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Showbiz Tonight
SHOWBIZ Star Secrets; SHOWBIZ Reality Secrets
Aired December 16, 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: Now, on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT star secrets. One of TV`s legendary sitcom stars inside the very public anorexia battle of "Growing Pains" star, Tracey Gold.
Tracey, right here for a must-see SHOWBIZ star secrets interview about how she is using the lessons from her battle to help others.
Another startling SHOWBIZ star secrets interview with former "SNL" funny man, Darrell Hammond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARRELL HAMMOND, COMEDIAN: I mean, performing with anthrax in the building is not nearly difficult as performing in a home where you might get stabbed that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Darrell Hammond`s horror. He`s revealing his dark and disturbing past.
Plus, TV`s good girl versus bad and they are sharing their SHOWBIZ TONIGHT star secrets. "Little House on the Prairie`s" nasty Nellie and "The Waltons" golden girl, Erin, are telling all tonight.
A special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ star secrets, starts right now.
(MUSIC)
Welcome to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ star secrets. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
And tonight, starving secrets. Tracey Gold, of course, marched into our homes and our hearts as the tough but lovable Carol Seaver on "Growing Pains." Now, she`s all grown up.
And wow, what a road it`s been for her. Tracey has been very open about her past battle with eating disorders. And now, she`s using her own private pain to help other women and girls who are battling similar demons.
Tracey stars in the new reality show that she created. It`s called "Starving Secrets" on Lifetime TV. Tracey joined me to reveal her SHOWBIZ star secrets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera) It is excellent to see you, Tracey.
TRACEY GOLD, ACTRESS: Thank you. Good to see you.
HAMMER: First of all, let me congratulate you on what I think is a terrific show. I think this sends such a powerful message.
GOLD: Thank you.
HAMMER: I believe it`s going to make a difference to so many families. But you really had to put yourself out there. You had to reveal some truly intimate details of your own difficult past. I know you`ve done that to a degree before. How hard was it to do that for this show?
GOLD: You know, I actually found it very healing. You know, any time that I`ve been given the opportunity to help other women, it makes me feel stronger and more resolved in my own recovery.
You know, I kind of unwittingly became the poster child for eating disorders back in the early `90s and something over the years I`ve embraced and helped we stay strong and recover.
HAMMER: That`s nice to see and so incredible how you`ve come so far. It`s such a compelling story. And your being able to use your experiences to help others on the road to recovery is something everybody should be very proud of you for.
I want to take a look at a very emotional moment from "Starving Secrets." Chris, can we see that?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: I`m on my way to meet Rivka, a 28-year-old chronic anorexic who is actually on the brink of starvation. Five feet, six inches tall, Rivka weighs less than half her ideal body weight.
RIVKA, ANOREXIC: I saw the doctor and he don`t think I`m that healthy, but I think that I`m a lot healthier than he thinks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: There are going to be some really heartbreaking stories in this, I`m sure. And you`ve got a lot of lessons to offer from your own experiences. But what would you say is the main secret to your success that might help these or other women?
GOLD: Well, I think the secret to mine was really I was sick and tired of being sick. And I started to really fall in love with the idea of finding my voice and being able to help other people and living a full life, becoming a mother and a wife and having a career, and being heard, which I think so many people with eating disorders feel like they aren`t.
So, to find my voice was so powerful. I really do think these women, opening up their stories - I think it`s going to be helpful for them. I think they`ll find what I have found that you gain strength in helping other people. And I look forward to seeing their journey in that.
HAMMER: So much of it is so relatable. It`s a shared experience. It`s a shared understanding of what you`re going through, including the pressure that we know so many young women feel.
And you`ve said that you felt a lot of pressure to be thin at the very height of the popularity of "Growing Pains" when you were so young. Just how bad did it actually get for you back then?
GOLD: Well, I mean, obviously, I felt extreme pressure and I got really sick when I was on "Growing Pains." I had put on, you know, I guess you would say the freshmen 15 even though I wasn`t in college. And I was, you know, told to go on a diet by the producers, and I did.
And all of a sudden I got all these accolades, all these compliments. And instead of making me feel better about myself, it did the opposite. It made me really start to doubt myself and really doubt the person I was before. Did I look that bad before?
And I became absolutely resolved that I would never, ever go back to that person who might be laughed at or made fun of again. And it just spiraled out of control to the point of where I ended up in a hospital and off the show. You know, it was awful.
HAMMER: As you were speaking, we`re taking a look at some of the images from you as a child star on "Growing Pains." Do you see those images now and does that cause you any pain when you do? Or are you able to look back at that as a fond time in your life?
