Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Stars Behind Bars
Aired December 03, 2013 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST: Tonight on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars Behind Bars." The most monstrous celebrity meltdowns ever caught on police cameras, including Reese Witherspoon`s infamous "I`m an American" speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: Are you kidding me? I`m an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you to get in that car and stay in there, didn`t I?
WITHERSPOON: This is beyond. This is beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Plus the top three celebrity mug shots of all time: crazy eyes, wild hair, crooked smiles. But which star has the best, worst mug shot ever?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer. Thank you so much for watching. Right now, "Stars Behind Bars." Fame isn`t always a good thing when you run into trouble. Many of Hollywood`s biggest stars have learned that lesson the hard way.
Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey Jr. and, yes, repeat offender Lindsay Lohan, all celebrities who took a detour into legal limbo and landed behind bars. We`ve all heard the dramatic stories of their falls from grace.
The big question tonight: does being famous actually make it tougher to face the consequences of some really bad decisions?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITHERSPOON: You get better not arrest me. Are you kidding me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER (voice-over): It`s something Reese Witherspoon found out the hard way after her arrest for mouthing off with a cop.
WITHERSPOON: Do you know my name, sir? OK, you`re about to find out who I am.
HAMMER (voice-over): Going from the bright lights of Hollywood to the harsh light of jail in Atlanta can be a rough ride. Of all the stories in Hollywood, few are more compelling than the fall from great films of stars who wind up behind bars.
Stars behind bars fall into all kinds of categories. There are the repeat offenders.
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, RADAR ONLINE: You are never surprised when you hear that Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen has been arrested.
HAMMER: These two seem to skate in and out of trouble without doing any serious jail time.
TERESZCUK: We all say in our office, it`s another day that ends in "Y." Of course they`re getting into trouble.
HAMMER: Then there are the hard-time "Stars Behind Bars" like Martha Stewart and Wesley Snipes, who did real prison sentences.
Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison in 2004 for crimes related to a stock sale, and Snipes did more than two years in prison for tax charges.
Then there are the "Stars Behind Bars" who found fame after jail, like Tim Allen, who was busted selling cocaine in 1978 and did about two years in prison. A little more than a decade later, he was a sitcom superstar on "Home Improvement."
Or Mark Wahlberg, who as a teen did 45 days in jail for assault and battery.
TERESZCUK: He straightened up, turned around and has really done well for himself.
HAMMER: And some who were stars before they were behind bars became even bigger superstars after getting out. Robert Downey Jr. nearly torpedoed his career with a string of drug-related jail stints back in the `90s. Now he`s a box-office superhero, fighting bad guys as "Iron Man."
TERESZCUK: People with bad pasts can definitely straighten out and do a lot of good.
HAMMER: And then there are the "Stars Behind Bars" who will be staying behind bars. O.J. Simpson, serving 9 to 33 years for robbery and kidnapping. And legendary music producer Phil Spector, doing 19 years to life for murder. Neither will be on any red carpets any time soon.
MARK GERAGOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It still is a daunting, daunting thing.
HAMMER: Celebrity defense attorney Mark Geragos tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT facing the criminal justice system is a tough experience for celebrities used to the sweet life.
GERAGOS: You`re stripped of kind of all of your clout and your posse, so to speak, and now you are completely on your on, and basically, when you get put into jail you have to deal with it. You have to deal with a stark reality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson certainly knows all about the harsh sound of those prison doors slamming behind him. Tyson spent a grueling three years in prison. It put his life in a tail spin. Well, I spoke with Iron Mike about the prison stint that forever changed his life for the better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You went to prison for three years after being convicted of raping a beauty pageant contestant, and I know you still maintain your innocence in that case. But if you would, take me back to the moment. You step into that cell; the door closes behind you. What`s going through your mind at that time?
MIKE TYSON, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMP: I`m very depressed, but I`m really prepared for it. I was prepared for the situation. But I just looked at it as my life every day. That`s what you have to do. Everything you had outside you have to check at the door and go into this place a different person.
HAMMER: You were living, though, this life of luxury before that, a very out-loud life of everything you could possibly have wanted. Give me a sense of what the adjustment was like, having to turn all that in.
TYSON: Well, I was living a life of luxury in prison, too, just not the same as I was outside. I didn`t have any cars and stuff.
I had -- I had food. I really was able to get what I wanted, could do what I wanted. I had girlfriends. You know? So it wasn`t like I -- it`s just not like your freedom. All that stuff is just not like your freedom.
