Peggy Sue's dream is Kathleen Turner's reality.
Tom Cruise racks up big points as his new movie premieres in New York.
For Bernard Kalb, the last word is credibility.
And once upon a time, it was way out west, way out east in Philadelphia.
And I'm Jack Clugman.
It's the 9th of October, 1986, from my hometown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It's entertainment tonight.
MUSIC
Hi everybody, I'm John Tapp.
And I'm Mary Hart.
And today we're coming to you from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
one of the most famous art museums in the world.
Behind us, you see the parkway leading downtown to City Hall.
On top, the famous statue of William Penn.
What else is famous in Philadelphia?
Well, how about Dr. J, the Philly sound, the Liberty Bell,
and Rocky, who, need I add, jogged up and down these very steps
in that unforgettable scene from the first Rocky film.
There's a heavyweight bout tonight on television as well.
Lisa Gibbons has the preliminaries in our news studio.
Lisa?
Thank you, John.
Tonight, the Fox Broadcasting Company pits their most celebrated challenger,
Joan Rivers, against late-night talk show champ Johnny Carson.
And both corners will be pulling no punches.
APPLAUSE
The groundwork for tonight's main event was laid last May,
when Rivers, who was still serving as sole guest host for Carson,
appeared at a press conference to announce plans for her own late-night talk show.
There's room for all of us.
You should be thrilled.
You found me.
There's room for all of us.
Carson was not thrilled, and a statement issued through his company maintained
that Rivers, quote, handled the situation very shabbily in her sudden announcement, end quote.
He further termed her behaviour unethical.
Rivers counterpunched by claiming that NBC had exhibited, quote,
a cavalier attitude and careless handling in her contract negotiations, end quote.
For her first round with the champ, Rivers is parading out an all-star line-up,
including Cher, Elton John, Pee-wee Herman, and David Lee Roth,
while Carson is countering with media-shy Sean Penn and Richard Pryor.
But Carson is clearly the winner in station numbers, final tally, Carson, 208, Rivers, 99.
We hope to have the decision on round one for you tomorrow,
but the winner of this bout will probably take some time to determine.
Mary?
Thank you, Lisa.
The main event last night in New York was the premiere of The Color of Money.
Al Owens has that story.
At the premiere, the stars of the film were joined by fellow actors and celebrities
to see Paul Newman recreate his role of fast Eddie Felson,
a character he first played 25 years ago in the pool-hole classic The Hustler.
And Eddie Felson.
Tom Cruise plays Vincent Luria, the protege and eventual rival of fast Eddie.
I mean, the film is not about pool.
The film is about the people and the characters.
Actually, it's not a sequel.
It's sort of a continuation of the character of fast Eddie Felson
that Paul Newman portrayed in the original version.
And I was very much attracted to that character,
and also the attraction of working with Paul Newman.
That kid's got a sledgehammer break.
The legend that he has, in my opinion, he deserves every inch of it.
He's a great actor and a great man, so it was a pleasure.
His eyes are very blue.
Would Tom Cruise take a cue from his co-star and return his hustling character to the screen
after a quarter of a century break?
Playing Vincent the Kid 25 years from now? I don't know.
I don't know what's going to happen 25 years from now.
I guess we'll see.
Aloeens Entertainment tonight.
The Color of Money opens a week from tomorrow.
Four films open this week.
Jumpin' Jack Flash, Deadly Friend, Clockwise, and Peggy Sue Got Married.
Kathleen Turner stars in Peggy Sue Got Married.
I talked to her about movie roles and real life.
Kathleen Turner plays the title role in Peggy Sue Got Married,
the story of a woman thrust back in time and allowed to reconsider the events
that shaped the course of her life.
It's over, Charlie.
I don't want to hurt you.
I want you to be happy.
No, I will be happy if I have you.
I love you.
No, that doesn't make any difference.
We just can't live together, and you went off with that bimbo, Janet.
What are you talking about?
Who is Janet?
In Peggy Sue Got Married, you have a chance to go back in time,
and it almost seems like the theme of the picture is,
if you could do it all over again, here's what you would do differently.
It is.
That is sort of the thing.
She does contemplate, you know, if she says in the beginning,
before she becomes 18 again, if I knew then what I know now,
you know, the implication being the choices would be so different.
Did it force you to go back in your own personal life?
Yeah.
There's a marvelous moment that every film has a hook for me,
has one scene that grabs me more than any other,
and that's the one that I think of when I doubt why I'm doing what I'm doing.
In Peggy Sue, she's 18 again, and the phone rings,
and she picks it up, and it's her grandmother who's been dead for years.
Hello.
Peggy Sue?
This is Grandma.
Grandma?
How's my little girl been?
Grandpa was very very concerned.
What's the matter, Peggy?
Very concerned.
Peggy, what's up?
It's Grandma.
I can't talk.
I'm sorry.