GOLD: You know what? I look at it as a really fond time. And back then, the clips you were showing was before the anorexia when I was just really happy and having fun on "Growing Pains."
Obviously to see some of the episodes where I started to get really thin and I know what place I was in is very hard for me to watch. I mean, the last episode of "Growing Pains," I don`t think I`ve ever re-watched because that was in the height of, you know, my anorexia, and it`s difficult to watch.
But, you know, I think - whenever you go through something and you`re stronger for it and come out the other end, I mean, that`s something to be proud of and own, and I do.
HAMMER: And I hope you do feel good about watching that one day knowing you`ve gotten past it all and you will be able to handle it.
But it brings up an interesting point because doing the show you`re doing now, I imagine you almost had to confront your past in the way. Did that, as cathartic as the experience proved to be - did it give you any pause about taking on the project knowing that you were going to have to face some of the things you faced so intimately?
GOLD: I think all the good that I thought it could do outweighed any fear that I had. And of course you know, you are going to anything. You don`t know how you are going to feel about it.
But once I got into the process, I really understood that this was going to be OK for me, that any trepidation or anything that I thought - would this be a trigger? Am I going to be caught back up into this?
Once I really started to be with these women and experience what they were going through, I did not want to go back there even in the slightest. And it just, once again, made me feel stronger.
HAMMER: Yes, just sounds like reinforcement. Let`s take another look at your show -
GOLD: Absolutely.
HAMMER: Where you`re really trying to get to the heart of one young woman`s struggle. Let`s roll that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: How are you adjusting to your body changing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m more uncomfortable with my body, but everything else is better. So this is worth it -
GOLD: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My body. And it wasn`t like I was thrilled with my body before. So if everything is better and I`m just a little more uncomfortable with my body, for me, that feels like an OK tradeoff.
GOLD: That`s a great way to look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And with the hope that I will get more comfortable.
GOLD: You will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In time.
GOLD: And I can promise you that. I can absolutely promise you that. I know it`s not easy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I have got to imagine this show is a real eye-opener for so many people. Obviously, you`ve been through it yourself. You`re coming from this place of experience. But I also imagine you have learned lessons from doing the show. What`s the biggest one?
GOLD: Well, I think the face of eating disorders. I think that I`ve looked at eating disorders and I know my experience. It was anorexia. I didn`t have extreme experience with other eating disorders.
So to see these other women with bulimia and chronic overeating and knowing that they could all kind of overlap each other. And the face of eating disorders is very different than I think mainstream media thinks it is.
I think we think of, like, the college girl who loses weight and gets to, you know, a kind of skinny weight then gets better. And they look at it like that, not as the mom next door, you know, the person that you would never, ever think was sick.
And they are, and they`re struggling secretly. Now, I wanted to shed a light on that and open people`s eyes and say, it may be somebody suffering that you don`t know they`re suffering, and see it for what it is.
HAMMER: It is so great to see you feeling so positive and doing something so positive. Tracey Gold, thank you so much for being with us.
GOLD: Thank you.
HAMMER: And be sure to check out "Starving Secrets" with Tracey Gold on Lifetime. We have to move on right now to Darrell`s dark past.
This is unbelievable. Former "Saturday Night Live" costar, Darrell Hammond revealing his private childhood pain and how he was suffering even at the height of his fame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMOND: There was cutting backstage. There was - I was once taken to a psych ward, actually. When I did the gore debates, I believe, I was taken away in a straitjacket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, wait until you hear Darrell Hammond`s SHOWBIZ star secrets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: He picked a peck of -
ALISON ARNGRIM, ACTRESS: No, no, you have to say it fast.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Peppers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Alison Arngrim played the meanest little girl in the west on "Little House on the Prairie." Well, tonight, she is right here to reveal her SHOWBIZ star secrets.
Also, legendary TV good girl, Mary McDonough of the Waltons is right here. We`ve got the good, we`ve got the bad and the ugly side of being a childhood star. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ star secrets.
Tyra Banks tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, how girls are hurt by TV`s impossible images of beauty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYRA BANKS, MODEL: I think it`s really difficult for girls to live up to images they see and not just in the fashion industry.
It used to be that models are so skinny and girls feel they have to live up to that. But the new epitome or the thing that embodies beauty to me today is just celebrity in general. It`s not so much models. Models don`t have the household names anymore so they`re not as influential.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, showbiz star secrets. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And tonight, it`s Darrell Hammond`s horror.
Former "SNL" funny man, Darrell Hammond is revealing his dark and disturbing past. I`m talking about a childhood of terror at the hands of his own parents, so severe, it`s nearly unbelievable.
