer`s special. It is Sunday at 8:00. I guess, in this case, Angie Dickinson is talking about the care of her sister?
KING: Took care of her sister for many years.
PINSKY: Let`s take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: What was it like for you?
ANGIE DICKINSON, ACTRESS: Well, I knew that was coming. I was only sad for her. I wasn`t sad for myself.
KING: But it is the long good-bye, isn`t it?
DICKINSON: Yes, it is. Yes, but you pray for the goodbye to come as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: One thing I always tell caretakers of Alzheimer`s patients is I don`t want a second patient. It can be so consuming that people actually get ill both emotionally and physically being the caretaker for Alzheimer`s patients.
KING: You don`t get love back. What was it like to have a loved one who you`ve loved all your life and they`ve loved you, and no love.
PINSKY: So sad. Nothing. Maybe hostility back.
KING: Maybe hostility.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: Why -- why don`t they speak? Many don`t speak.
PINSKY: You know, it --
KING: The brain is not connecting.
PINSKY: Right. That part dissolves. That part goes away. I mean, you know, it`s the loss of self that I think we`re all talking about that`s so difficult, both the loss for the individual who may be kindly aware of it, and then, the loss for the loved ones. It`s just awful. All right we have yet one more clip. This is Larry King`s Alzheimer`s special. Check this out. This is Maria Shriver talking about her father, Sgt. Shriver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: What`s it like, though, to have a father you love not know you?
MARIA SHIVER, AMERICAN JOURNALIST: It`s challenging. It`s really challenging to look at your father or your mother and have them not know who you are and have to introduce yourself to them over and over again. Even though, they look like your parent, they`re not your parent. They`ve become really your child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Is there hope for the future?
KING: I can`t say there is. The center and the doctors who work at it, the doctor who runs it who left UCLA to run this center, but I don`t think we mislead anyone on this. I don`t see any great hope until we can get inside that brain. You know, I asked the cardiologist once, Dr. Paul Dudley White, who was the first cardiologist in America, first recognized specialty, treated President Eisenhower, if he was starting today, what would he be? And he said he`d be a neurologist.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: Because the brain is today what the heart was 50 years.
PINSKY: It has been -- it`s the century of the brain, decade of the brain. Now, people are really realizing there`s a lot more. Larry has been busier than ever. We`re going to talk about what he`s been doing in addition to the CNN special. And Larry, even a little later on, is going to take your calls with me. He`s going to stick around and so should you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: This is costume jewelry, though, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
KING: These are diamonds?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You bet your ass they are.
KING: Okay. All right.
Richard, Richard gave them to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a perfect ring. I thought, how poetic that would be if a nice little Jewish girl like me ended up with it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Larry`s Alzheimer`s special airs Sunday on CNN, 8:00 eastern. Now, Larry`s good friend, Liz Taylor, died a few weeks ago. Did you have any contact with her toward the end?
KING: The last time I -- some contact. She wrote me a beautiful letter the night I left the air, the night of December 16th, 2010. She said she couldn`t be there. She wanted to be there, be on the show with me, but she was ill and confined to bed, but she wished me nothing but the best. She was a dame.
PINSKY: You light up a bit when you talked about -- did you have a crush on her when you`re a kid?
KING: No, no, no.
PINSKY: When you were a kid, not in real life.
KING: Of course.
PINSKY: Right. That`s what I`m going to say, then you got to meet her and interview her.
KING: Got to know her.
PINSKY: That must have been --
KING: She was a dame. She was a broad. In the best sense of the word. If she likes you, she likes you. I adored her. She was tiny, which I never knew -- the first time I met her, I couldn`t believe it. I bet she wasn`t 5`1".
PINSKY: No kidding.
KING: Yes. Tiny, but she had no eyes. See this shirt?
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: The color of her eyes.
PINSKY: Wow. Boy. Exciting.