Some of this, of course, is very personal with the fact that my father died,
but the thought of being able to speak to someone again that you've lost
is, I don't know what you wouldn't give for that,
and I think of that with Peggy Sue.
What would you say to your father if you could talk to him now?
I'd want to know if he was proud.
I want to say I think I did the best I could.
What do you think?
You know.
What do you think he'd say?
I think he'd say yes.
A few moments ago, we mentioned Dr. J as a member of the Philly Famous.
He is but one among many claiming allegiance to this great city.
You can add Mike Schmidt, Joe Frazier, Ed McMahon, Mario Lanza, Ernie Kovacs,
Joey Bishop, and more familiar faces.
Don't you know I love, love, love you?
Next, on location in Canada with Richard Krena.
Earlier this year when Richard Krena was in Boston making the TV movie Deadly Force,
he read about a murder case in that city involving a professor and a prostitute.
Little did he know that eight months later he'd be starring in a movie for television based on
that same case. Jeannie Becker has more.
Richard Krena was on location in Toronto filming The Ruling Passion, a television movie based on
the true story of a college professor who falls in love with, then murders, a young prostitute.
It's really the story of obsession rather than of murder and crime and it's a tragedy
certainly from the standpoint of the young woman who was involved in her parents and friends
and I think a tragedy from the standpoint of the man that I portray in terms of his family
and what they now have to live with in the memory of what their husband and father did.
The actual case took place in Boston but the film was shot in Toronto on a street set to look like
Boston's infamous red light district, the Combat Zone.
The opportunity to play a very complex split personality if you will.
Bill Douglas was a brilliant cell biologist and this obsession of his with the young woman
created a monster and the story of that change and that
transformation in this man I think is fascinating.
Karen Young plays her first leading TV movie role as the young woman turned prostitute.
What's up Jerry? You're no longer welcome here.
I love Richard Krena. He's one of my, he's a great leading man.
I mean every actor should have a chance to work with him.
I think as an actor it's a challenge to try to take a character as involved in, as
heinous a crime as this and make an audience that's certainly not sympathetic to him but to make him
make them understand the madness in this character.
The ruling passion will air on NBC later this season.
Organizers of the We Are the World Hunger Anthem said yesterday their goal of 50 million dollars
was met and surpassed this week when CBS records donated an additional two and a half million
dollars. Our profits from the single, the album, video and merchandise have now raised 51.2 million
dollars. Organizers also announced plans for the distribution of 12 million dollars raised by the
Hands Across America project. Another rock and roll benefit is on the calendar this weekend.
Nina Blackwood is in Hollywood with that story for us and more in this week's rock report.
Nina.
Thanks John. It was a good news, bad news week for Boy George. His record company Virgin Records
pulled the plug on his recording session so the boy decided to pay for the time himself
and when he said he was going to shop the record around the label reminded him he was still under
contract to Virgin. Presto. They listened to the tapes, loved it and decided they'll release his
next LP. Not so good news for the Culture Club. They're not on the boys latest project and we
hear they've gone their separate ways and are now forming individual bands. The big news out of
San Francisco is this coming Monday's all-star all acoustic benefit put together by Neil Young
and his wife Peggy. The two have a young son with cerebral palsy and the benefit is for the Bridge
School, a school for severely handicapped children. We asked Neil how he and Peggy got together a
lineup that includes Tom Petty, Nils Lofgren, Robin Williams and Bruce Springsteen. Well they're all
friends of ours and they just, I guess they just felt like helping you know. It's a pretty simple
thing. We're trying not to make it into a big deal you know of course with Bruce there it is a big
deal but we're trying to be laid back about it. The benefit will raise money for a special education
program using computers to help physically handicapped non-speaking children communicate.
Their little souls are fine and they got to be able to to communicate. Einstein might be sitting
in that chair. It's our job to try to take advantage of the the wealth of a brain that has
nothing to do but think. And we'll have coverage and backstage reports from the benefit next week.
Finally we've learned the Capitol Records will release a new John Lennon album called Men Love
Avenue, name for the street he grew up on. Word of the album that was recorded during the walls
and bridges sessions and which was assembled and produced very quietly comes today on what would
have been John Lennon's 46th birthday. And that wraps up for this week. I'm Nina Blackwood for
the Rock Report and back to you Mary in Philadelphia. Thanks Nina. We all know of Philadelphia's
connection with rock and roll and soul music but many people may not be aware of the city's heritage
as a pioneering television town. That's right Ernie Kovacs started right here. The first network
soap opera got its feet wet here and of course Dick Clark an American bandstand began right here
in Philadelphia as well. As a result a little later on in the show we're going to be looking
at a groundbreaking television series from Philadelphia that'll bring back the days when
good guys wore white and bad guys wore black. Coming up tomorrow the fashionable side of being
up and in in Beverly Hills plus veteran Hollywood tough guy Kirk Douglas. It's all on Entertainment
Tonight. Travel arrangements made by Pan American World Airways which flies to more places in
Europe than all other U.S. airlines combined. Pan Am you can't beat the experience. Here is the
ET Digest for Thursday the 9th of October. New in the bookstore Sky Writing by Word of Mouth by John
Lennon. The TV Smart Book for Kids by Peggy Charin and Carol Hulsizer. And Leonard Malton's TV Movie
and Video Guide 1987 edition. The U.S. government's apparent attempts to influence media reports about
Libya continue to have major reverberations in the nation's capital. Peter Quinn Hackes has the
latest from Washington. I've taken the step of stepping down. President Reagan's alleged plan
to intimidate Gaddafi appears to have claimed his State Department spokesman as its first victim.