I can tell you this is one of the most candid and heartbreaking star interviews you will ever see. Here`s Darrell Hammond, unplugged.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMOND: When I was a child, I was a victim of systemic and lengthy brutality. I mean, stabbing, beating, being electrocuted. Stuff like that. It was my mom.
My name is Darrell Hammond. I`m a former "SNL" cast member, author of a new book "God If You`re Not Up There."
My dad never really abused me. He was a war vet that was haunted by dreams of Nazis and dismembered corpses and things that war vets go through. So, it was frightening to be around that, but he never really abused me.
On the other side, my mom did some things, which, you know, have cost me dearly. I think it started manifesting itself when I was 19 years old, you know? I think that`s the first time I ever cut myself. And then, over the years, you know, it became habitual.
I was never in a mental institution for a long time. I was in psych wards. Where I would go in and they go, "Well, is he going to kill himself? What`s wrong with him?"
You know, I was diagnosed with everything from schizophrenia to multiple personality and bipolar and all the things that doctors have traditionally - the labels doctors have traditionally placed on people who are only really just trauma patients.
With me, I was on as many as seven medications at one time. I mean, these doctors really didn`t know what to do with me. All the shows that I did on "SNL," almost all of them, I was on this what I call soul-killing drugs.
But they`re not really soul-killing. That`s not their purpose. The purpose is to stabilize a trauma patient. And that`s what they did enough so that I could go out there.
I mean, performing with anthrax in the building is not nearly as difficult as performing in a home where you might get stabbed that night.
There was cutting backstage. There was - I was once taken to a psych ward. In fact, the week that I did the Gore debates, I believe I was taken away in a straitjacket.
And there`s no way that you people know about that, but "SNL" is a place where if Lorne judges that you can hit the ball over the wall that night, then you`re going to go out and step up to the plate.
So I didn`t want to let Lorne down who, you know, I`m close to, but I didn`t want to - and I didn`t want to make fun of a guy whose body, soul and voice were changed by combat.
This is why I had a hard time playing John McCain and didn`t want to play John McCain. You know, when my father was on his deathbed and wanted me to play him, you know, he was on morphine and all these things and he didn`t realize what I would have to go through to do it.
I don`t think that he was aware. I think that he - you know, he was a traveling salesman. He sold guns and fishing tackle. He drank all the time, had nightmares nightly about Nazis.
He was living in his own world of trauma and confusion over having killed so many people, and yet being proud of America and serving his country. He would not have allowed it if he knew it.
You know, this all occurred when people weren`t around. You know, you don`t do things like this to people where there are witnesses.
Well, I mean, you can laugh about it with the right people. You can laugh about it in the nut house. You know, can laugh about it in the psych ward, where some guy is standing outside your door and going, "I think bad things, Mama. I think bad things."
And you`re like, wow, really? This is how far I`ve come? I don`t feel ashamed for falling down because I got hit by a Mac truck, you know? The fact is I kept trying to get back up and then I did.
When she was on her deathbed with cancer and she called me over and in her best southern accent said, "You were always my little buddy, weren`t you, honey?" And I looked at her and I went, "Oh, my God," and didn`t say anything.
And everyone in the room sort of looked at the floor because a moment of horrible discomfort had sort of blossomed into the room, and that`s when she won.
On the other hand, you know, I began to realize that my mother had once been an innocent child. Someone had to do something to her to cause her to behave the way she behaved.
My mother died about 2 1/2 years ago, just a few months before my father died, in the same hospice. Even though they told him he had less than 36 hours to live, he wanted me to do "SNL" because President Obama was on - or Barack Obama was on who might be the president. He thought that would be an honor, that I should do that.
So the night before, I did that, and the next morning I take like an early morning flight with my cop friend, Eddie. They had taken him of his morphine and so he wouldn`t die.
And he turns to my cop friend and he goes, "Eddie, son, I`ll see you somewhere down the road." And then he goes, "Give me my morphine. You all get out of here." And that was the end. It was great.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: What a story. Truly, a hurt breaking interview with former "SNL" funny man, Darrell Hammond. Well, as we move on now, we have more showbiz star secrets from TV`s original mean girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: He picked a peck of -
ARNGRIM: No, no, you have to say it fast.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Peppers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: You remember nasty Nellie from "Little House on the Prairie," don`t you? Well, she`s all grown up and finally confessing what it is really like to be a childhood star.
So is TV good girl Mary McDonough. She played Erin Walton in TV classic "The Waltons." It`s good girl versus bad girl. This is special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, showbiz star secrets.
Chaz Bono opens up about the emotional transition to becoming a man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAZ BONO, TRANSGENDER: It was a hard time, because for many years at that point, I knew I was transgender. I knew that, you know, the thing I really needed to do to be true to myself was transition.
