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Showbiz Tonight
A Look At Unsolved Celebrity Deaths; Howard K. Stern`s Name on Many of Anna Nicole`s Prescriptions
Aired April 04, 2007 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Tough new questions for the Anna Nicole Smith medical examiner about all those prescription drugs. Plus why Anna Nicole`s mom, Virgie Arthur, keeps fighting so hard. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And "One Day at a Time" star Valerie Bertenneli`s (ph) weight battle. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment show starts tonight.
HAMMER: Tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the shocking story of Keith Richards claiming he snorted the ashes of his dead dad mixed with cocaine. What?
I mean, we know Keith has done some crazy things. But come on! SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates this Rolling Stone stunner. Tonight Hollywood`s biggest unsolved mysteries, Marilyn Monroe, Nattily Wood, Princess Grace, and now Anna Nicole Smith. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the most puzzling, most suspicious celebrity deaths ever and what might have really happened.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And it`s the explosive story SHOWBIZ TONIGHT told you about first. It`s the Florida medical examiner, who investigated Anna Nicole Smith`s death, confirmed today the shocking details of the drugs found in Anna Nicole`s room when she died. Now in just a few minutes, we`ll be speaking with that medical examiner, Dr. Joshua Perper, who investigated Anna`s death right here in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: But first tonight, a question I can hardly believe we`re asking? Did Rolling Stone`s guitarist Keith Richards really take the ashes of his dead father, mix them up with some cocaine and snort them? All right, I asked it.
ANDERSON: There`s the question, A.J. And tonight we think we have the answer. It`s the story that seemed hard to believe when we first heard about it. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gets to the bottom of the amazing claim that has been called father nose best.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And strange satisfaction, Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards claims he snorted his dad`s ashes.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Morning shows with a nose for juicy celebrity stories went crazy once they got a whiff of this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richards told a British magazine he once snorted some of his father`s ashes mixed with cocaine.
ANDERSON: Rolling Stone`s guitarist Keith Richards makes a shocking statement about this recreational dad abuse, make that drug abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People went crazy. Everyone was talking about it.
ANDERSON: And it launched a thousand cheesy Rolling Stone`s song references.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Apparently it gave him plenty of satisfaction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough to make an old man cry.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT hashes out this ash story. Did Keith really snort the ashes of his father Burt, who died in 2002, or are we all getting the story ash backwards? It all started with an interview Keith Richards gave to a British music magazine. He`s quoted as saying, "The strangest thing I`ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father."
He continues, "he was cremated and I couldn`t resists grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn`t have cared. It went down pretty well and I`m still alive."
The media had a field day, with newspaper headlines like "Father Nose Best" and the more direct "I Snorted My Dad." As the story spread, the "Today Show`s" Matt Lauer couldn`t resist his own groaner.
MATT LAUER, "THE TODAY SHOW": I can see them bringing back the old commercial now. This is your brain, this is your brain on your father.
ANDERSON: Brian Hiatt of "Rolling Stone Magazine" tells us the story seemed wild enough to be true.
BRIAN HIATT, "ROLLING STONE": I wasn`t shocked. I was a little amused and wondering if it was really true.
ANDERSON: But now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Richards is claiming it isn`t. As the story took hold, his representatives responded that his ashes comment was a joke, and Richards himself now says he was just quote, "trying to say how tight Burt and I were, that tight. I wouldn`t take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide."
But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask, if a story about a super star snorting his father`s ashes during a cocaine-filled binge is so out there, why were we all, and admit it, you were too, so ready to believe it in the first place? Music journalist Christopher John Farley tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s not that surprising.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, MUSIC JOURNALIST: People see Keith Richards as kind of the ultimate example of rock `n` roll debochery.
ANDERSON: That`s the truth.
KEITH RICHARD, ROLLING STONES: Basically, everything is cool.
ANDERSON: Over the last four decades, Keith became the original poster child of rock n` roll excess. He has been linked to nearly every recreational drug known to man. Dennis Leary once joked about the Richards legend.
DENNIS LEARY, COMEDIAN: We can`t do anymore drugs because you already did them all. There`s none left. We have to wait until you die and smoke your ashes.
ANDERSON: So when it comes to what Keith said he did to his dad`s ashes, the "Wall Street Journal`s" Chris Farley tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s all par for the course in the Richards legend.
FARLEY: It all seems to feed into this persona he`s created over the years. It all seems to make sense. Now that he`s denied it, the whole affair will probably just become another part of his over-the-top legend.
ANDERSON: Still, Brian Hiatt of "Rolling Stone Magazine" says he`s ready to believe Richards and maybe this ash business is all just a dust-up over nothing.
