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Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Secret and Surprises; Child Star, Lost Star
Aired September 02, 2011 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Right now on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Showbiz Secrets and Surprises" -- the most explosive, the most outrageous, the most shocking star secrets and surprises revealed.
Super model secrets. How do these gorgeous stars stay looking so young?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The older you get, it`s better to not be too thin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Reality show meltdown, the nasty fight.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HAMMER: The unbelievable meltdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY STAR: I was told that our work was going to be covered on top of me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And the emotional breakdown.
A special edition of TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York, with this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Showbiz Secrets and Surprises." And tonight, we are blowing the lid off of Hollywood`s biggest secrets and most surprising moments caught on camera.
Let`s start off with supermodel secrets revealed. Would you believe Brooke Shields is 45 years old? Paulina Porizkova, 46. Heidi Klum turns 38 this year. They are certainly the world`s most famous beauties who seem to have unlocked the secrets to looking young at any age.
So, what are those secrets? Exercise, diet or just plain good genes?
Here`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter.
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KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heidi Klum knows the secret. Brooke Shields has it figured out. And Paulina Porizkova has solved the mystery.
Supermodels have cracked the code of aging gracefully. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT wants to know what are their secrets to looking so fabulous at any age?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As you know, in fashion one day, you`re in, and the next day, you`re out.
WYNTER: Supermodel and "Project Runaway" host Heidi Klum has been in the fashion industry for nearly two decades. Now, in her late 30s, the former Victoria Secret angel and mother of four hasn`t seemed to age a bit.
Klum reveals her surprising age defying beauty secrets to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HEIDI KLUM, SUPERMODEL: I think the older you get, it`s better to not be too thin, so have a little bit of meat on your bones is a good thing so you don`t fall in so much. A lot of the times, it is just down to genes.
WYNTER: Brooke Shields clearly hit the jackpot for good genes, too, but she says she relies on good-old fashioned hard work to stay young. The 45- year-old actress and model tells "Allure" magazine her secret to staying young is all about staying fit. "I like to spin three times a week at least and couple it with yoga," she says. "I`ve been dancing on Broadway for years, so when I`m in a show, my muscle memory comes right back. It`s like being an athlete."
Former supermodel Paulina Porizkova may not be an athlete but she became an MVP of the modeling world as a teen-ager. Now, at 46, the former supermodel she says she`s had no work done to her face. Instead, she says sunscreen -- that`s right -- sunscreen is her secret to aging gracefully.
PAULINA PORIZKOVA, FORMER SUPERMODEL: I`ve used SPF religiously since my 20s because when I used to work for Estee Lauder, I actually hit up the scientists once at a lunch and I said, OK, what really works for skin care? They looked at me and they said, one thing, SPF. I`ve been using SPF ever since.
PADMA LAKSHMI, "TOP CHEF" HOST: I`m your host, Padma Lakshmi.
WYNTER: Best known for her hosting gig on Bravo, "Top Chef" Padma Lakshmi is also fashion model. The 40-year-old mother tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that her secret to looking young is in her diet.
LAKSHMI: I eat very healthy. I mean, I eat much more fruits, vegetable, lentils, beans than probably the average American person. I drink about two liters of water a day.
WYNTER: The star models we talk to stick to natural secrets to aging gracefully. But Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr. Linda Li, says that other models look for a little cosmetic help in keeping their youthful glow.
(on camera): Supermodels said they are in some sense super human because they look incredibly at 40, even 50.
DR. LINDA LI, PLASTIC SURGEON: Absolutely. And it is their genetics, it is a little bit of maintenance -- maintenance always helps, to help keep up, a little Botox, a little bit of those, but a little bit of a time, it helps to keep people from knowing they`ve done anything.
WYNTER (voice-over): Whether it`s a little cosmetic boost, a healthy lifestyle or just plain old good gene, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you today`s supermodels make getting older look more beautiful than ever.
And now, we`re all in on the biggest beauty secrets of them all.
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HAMMER: That was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter.
And, by the way, Cindy Crawford, who is now 45, has said that her secret to looking young today was taking care of her skin when she was younger. I got to say, it looks like it`s working.
We move now from the supermodel fountain of youth to superstar meltdown. We all know there has been no shortage of celebrities caught on tape going absolutely ballistic. But who takes the cake in the battle of reality TV meltdowns?
With me in New York, it`s journalist and comic Brian Balthazar, and in Hollywood, Kim Serafin. She`s a senior editor with "In Touch Weekly."
Now, look, "Celebrity Apprentice" has really been full of knockdown, drag-out fights. You got to check out this very tense moment where "Housewives" star Nene Leakes tells Star Jones exactly what she thinks.