But I was just absolutely paralyzed with fear, and the idea of having to do it in the public eye and how it would affect the rest of my family who`s in the public eye and all of this stuff just, you know, paralyzed me with fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: So what is it like being known as one of the meanest girls in TV history or, for that matter, one of the nicest?
Well, you remember nasty Nellie from "Little House on the Prairie," don`t you? And remember goody-two-shoes, Erin Walton from the other TV classic, "The Waltons"?
Well, "Little House" bad girl Alison Arngrim and TV good girl, Mary McDonough, are all grown up now, of course. And they are sharing their surprising star secrets with me. We`re talking good girl versus bad girl in an incredible showbiz star secrets interview. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera) So, Mary, let me start with you. You were just 10 years old when you began with "The Waltons." Now, in your book, "Lessons from the Mountain: What I Learned from Erin Walton," here`s something you write that really struck me.
"Playing Erin made life off camera difficult. Everyone just expected me to be perfect little Erin. Mary became an adolescent battling depression, insomnia, body image issues and experimented with drugs."
Wow. I think everyone naturally assumes being a star playing a nice girl on TV kind meant only nice results for you in life. Where do you think things went wrong?
MARY MCDONOUGH, ACTRESS: Well, I think growing up in the industry is very, very different from how I was raised. I was born and raised in this Irish- Catholic family. And suddenly was plopped out of my life and on to the show.
But I think that everybody has difficulties growing up and other kids on other shows, whether they`re in real life or they`re on a show, it can be difficult. And I certainly felt some of those pressures along with the wild fun of being a Walton.
But there is - you know, I always say, like, maybe it would be better to be Alison and be evil than it would be to have the pressures of being perfect all the time, to look perfect, to act perfect, to get perfect grades.
HAMMER: Sure. Yes. A lot of pressure. Alison, I think the name of your book captures what people thought of you as nasty Nellie on "Little House on the Prairie."
And I`ve told you before how much I love the name of your book. It`s called "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch." And in this fine book, you do reveal bombshells about your life off the TV show including some pretty remarkable things, surviving incest and abuse in your own home. What happened?
ARNGRIM: Well, like a lot of other people, I was sexually abused as a child. And for me, being on "Little House on the Prairie" was a wonderful outlet.
I mean, here I was in what was really a horrible environment as a young child, having to deal with the pressure of that. And also when you`re that age, you don`t know any better. You don`t tell.
I mean, as you`ve seen on the news, these victims who come forward many, many years later. I didn`t tell anyone and I was keeping that secret and that burden for a very long time. And the environment of the set of "Little House" was a supportive environment and very nice people.
And Mary is right. I had an outlet. I got to yell and scream and be awful, and people didn`t hold me to standard perfection.
People were amazed that I was just a complete bitch and anything I did looked nice by comparison. And I have to admit it has given me an unfair advantage. And I`m really grateful for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Coming up on a very special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT at the bottom of the hour, more SHOWBIZ reality secrets.
The secrets to surviving a reality TV marriage. Plus, wait until you see this - an exclusive look inside the palace of a real housewife Beverly Hills. And Kim Kardashian`s brand-new love confession.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Now, on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ reality secrets, Kim Kardashian `s shocking new love confession. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals her marriage secret, even after her startling split with ex, Kris Humphries.
A rare, all access pass inside the 20,000 square foot mansion of a "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREEN WYNTER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This place has it all, the works - eight bedrooms, a guesthouse, private gym, pool, tennis court, home theater, poker room and amazing chandeliers throughout.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. And she forgot to mention the private massage parlor. You are not going to believe how this lavish Beverly Hills palace is.
Plus, the star of "Most Eligible: Dallas" reveals just how far reality TV producers will go to keep you watching.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of times, they want you to go up and talk to a lot of different girls. And I`m like, "Look, that`s not me. I`m not going to go that far out. But every day, they just want to push, push, push, because that`s good for TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So just how real is reality TV? A special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ reality secrets, starts right now.
(MUSIC)
Welcome to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ reality secrets. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And tonight, we`ve got the secrets behind the "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" tragedy.
Now, as we all know, the suicide of Russell Armstrong, the husband of "Real Housewives" star, Taylor Armstrong, just sent the reality show world reeling.
What made Russell`s death more dramatic were Taylor`s claims that Russell had been abusing her throughout their marriage.
Well, now, the final months of that volatile marriage are being explored in painful detail on the show. And two of the show`s stars, Adrienne Maloof and her husband, Dr. Paul Nassif, are revealing to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT what they saw of Russell and Taylor`s problem.