HIATT: And anyone who`s ever spoken to Keith knows that he actually has a pretty good sense of humor and he does joke around. I don`t think a regular person would make a joke like that. But for the same reason you would believed that he would do this is similar to the reason you also believe he would be the kind of person to make a joke about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: So now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Keith Richards, do you believe he snorted his father`s ashes? Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us an e-mail, SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.co. And don`t forget, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. So to send us a video e-mail, go to our website, CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT.
HAMMER: Tonight, everyone else is reporting and a Florida medical examiner`s confirming what SHOWBIZ TONIGHT first told you, the shocking details about the drugs found in Anna Nicole Smith`s hotel room on the day she died. At first, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT first revealed of those 11 prescription drugs that were found, eight of them made out to Howard K. Stern, all of them prescribed by a single psychiatrist.
Joining me tonight is Dr. Joshua Perper, the Broward County, Florida medical examiner who investigated Anna Nicole`s death and officially released that information today. Dr. Perper, thanks for joining us.
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: You`re welcome.
HAMMER: A lot of people are just shocked by the fact that most of these drugs that Anna Nicole was taking before her death were not made out to her. The prescriptions were not made out to her. But they were actually made out to her attorney and her partner, Howard K. Stern. Were you as shocked by that as so many people have been?
PERPER: No, I was really not shocked because my understanding is that usually actresses in the entertainment world do not want to admit that they have any disease. So they have to look like they are perfect. So I can understand this kind of subterfuge.
HAMMER: We have heard of that before, getting the prescriptions made out in other people`s names. But one of the other things that a lot of people found just as shocking is that Dr. Christine Rosovitch (ph), who not only was Anna Nicole`s friend, but also her personal psychiatrist was the one who actually wrote those scripts for all this medications. We`re talking about 11 different types of meds. Is it unusual, Dr. Perper, for one doctor to prescribe that many sedatives for one person, particularly when these sedatives are known to cause problems or there`s a risk of combining them.
PERPER: That`s an interesting question, but the medical examiner doesn`t get into the quality of care. In other words, we do not rate that standouts for medical care. The other medical groups, boards of medicine who look into problems in their eyes.
HAMMER: But is it your professional opinion as a doctor that medicines that are known to cause risk issues when combined should not be prescribed at the same time?
PERPER: I think before I criticize another physician, I have to know on what basis she made her decision. I didn`t hear her. So I cannot make really a reasonable judgment. But sometimes a physician prescribes a number of medications. Whether there was the correct prescription in this case, that`s another question.
HAMMER: That`s fair enough. Among some of the other information that came out today, the fact that more than 600 pills were missing from prescriptions that were no more than five weeks old at the time Anna Nicole Smith died. When you first discovered that 600 pills were missing, were you surprised by that?
PERPER: Well, we certainly did not see in the body, and that`s what I`m interested in. We didn`t see those kind of levels from hundreds of pills. But we are not surprised, because sometimes when there are pills at the scene of death, sometimes people take away pills and they cannot really make a determination what happens unless somebody confesses or there`s any other evidence pointing to that.
HAMMER: It was just a shocking number. When I saw 600 when that information was released, it kind of blew me away. And you sort of answered the question that the pills weren`t found in her body. Is it even physically possible she could have taken all of those in the short course of five weeks since they were prescribed?
PERPER: I would say very unlikely. But sometimes people are prescribed medication and do not take them. That`s something common. It`s certainly unusual to have so many pills prescribed but, again, I don`t know exactly where it goes. I would say it`s unlikely.
HAMMER: Just the mere thought of somebody ingesting that many pills sort of jars the mind. Just taking the pills alone, let alone what they could actually do to a person. The investigation into Anna Nicole`s Death, of course, ended with the conclusion that there was no criminality, no criminal acts involved.
However, Howard K. Stern clearly knew she was taking all these drugs, after all, they were made out in his name, as we discussed. And she didn`t seem to have all of her wits about her at the time of her death. This was a time when she wasn`t feeling that well and should have been in the hospital, some are saying. Should Howard K. Stern have done more to prevent this from happening?
PERPER: Well, I`m not sure because he`s not a medical person. In other words, Anna Nicole Smith was a pretty strong woman. When she decided not to go to the hospital, in spite of her fever, which was very high, of 105, you can assume that she gives the orders. He`s not a physician. And those were the medications which were clearly intended for her. Whether this was ethical or reasonable or not, that`s another the question. But I don`t see any criminality, which would turn this into a homicide, because he gave her pills which he asked.
HAMMER: Yes, I guess there`s been a lot of discussion in terms of legal responsibility and moral responsibility, which, as you well know, two very different things. Dr. Joshua Perper, I appreciate you taking the time with us tonight.
PERPER: You`re welcome.