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NENE LEAKES, "HOUSEWIVES" STAR: Who are you to step in and tell somebody when to be project manager? Who are you? Who are you?
I will take you down. While the rest of these girls will look at you and be scared, I`m the girl that`s not scared of you. You pressed the last button in me Miss Star Jones and I will do you what the rest of these girls won`t.
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HAMMER: Good times, right? Certainly nasty with capital N there. Of course, Star didn`t look at all intimidated by Nene`s meltdown.
But, Brian, do you think on the inside, maybe she was actually worried? There was a major fight brewing here.
BRIAN BALTHAZAR, EDITOR, POPGOESTHEWEEK.COM: Absolutely. She`s not used to getting that kind of confrontation. She`s rarely speechless. Here, she looks like the only thing keeping her right there is the cameras, the only thing that keeps her from leaving the scene.
HAMMER: No question about that. I think that Star Jones was definitely a little put off by that. In fact, she revealed on the Ellen DeGeneres show exactly what she was feeling during that tense moment on "Celebrity Apprentice."
Let`s see what we were right. Watch this.
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STAR JONES, "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE": And I was thinking I need to keep calm because not for nothing, Ellen, but when you`re confronted in the wild with an un-caged animal, you`re supposed to retreat. You`re not supposed to attack.
ELLEN DEGENERES, TV HOST: With a bear, you`re supposed to appear bigger, you`re supposed to get larger.
JONES: If you can tell me how I can get bigger than that, I got money for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. Star had a little fun there, trying to laugh off her face off with Nene.
But, Kim, these two went at it all season long. Do you think just maybe in the moment Star was actually a little nervous when she saw the big Nene meltdown?
KIM SERAFIN, SENIOR EDITOR, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: You know, maybe a little bit but, look, Star knows TV. She understands TV. She also understands what they do behind the scenes. It`s not live TV like she did on "The View." She knows it`s edited.
So, I think part of that silence was her kind of just planning and thinking what she was going to stay because she knew how it could be used against her, because she knew how she was going to be portrayed on "The Apprentice." So, I think a lot of that was just Star being smart and planning her moves correctly.
HAMMER: Yes, it could have been, you know what? We`re going to ride this ride and take it for all its worth and, of course, they ended up both be fired.
But Nene was not the on star from this latest season of "Celebrity Apprentice" who had a major meltdown. For me, this is the one that takes it for all. Meat Loaf surprised a whole lot of people when he simply lost his cool on apprentice teammate Gary Busey. Watch this moment.
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MEAT LOAF, "CELEBRITY APPRENTICE": Don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) start with me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meat, don`t do, it don`t do it.
MEAT LOAF: You do not want to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me. You look in my eye, I am the last person in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) world you ever want to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with!
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HAMMER: OK. Calm down, Meat Loaf. You certainly can call that a meaty meltdown.
And, Brian, I`m thinking it was a pretty good thing in that moment that Mark McGrath was there to sort of stave things off and protect Gary Busey.
BALTHAZAR: Yes, and this was over finger paints. You do not want to touch Meat Loaf`s finger paints.
HAMMER: No.
BALTHAZAR: I venture to say the producers were even a little freaked out. I mean, this was -- this was scary, genuine moment. This was not a set up. You cannot fake that.
And he has since said that this was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. He didn`t watch this episode, but he`s been forced to since it`s been replayed.
HAMMER: Yes. And you don`t see is inevitably there`s security and there are other crew members in the background that we never see on camera. I bet you they were definitely ready to jump in.
All right. I got to tell you, I think this next meltdown could have topped that. At least in some people`s eye -- I don`t know, the Meat Loaf one for me is sort of hard to beat. But you`d be the judge.
Take a look at what happens on "Kim & Kourtney Take New York" when Kim Kardashian finds out nearly nude photos of herself are going to be published.
Watch this.
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KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY STAR: I am so upset. I was told the work with be covered on top of me, that they weren`t going to show my ass crack or my nipples. This is (EXPLETIVE DELETED) porn.
KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN, REALITY STAR: There`s two sides of the story I see, like, well, if you really don`t want to be naked, you shouldn`t have taken your clothes off. But she wasn`t looking to do a nude shoot. That really makes me so mad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. Here`s what I just don`t get. There are major (INAUDIBLE) going on here. But Kim posed for these pictures in the first place.
Kim Serafin, what do you think? Was Kim K`s meltdown one for the record books at least?
SERAFIN: Well, you know, have I to say -- I sort of understand where Kim Kardashian is coming from because she is someone who had images of her put out there that she didn`t necessarily want. I mean, we all know that`s sort of how she rose to fame to begin with. So, it probably touched a little bit of a nerve inside of her.