Plus, they answer the big question, did the pressures of the show leave Russell to kill himself?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera) Just a short time ago we got to see a very tense moment when the housewives confronted Taylor Armstrong about claims her husband, Russell, had abused her.
Russell, as we know, committed suicide this past August. All of this made for a very uncomfortable conversation between the housewives. Let`s watch what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re all protecting you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all protected you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About my marriage?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What you told us about your marriage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How could somebody live with somebody that is so horrific?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can`t be my friend, just please don`t be my enemy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don`t say that he hit you. We don`t say that, but now we said it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Wow. Well, Taylor and Russell`s troubled marriage, as we know, has been a running story line. But we also know that, since Russell`s suicide, a lot of people have criticized the show for bringing up Russell and Taylor`s problems, saying, you know what? All of that should have been cut out of the show after his suicide.
Adrienne, do you think - you and I never had this conversation. Do you think that criticism is fair, especially now that the season is wearing on and we`re all getting to see this?
ADRIENNE MALOOF, REALITY TV STAR, "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": I actually think that Bravo did the right thing and continued to air the show. People want to see Russell and what happened along the way, so they want to know, they want to see the face behind the story.
And again, it`s not reality TV that`s to blame. It just happened on reality television.
HAMMER: OK. And you`re saying you think Bravo did the right thing. Dr. Paul, what`s your take? Because you have a different perspective, a husband on the show, with your point of view on this.
A lot of people said the whole thing should have been canceled. The season shouldn`t have gone on at all. What do you make of that?
DR. PAUL NASSIF, REALITY TV STAR, "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": Well, you know, I absolutely disagree. First of all, I don`t feel that the show caused any of this. And every time that we would see Russell, always positive how great things were, how everything was - actually, the show was helping him financially.
I mean, behind the scenes, obviously, there were numerous problems, numerous financial - possibly some other issues that none of us know about. And I think that Bravo did the right thing by showing this is reality and this has happened. But I don`t feel it`s from the show at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Our time with Adrienne Maloof and Dr. Paul Nassif of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" hasn`t been all serious.
The couple recently gave us exclusive access to their amazing house. Get this, their home, it`s about 20,000 square feet, give or take a few. Here`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (on camera): Get ready to be dazzled. We`re at the extravagant mansion of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" super-couple, Dr. Paul Nassif and Adrienne Maloof.
And guess what, we`re giving SHOWBIZ TONIGHT a rare look inside their eye- popping estate. Come along.
(voice-over) She`s part of the Maloof family dynasty. He`s a prominent plastic surgeon. Together, they live in this massive 20,000 square-foot gated community home with their three children and two dogs.
And this place has it all, the works - eight bedrooms, a guesthouse, private gym, pool, tennis court, home theater, poker room, and amazing chandeliers throughout.
(on camera) Tell me about the decorating because this is so beautiful.
DR. PAUL NASSIF, PLASTIC SURGEON: I did this all. I decorated the whole place.
WYNTER: You did?
NASSIF: Sure. No.
WYNTER: Doctor by day, decorator by night.
NASSIF: She did it all. This room is beautiful.
ADRIENNE MALOOF, REALITY TV STAR, "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": This is what we call our music room where we entertain quite a bit.
NASSIF: I`ll come home from work and I`ll hear this beautiful harp music.
MALOOF: Waiting for him -
NASSIF: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and she`ll be sitting there playing the harp, waiting for me to come in.
MALOOF: Yes, right!
NASSIF: Which is right.
WYNTER: Let`s continue this lovely tour.
(voice-over) After giving us a glimpse of the exquisite collection of beautiful Faberge eggs, Adrienne and Paul whisked us off to their very own home theater.
NASSIF: This is nice room to come down with the kids and watch a movie. It`s a very small screening room, but it`s nice. It`s very relaxing. Small bar here. The chairs lie down, which is very cool.
WYNTER (on camera): So this is where you do business?
MALOOF: Yes.
NASSIF: This is our fun library. I love this room.
MALOOF: This is one of my favorite photos. Obviously, our president. My brother had a small dinner at his house in Las Vegas, Nevada, so I cherish this. This means quite a bit to me.
WYNTER (voice-over): Down the hall from the library sits the magnificent foyer decorated with marble statues and an elegant spiral staircase.
MALOOF: We do a lot of entertaining. One thing that I wanted to make sure with the house is that it still felt very homey and comfortable and warm.
WYNTER (on camera): How often, though, do you get to sit down, relax and have a good meal?
NASSIF: In here?
MALOOF: In here?
NASSIF: Once every, what, couple of months?
MALOOF: When we entertain, when have friends come over, guests, that`s about it.
NASSIF: You see that mural on the wall there? I painted that myself in two days.
MALOOF: Here we go again.