HAMMER: You say a life of luxury in prison, and I imagine I`d speak to a lot of other prisoners, and they wouldn`t have the same recollection of their experience. Is that because you are Mike Tyson, and perhaps people were eager to give you more things than others would receive?
TYSON: Well, I don`t know. That had a lot to do with it probably, but also, I know how to talk to people. I`m not a big shot; I`m not no gangster. So I know how to talk to people, so things get done.
HAMMER: And what was the day like, a typical day for you there?
TYSON: In prison?
HAMMER: Yes.
TYSON: I`d get up, go to the gym, work out, come back, get on the telephone, make phone calls, go to school, go to visits.
HAMMER: Did you at any point feel like you had to prove yourself to anybody or did people steer clear of you because, hey, you`re Mike Tyson?
TYSON: No. I was just -- I was a simple guy. I didn`t have to fight nobody. I put up my hands. The other guys fight. You know, I was just a simple guy. I wasn`t no big shot in prison. I wasn`t no gangster tough guy. I was just some guy in there.
HAMMER: But people must have treated you differently. And I was actually curious if anybody you ever found at any time came gunning for you because you were Mike Tyson and maybe they felt like they had something to prove.
TYSON: No, I never had that feeling. I never had any problems in prison. If there were any it was because I started them. Sometimes I get carried away.
HAMMER: You got out of prison after serving three of a six-year sentence.
TYSON: Yes.
HAMMER: And in your one-man show, you talk about how you still came out of prison an incredibly wealthy man. I want to take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYSON: After I left prison, I have to admit, I was scared. You ain`t going to believe this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I had around 380, to $400 million in my bank account, right? And not a clue how I was going to survive the next 400 seconds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: What exactly do you mean?
TYSON: I wasn`t prepared to come outside. I was secure in the institution. I was comfortable in prison. I had stress outside. I had no stress when I was out there last time. And I didn`t know how I was going to do it. And I was disastrous when I came out. I had a lot of money, but I was just -- I was like life was too fast for me when I came out.
HAMMER: What was the toughest part of the adjustment back afterwards?
TYSON: Yes. People. People and violence. When I came out of prison I was very violent, just violent. I got in a lot of trouble, of course, you know because of when I came out. I came out real bitter when I came out. That was the reason I was that way.
HAMMER: Are you bitter now? Because a lot -- you hear a lot...
TYSON: Not now. In `95 when I came out of prison I was a maniac.
HAMMER: Was it basically, because you do hear a lot of people who come out of the system who feel like, especially if they maintain their innocence, that they were robbed of this time, in your case three years of their life. Do you still feel any of that now?
TYSON: Oh, yes, I feel that 100 percent. But I don`t hold onto no bitterness. That`s just some -- that`s just -- it occurred, it happened, a moment in time. It`s a wrap. It`s over. I`m doing this stuff now. I can`t get that time back. This is what I`m doing now.
HAMMER: Would I be correct in my assessment, looking at you and talking to you and feeling your energy, that perhaps you`re in the best part of your life right now?
TYSON: At this stage of any life you have to be. I`ve never been -- you know I`ve been in love with many women. It`s not hard for me to be in love with anyone. But I`ve never been committed to any of them. I`ve always cheated on them, gave them venereal diseases or something. And I`ve never -- this is just what it is, and my wife, we`re together. And this is -- this is just what we`re going to do. We`ll hopefully, God willing, spend our lives together. That`s just -- the whole idea of that is just so riveting to me, that we`ll stay together until one of us die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: He has such an incredible story. My thanks to Mike Tyson.
Well, stars are certainly used to being on camera, but they`re not so used to be caught on camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITHERSPOON: Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I told you...
WITHERSPOON: I`m an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you to get in that car and stay in there, didn`t I?
WITHERSPOON: This is beyond. This is beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: They know you`re an American, Reese, but why are you mouthing off to the cops? You`re not going to believe the things stars say before they get locked up.
Plus child stars behind bars. Why does it seem like child stardom is a guarantee for future legal trouble? Former child star Danny Bonaduce is right here, revealing his harrowing behind-bars confessions.
And now, "Stars Behind Bars" then and now.
Robert Downey Jr. is no stranger to jail. In 1997 he missed a court- ordered drug test and ended up spending four months behind bars for it. Two years later he missed another drug test and served almost a year of a three-year term. That was then.
Now Downey, of course, is back on top, starring in blockbuster after blockbuster, including "Iron Man 3."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT DOWNEY JR., ACTOR: How many in the air?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirteen, sir.