Look, I think she posed for these pictures. She had to know that she didn`t have control over them. It all worked out in the end, but yes, this is why she has a reality show because she puts on that act. I think it did, like I said, touch a nerve but, you know, it all worked out. She knows what`s happening when you pose like that.
HAMMER: All right. Brian, boil it down, pick one right now. Biggest reality meltdown of them all?
BALTHAZAR: Oh, Meat Loaf. Without a doubt.
HAMMER: No question about it.
BALTHAZAR: No question.
HAMMER: All right. I`m right there with you.
Thank you, Brian Balthazar and Kim Serafin. I appreciate you being here.
Well, Disney star Demi Lovato had a meltdown when she attacked someone on her own tour crew. And tonight, Demi`s revealing the secret behind what may have set her up.
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DEMI LOVATO, SINGER: I was bullied because I was fat. And then a few months later, I developed an eating disorder.
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HAMMER: Demi`s dramatic confessions about battling an eating disorder, next.
Also next, Ashley Judd`s emotional confessions about abuse, incest, neglect. But is Ashley regretting talking about this very personal secret? That`s next.
Tonight, "Growing Pain" star Kirk Cameron shocking revelations about how he had to fire his own mom.
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KIRK CAMERON, ACTOR: For me, it was like I don`t like treating my mom like a business associate. She`s mom.
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You`re watching a special edition of SHIOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Secrets and Surprises" on HLN, news and views.
And now, "Showbiz Secrets and Surprises" -- the amazing truth behind Hollywood`s biggest headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM KARDASHIAN: I never get time off. I need just 10 minutes just to buy a few things for myself. It`s amazing.
I love this. I have to get this.
KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: That I like that, that, that and that. No one likes to shop this much.
She really knows how to shop, huh?
KIM KARDASHIAN: I am an adult. I can do whatever I want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s what an alcoholic would say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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LOVATO: We just got nominated for best tween show! This is huge.
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HAMMER: Demi Novato`s surprising revelation. She`s done with the hit Disney show that made her a big star. And that`s not all. Demi is opening up about her secret battles with bullying and bulimia.
Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s "Secrets and Surprises."
Tonight, a child star stunner, Demi Lovato, announcing she was leaving "Sonny with a Chance" was definitely a big surprise. She says she left the show to focus on her music career. Her big decision came after Lovato quit her tour with the Jonas Brothers and entered a treatment facility that specializes in addiction and eating disorders.
In her first interview since leaving treatment, Demi also revealed some big secrets that she`s battled bulimia since she was a child. She also tells "Good Morning America" what triggered her painful struggle.
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LOVATO: I was bullied because I was fat. And then a few months later, I developed an eating disorder. And that`s kind of been what I`ve been dealing with ever since. And I was compulsively overeating since I was 8 years old. So, I guess for the past 10 years, I`ve had a really unhealthy relationship with food.
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HAMMER: Demi also said that she takes full responsibility for hitting one of her backup dancers while she was on tour. It was soon after that happened that Demi entered treatment.
Moving on Ashley Judd confession regrets? Ashley reveals horrifying memory of her childhood. We`re talking about abuse, neglect, violence, all in her memoir, "All That is Bitter and Sweet." In fact, she even writes about thinking of taking her own life in very graphic detail.
But as Ashley faces tough questions about the past, she seems to have some regrets about her very intimate confessions. Here now CNN`s Alina Cho for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with Ashley`s secrets and surprises.
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ASHLEY JUDD, ACTRESS: Well, I didn`t necessarily want to talk about it. It was never my intention. Some folks I really trust encouraged me to become willing to share part of my story because otherwise it doesn`t necessarily make sense why I love visiting -- and it sounds peculiar to say -- but why I love -- and it`s so important to me -- to spend time in brothels and refugee camps and slums and holding the dying who for 25 cents could have not gotten a preventable disease or for $5 could have been cured.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Meaning, there was something about your childhood that shaped you and wanted to you give back. So, what was that?
JUDD: In my strange capacity for emotional extremes, my strange tolerance for emotional extremes. And I grew up in some really extreme situations. And that`s why.
CHO: You do talk about being diagnosed with depression earlier on in life, and you talk about in the book that you used to play with your mother`s gun, pondering whether, quote, "It would be worth it to shoot myself."
How old were you when you thought about suicide?
JUDD: I am so uncomfortable right now, I can`t even see straight.
CHO: We don`t have to talk about this if you don`t feel comfortable.
JUDD: I think it`s a distraction.
CHO: OK.
JUDD: I mean, I feel like --
CHO: But you wrote about it in the book.
JUDD: I did and happily so, and the book is 400-some-odd pages and that stuff is like 40 or 50. So, really the book to me is the 350 pages, which is about what`s going on in the rest of the world, not necessarily how painful it was growing up in my household.