HAMMER: One of the most controversial players in this whole Anna Nicole Smith mess, her mom, Virgie Arthur, from whom she was estranged. I`m investigating the real reasons Virgie is fighting so hard. What makes Virgie tick? That`s coming up at 35 past the hour.
Well, Anna Nicole Smith to me, Brooke, certainly one of the most puzzling celebrity deaths other. And I know tonight you are looking into other suspicious unsolved mysteries.
ANDERSON: Yes, we look into the deaths of some of Hollywood`s biggest stars, A.J. including Anna`s idol, Marylin Monroe, and all the questions surrounding her death and that of also.
HAMMER: There are many questions. That`s coming up next when SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates Hollywood`s most shocking star deaths. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:: These four women have all achieved what every woman in America wants to achieve by 40.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, no way does 40 mean you`re finished in Hollywood. Coming up, we`ve got a special look at women who turn 40 who have it all, career, family, fame, the secrets of how they do it in just a bit.
HAMMER: Plus, what in the world is a coyote doing in a Quiznos sandwich shop in downtown Chicago? No, he wasn`t chasing the road runner. That`s coming up next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And it`s time now for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video of the day. Well, it looks like the Wile E. Coyote got tired of chasing the road runner and took a break in a downtown Chicago Quizno`s sandwich shop. People naturally just stunned when this guy just walked through the front door, sat in a cooler. The coyote chilled out for about 40 minutes before animal control took him away. The local staff named him Adrian for some reason.
We`re told that he`s in good shape. He`s back in the wild and thankfully, Quizno`s gave Adrian a free sandwich before he was sent on his way.
ANDERSON: OK, tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is bringing you some of Hollywood`s greatest unsolved mysteries. You know, while the death of Anna Nicole Smith was officially ruled an accident, there are still plenty of conspiracy theories out there, a lot of people think something sinister was involved just as in the death of her hero, Marilyn Monroe. Well, with us tonight in Hollywood, investigative journalist Pat Lalama to talk about all of this. Hey Pat.
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Hey, we just love to keep these stories alive. Don`t we?
ANDERSON: We do. You know, decades after her death, Marylin Monroe, people are still fascinated and talking about it. You know, just like Anna Nicole, she was found unconscious. The coroner ruled that her death was a suicide from an over dose of pills. But a lot of people say that`s not the whole story, right?
LALAMA: Well, you know, there`s all kinds of things that swirl around Marylin Monroe. There`s Bobby Kennedy. There`s JFK. I mean, there`s the potential for espionage and all kinds of neat, interesting things that keep our interest peaked. But here`s the thing, how would you know if it was someone`s wrongdoing or whether it was her own self-destruction? Much like Anna Nicole, here`s a woman who seemed doomed to destroy herself, who seemed destined to destroy herself.
How do you know that the last pill she took wouldn`t have killed her, but the next one someone else gave her would? Just like Anna Nicole, it would be too murky. It`s too hard, not clear enough to determine -- maybe if someone had shot her, and you found evidence and finger prints, but it`s just too murky.
ANDERSON: Yes, the lines were really blurred there, it seems.
LALAMA: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: Now I want to move on to our next still lingering unsolved mystery, Natalie Wood. Her death in 1981 ruled an accidental drowning. This was after a night of drinking with her husband, Robert Wagner, on their boat, off the coast of Catalina. But Pat, to this day, still a lot of people who say this is unsolved. Why?
LALAMA: Well, because it`s a little bit tawdry. Ever since I started covering Hollywood, I heard all kinds of interesting stories about -- remember, Christopher Walken was apparently there with them that night, my favorite actor, by the way. And there`s all kinds of stories that have swirled for years that Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken were having an elicit homosexual affair and she saw it and went nuts and decided to kill herself.
Or that she was fighting with Robert Wagner or that she hated the water and she was scared and she drowned. I mean, no one -- I think on this one, we just have to go with the coroner`s ruling, because none of those stories sounds like they have a lot of great basis to them.
ANDERSON: A lot of conspiracy theories there. On to our next Hollywood mystery where urban myths surround this, too. Grace Kelly, you know, the movie star. She gave it all up to become the princess of Monaco. Well she died in that car accident in 1982. The investigation found that she had a stroke that caused the car to run off the road. Also in the car at the time, her daughter, Princess Stephanie.
To this day, Pat, again still some debate as to who was driving that car.
LALAMA: Well, I have my own, you can call this the Lalamalian theory. OK, I`m the only one who espouses this, but I have this feeling that Grace Kelly was like a goddess. The world was collectively in love with her. She was perfect. She was talented. She was gorgeous. She was elegant. Let`s not forget, the fairy tale wedding that all the world feasted upon.
ANDERSON: They were watching, yes.