DOWNEY: How many can I carry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
APOLLO NIDA, REALITY TV STAR: I was at this one thing 16 months and he was like who wants to volunteer for trash pick-up? I was like (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I`ve been so confined, I would do it. Dude, I went out there. Trash came, it started raining. I started crying, man. I hadn`t felt it in so long I thought I was like -- I thought I was free for a minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Now reality TV "Stars Behind Bars." That`s Apollo Nida, breakout star on Bravo TV`s "Real Housewives of Atlanta," breaking it down to his cast mates about his tough stint behind bars.
Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Right now we go from behind bars to becoming a reality star.
Apollo Nida found himself launched into the reality TV spotlight just six months he was released from prison. He served 16 months behind bars for racketeering. It was a stunning conviction that would rattle life as he knew it.
And in a whirlwind that followed his release, he married attorney Phaedra Parks, and together they joined the cast of Bravo TV`s hit franchise, "Real Housewives of Atlanta."
Well, I just spoke with Apollo and his wife, Phaedra Parks, about finding sudden fame after his time in jail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, Apollo, let me start with you here. I have to imagine you didn`t see all of this coming. I mean, just one year after you were released from prison for racketeering, you joined your wife on "The Real Housewives," you put your past out there for everyone to see. I`ve got to know what it was like to leave prison and then suddenly find yourself thrust into a very bright spotlight like this.
NIDA: From the beginning it was kind of difficult. I really wasn`t sure how, you know, the viewers were going to accept me. It was a lot of, you know, mental anguish at the same time trying to just readjust. But, you know, I`m a team player, my wife is supportive, my family is supportive, so I just jumped into it and just went on for the ride.
HAMMER: Because a lot of people -- you always hear stories of people who have just gotten out of prison, they`ve done their time, and then they just want to lay low, and you did the exact opposite.
NIDA: Yes, actually, you know, I got a lot of riff-raff from the -- from the parole board, actually, state of Georgia. You know, they really wasn`t fond of it. Once they saw -- because they thought, you know, a lot of cameras were going to follow us into the parole office, and that type of thing is really, you know, shunned upon.
So...
HAMMER: Phaedra, talk to me about that decision to allow the cameras into your lives, no holds barred, knowing that Apollo`s past was going to be put out there. I mean, you guys were practically newlyweds when the cameras started rolling.
PHAEDRA PARKS, REALITY TV STAR: You know, of course my husband did have a past, but like I say on the show, everybody knows every saint has a -- every sinner has a past, every saint has a future. So you know, it is what it is, and I was proud of him. And, you know, hopefully, our story would help someone else.
HAMMER: And I think your wife makes a terrific point in terms of educating people and showing a different side of you and also letting people perhaps learn from your experience.
And for the sake of that, give me a sense what was it like the first time you walked into prison, knowing you`d be there for a while and really not knowing exactly how long?
NIDA: You know, it was kind of devastating. You know, once I got shipped off to a diagnostics center, they make you, you know, shave your head and shave your -- they change your appearance, basically. They try to humiliate you. And at that point, you`ve got to kind of, you know -- it`s degrading because you have to get naked in front of, you know, officers and other men and, you know, you`re not used to do anything like that. So, you know, it`s kind a life-changing experience.
And then you kind of, you know, go through the routine, and you try to just find a place. You just got to kind of find a place that you can mesh and just, you know become one with yourself, and that`s what I did. I just dug deep inside, and I became one with myself, one with the higher power. Spirituality really played a strong part for me.
HAMMER: Well, now that you are well on the other side of it all, what would you say is the biggest way the whole experience changed you?
NIDA: Now being home, and not necessarily a TV show, just the foundation that has been created with us joining together. We have two children -- one is on the way. And it gives me a sense of there`s something to look back and look forward to, and at the end of the day I have to be responsible. I have to be accountable for everything that I do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: My thanks to Phaedra and Apollo.
And just like reality TV, when the cops bust you, you know there`s usually a police camera recording everything, so you better be on your best behavior.
Well, I guess Josh Brolin didn`t get the message. We have the best and worst star arrests caught on tape.
Now, "Stars Behind Bars," then and now.
2007 Nicole Richie went from trouble-making reality TV star to real trouble. She was arrested for driving under the influence, served just 82 minutes of her four-day sentence.
That was then. Now Nicole is a mom of two, a successful fashion designer, and she became a mentor on NBC`s hit reality show, "Fashion Star."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I go down, I want to go down in flames.
NICOLE RICHIE, MENTOR, NBC`S "FASHION STAR": If you could talk about your process here and, like, your journey, this just tells the entire story. It`s like the most commercial but still very you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I were to get eliminated for this, I would be so happy...