CHO: But people are very, very interested in this and your childhood because you haven`t spoken about it really before.
JUDD: And I`ve been wholly unprepared for it. I really have been.
CHO: But let`s talk about your work then because obviously your childhood, as Nick Kristof said in the foreword, shaped your philanthropic work. What do you get out of taking those trips and spending so much time in country, if you will?
JUDD: I get out of myself, which is one of my favorite places to be and into relationship with other human beings. I get to really live my spiritual values and principles and faith. No one is disposable. Everyone matters.
I`m very honored to be entrusted with the sacred narratives of people who for whatever reason just open up to me and tell me everything. And I get to hold them, literally and metaphorically. I have the opportunity to let them know that they`re not alone.
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HAMMER: Moving on now, stars revealing the secrets of their TV guilty pleasures, I know I have them. The shows that are so bad, they are so good. So, what do stars watch when no one`s looking?
Are child stars doomed to trouble? Tatyana Ali, she starred alongside Will Smith with "Prince of Bel-Air." So, who helped her avoid the pitfalls of being a kid actor?
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TATYANA ALI, ACTRESS: I had the same boundaries, the same chores, the same -- I have to have the same respect for them as I would have if I wasn`t in this business at all.
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HAMMER: Coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s real star stories, "Child Star, Lost Star."
This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.
And now, showbiz secrets and surprises. The amazing truth behind Hollywood`s biggest headlines.
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HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Secrets and Surprises."
OK, admit it, when no one sells around, do you it, we all do it. We indulge in our favorite guilty TV pleasures. You know what I`m talking about, "The Bachelor," "Jersey Shore," maybe even "Dancing with the Stars." The TV shows we may be embarrassed to admit that we watch.
So what do TV`s biggest stars secretly tune into?
Here`s Brooke Anderson.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be real, be real. Everything is out in the open right now. Be real.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There`s a show we love to watch but hate to love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here`s to hoping my boob doesn`t fall out.
ANDERSON: TV that pulls you in and piles on the guilty pleasure. So, what do TV`s biggest stars tune into when no one is looking?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you there`s no shame in loving the very funny "Hot in Cleveland."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we`re four single girls on a Saturday night.
ANDERSON: But "Cleveland" star Valerie Bertinelli thought she might be kicked of the red carpet for confessing her guilty TV pleasure.
VALERIE BERTINELLI, CLEVELAND STAR: "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." It`s like watching a train wreck. It`s amazing. Team Kyle, just saying.
ANDERSON: "Modern Family" is definitely good TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We happen to be a very traditional family.
ANDERSON: And Eric Stonestreet tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he`s not ashamed to admit he likes a very untraditional show with murder, mystery and high school high drama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Toby.
ERIC STONESTREET, ACTOR: I watch "Pretty Little Liars," but I think they`re talented actresses. So, I wouldn`t -- guilty pleasure would kind of seem insulting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, first of all, they`re prudes.
ANDERSON: We can watch "Mad Men" forever and you might think that the a man who plays the dreamy Don Draper would have a dark TV guilty pleasure, but --
DON DRAPER, ACTOR: Most of my pleasures are guilt free. I`m a huge Cartoon Network guy. I love "Adult Swim." So, I don`t know if that`s guilty or not, but I just -- I`m a big fan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think you have secrets?
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is a huge fan of "The Closer`s" Kyra Sedgwick.
Kyra says she`s guilt free and keeps her TV watching clean.
KYRA SEDGWICK, ACTRESS: I love the Food Channel. It`s not really such a guilty pleasure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m going to wrap it in bacon and deep fry it.
SEDGWICK: What would be a guilty pleasure would be porn. But I never really liked porn. I don`t know. I couldn`t get into it.
ANDERSON: That`s OK, Kyra. Whether it`s cartoons, cooking or housewives fighting -- we all love a little bad TV.
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HAMMER: Coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s real star stories, "Child Star, Lost Star." An incredible look about whether young actors are really doomed to a life of trouble.
Not, Natalie Portman, she won an Oscar. So, how did she stay grounded after starting acting at age 12?
And they showed him the money and he said no thanks.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I turned down a lot of projects for Little League Baseball, for youth league baseball. So, going it school was a no brainer to me.
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HAMMER: How the little kid on "Jerry Maguire" avoided the dangerous pitfalls of child fame.
This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views.
And now, "Secrets and Surprises" -- the amazing truth behind Hollywood`s biggest headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Now on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, real star stories, "Child Star, Lost Star." Does being a child star always lead to disaster?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes one-on-one with the child stars who have beaten the odds. The remarkable success of "Doggie Howser, MD" star. Neil Patrick Harris.
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NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR: Hollywood takes a toll on you when you`re young.