LALAMA: And I have this feeling that no one wanted to believe that this saint, this perfect women -- nothing could have ever gone wrong, or her own death would have been caused by something like a stroke while she was behind the wheel. So they throw it on the poor daughter. I mean, for heavens sake, what kind of family would allow their daughter to live carrying this kind of baggage for the rest of their lives.
I just believe that there`s no credibility to the fact that -- the feeling that the daughter may have been driving the car and that this is just the nation and the world not wanting to believe.
ANDERSON: People just didn`t want that image of perfection shattered.
LALAMA: She had a stroke. No one wants to believe that this beautiful thing could have had a stroke.
ANDERSON: Yes, you know, they were fascinating in life, maybe even more so in death. OK Pat Lalama, thanks so much for joining us.
LALAMA: My pleasure.
HAMMER: Brooke, of course, another startling mystery, still so many questions unanswered, Anna Nicole Smith. But no one could have prepared me for this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: I wish when I went to college we had topics as enticing as Anna Nicole Smith. I might have actually scored better on some of those exams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Coming up in just a bit, how Anna Nicole Smith has become a textbook case, literally.
ANDERSON: And tonight, I can tell you, no way does 40 mean you`re finished in Hollywood. Straight ahead, we`ve got a special look at women turning 40 who have it all, the career, the family and the fame. We`ve got the secrets as to how they do it. Coming up.
HAMMER: And take a look at this photo, because if Valerie Bertinelli has her way, you will never see her like this again. That revealing story is next in the SHOWBIZ Weight Watch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. All right, time now for the SHOWBIZ Weight Watch. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT covers Hollywood`s obsession with body image like no other entertainment news show.
Tonight, Valerie Bertinelli going public with her battle of the bulge. Now, you remember Valerie, she was the oh, so cute girl next door on the 80s TV hit "One Day At A Time." Well, can you believe this? She`s now 47 and "People Magazine" reports the new celebrity face and body for Jenny Craig Weight Loss Centers. Yes, she`s on a mission to lose 30 pounds by September, from a size 14 to a size 8.
Valerie says, "I need to do this in front of millions of people so I can`t mess up. It is freeing because I can say it first: I know what you`re thinking. I`m fat. I hear people in the grocery store say, `I thought she was a lot prettier than that.` And I`m like, `I`m right here!`"
Well, we are rooting for Valerie. She also says that casting directors criticized her for her weight when she was as young as 13 and that she did starve herself, but she always stopped herself at a certain point. By the way, Valerie revealed her divorce from rock star Eddie Van Halen, who is still battling alcoholism, is almost final. Valerie is dating someone who is also losing weight with her.
For more on Valerie`s weight battle, check out "People Magazine." It`s on news stands Friday.
HAMMER: Good to hear she`s doing so well. Well, you know, we still don`t really know what the reasons are for Anna Nicole`s mom, Virgie Arthur, to keep on fighting. Coming up next, I investigate what keeps Virgie going. Is it love, responsibility or just plain greed?
ANDERSON: Also, A.J., remember the Brat Pack from the `80s. How could we forget those guys, you know, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, Anthony Michael Hall. Well straight ahead, one of that pack has a lot to say about the media covers the Brit pack. Yes, that`s Britney, that`s Lindsay, that`s Paris. That`s straight ahead. And we`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My birthday wish to these women is that they`ll find just as many roles at 50 and at 60 as they`re finding right now at 40.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The Brat Pack is pushing 40 and tonight, I can tell you no way does 40 mean you are finished in Hollywood. Coming up, a special look at women turning 40 who have it all, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood, and you are watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
All right. Coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, famous women turning the big 4-0.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL DOBSON, "STAR" MAGAZINE: These four women have all achieved what every one in America wants to achieve by age 40.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Some of the most beautiful, talented and successful women in Hollywood, all turning 40 this year. Straight ahead, we`re going to take a look at how they`re proving that age is only a state of mind. And you know, something a lot of us can relate to: how they`re juggling career and family, and doing it successfully.
HAMMER: Also ahead, Anna Nicole Smith`s mother. You know, she and Anna were estranged for so many years. So what is she doing in the custody battle in the Bahamas, and what is keeping her going these days? Coming up, we are asking: what makes Virgie Arthur tick?
But first tonight, we can reveal to you something amazing is happening - something we never could have imagined. Believe it or not, the whole Anna Nicole Smith drama is literally becoming a college textbook case study.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): The nation`s law schools -- institutes of higher learning, where the brightest young minds in the country study the most pressing legal issues of the day: the Constitution, free speech and - Anna Nicole Smith?