RICHIE: Then you`d be fine, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... because this is amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: This is one of the most famous celebrity arrests of all time, the late Michael Jackson turning himself into police at a Santa Barbara airplane hangar. This was back in 2003.
He was charged with child molestation. Of course, Michael was cleared of all charges after a 14-week trial that grabbed the world`s attention.
So what was it like for a world-famous star like Michael Jackson to go to jail? No entourage, no planners. I spoke with the man who represented the late Michael Jackson at the start of Michael`s child molestation trial. Mark Geragos revealed to me how Michael handled the whole ordeal. And he started by telling me about Michael`s initial arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: We all, of course, know what Michael Jackson had hoped for when you first worked with him at the start of his molestation case back in 2004. He was arrested and he was charged.
But my question is, when that initially happened, was he handled any differently because he was a huge global star? Did he go to a holding cell while he was booked and being fingerprinted?
MARK GERAGOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, absolutely. He -- we had negotiated with the D.A. to have him surrender. And what that meant was, is that he -- instead of somebody coming out and grabbing him and arresting him, we would go directly to them, meet them, which we did in a hangar outside of Santa Barbara.
We then gave Michael over to the sheriff`s deputies, if you will. They filmed the whole thing, which I generally do not see with any other clients. So -- and they filmed it in case there was any kind of accusations made later.
He went into a holding cell and was booked and fingerprinted just like everybody else is. And then we immediately -- we had arranged for bail. I think if my memory serves me, it was something outrageous like 3 million bucks. We posted the bail and then had him released virtually -- I don`t know -- three or four hours later, and then he was taken out of there almost immediately.
HAMMER: So you made it...
GERAGOS: For all of...
HAMMER: Yes, go ahead.
GERAGOS: For all of the preparation I did for him, I will tell you that it was not enough. It`s never enough. Because once you go in there, it is really an unbelievable experience for the first time.
HAMMER: Give us a since of what his reaction was going through all of that. Because as good a job as you did of getting him through the process quickly, it`s still Michael Jackson. It`s still a person going through this process for the first time.
GERAGOS: Right. And what happens with all criminal defendants that I find, especially ones who`ve had a great deal of success, is they`re now on the receiving end of all of these accusations, all of this fear about what`s going to happen to them, the fear of the unknown. And you try to prepare them for that, but it still is a daunting, daunting thing.
Somebody who is used to being able to have people deal with things like, you know, details of their everyday life. Now they`re basically alone. You`re stripped of kind of all of your crowd or your posse, so to speak, and now you are completely on your own. And basically, when you get put into jail, you have to deal with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Really amazing insight. My thanks to Mark Geragos.
Well, from M.J. behind bars to getting cuffed with Reese.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITHERSPOON: Are you kidding me? I`m an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you to get in that car and stay in there, didn`t I?
WITHERSPOON: This is beyond. This is beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Is this the most revealing celebrity caught-on-tape arrest ever? How does Reese`s run-in with the law compare to other star arrests caught on tape? It doesn`t get any more real than this.
Plus "Child Stars Behind Bars." From Lindsay Lohan to "Diff`rent Strokes" star Todd Bridges, you know, some kid actors seem to spend more time in jail than on set. So what is it really like for a celebrity in lock-up?
Former child star Danny Bonaduce knows all about going from being a famous TV star to being behind bars, and he is right here to reveal all.
This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITHERSPOON: Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you.
WITHERSPOON: I`m an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you to get in that car and stay in there, didn`t I?
WITHERSPOON: This is beyond. This is beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Right now "Stars Behind Bars." Hollywood A-listers like Reese Witherspoon capture some of their best work on camera and some of their worst when that camera is in the hands of cops. Tonight, we`ve got the most monumental melt-downs. Stars under arrest and caught on tape.
"Child Stars Behind Bars." Lindsay Lohan, Todd Bridges. Some kid actors rack up more mug shots than movies. So what`s it really like for a celebrity in lock-up? Our friend and former child star, Danny Bonaduce, reveals secrets from inside. A five-star resort with special treatment? Not so much. Danny`s harrowing behind-bars confessions might leave you scared straight. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues right now.
Welcome back to a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, our revealing look at "Stars Behind Bars." And thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer.
Right now, it`s "Child Stars Behind Bars." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is revealing how young fame has led to big trouble for so many stars. Think about it. From Lindsay Lohan, to the cast of the 1980s sit-com, "Diff`rent Strokes," all too often child stars grow up to be adult convicts. We have someone who is uniquely qualified to tell us what that`s like, Danny Bonaduce, who got into all kinds of trouble after he hit it big in the 1970s sit-com "The Partridge Family." Danny`s right here, and in just a moment he will share all of the ugly details of his arrests.