WYNTER: When that series ended, he made a fateful decision.
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HAMMER: Tonight, Harris` shocking revelations to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about how he survived fame as the world`s most famous kid doctor on TV.
All right. Remember this little guy? He stole the spotlight in Tom Cruise` film, "Jerry Maguire."
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JONATHAN LIPNICKI, ACTOR: Jerry, did you know a human head weighs eight pounds?
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HAMMER: Wait until you see him now. Jonathan Lipnicki is all grown up. And wait until you hear what he tells us about how he escaped the early pitfalls of fame.
Kirk`s shocking "Growing Pains" confessions. `80s heartthrob Kirk Cameron speaks out about SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about growing up on set and the toll his early fame took on his family.
TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.
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HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City with this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT real star stories, "Child Star, Lost Star."
We are digging deep into the risky world of young fame. And right now, we begin with the child stars done right. You know, out of the countless cautionary tales of kids who got famous when they were young, only to head down the wrong road, we can now reveal the real stories of child stars who have beaten the odds.
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the secrets straight from former child stars who are now celebrating success in Hollywood and beyond.
Here`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): Lindsay Lohan at 12.
LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I can`t believe it`s you.
WYNTER: Lindsay Lohan at 21. Another child star gone off track. There are more than enough to fill a police lineup -- Dana Plato, Gary Coleman, Mischa Barton, Tracy Gold.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT wants to know, is every child star doomed to live troubled lives? Doctor of psychology Wendy Walsh says there is hope.
WENDY WALSH, DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY: Its a hard road to walk. Remember, these are children, and they suddenly enter a very adult world where there are partly adult pressures, but a lot of adult pleasures. They enter a land of no no`s.
NATALIE PORTMAN, ACTRESS: It feels very, very dream-like right now.
WYNTER: Natalie Portman is living proof that a child star can escape the land mines of being a child star. She reached Hollywood`s summit this year with an Oscar victory, fulfilling all the promise she showed as a 12- year- old in "The Professional."
PORTMAN: What exactly do you do for a living?
WYNTER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT uncovered this long lost interview with Portman where she talked about that first movie experience.
PORTMAN: I liked watching, you know, the camera and figuring out what it was doing and what different shots were on, even though that`s not my job.
WYNTER: In her teens, she kept on the straight and narrow, earning straight A`s in school, even as she built her career.
PORTMAN: Do you have any idea who is behind this attack?
WYNTER: By the time "Star Wars Episode 3" came out in 2005, she was studying neuroscience in Harvard. We talked with her back then and she knew just who to thank for keeping her grounded.
PORTMAN: I`m really lucky to have an incredible family and friends who would never let me, you know, get out of line. They`d would kick me in my booty before, you know, they would let me, you know, get too high on myself for anything.
WYNTER: Anna Paquin had every reason to be high on herself after winning an Oscar at age 11 for "The Piano."
ANNA PAQUIN, ACTRESS: When mother was struck down.
WYNTER: But young Anna kept it real as she told us back in 1996.
PAQUIN: When I`m not working, I get up. I go to school. I come home. I do my homework. I go to bed. Oh, my God.
WYNTER: Now 28, Paquin is the successful far of "True Blood." At the premiere for the show`s new season, Paquin told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT how she avoided becoming one of those wayward child stars.
PAQUIN: I`ve worked with some people that really inspired me to want to be good at my job and being good at my job didn`t mean being out until 4:00 in the morning.
WYNTER: Neil Patrick Harris admits it`s not easy for child stars.
HARRIS: Hollywood takes its toll on you when you`re young.
WYNTER: He was 16 when he became the star of "Doogie Howser, MD."
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: OK, we`re getting some circulation.
WYNTER: When that series ended, he made a fateful decision.
HARRIS: I moved back to New Mexico for about a year and a half and lived in an adobe house with brick floors and climbed rocks and just sort of calmed down a little bit.
WYNTER: Wendy Walsh tells us Harris got it just right.
WALSH: I think what Neil Patrick Harris did was genius. He didn`t forget his roots. He went back to New Mexico. He lived in a middle class way when he didn`t have to and he stayed in touch with extended family and friends. So, he was, again, back in the real world.
WYNTER: Walsh has got a piece of advice for moms and dads who don`t want to see their child star turn into a train wreck.
WALSH: Parents, make sure you maintain the chain of command. The parents are still king and queen. The family support is so important.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So what are the other secrets to success after having been a very popular child star? Well, I spoke with someone who knows just how that goes.
Jonathan Lipnicki was the glasses-wearing kid who kept Tom Cruise on his toes in "Jerry Maguire." Wait until you hear what he did to survive being a child star.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You`ve had such a great career in Hollywood and, of course, had you some of the most memorable movie lines when you starred opposite Renee Zellweger and Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire."