Yes, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has this stunning fact: some of the nation`s law schools are teaching the Anna Nicole Smith case. Law schools at UCLA and the University of Miami have discussed Anna Nicole Smith in classes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LEGALLY BLONDE")
REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: I`m going to Harvard law school!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And lest you forget that Reese Witherspoon`s "Legally Blonde" character was the only blonde to raise a ruckus at the esteemed Harvard Law School.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LEGALLY BLONDE")
WITHERSPOON: Hi, I`m Elle (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: .SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that real Harvard Law students will soon be studying the Anna Nicole case as well. Forget about blind lady justice, the new name in law is "Blonde Legal Anna."
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV: I wish when I went to college we had topics as enticing as Anna Nicole Smith. I might have actually scored better on some of those exams.
HAMMER: Court TV host Ashleigh Banfield tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she thinks Anna Nicole would be a fun study topic.
BANFIELD: Just imagine a huge, leather-bound volume of probate material - trying to cram all that in, when you might just be able to turn on the news instead and - and get a little help with your final exams.
HAMMER: And Judge Greg Mathis, who has seen his share of legal shenanigans on his syndicated TV show Judge Mathis".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE GREG MATHIS, "JUDGE MATHIS": You about to mess that thing with her husband.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: .tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he thinks there`s a lot to learn from Anna Nicole.
MATHIS: I think students who study this case currently - who are currently in law school will almost feel like they`re part of it.
HAMMER: Sure, the life and death of Anna Nicole treated us to more entertaining legal shenanigans and courtroom drama than "Perry Mason" and "Law & Order" put together. Think about it; there was the court fight over where she`d be buried.
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, JUDGE IN ANNA NICOLE SMITH CASE: I want her buried with her son.
HAMMER: .the court fight for paternity and custody of her baby daughter Dannielynn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that father is Larry Birkhead.
HAMMER: .and don`t forget that long battle she found for the estate of her elderly, late husband, billionaire J. Howard Marshall. That one went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: In the end, Anna Nicole Smith will make more case law than Earl Warren.
HAMMER: Well unlike Anna, former U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren never posed for "Playboy" - we think.
Anyway, law students aren`t the only ones who can learn something from Anna Nicole Smith. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you: we can all benefit from a crash course in the law and Anna Nicole Smith 101.
Lesson 1: "How Not To Write a Will."
SEIDLIN: It has its holes in it, like we talked about (INAUDIBLE). It has plenty of holes in it.
HAMMER: Anna Nicole`s will, written in 2001, is the main reason for this legal mess. Written before the death of her son Daniel, and the birth of her baby daughter, the will doesn`t seem to provide a clear living heir. And it didn`t specify where she wanted to be buried. It all left everyone scratching their heads.
SEIDLIN: It`s a piece of paper that`s purported to be a will. That causes me to lose more hair than I already lost.
BANFIELD: It is a lesson for all of us to make sure that you are careful with the language in your will, and hire a lawyer who knows what he`s doing.
HAMMER: Speaking of lawyers, there`s the second topic: "Bad Attorneys, Bad Results."
The relationship Anna Nicole had with Howard K. Stern, who claims he went from being Anna Nicole`s attorney to becoming her lover, became a central point in the case. And no one would say it made things easier.
TV`s Judge Mathis tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT attorneys shouldn`t get too personal.
MATHIS: When you cross the line of becoming a - a - a lawyer providing legal services to a lover, there`s all type of ways that the lawyer can then influence the client.
HAMMER: And the all-out war over custody of little Dannielynn teaches us a final lesson: name a guardian for your kid.
And with all of the unanswered questions regarding Anna Nicole Smith, especially the cause of her and Daniel`s deaths - which have yet to be determined - there could be even more study material for everybody.
BANFIELD: I`m still waiting on what the next chapter will be. Will we be learning about Anna Nicole Smith with regard to a criminal complaint?
HAMMER: Meaning that as far as Anna Nicole goes, school is still in session.
(BELL RINGING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: It is so unbelievable to me.
Well, one person who certainly has been there for every chapter in the whole saga following Anna Nicole`s death, her mother, Virgie Arthur. Well today, we confirmed that Arthur officially filed papers in the Bahamas to try to get custody of Anna Nicole`s baby daughter Dannielynn.
But Virgie was famously estranged from Anna Nicole, and tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking: what makes Virgie tick? Why is she so obsessed, and why does she think she could ever get custody of this baby?
Joining me tonight, the lovely Ashleigh Banfield, whom you just saw in our story. Ashleigh the host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat," and co- anchor of "Banfield and Ford" on Court TV, joining me now from the Court TV studios in New York City.
Hello, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Hi, A.J.
HAMMER: So help me out here. Even if they do figure out who is truly the father of Dannielynn - and I can tell you, it`s not Virgie Arthur - she is in it to win it. She wants this baby.
Why do you think she actually wants custody so badly here?