KING: And she was a hell of an actress. There`s no one in Hollywood today on the female side where we could say, she`s coming in the door, wow.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: Elizabeth Taylor was --
PINSKY: I remember I was in the forum in 19 -- I`m going to date myself, 1975. I was in the forum in Los Angeles, and Elton John, it was Elton John concert, and she walked on to the floor and the whole place leaned in, and she kind of swept in.
KING: She had that drama.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: And she was -- no, she was a good businesswoman. She had a perfume business.
PINSKY: Anybody you didn`t interview that you wish you had?
KING: Fidel. We tried to get him. I went down to Havana a year and a half ago. Amazing city, Havana. I never able to get Castro. Ted Turner tried to get him. And we`re still trying, by the way. We do four specials a year. If Castro says yes, I`m there tomorrow, but -- because he fascinates me. Forget the communist part and all that. He`s the longest running leader of a country in the history of the universe.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: No one has led a country longer, the day he retired, 60 years. Somebody must have liked him.
PINSKY: Somewhere.
KING: Guys like that, there are certain guys. We may look at them as evil in certain senses, but evil people also -- they don`t get up in the morning and look in the mirror and say, I`m evil.
PINSKY: No, of course not.
KING: No one does that.
PINSKY: No. right. That`s what makes them so --
KING: Fascinating. Oh, yes.
PINSKY: How about -- speaking of that, the Michael Jackson thing. Do you have an opinion about that and what`s going on with Dr. Murray?
KING: Well, you would be better suited than I to answer that. It`s - - I don`t like to get all my career I never liked to know more than a guest. And I don`t know more about medicine than the people involved in this case who think that he may have been involved in negligence.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: I wasn`t there that night, so I can`t presume to know.
PINSKY: Had you met, interviewed Michael?
KING: I met him. Didn`t interview him. I interviewed him for ten minutes when he was 12 years old. The Jackson 5 were on in Miami. But I was honored by Jesse Jackson at a dinner once, and Michael was one of the presenters of the award, and we sat at the same table and enjoyed dinner together. He was very shy.
PINSKY: Very.
KING: Until he got on stage.
PINSKY: Yes, it`s kind of --
KING: Another person appeared.
PINSKY: Right.
KING: Oh, he was -- that was dynamic. Just to see him walk up on stage. You know, something happened to him.
PINSKY: It is kind of remarkable. I mean, he was so uncomfortable and so awkward as a person individually.
KING: He`d be a study.
PINSKY: Oh, yes, he would. Oh, yes, he would. In a way -- it`s another question I wanted to ask you is, you know, both of them, there is no more star like a Liz Taylor, and to my eyes, stars are getting, shall we say, less healthy emotionally? They seem to have more problems, more addiction, more chaos.
KING: More to think about. I have no idea. You know, it puzzles me. It still puzzles me about human nature and maybe you, again, interviewing you.
PINSKY: OK.
KING: Folks, if you take this drug, you will have a life of despair. You will find yourself in the gutter. You will have to two to rehab, and your entire career will be ruined. Give me some. Why would someone say, give me some? Why would anyone adult start smoking? To me, I don`t understand.
PINSKY: It`s denial. That`s denial.
KING: It is going to happen to you but not to me?
PINSKY: It`s called stinking thinking. Their thinking is the enemy. In other words, the thing --
KING: Don`t think.
PINSKY: Well, the thinking is so distorted, it`s part of the condition.
KING: I never got an answer to the question I asked it of you when you would bring on some of your famous patients. Why did you start?
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: Richard Dreyfuss said to me once, I have no freaking idea.
PINSKY: Some of them don`t. Some of them don`t, but most of them will tell you that it was deep emptiness, deep pain.
KING: Over what?
PINSKY: Usually, you know, horrible childhood circumstances, really bad traumas and stuff that they never dealt with or even know maybe some of them don`t know they had. And then, they come into adulthood with this pain that they`re trying to manage and somebody says, try this, might make you feel a little better. Works, and then, something kicks in. And they`ve got stinking thinking after that.