Let`s flash back, shall we? Roll that out.
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TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Did you know Troy Aikman in six years has passed for 16,303 yards.
LIPNICKI: Do you know bees and dogs can smoke beer.
RENEE ZELLWEGER, ACTRESS: (INAUDIBLE). He doesn`t smoke, does he?
CRUISE: I don`t know. Do you know the career record for most hits is 4,356 by Pete Rose who is not in the Hall of Fame?
LIPNICKI: Do you know that my next door neighbor has three rabbits?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That`s fantastic, man. Look at you.
LIPNICKI: Yes.
HAMMER: And, obviously, you look so different now. You`re working a lot. But I`ve got to ask, were you ever afraid, because of how big that movie was, that maybe people in Hollywood would only see you as the kid from "Jerry Maguire"?
LIPNICKI: Well, A.J., I was 5 years old so I don`t even really think it was part of my thought process. I just was having the most fun, you know, that I had ever known. And I just was moving forward positively, and I never really, you know, feared anything like that.
HAMMER: And after that moment when you starred in that film and you saw all the attention that you were getting, did you say at that point, at any time, "Man, this is all I want to do with my life? This is really, really cool"?
LIPNICKI: You know, I think I realized I wanted to be an actor before then. I think I realized I wanted to be an actor when I started doing acting classes.
It was not - you know, it was before I got any attention for it. I just loved doing it.
HAMMER: Seeing right there, the exact perspective that has kept you on the right track and the perspective that is lacked by so many child stars who didn`t stay on the right track.
LIPNICKI: Thank you.
HAMMER: And, of course, the great Cuba Gooding, Jr. also starred in that movie. And I don`t know if you remember this, Jonathan, but CNN was right there on Oscar night with you and your family when Cuba won the Oscar for best supporting actor. Do you remember that?
LIPNICKI: I do remember that actually. I do, you know. Being that young, there`s stuff I do forget, but that`s something I remember pretty clearly.
HAMMER: All right. Well, let`s flash back to that moment because we`ve got it right here. Roll it out, Charles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIPNICKI: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me the money! Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Look how excited you are. I thought he was going to drop you there for a second. So, so much glitz and glamour around you at such a young age. And obviously, you`re sitting there at home watching. But what do you remember about that day?
LIPNICKI: For me, you know, Cuba and Tom and everyone who worked on it - they were really special to me. I loved all of them. And I was just so excited to see someone I worked with, you know, really triumph that night.
HAMMER: And one of the things you did that obviously helped you stay on track, I`m sure, is you took a break from acting. You wanted to go to high school. You wanted to be a normal kid.
LIPNICKI: Yes, yes.
HAMMER: Did you feel that that was important, or did somebody push you in that direction?
LIPNICKI: My parents definitely were amazing. They felt that whatever I did as a child was more important. And they always told me, "You can always work." So I did - I turned down a lot of projects for Little League Baseball, for Youth League Basketball, for different things, so going to school was a no-brainer for me.
I really thought that, you know, I`m going to come back later, but I need these experiences for me. I need to go to prom. I wanted to play water polo in high school so I got to do all that. And now, I get to come back as a completely different person and I think that`s such a blessing.
HAMMER: Total blessing.
LIPNICKI: Yes, definitely. I feel like I`m just very well adjusted because of it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So great to see Jonathan all grown up. He also told me he felt so honored to work with James Caan and Edward Furlong in the movie, "For The Love of Money." Be sure to follow Jonathan on Twitter. He wants to hear from you.
Well, we have Kirk Cameron`s stunning confessions about his growing pains. The `80s sitcom star speaks out to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about severing ties with his mom-mager.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WYNTER: When he was about 18 years old, Cameron said he decided to end that part of their relationship.
CAMERON: For me, it was, like, I don`t like treating my mom as a business associate. She`s mom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, how Kirk Cameron came to terms with his childhood stardom.
The original mean girl - no, not Lindsay Lohan. Nellie, from "Little House on the Prairie." Alison Arngrim`s surprising take on growing up on the set.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON ARNGRIM: So I had this enormous creative outlet and this outlet for my rage that really most people in my situation don`t get.
HAMMER (on camera): Sure.
ARNGRIM: So that`s when people said, "Did Nellie Oleson save your life," I have to go yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views.
And now, a SHOWBIZ child star flashback to 1999. Eighteen-year-old Christina Aguilera reveals how she felt when she got her first number one hit with "Genie in a Bottle."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA AGUILERA, SINGER: Seeing my name in the number one spot on a Billboard chart was a dream of mine forever. And to see it there on the chart, it`s like, "Wow, `Genie in a Bottle,` Christina Aguilera." That`s amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you just say your name for me.