BANFIELD: Well, she has said that she`s lost a grandson, and she`s lost a daughter. And she only has a granddaughter left. And that she wants to protect that granddaughter.
She`s made veiled inferences that she thinks the environment that that baby`s in is dangerous. I think she means Howard K. Stern. She certainly intimated that before Anna Nicole died, saying, `You`ll be next.`
And I think there`s also that issue of that probate money that might be coming down the line. Without being inside Virgie`s head, it`s hard for me to say. But I don`t know, $474 million - that`s a lot of money.
HAMMER: Yes, that will cause a lot of people to do a lot of - well, seemingly strange things.
But wanting something and deserving something, of course, as we know, two entirely different scenarios.
What makes her possibly think that she would be a good mother to Dannielynn, when she raised a daughter who openly talked about the fact that she hated her mother?
BANFIELD: There are a couple of things of thought there.
Number one, that it was the drugs talking, and that we all know the stories of addicts who turn against those who love them most, and try the hardest to get them off drugs. So that is plausible, that Anna Nicole became very vengeful and hateful towards her mother because of the drugs, and because of the people she was with. That`s possible.
The other issue is that I`ve spoken with an author who knew Anna when - actually discovered Anna, took those "Playboy" Polaroids that launched her career - and said that Anna had a very close relationship with her mother, that they were - they were terrific friends. And that alongside her mother being sort of ousted from the inner circle of Anna, he was, too.
So a lot of people have said that it was Howard K. Stern and those who surrounded Anna in those final years who made things very difficult on others. So it`s just hard to say what the real Virgie is like.
HAMMER: Yes, and of course those things that you allege, or - or that you say were alleged by those people you spoke with, also were spoken by Virgie Arthur herself.
I know you also spoke to an investigator who gave you a little insight, somebody who`s working on behalf of Virgie. What did you learn there?
BANFIELD: Yes, the investigator who works for the law firm that`s been retained by Virgie Arthur - and he`s no schlump (ph), either - he`s the former head of the Houston FBI, Don Clark (ph) - talked to us a little bit about the work that he`s doing and what kind of investigation he`s actually trying to compile in this - in this plan.
And he said - he answered "yes" to my question, `Are you trying to get dirt in Florida that might reopen the investigation into Anna Nicole`s death, that case that was closed by the medical investigator and by the Seminole police?` And he said, "Yes." Definitively, "yes." He is going down that road.
He also said that he`s got some inconsistencies in statements made by Howard K. Stern and timelines that don`t match up. I think they`re thinking of compiling all of these things to bring them into the custodial issues in the Bahamas to try to make a good case for - for Virgie as a - as a custodial parent to this baby.
HAMMER: Well, Ashleigh, you mentioned money as a motive, which it often is. I only have about 30 seconds here, but I want to float this out to you.
It has been suggested by - that the tabloids are actually encouraging her to stick with the fight so she can make more money.
BANFIELD: Yes.
HAMMER: .by playing into that. Does that seem like it would be Virgie`s M.O. to do something like that?
BANFIELD: I don`t know if it`s Virgie`s M.O.; I don`t know if it`s the - I don`t know if the tabloids could sink that low. That would be despicable. I mean, I - I - you know, I really can`t even speak to it, A.J. God I hope not. That`s all I can say.
God bless the media. If that`s really the case, we`re in trouble.
HAMMER: Well, the, it - it would be absolutely hideous, I agree with you.
Ashleigh Banfield, I thank you as always.
BANFIELD: Always nice to talk to you.
ANDERSON: A.J., of course, you remember the Brat Pack, right?
HAMMER: Of course I do.
ANDERSON: "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club" - two of my favorites.
HAMMER: Some of my favorite movies growing up, absolutely.
ANDERSON: That`s right. We should watch them together some time.
HAMMER: We should.
ANDERSON: Those were the good old days.
And, you know, times have changed, and now we have the "Brit Pack," of course: Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton.
Straight ahead, a member of the Brat Pack tells us what he thinks about the Brit Pack. Everybody got that?
Also this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOBSON: My birthday wish to these women is they`ll find just as many roles at 50 and at 60 as they`re finding right now at 40.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Look who`s turning 40 this year! Coming up, we`ve got a look at the famous, beautiful, rich, successful women who are proving that 40 is fabulous.
ANDERSON: And this movie, guys, looks absolutely hilarious. It`s called "Knocked Up." It`s from the director of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and it has some scenes that had us laughing out. We`ve got your first look, next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: .A.J. to the desk. Dissolve. Master, stand by your break. And roll it now, and effect black.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
All right. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is in birthday-party mode tonight as some of Hollywood`s hotties turn the big 4-0. Yes, that`s right, 40. These ladies are truly blessed with natural beauty and talent.