KING: How angry are you at the person who says, try a little of this? Society hates them.
PINSKY: Yes, I hate the world, the society that doesn`t deal with it realistically. We`ve come to a period of 30-year period where pills, and you know, solutions were checking in, checking out, turning on. Remember all that stuff from the 1960s?
KING: Sure.
PINSKY: We`re still living under the shadow of that stuff. Did you do drugs in the 1960s?
KING: Never did drugs. Never been -- I tell you nothing (ph) about myself. While I was a three-pack a day smoker until the day of my heart attack, so I understand when you`re addicted to something. I was addicted to tobacco. I`ve never been drunk. I was always afraid of losing control because control is my life.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: I mean, when you`re doing a show, you`re in control.
PINSKY: Yes. I`m with you.
KING: And I had control every night of my life and five hours of radio control.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: So, the fear of it -- I`ll have a glass of red wine once a week. I`ve never been drunk. I don`t think I`ve ever been high. I don`t know if that`s a compliment.
PINSKY: Doing this kind of job probably makes you high.
KING: Oh, it`s a natural high.
PINSKY: Yes. So, you got to be in control to do that. Speaking of getting high, Larry`s been very, very busy. I want to ask him about the original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company. Larry, we have a surprise for you
KING: Oh, my God. The muffins and the bagels.
PINSKY: The muffins and the bagels. Tell us about this.
KING: OK. Wow.
PINSKY: Wow. Are they something -- get a camera really on these things. I want to bury my face in them.
KING: Could be coming to your neighborhood soon. It`s a franchise operation. They`re open in Florida. They`re opening every day somewhere. And they came to me to be their spokesperson. What they can do, you know that in Brooklyn, New York City, it`s the best water in America.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: The best. Tap water is as good as bottled water in New York. They came up with a process, these geniuses, of manufacturing that water here or wherever they open. Topeka, they open. So, they can make the water. If they make the water, the water makes the bagel. So, they bring the water down. They`ve manufactured it here.
They`re opening in Beverly Hills, and in return, for my being their spokesperson, they gave me a good portion of the Beverly Hills franchise. We`ve been doing super here on Beverly Hills Drive.
PINSKY: I stole a bagel before the show. It was awesome.
KING: They`re really good because it`s the water. And these are muffins.
PINSKY: No kidding. They`re awesome. They`re awesome. I`m eating them.
KING: This is a great bagel.
PINSKY: I also want more of that. I have a question for you. Why do you think so many -- around your sort of age group, so many amazing people came out of Brooklyn that period of time --
KING: I don`t know why.
PINSKY: Do you know why?
KING: I don`t know why.
PINSKY: Isn`t it true, though? Some amazing people came out of Brooklyn.
KING: You know the Forbes 400 CEOs, 75 are water Brooklyn. I don`t know what it was. Was it in the water?
PINSKY: I hope so, because I`m taking a whole bunch of it right now.
KING: You were raised (ph) within Brooklyn. What you never saw in Brooklyn, one, we were isolated. Manhattan was out there. When we went into Manhattan, we would say we`re going into the city. We never felt a part of the city. The city was over there, over the bridge through the tunnel.
We had the dodgers. We had a sense of community. No one ever got divorced. Ever. No one ever moved. I never had anyone move. No one ever moved. You lived on 83rd street, you grew up on 83rd. We had a high sense of loyalty.
PINSKY: Huh.
KING: High degree. That`s the number one attribute.
PINSKY: But it was to family and neighborhood, right?
KING: Family and neighborhood.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: And stayed loyal to that. Loyal to your friends.
PINSKY: You still hang out with your friends --
KING: Yes. And I take my boys back to Brooklyn. I took my kids to wherever its field was where the Dodgers played. It`s now a project, an apartment building. It`s in a bad section of town. And my 12-year-old who was nine at the time said -- we live in Beverly hills now -- he says, why can`t we live here?