TATYANA ALI, ACTRESS: Tatyana Ali. Tatyana Ali.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That`s legendary musician, Herbie Hancock, on "Sesame Street" making music with a very young and talented Tatyana Ali, one of the child stars from the 1990 hit TV show, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
And tonight, secrets of a child star. Tatyana Ali is a childhood star who became famous alongside superstar Will Smith when they were in the hit TV show, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
In my interview with her, Tatyana revealed to me how important her days on "Sesame Street" were for her career. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI: Everything that I learned about - you know, first learned about being on a set and following directions and learning lines, it all happened there first. It was the perfect learning environment, very safe place for a kid.
HAMMER: Yes, and I imagine you were such a joy on that set, and you brought all that energy to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" years later.
But when you were on "Fresh Prince," did you even realize how big of a deal it was to be on such an enormous hit show?
ALI: You know what? At first, no. I knew that it moved me and my family to California. I knew that I loved the people that I worked with. I knew who Will Smith was as, you know, Deejay Jazzy Jeff on "The Fresh Prince."
But you never really know that something is going to have such an impact on so many people and just be around forever. I don`t think - I don`t think any of us were prepared for that.
HAMMER: Well, here`s what I love. I mean, look, you had a positive experience as a child star, and you started out so young. Who do you give the most credit to for helping you really stay on the right path whereas we well know so many child stars do not?
ALI: I think that it takes - with child stars sometimes we forget that they are children, that they are just children because they make us laugh and they entertain us.
But it really takes a large group of people to raise a child. So first of all, I`d absolutely credit my parents because they told me no.
You know, they had the same boundaries. I had the same boundaries, the same chores, the same - I had to have the same level of respect for them as I would have if I wasn`t in this business as all.
But I was also very blessed to work with people throughout my career who were more interested in me as an individual and as a person than in my career or what I did or what I could do for them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And she`s doing great. Tatyana not only has her own production company, but she stars in the BET Web series, "Buppies" and the TV 1 sitcom, "Love that Girl."
We`re moving from `90s TV star, Tatyana Ali, to `80s teen heartthrob, Kirk Cameron. Kirk, of course, starred as Mike Seaver on the hugely popular show, "Growing Pains," from 1985 to 1992, quickly became a household name.
So, just how did Kirk handle fame at such a young age and come out virtually unscathed by it?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter found out when she went one-on-one with Kirk Cameron.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): Kirk Cameron had a lot to smile about as a kid. He was one of Hollywood`s most successful teen heartthrobs and star of the hit sitcom, "Growing Pains." But now --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You`ve grown up.
CAMERON: I have.
WYNTER: Certainly has. And nearly 20 years after his role as the wise- cracking Mike Seaver came to an end, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Cameron succeeded where countless others have failed, by not getting consumed by drugs, alcohol and rehab during his transition from childhood fame to adulthood.
Now, the 40-year-old devout Christian lives with his family 30 minutes north of Los Angeles and out of the Hollywood spotlight.
(on camera): You were such a big star on "Growing Pains." It really made you famous. At what point though did you realize you were becoming famous and you were a part of something truly special?
CAMERON: I think everybody else had a view of me and my role in "Growing Pains." That was much larger than what I had myself because I was, in my mind, one of three kids on a family sitcom.
Alan Thicke was the star. I was going to school in a little trailer behind the set. I`d wake up, go to work, come home, and that was my life. It wasn`t until I`d go to the grocery store and I with a see my face on the cover of some teeny bop magazine.
WYNTER: That must have been so bizarre.
CAMERON: It was weird.
WYNTER: That you have the fame, you have the money. That is a lot for a kid to handle especially at such an early age. So how did you manage to stay grounded?
CAMERON: There were probably three very crucial factors in me being able to keep my head through all of this. One would be my parents. My parents were very grounded.
They didn`t see me as their ticket to mansions and limousines. And I had a very strong faith in Christ when I turned about 17 or 18 years old, while my friends had their faith in beer.
Christ leads you in a whole different direction than beer does, you know, or drugs or something else. And then, thirdly, as when I turned 19, I met the most amazing woman in the world. And she --
WYNTER: Chelsea.
CAMERON: Chelsea. Getting married to an amazing wife who loved the Lord and loved the concept of being a wife and a mother first above all things grounded us as a family.
WYNTER (voice-over): Family has always been crucial in Cameron`s life. His mother served as his manager during his rise to fame on "Growing Pains." But when he was about 18 years old, Cameron says he decided to end that part of their relationship.
CAMERON: For me it was, like, I don`t like treating my mom like a business associate. She`s mom.
WYNTER (on camera): So nothing personal about that. It just felt it was the right thing to do?