But first SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates what happens when child stars go behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty days in jail on the first DUI case.
HAMMER: Like Lindsay Lohan, who seems to have racked up more mug shots than movies, there are plenty of other former child stars who grow up to be "Stars Behind Bars."
TERESZCUK: It breaks everyone`s heart, because you see them rise to such fame and then fall so quickly.
HAMMER: Take Edward Furlong, for instance, who was so memorable with Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Conner in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."
EDWARD FURLONG, ACTOR: You got a quarter?
HAMMER: He`s now a regular child star behind bars, arrested multiple times for suspected domestic violence. He`s pleaded not guilty in his most recent case.
BRIAN BONSALL, ACTOR ON "FAMILY TIES": Thanks, Mikey (ph).
HAMMER: And then there`s Brian Bonsall, who played Michael J. Fox`s baby brother on TV`s "Family Ties." But when he grew up, he got arrested twice on assault charges and battled substance abuse.
But perhaps the most distressing case of "Child Stars Behind Bars" involves the three child stars from the 1980s sit-com "Diff`rent Strokes."
DANA PLATO, ACTRESS FROM "DIFF`RENT STROKES": Well, if it isn`t sleeping beauty.
TODD BRIDGES, ACTOR FROM "DIFF`RENT STROKES": You mean sleeping ugly.
GARY COLEMAN, ACTOR FROM "DIFF`RENT STROKES": I owe you an insult.
HAMMER: All three of its young stars -- Gary Coleman, Dana Plato and Todd Bridges -- grew up to see their share of legal troubles.
BRIDGES: I`m truly blessed by God to still be alive.
HAMMER: He sure is. Both Dana Plato and Gary Coleman have died. But Todd has turned his life around and told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about the troubles faced by his former child co-stars.
BRIDGES: Gary Coleman had parents that just didn`t care much about him, and Dana, her mother wasn`t around that much, you know. So I think that, you know, when those kind of things -- we come from those kind of (inaudible) in our family, it`s going to create certain things.
HAMMER: And it`s a descent all too many child stars have experienced as they became "Stars Behind Bars."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: But I am here to tell you that there is hope. Some child stars behind bars actually manage to really turn things around and reinvent themselves, and I think there`s really no better example than former child star Danny Bonaduce. The "Partridge Family" star has been very open over the years about all of his ups and downs, including his high-profile arrests. There was one in 1990 for drugs, and another for assault the following year. Danny`s rollercoaster bad boy lifestyle defined his reputation for some time, but he`s not proud of the bad choices that led him to jail, so I asked Danny what it`s really like to be a star behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: What was it like that first time you ever walked into a cell? I mean, what`s going through your mind the very first time you`re in there, that door closes behind you, and you`re looking around thinking, "Wow, I`m in a whole different world now"?
DANNY BONADUCE, ACTOR/RADIO HOST: Well, the first time I did it, I don`t want to glamorize anything by saying now I`m better, but I was a very young man. I probably weighed 30 pounds less than I do now. It was abject horror and fear. I`m going into a jail with criminals that could -- that could hurt me. They looked like -- in this particular holding tank, they looked like the holding tank you see in the movies, very bad men. That has never been the case before or since. There`s three guys that really look like they`re not that mobile. But this was scary and really frightening.
And then, no offense to the cops, you get what you deserve if you break the law. If I`m pointing my finger on myself at this time. They turned on the news really loud about me being in jail, which got all the other people in jail, got all their attention. And there`s one thing you don`t want to be in jail, and that would be the center of attention.
HAMMER: And there`s so much that happened to you at that time. I mean, obviously, you paid a high price for those arrests, and I hear you taking responsibility for it all but...
BONADUCE: Thank you for saying that.
HAMMER: You lost your jobs, you lost relationships, they suffered, as well. But what was the worst part of the whole experience for you?
BONADUCE: I`ll be honest with you, because I was ashamed, so shame is a pretty bad thing. It was a huge embarrassing -- it was an embarrassing arrest.
But the fact that I had -- I`d gotten it back. I was doing really well, and I live in constant fear since they took my house away after "The Partridge Family" that they`re going to take it away again. And instead of taking it away, I gave it to them. I lost my job. So I lost all that. And I got to tell you, because it was a particularly humiliating arrest. Howard Stern, although being funny, really pointed out how embarrassing this was. So I walked around really humiliated.
And I like any modicum of fame that I have. I really -- you know, I`m sorry if this makes me shallow. I want to be famous. I`m one of the few people that will admit it. It`s like being something bad. I`m sorry. Being famous is really fun. And instead, I became a pariah. I became something to point and laugh at, and that was -- that was horrifying for me.