So take a seat, because you won`t believe who`s turning 40 next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): The year was 1967. The Beatles hit album, "Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was No. 1 on the charts. "Rolling Stone" magazine debuted on newsstands, and Elizabeth Taylor picked up her second Oscar for her performance in "Who`s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WHO`S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF?"
ELIZABETH TAYLOR, ACTRESS: (INAUDIBLE), you old floozy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: 1967 was also the year that four of Hollywood`s leading ladies were born.
DOBSON: These four women have all achieved what everyone in America wants to achieve by age 40.
ANDERSON: Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Faith Hill, Pamela Anderson - all turning 40, all SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s birthday girls. Their countdown to the big 4-0 has begun. Four amazing women celebrating 40 with class, sophistication and careers that won`t quit.
DOBSON: Turning 40 in Hollywood has no stigma. It`s a place of power for these women. They`re very successful. They`re still just as beautiful as ever. And there are roles for them.
JANE LARKWORTHY, "W" MAGAZINE: I think it`s that 40 is just another curve along these women`s career paths, and personal paths for that matter. They are not being putting out to pasture by any means. They are still at the top of every casting agent`s list.
ANDERSON: That`s because what these women have accomplished by 40 is truly remarkable.
Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman have already been recognized by Hollywood as Oscar`s best actresses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE HOURS")
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: You do remember that my sister is coming at 4 (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Nicole for "The Hours."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ERIN BROCKOVITCH")
ALBERT FINNEY, ACTOR: (INAUDIBLE)
JULIA ROBERTS, ACTRESS: You want me to trust you? Do me a favor, Ed: don`t use big words you don`t understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And Julia for "Erin Brockovitch."
LARKWORTHY: Julia Roberts is sort of the epitome, poster child for "you can have it all." She has won an Oscar. She already has her twins. She`s pregnant again.
DOBSON: Nicole Kidman is arguably the most successful woman in Hollywood ever. She was married to Tom Cruise, and now she`s married to Keith Urban. And they`ll be celebrating their first anniversary right around the time she turns 40.
(SINGING)
ANDERSON: And then there`s "the lucky one," Faith Hill, who is music to everyone`s ears.
LARKWORTHY: Faith Hill, I think, represents more of the down-home woman who`s 40, but doesn`t look like she`s aging at all.
DOBSON: She`s got a beautiful family, very happy marriage to Tim McGraw, who`s also turning 40 this year. And she`s a Grammy winner who`s loved by everyone, whether you`re a country music fan, or you love her more mainstream music.
ANDERSON: And the about-to-be-40 Pamela Anderson -- the "Baywatch" babe who just won`t quit.
LARKWORTHY: Pamela Anderson, while she might not have an Oscar or a Grammy - she is still considered one of America`s top sex symbols.
DOBSON: She is a Canadian who has conquered America. She`s loved by men and women. She`s one of the most famous Playmates ever.
LARKWORTHY: Family is also important to her. So she is really balancing both being a sex symbol as well as being a mom.
ANDERSON: So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking: how do these celebrated career women keep their natural glow while also running after kids and careers at 40?
Jane Larkworthy of "W" magazine says with age, comes knowledge.
LARKWORTHY: The thing that`s interesting about these women who have turned 40 is that they are reaping the benefits of the exercise craze that began in the 80s. In the 80s, we all started realizing that we need to take care of ourselves better. We need to exercise on a regular basis; we need to eat better.
And I think that is why they look so great at 40.
ANDERSON: Health, happiness and looking great at 40. What else can you ask for?
Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has one more birthday wish.
DOBSON: My birthday wish to these women is they`ll find just as many roles at 50 and at 60 as they`re finding right now at 40. We want to see more older women reflected on the big screen, because these women right now at 40 are an inspiration to all of us, and I hope they can keep inspiring us into the next few decades.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Don`t worry; the celebration doesn`t end there. Next year, some of our other favorite stars will be turning 40, including Jennifer Lopez and Naomi Watts.
HAMMER: In tonight`s SHOWBIZ "First Look," "Knocked Up," from the director of one of my favorite movies, "40 Year-Old Virgin." The movie stars "Grey`s Anatomy`s" Katherine Heigl as an up-and-coming journalist whose life is on the fast track. But all of a sudden, it gets thrown off course when she has a drunken one-night stand.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your "First Look."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were wondering whether or not you would be good for on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really? (INAUDIBLE) I was so surprised.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you living your vision?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am kind of living my vision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that is sad. I`m telling you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a promotion!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God! (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m Brandon (ph). This is my friend Jason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m just trying not to stare.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s married.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shut up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you think that`s going to stop him from hitting on her, it`s not, at all.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe this? He`s doing the (INAUDIBLE) too much. That`s really all you got.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re prettier than I am.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did we have sex?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, this is Allison (ph). I don`t know if you remember me.