WYNTER: So we`re going now into the lovely kitchen.
NASSIF: Here`s my favorite thing. This is my own blizz-frozen yogurt machine.
WYNTER: Oh, that`s the real deal. It`s a huge kitchen, but it also feels very comfortable.
MALOOF: Doesn`t it? I wanted the children to be able to come in, eat at the counter, because I know kids love the - have that place where we all gather. And usually, it`s the kitchen.
WYNTER: This is so beautiful. I would be in this pool every single day, do a lot of swimming with the kids. It must be fabulous entertaining. You have the inside. You have the outside.
MALOOF: And it flows nicely, too. We have the cover patio.
WYNTER (voice-over): From the stunning pool and patio area to the decked- out gym loaded with weights, exercise machines, sports memorabilia and an area for kick-boxing, one of Adrienne`s favorite hobbies. And what backyard in Beverly Hills would be complete without a tennis court?
MALOOF: This is a little slice of heaven nestled into Mother Nature. We come out here and play tennis. And if you have a stressful day, it`s just nice to play with the kids.
WYNTER: And when the whole family needs to escape, for a treat, they hop in the Porsche and sneak off to Blizz, a frozen yoghurt chain just outside Beverly Hills that Paul owns.
(on camera): It`s such a cozy, family-oriented atmosphere here.
NASSIF: I think it`s a great way to come out and get away from the Beverly Hills - that whole lifestyle, as we say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That is so cool. That is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter. Well, Kim Kardashian has a brand-new love confession. I`m going to tell you what Kim says about marriage now, even after her shocking 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries. Is she already on the hunt for her next beau?
Also, the secrets behind "Most Eligible: Dallas," one of TV`s hottest reality dating shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of times, they want you to go up and talk to a lot of different girls. And I`m like, "Look, that`s not me. I`m not going to go that far out." But every day, they just want to push, push, push. But that`s good for TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The drama, the humiliation, the break down. What`s real and what`s really made up. "Most Eligible: Dallas" insider, Matthew Nordegren, spilling all the secrets to me.
This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ reality secrets. Well, Tony Braxton`s out spoken little sister, Tamar, is reportedly expanding her reality star power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMAR BRAXTON, REALITY TV STAR: If I can make this happen, people will start seeing me as the superstar that I am and not the background singer that I am not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tamar, golly jeepers alive, always has a sense of me, me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you`re going to wear a bikini, you need to wear flip-flops or you need to be barefoot. Or better yet, why don`t you be in the frickin` pool because you`re in a bikini.
But don`t prance around in your bikini and your high heels or I`m going to go, "Hey, where`s your pole?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Did you get that? The choice is yours - the bikini or high-heels. But please, never both and don`t prance. That`s Bravo`s hit reality series, "Most Eligible: Dallas." But just how real was that moment?
Welcome back to the special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ reality secrets. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
And, tonight, the breakdowns, the outbursts, the humiliation. Just how real is reality TV? Well, right now, we`re revealing the secrets of how far reality TV stars and their producers are willing to go to keep you watching.
I sat down with reality TV insider Matthew Nordegren, star of Bravo TV`s "Most Eligible: Dallas," and he revealed to me the truth about just how much producers influence the drama on that show. So has he ever had to say no to a producer`s request?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW NORDEGREN, REALITY TV STAR, "MOST ELIGIBLE: DALLAS": On a daily basis.
HAMMER: Really? Give me an example.
NORDEGREN: Well, you know, a lot of times, they want you to go up and talk to a lot of different girls or - and I`m, like, "Look, that`s not me. I`m not going to go that far out."
But that`s the producer`s job to push the envelope as far as you`re willing to take it. And then, you know, if you get comfortable and you trust them, you know they`re going to show only the stuff that you both had agreed upon beforehand.
And so I think further on in the show, we started opening up a little bit. But every day, they just want to push, push, push, and that`s good for TV.
HAMMER: Yes, sure. And we know because TV has to have some degree of planning, that really great reality TV is sort of a balance between that planning and the spontaneity.
NORDEGREN: Yes.
HAMMER: So when you`ve got sort of the handle on how it was all going, when the cameras were rolling, did you sometimes sort of, in your mind, already have an idea of what the producers were expecting from you and you did your best to deliver on that?
NORDEGREN: Exactly. I`ll never forget talking to the "Real Housewives" at our press op before the show aired. And I said - they said, "How many shows do you guys have?" I said, "Eight." And they go, "We did 22. How long did you guys film?"
I said, "Five or six months." "Are you kidding me? We did only three months." I said, "How did you get 22 shows in three months?"