PINSKY: Wow. Larry is going to stay with me. He`s going to do an on-call section and answer your questions.
KING: Bagel.
PINSKY: They are really good. This is a muffin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PINSKY: We are back with Larry King answering your questions for him. Now, Larry, we`ve arranged something here. This is a --
KING: My phone bank.
PINSKY: This is your phone bank. I`d like to offer it to you.
KING: Want me to take this call?
PINSKY: I want you to take this call.
KING: No, it`s not a text (ph).
PINSKY: I understand.
KING: Realize -- I know you`re a doctor, but --
PINSKY: Just for the sake of old time.
KING: I know this is modern technology, but this is amazing. OK. Let`s go. Cleveland, you`re on the air with Dr. Drew and me.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was there ever a time in your life that you wanted to go into a different profession?
KING: Good question, Cleveland. I, no. I wanted to be a broadcaster when I was five years old. My first memory is listening to the radio and wanting to do that.
PINSKY: Was it a sports cast or something?
KING: Sports. I wanted to do sports. I got into interviewing on a break. But, if I was starting over, I might have chosen comedy, because I`m doing a comedy tour starting in May. And I love standing on a stage, and I love making people laugh. And that`s a high. See, that`s a high.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: A natural high.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: When you can no -- you know, laughter is like an aphrodisiac.
PINSKY: Yes.
KING: So, I can -- but it`s a good question, but no, broadcasting was it.
PINSKY: And I talked to people that were at your event in Las Vegas where you just told stories from your book.
KING: Uh-huh.
PINSKY: And they said it was one of the most entertaining evenings they`d ever spent.
KING: We`re going to be doing it everywhere. We start in Atlantic City on May 14th.
PINSKY: Here`s a man on the street question for Larry. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. My name is Lindsey. Larry, what do you want to be remembered for?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: What do I want to be remembered for?
PINSKY: Yes, I mean, whether you`re old or young, what would you sort of want people to say on your -- on your tombstone?
KING: I think that he -- he made the world around him, a little more knowledgeable about the world around them.
PINSKY: Yes, I like that. I think in there is something that most communicators feel intuitively. That they want to make a difference and they want to --
KING: Yes, you want to do -- you know, my biggest fear is I don`t want to die. You know, I want to be around.
PINSKY: For your kids mostly, right?
KING: Yes, I want to be around for everything.
PINSKY: OK. Your love life.
KING: I said to my wife, I want to be frozen. If I`m frozen, I got a chance. There`s a slim chance, but a chance if I`m frozen. She says, OK, let`s see you`re frozen, you wake up in 500 years, you don`t know anybody. I`ll make new friends.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: I`ll give it a shot.
PINSKY: Who do you think is a great interviewer?
KING: Oh, I love Mike Wallace. I saw him in New York a year or two ago. He said a profound thing to me about aging. First, the golden years ain`t.
PINSKY: Ain`t so golden.
KING: And when you get to be, like, 85, tomorrow you will not feel better than you did today. You might feel the same, but you won`t feel better.
PINSKY: Larry, thank you so much for joining me.
KING: Thank you, doctor.
PINSKY: Appreciate it. Good luck with the business ventures. Larry`s Alzheimer`s special airs Sunday on CNN, 8:00 eastern.
All right. Now, quickly, before we go, I want to leave you with some thoughts on the devastation in the south. Victims of this week`s horrific tornadoes are mourning, rebuilding, and trying to heal, and they need help. Make no mistake. This is a traumatic time. You hear me going off all the time about the importance of relationship and closeness and service. This is it. This is go time now. We need your help.
Your fellow Americans in this difficult time and difficult economic time, as well, they need you, and this is a great way to get involved. For information, you can go to CNN.com/impact. You`ll find all the organizations and ways you can help. That is CNN.com/impact. Pitch in. Give what you can. Thanks for joining me tonight.
END