HAMMER: So being the famous guy in that jail, was that better or worse for you, do you think?
BONADUCE: By far worse. Because -- well, I`ll tell you -- let me tell you as fast as I can. If I go too long, tell me.
Sean Penn is the only celebrity I know that did this. He got arrested for something, and rightly so. Do you remember 20 or 25 years ago he was acting like a jerk? And he went to jail. They put him in real jail, and he said, "I want to go out to general pop, general population on the yard." Man, did he find out in a hurry that was a bad idea. He came banging on the sergeant`s window, saying, "Please, put me back in solitary."
A celebrity in jail is treated like somebody that murdered somebody. Not bad, but you have to keep them away from general pop. You can`t -- the government is responsible for your safety, and really a celebrity, 90 percent of convicts are mostly going to think how cool is this guy, for the best of it. But 10 percent and the dangerous 10 percent are going to think "That guy`s head is a trophy, and I want it on my mantelpiece." And the guy that wants you -- your trophy, he`s going to get it.
HAMMER: There`s no question, Danny, you are a different person now than you were then. What`s the biggest way that your time behind bars changed you as a person?
BONADUCE: I don`t know that it was my time behind bars. I -- something very interesting happened. A judge in Phoenix, and this is 25 years ago or something like that. I remember his name, but I don`t know if he wants it used. But he was a Harvard-educated judge. And he asked me to write him -- well, he didn`t ask me. He told me to write him once a week.
And when I wrote him once a week, I kind of started to like it. I had a super-educated friend in a job of power and dignity, and so my time was up and I didn`t have to write him anymore. But something neat happened one day, and I wrote him a little letter, and he wrote back saying, "We are not friends. I`m the judge who sentenced you. Now your sentence is up. Please discontinue writing me."
That really hurt my feelings. I thought we`d become pals.
HAMMER: Well, reality does have a way of setting in sometimes.
BONADUCE: It does. You know, you cross certain lines. And first of all, it would probably be bad for his job. And he probably didn`t hang around with a guy like me. I was a pretty awful person. I just wasn`t mean or cruel, but I was a criminal, no two ways about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Thanks to Danny Bonaduce. He really turned it all around. And another thing he added was that he feels that he deserved to be behind bars when he was out of line and he even said, any judge that didn`t put him in jail during a certain span of his life should be ashamed of himself. Always appreciate Danny`s candor, and you can check out Danny`s radio show on 102.5 KZOK in Seattle.
So, when any star gets busted, the first thing people ask after "what did they do," is "what`s the mug shot look like?" Look at these. The mug shot is a raw, untouched image of a star in decline, a permanent record of a troubled celebrity`s lowest point. In Lindsay Lohan`s case, a biannual event.
The celebrity mug shot provides an unforgettable image of a star behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): When a story breaks about a star going behind bars, it`s often a sad fall-from-grace story, a sobering reminder of the perils of addiction, ego and basic human frailty.
But once that mug shot comes out, a star`s behind-bars story becomes legendary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reese Witherspoon might be the last Hollywood star fans would expect to see on a mug shot.
HAMMER: When Reese Witherspoon was recently arrested in Atlanta for mouthing off at a cop, her mug shot became a huge part of the story.
TERESZCUK: She`s looking down. She`s not looking up at the camera. And she sort of has a little smirk on her face. She`s Reese Witherspoon. She doesn`t needs to look in the camera and smile.
HAMMER: Lots of celebrities choose to smile for their mug shots, like Bruno Mars, Flava Flav, Kid Rock, and Paris Hilton.
TERESZCUK: I guess they`re just so used to smiling when a camera flash goes off, it`s like a glamor shot.
HAMMER: But no discussion of celebrity mug shots is complete without the undisputed mug shot queen. Lindsay Lohan`s racked up enough mug shots over the years to fill a gallery.
TERESZCUK: It runs the gauntlet. She has blonde hair. She has red hair. She has dark hair. Really, she has every phase of her life.
HAMMER: But none of Lindsay`s mug shots are instant classics like actor Nick Nolte`s infamous booking photo for his 2002 DUI arrest.
TERESZCUK: He is the epitome of Hollywood out of control.
HAMMER: If a star goes behind bars, the story is not complete unless there`s a mug shot to go along with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So which star mug shot do we think is the best of all time? Bad hair, bloodshot eyes, stars just looking like an all-around hot mess? It`s the "SHOWBIZ Countdown", we got the top three celebrity mug shots of all time.