They said, "Well, because we go to dinner and we know exactly what to do in 15 or 20 minutes where it takes us a three-hour dinner to get the same content because we`re just not as good at it, right?"
But the better you get at it, you know exactly what you need to talk about. And they`re all real, but you just don`t beat around the bush and you`re not as nice to your friends as you want. You just attack it, and that`s what they did.
And I think that we got better at that as we went along, you know what I mean? You start self-producing a little bit.
HAMMER: It`s kind of like compressed reality.
NORDEGREN: Yes. It`s real, but it`s like, OK, let`s hit the points, you know. And that`s what they were doing that enables them to have, I think, a really successful franchise and we got better at it.
HAMMER: And now that you have the season behind you, are you looking forward to it happening all over again?
NORDEGREN: I think so. I think there`s a lot more to tell. I think that we`re a lot better at it. And here`s the big thing for us, being in a very conservative city like Dallas, we had no idea what to expect.
Well, I think now we have a lot more leverage because everybody in town is like, OK, the show is cool. You know what I mean? Like, we`re not going to be embarrassed by being on that.
So when I had asked to do some really cool stuff in Dallas and showcase the city, I think that now we`ll have that availability. So even I think the city is going to be a lot more acceptable to what we want to do in season two.
HAMMER: Matt Nordegren, great to see you, man.
NORDEGREN: Thank you.
HAMMER: You`re coming back.
NORDEGREN: Oh, man. Pleasure.
HAMMER: Well, matt is just trying to find love. But what about all the shows that focus on couples who are already married? What is the secret to a successful marriage on reality TV?
We certainly have seen marriages crumble into an absolute disaster on reality TV. Hello, Kim Kardashian? But come on. There`s got to be a secret upside to sharing your marriage with the world.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Nischelle Turner found one secret to success. Nischelle?
NISCHELLE TURNER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CORRESPONDENT: Well, A.J., you know, I think I may have found a secret. When I sat down with the patriarch of "Little People, Big World," Matt Roloff.
He`s been married to his wife, Amy, for 25 years. And watch what he told me about keeping his marriage on the right track despite the cameras catching his family`s every move.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera) I want to get right into this concept of realty TV and kind of the fallout that we`ve seen from it for so many times.
I mean, you`re on television, your whole family. You have a very successful marriage. But then, you know, we`ve seen so many of these marriages on reality TV just fall apart right in front of our eyes.
I mean, Jon and Kate, Kris and Kim, the latest. Do you think - is it something that the camera enhances? Or is it more so there were problems going in?
MATT ROLOFF, REALITY TV STAR, "LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG WORLD": Well, you know what, I can`t judge other people on things. But I can tell you, for us, it`s not for the faint at heart.
This whole reality TV business is really - it`s crazy. I had no idea what I was getting into when we started it, and we kind of found our way. I`m happy to say Amy and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year.
And it`s really by the grace of God a miracle that we sort of survived the process, because it is intrusive. And when you see something on TV on a Monday night and then you look at your wife and go, "Did you really say that about me?" I mean, you know, it`s just pretty interesting discussion.
TURNER: Yes. Were there ever things that played though out on camera where you said afterward, "Oh, god, I wish we had done that off camera?"
ROLOFF: Yes. Oh, yes. Well, there were things that played out that, you know, and you say, "Oh, why did we do that?" And then you would, you know, you try to - you know, you try to either live with it or realize that it was for the better good of the show to be able to have that drama.
If you - every time you pick your nose, if they cut all that out, then there`s no show. There`s nothing interesting to watch.
TURNER: That kind of leads me to my next question. Was there ever anything that you felt uncomfortable with that maybe you did anyway or that you said no?
ROLOFF: There was a couple things that we said no to.
TURNER: Really? Like what?
ROLOFF: Yes. Well, there was - there was - a couple - there was a shot one time.
TURNER: Oh, you`ve got to tell me this.
(CROSS TALK)
ROLOFF: Because I didn`t let the world see it. But there was a shot one time where Amy had to pull her shorts off because she was in her underwear and I didn`t want that to go on the air.
And I just didn`t think that was - Amy was actually in this particular instance - she got stung by a bee and the bee went up underneath her shorts. So she had - to get the bee out, she had to take her shorts off. So I saw that in the preview and I said, this is a family show.
TURNER: Now, what did Amy think about that?
ROLOFF: And it was a big discussion. She said, "It`s funny. I`ll let it go." She didn`t care, which was surprising to me. So that was probably the biggest debate we had, you know, that went on.
TURNER: But do you tackle it head on? Because we see so many times like after the whole Kim-Kris break up, it`s like you play them up and you don`t say anything? Or do you say, "OK. You know what? I`ve made this mistake. I made these decisions. I`m going to tackle this head on and face the music."