CAMERON: Well, in a way, though, it was personal. I wanted my mom to be my mom.
WYNTER (voice-over): But at the same time Cameron believes parents of young stars should still stay involved in their children`s careers, especially as they navigate their way through Hollywood.
CAMERON: That`s why we have families, to raise our kids with values and to shape them so that when they enter into the world, you`re right there alongside with them. You`re not handing them over to other people to raise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And as we move on tonight, you remember Nellie from "Little House on the Prairie"? Well, before Lindsay Lohan`s "Mean Girls," Nellie, she was the original mean girl.
But despite her incredible fame, the actress who played her, Alison Arngrim, didn`t end up going down the same troubled path as Lindsay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNGRIM: So I had this enormous creative outlet and this outlet for my rage that really most people in my situation don`t get.
HAMMER: Sure.
ARNGRIM: So that`s when people say, "Did Nellie Oleson save your life," I have to go yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Why Alison says "Little House" saved her life.
More of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s real star stories, "Child Star, Lost Star," next.
This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views.
And now, a showbiz child star flashback to the young Jodie Foster. Jody was 13 when she played a pre-teen prostitute in the 1976 movie, "Taxi Driver." She was even nominated for the Oscar in 1991.
Before Jodie became a mom, she revealed to us how being a child star affected her view on kids. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODIE FOSTER, ACTRESS: Played complicated children, children with problems, children with little pieces of them that were ugly, little doubts about themselves, not just this sort of prop that you stick in a chair and go, "OK, be innocent now, and now, we`ll see the movie through your eyes."
So I don`t really feel that children are kind of like dolls, I guess. And I guess that`s the kind of parent I`ll be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNGRIM: Stay away from her. Don`t touch my horse.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I`m not hurting anything.
ARNGRIM: I said stay away from her.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Don`t do that.
ARNGRIM: She`s my horse and I`ll do as I please.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: You won`t get anywhere being mean to her.
ARNGRIM: I know how to handle a horse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Ouch. That`s why we like to call Nellie on "Little House on the Prairie" the original mean girl. But how did that character save Alison Arngrim`s life?
Alison, who played Nellie Oleson, is right here. And she reveals to me the surprising story behind her troubled child star past.
Tonight, confessions from the prairie.
It`s now been 37 years since "Little House on the Prairie" made its debut on the small screen. And I`ve got to tell you Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie, has come a long way since then.
As a child star she endured a horrible home life despite her massive TV success. I asked her about that and how she liked playing TV`s first mean girl at that time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARNGRIM: I always liked the villains. When I was really little and I saw "Peter Pan," I really liked Captain Hook. I thought the villains were cool. I liked horror movies, the villains.
And in fact, when I read the script at the audition, I was so excited because so many parts for child actors, especially in the `70s, were, "Oh, yes, Mother. Oh, gosh, Daddy." And it was kind of revolting.
And here was this girl who said what she thought and really didn`t care and told everyone to bugger off. And I went, "This is great. This is insane. She`s a bitch."
HAMMER: Yes.
ARNGRIM: And I was so thrilled and I read it with my father who was with me and he said, "Just read it that way." And they hired me on the spot.
I was the bitchiest girl they had seen all day. And as soon as I did it, I mean, the reaction the second it aired, it was so strong that I just hit some kind of nerve in people`s psyche. Everybody knows someone like that, and I was it.
HAMMER: So you`ve had all of this great success, but you`ve been very candid about the fact that home life wasn`t always terrific.
ARNGRIM: True.
HAMMER: You write about it in your terrific book, "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch." And quite frankly, could there be a better title than that?
ARNGRIM: Thank you.
HAMMER: One of the things you talked about though, which obviously had to have been difficult to talk about and certainly to endure was being abused by your brother.
Did being a star at that age, at that very young age -- did being a child star sort of help you escape that situation?
ARNGRIM: In my case, it did. I mean, on the one hand, it could be more difficult. Here you are, going through trauma and having this situation that you can`t talk about to anyone.
And now, you have the pressure to be famous and to work. But I was so lucky because being on "Little House," I was around this really great group of people who were very supportive and very kind to me.
And because I was playing this bizarre character who yelled and screamed and vented all of her hostility and rage, this gave me an outlet for all of this pain and all of this anger that had like nowhere to go.
So I had this enormous creative outlet and this outlet for my rage that really most people in my situation don`t get.
HAMMER: Sure.
ARNGRIM: So when people say, "Did Nellie Oleson save your life?" I have to go yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And Alison does such great work these days with the National Association to Protect Children to change laws to better protect children who are being abused.
Well, that is it for this very special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT real star stories, "Child Star, Lost Star." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Thanks for watching. Remember, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is now seen exclusively Monday to Friday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
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