Plus, the only thing better than a mug shot after the crime is the caught- on-tape star drama at the scene of the crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH BROLIN, ACTOR: Want a kiss? Want a kissy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Josh Brolin, playing kissy face in the back of a cop car? It`s SHOWBIZ caught on tape, the cream of the crop of celebrity arrests caught on tape, next.
Now, "Stars Behind Bars," then and now.
In 2007 Kiefer Sutherland got arrested for drunk driving in Los Angeles. He pleaded no contest and served his full sentence, 48 days behind bars. That was then.
And now Sutherland is on the straight and narrow. He is reviving his role as Jack Bauer for a special run of the hit TV show "24."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIEFER SUTHERLAND, ACTOR: This man cannot leave this building alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars Behind Bars." Right now, star arrests, caught on camera. So you would think that Hollywood celebrities would be used to being on camera, right? But very often, when they run into trouble with the law, there is a police camera somewhere recording everything. From Reese Witherspoon mouthing off at cops to Josh Brolin getting a little frisky with a fellow actor in the back of a police car. You wouldn`t believe the things that stars say in the moments before they get locked up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have the right to remain silent.
HAMMER (voice-over): If there`s one thing "Stars Behind Bars" tend to have in common, they all seem to wonder whether their arrest is one big joke.
WITHERSPOON: Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you kidding me?
HAMMER: Turns out the cops often aren`t kidding. With more and more police cars equipped with dashboard-mounted cameras, chances are that when a star gets busted, we get to see how it all went down, how stars go from in their cars...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, don`t get out.
HAMMER: ... to behind bars.
WITHERSPOON: I`m now being arrested and handcuffed?
HAMMER: When Reese Witherspoon got busted for mouthing off at a police officer, police video caught everything, from the mouthing off that got Reese arrested...
WITHERSPOON: I`m a U.S. citizen. I`m allowed to stand on American ground.
HAMMER: ... to her ill-advised "Do you know who I am" moment.
WITHERSPOON: Do you know my name, sir?
HAMMER: We even got to hear her awkward conversation with her ticked- off husband, Jim Toth, as they sat in the back of the police car.
JIM TOTH, REESE`S HUSBAND: You kept getting out of the car. And now you`ve turned it into national news.
HAMMER: And we even hear their ride to the police station, where Reese is eager to answer the call of nature.
WITHERSPOON: It just comes on you like a ton of bricks and you just have to go to the restroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I`ll tell you what I can do for you right now to help you.
WITHERSPOON: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll try to miss every bump I can, OK?
WITHERSPOON: OK.
HAMMER: While Reese was cranky during her arrest, Josh Brolin was absolutely giddy during his.
BROLIN: It`s all good.
HAMMER: As he and fellow actor Jeffrey Wright sat in the back of a police officer after being busted at a Shreveport, Louisiana, bar in 2008, we see Wright`s irate.
JEFFREY WRIGHT, ACTOR: You`ve got to be (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kidding me, man.
HAMMER: But Brolin was feeling affectionate.
BROLIN: Want a kissy?
HAMMER: He even joked about how his then-wife, actress Diane Lane, would react to his arrest.
BROLIN: My wife is going to be so happy.
HAMMER: Unfortunately, country singer Randy Travis is also familiar with the back of a police car. He`s racked up a number of arrests in recent years, including this one for public intoxication in February of 2012. The cops found him in a parked car near a church in the middle of the night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to go to jail for public intoxication.
RANDY TRAVIS, COUNTRY STAR: Really?
HAMMER: Despite his arrest experience, he`s having a hard time processing what`s happening to him.
TRAVIS: Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir, I`m not going to kid you.
TRAVIS: You`re kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I`m going to be completely honest with you.
TRAVIS: Are you kidding me?
HAMMER: It`s always a shame when a star who`s been out of the headlines for a while is back in the news with a police video.
DAVID CASSIDY, ACTOR/SINGER: I do, however, I had a wandering eye as a child.
HAMMER: In this video of David Cassidy`s 2010 DUI arrest in Florida he appeared to blame eye troubles for the difficulty he was having with a field sobriety test.
CASSIDY: I had deformed muscles, which is associated with farsightedness.
HAMMER: And while Eric Carmen was a pop music staple in the `70s and `80s, his only mention on TMZ is for this caught-on-video DUI arrest, when the hammered singer also had trouble with the field sobriety test.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, wait, wait.
HAMMER: And he had some harsh words for the cops in the back of a police car.
ERIC CARMEN, SINGER: You`re ruining my life. Thank you.
HAMMER: And that`s the sad thing when a star behind bars gets caught on camera. While we get to see their highest moments, we get to see their lowest, as well.