ROLOFF: To be honest with you, the time I got the DUI was a perfect example. I wanted to tell everybody - and the lawyers and the publicist that was involved were like no, no, no.
Because this story - you know, we wanted to preserve it for it to be able to tell this way, and preserve it for the lawyer and they were saying for the court to unravel the facts.
And I`m like, no, I just wanted to go to the D.A. and say, "I wasn`t in the bar at all. I wasn`t even inside of it. It was pulled the parking lot.
And that was one of the most frustrating time periods for me when the world was judging me and they didn`t have any facts. They didn`t know the really clean facts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER: And you know, Matt said to me that he actually does feel pressure in the world of the over-the-top reality TV like "Jersey Shore" or the Kardashians to provide some extra drama.
Now, the DUI was certainly not intentional. But Matt admits that he has kind of become the family`s drama king and he kind of keeps that drama stirred up in their household.
HAMMER: Yes, it is kind of amazing to me. He actually brought up his DUI story to you in that interview.
TURNER: Yes.
HAMMER: I guess another secret to this family`s success, Nischelle, is just, you know, letting it all out there for better or for worse. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Nischelle Turner, thanks so much.
Moving now to fascinating Kardashian s. We all knew the Kardashian s were fabulous. But now, Barbara Walters has named them to her most famous list of this year`s most fascinating people. The Kardashian s opening up about all of their money and their reality empire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, TV JOURNALIST: It has been reported that the family earned $65 million last year.
KRIS JENNER, REALITY TV STAR: Well, I think, first of all, you can never believe, you know, amounts that are printed.
WALTERS: Oh, I believe it. If anything, I think it`s more.
KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: She has this vision for us and she makes it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That`s not all. You`ve got to see Barbara ask Kim K about her infamous sex tape. That`s next.
This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, showbiz reality secrets. Linda Hogan`s marriage to Hulk concluded on the reality show, but she`s not afraid to put her next romance on TV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA HOGAN, REALITY TV STAR: One of the things that I think is funny that we really enjoy is the age difference, you know. We`ll sit in a room and we`ll sit there and say all right, who was Tom Selleck or who was Greta Garbo, and he has no clue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pronounce you husband and wife. Kris, you may kiss your bride.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family would like to present for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Kris Humphries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, Kim Kardashian`s "I do`s" certainly did not last long. But I can tell you it may not be the last time Kim exchanges those vows.
In a brand-new interview, Kim reveals she`s not jaded about the idea of getting married again. When "People" magazine asked Kim if she`d walk down the aisle again someday, she simply said, "Absolutely. I believe in love always."
For the Kardashians, first comes money, then comes marriage. There is no question the reality superstars rose to the peak of success riding on the coattails of Kim Kardashian and that infamous sex tape she did.
Family has become so successful Barbara Walters even named them one of the 10 most fascinating people of the year. And Barbara, of course, had to ask Kim about that sex tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTERS: So Kim, you first came to public attention in 2007 with a sex tape and you became famous. So was it a good thing to have done, looking back?
KIM KARDASHIAN: I really believe with anything in life, whatever you do, you might think - I`ve made mistakes in my life, for sure.
WALTERS: And you learned a lot from that. How did you feel?
KIM KARDASHIAN: It was devastating for the whole family. And you cry yourself to sleep for a few nights. And you hire a really good attorney and try to make something better or, you know, happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Oh, yes, they made something better happen all right. They built a multimillion dollar empire. So what do they have to say about all of that money that they made? Well, watch what they told Barbara about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTERS: It has been reported that the family earned $65 million last year.
JENNER: Well, I think, first of all, you can never believe, you know, amounts that are printed.
WALTERS: Oh, I believe it. If anything, I think it`s more. Well, Kris, you take 10 percent as the manager.
JENNER: I do.
WALTERS: From each of them?
JENNER: Yes, I do. Tell us about it.
WALTERS: Tell me about it.
KIM KARDASHIAN: My sister does make fun of the percentage stuff all of the time, but she has this vision for us and she makes it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 10 percent of $65 million for mom and that`s what I call "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." So did the Kardashians make the list of the top reality shows of the year?
Well, "E! Online" just revealed their readers` picks for the top 10 reality shows for 2011. Here`s who made the top three.
"Dancing with the Stars" with my buddy and current "Dancing" champ, J.R. Martinez landing third. The Kardashians did make it to second place with "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
And in first place, a bit of a surprise - drum roll, please. I`m sorry, Snooki. "So You Think You Can Dance" is the top reality show of 2011. Check it out.
(MUSIC)
And there it is. That is it for this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, SHOWBIZ reality secrets. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer.
END