I have something I really need to tell you. I`m pregnant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With a baby?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then what are you hitting on me for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did this happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a disaster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren`t you supposed to be married to have a baby?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should be. If they love each, and people who love each other get married and have babies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you love each other?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should really just try to get to know each other and give this a real shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I know we didn`t plan this, but I`m on board.
ANNOUNCER: This summer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) that we`re shopping for baby clothes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I`m just pretending I`m shopping for regular clothes and I`m a giant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think of him? He`s funny, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fetch! All right, bring it back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s playing fetch with my (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go get it. Fetch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s treating my kids like they`re dogs.
ANNOUNCER: Universal Pictures presents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is like an unfunny version of "Everybody Loves Raymond."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should we have sex tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it doesn`t last 22 minutes. It lasts forever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just really constipated. Do you really want to?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, now.
ANNOUNCER: .a comedy about where babies come from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m going to be there to rear your child.
Hear that, Ben? (ph). Don`t let him near the kid. He wants to rear your child.
ANNOUNCER: ..and how grownups are born.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to love this, I predict it. Life`s a great adventure, and you`re the hero in it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m going to go sneak a peak, see if there`s anything I can do.
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shouldn`t have gone in there.
ANNOUNCER: ."Knocked Up."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: "Knocked Up" in theaters on June 1.
ANDERSON: OK, yesterday, we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." It was this: "Stars in Legal Trouble: Do they get special treatment?"
Look at this very one-sided vote: 96 percent of you say "yes"; only 4 percent of you say "no."
Here are some of the e-mails we received:
LaKeesha from Tennessee says, "Not only do famous people get special treatment, they make profits off their crimes."
Rita from Washington thinks, "If I was on drugs going down the wrong side of the highway, I would be in big-time trouble. What happened to the law?"
HAMMER: So of course, back in the 80s, we had the Brat Pack -- movies like "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club." Now we have the Brit Pack - you know, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan. But what does one of the Brat Packers think of the Brit Pack? You will find out, coming up next.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Wednesday night is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: One of Hollywood`s Brat Pack members has something to say about the Brit Pack.
You no doubt remember Anthony Michael Hall. He was part of the Brat Pack back in the 80s - you know, that group of young actors and actresses who starred in those great movies like "The Breakfast Club" and "Sixteen Candles."
Well, Hall told me that when it comes to the Brit Pack - talking about Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton - being a celebrity a totally different ballgame than it was 20 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, and all - all the young stars in Hollywood.
ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL, ACTOR: The celebutantes (ph).
HAMMER: The celebutantes, if you will, running around, doing what they do.
And - and when you pick up the paper, the magazines or - or - or watch the TV and see the kinds of headlines that they`re making, do you just kind of shake your head and - and - and kind of what pick up the phone and say, `Let me tell you what you should be doing?`
HALL: Yes, I mean, part of me feels that way. I think that I - you know, I - I really enjoyed what Craig Ferguson said in the wake of the whole Britney thing, because I think she`s a very talented girl, and I think that the press was unfair to her.
I think that the pressures are even greater these days for young talents to - you know, to be moguls. In other words, got to have a clothing line and their own shoe and everything else.
So I think the pressures and the demands are greater than ever. And certainly they exceed where we were 20 years ago, when we were just, you know, lucky to be in some films.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Anthony Michael Hall plays Johnny Smith, the man who has psychic powers, in the wildly successful, long-running series "The Dead Zone." And it`s back on the USA Network.
ANDERSON: OK, earlier we told you the whole shocking story of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. You know, he told a music magazine that he snorted his father`s ashes with some cocaine. But then his spokesman says, `Oh, he was just joking.`
So what do you think? It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Keith Richards: Do you believe he snorted his father`s ashes?"
Keep voting, cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us, showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts tomorrow.
And don`t forget, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. So to send us a video e-mail, just go to our Web site, cnn.com/showbiztonight.
Oh stop it, A.J.
HAMMER: Sorry, I couldn`t resist.
Let`s find out what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tomorrow, rehab success stories. Right from the snorting into that. The stars who went to rehab and came out better than ever. Maybe it took more than once, but look at them now. From Danny Bonaduce to Stevie Nicks to Robert Downey Jr. - SHOWBIZ TONIGHT bring you the secrets of celebrity rehab success stories tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, the battle for Anna Nicole Smith`s baby. You know, little Dannielynn had a lawyer before she even had a father. No matter who is proven to be the daddy, what will Dannielynn face if she grows up? Can she ever have a normal life? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates tomorrow.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
Now "GLENN BECK" is coming up next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News. Keep it right here.
END