WITHERSPOON: OK. You`re about to find out who I am.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, I don`t know what the best "Stars Behind Stars" caught-on- camera moment is, but I have to say John Brolin giving that little smooch to Jeffrey Wright in the back of a police car, that just might be it.
And those low moments often get lower when a celebrity`s far-from-glamorous mug goes viral in their mug shot. Some are shocking, some are shockingly decent - but most, they are downright pitiful. It`s the "SHOWBIZ Countdown" of the top three best celebrity mug shots ever, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Yes, the celebrity mug shot. So sad. So memorable. So what were they thinking? Tonight it`s the "SHOWBIZ Countdown," the top three best celebrity mug shots ever.
Well, he`s the Godfather of Soul, but he certainly has the mother of all mug shots. Coming in at No. 3 on the "SHOWBIZ Countdown" of the best celebrity mug shots ever is the late great James Brown. Look at this beauty. James, we`ll miss you, but we`ll always have this shot. It was taken in 2004 after his arrest for domestic violence.
David Begnaud is the host of "NewsBreaker with David Begnaud," he joins me now from Hollywood. I don`t know about you, David, but when I see this particular James Brown mug shot, if we can put it up again one more time, Charles, it makes me want to jump back, say ow.
DAVID BEGNAUD, HOST, "NEWSBREAKER WITH DAVID BEGNAUD": Ow! A.J., this says, "I just stuck my finger in the socket, and I got arrested for stupidity." That`s what this says.
I mean, look at his hair. It looks fried to begin with. This is classic James Brown. I`s like I want to turn up some music when I look at a mug shot like this.
This is money, and I think James Brown laughed all the way to the bank.
Serious story, though: domestic violence. His girlfriend at the time, later in her 30s, got in -- you know, was victimized in the fight. Of course, we don`t approve of that, but we love hideous mug shots. Love them.
HAMMER: We do. And this one is an easy one to put on our countdown. And it makes me feel proud to be living in America.
Let`s move on, because at No. 2 on our countdown of the best celebrity mug shots ever, oh, Paris! Paris Hilton, of course, the pioneer of the "sex tape to fame" formula. But I mean, you`ve got to give it to her. She`s also the master of the mug shots.
Like this one. This comes from 2006, and it is a classic. Now, Paris was arrested driving under the influence, again serious, serious offense, but this picture is legendary, because Paris just nails her signature pose in lockup. And I`m thinking that, David, Paris should be writing a book, maybe create some kind of a Web site, to give other stars tips on posing for a great mug shot.
BEGNAUD: A.J., here`s the deal. She is the epitome of the girl who takes a hot mug shot. Everything that mug shot says is: "Look at my face. My makeup is great. And have I slept with you before?"
I mean, look, this mug shot is classic Paris Hilton. I mean, her hair is perfect. There`s no makeup running. Love it. One of my favorites. Lindsay Lohan, take note.
HAMMER: Yes, I`m looking at that picture, and I`m hearing the music in the background...
(SINGING): I`m sexy and I know it.
(SPEAKING): All right. That brings us to No. 1 on our "SHOWBIZ Countdown" of best celebrity mug shots ever. And really, could there be any other than this? I mean, come on. Do we even really need to say anything?
Nick Nolte. I mean, few words to describe this Hawaiian shirt wigged- out mess. This comes from his 2002 arrest for driving under the influence.
And may I also point out that Nick was named "People" magazine`s "Sexiest Man Alive" ten years before this picture was taken. Kind of hard to believe when you look at this, David.
I actually think that arrested celebrities after they call their lawyers, they say a little prayer: "Please, please, don`t let my mug shot be as horrendous as Nick Nolte`s classic."
BEGNAUD: Here`s the thing. You`ve got to remind me when Nick Nolte was ever sexy. Because maybe there`s a nice little jawline right there, but let`s go back to the picture for a moment. I mean, first of all, he`s channeling some James Brown with that hair. This Hawaiian shirt? What "Sexy Man Alive" wears a Hawaiian shirt like that?
OK, doesn`t have a double chin. That`s good. Nice -- OK for the most part. Look, it`s hideous.
People -- I actually talked to a kid on the way in here who says he remembered Nick Nolte better for this mug shot...
HAMMER: Yes.
BEGNAUD: ... than he does for any acting. There you go.
HAMMER: And that -- that`s really how it is. That`s the shot that pops into your head.
All right. David Begnaud, lots of fun. Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it.
HAMMER: And thank you for watching this very special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars Behind Bars." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. You can always catch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT every Monday through Thursday. We`re on at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on HLN.
END