As a spokesman as a journalist I'm concerned about credibility. I think that's one of the most
precious things that we have that America be seen and America be perceived as the bearer of truth.
That is an extraordinary weapon truth and I was concerned that any such program any such program
of whatever dimension could in fact boomerang and hurt the United States. Reaction to the
disinformation controversy has ranged from shock to disappointment. The administration allowed itself
to be caught and embarrassed. I don't think we ought to rule out all disinformation campaigns
no matter what the circumstances in the world. It could be that survival of our nation depended
on something like that at some point. Who knows? I do think this one was stupid and I think it was
carried off in a very inept fashion. All of us here in the White House press corps fought and to some
degree knew that the White House tried to put the best face on the news but the idea that they would
sit there in a meeting and systematically plan to give us disinformation. Now that's something that
we'd always heard the Soviets did that the bad guys did. The idea that it was happening here in
the White House that's a shock. As for outright lying I can only recall one other instance.
That's when they were about to invade Grenada and they passed me the word through the press secretary
from the man who is now the national security advisor was then the deputy that the idea was
preposterous on the next day it happened. The greatest impact of this whole affair of course
may be on the press as opposed to the administration. The Washington press corps which has become
dependent on as well as cynical about government leaked information will now be checking those
details fed to them by the administration that much more carefully even when they come from the
highest source. At the State Department Peter Quinhacos Entertainment tonight. There are new
numbers in the network morning shows battle that and some more updates from Lisa Gibbons in Hollywood
once again Lisa. Thank you Mary. The numbers are in for last week and the folks at the national
broadcasting company are the ones cheering the loudest. NBC's Today Show was all alone in first
with a 5.0 rating. ABC's Good Morning America fell back to second with a 4.3 rating and the CBS
Morning News was in its customary third place position with a 2.7 rating. Jane Pauley returns
to the Today Show tomorrow after a summer long maternity leave. Not only will her return be
welcomed but Friday is her 10th anniversary with the people at NBC's number one morning show.
Tomorrow was supposed to be a reunion for Pauley and former Today Show host Tom Brokaw who had
been filling in for Pauley this past week but the surprise pre-summit in Iceland called the NBC News
Anchorman away for nighttime duty. And to wrap up our Hollywood report more numbers news these from
the daytime. According to Nielsen General Hospital was the most watched show. CBS the number one
network during daytime. And now back to you in Philadelphia. Thanks Lisa you know we sit here
in Philadelphia and we talk about the Philadelphia sound but we haven't heard any of it yet. We're
going to when we come back the music of the Quaker City String Band.
Hotel accommodations for the cast and crew of entertainment tonight were furnished by the
Sheridan Society Hill the only hotel located in the heart of Philadelphia's historic district.
Celebrating a birthday today Sean Lennon is 11, Jackson Brown 38, and the Who's John Entwistle is
44. And the Who's John Entwistle is 44. And the Who's John Entwistle is 44. And the Who's John
Entwistle is 44. Elizabeth Taylor has been released from a Los Angeles hospital after nearly two weeks
of treatment for a tooth infection. Frank Sinatra is selling his mansion in Beverly Hills. The asking
price three million dollars. And the Los Angeles City Council has approved plans for a 25 million
dollar museum to house the music and movie memorabilia of Gene Autry and other western stars.
You may not know it but all the cowboy entertainment history wasn't made out west.
An important segment of it was born and bred right here in the city of Brotherly Love.
My partner Sheriff Tesh tells us about it. This ladies and gentlemen is the town of Hoverly,
Hoverly Montana. You'll not find it on your map but you'll find it on your tv set
every day Monday through Friday on PBS television. Hoverly was confined to that area behind me what
was once wide open spaces wooden facades and dusty roads is now a parking lot here at Philadelphia
television station WCAU. They used to bring the cameras through these doors every day,
stage the outside scenes right here and then rush back inside for the bar room brawls,
the shots of the jail and whatever else was required for action in the afternoon. The daily
half hour show was tv's only live network western ever and it had everything you'd imagine.
Jack Jack of the python. Jack this is a python. Needless to say there was action.
Mystery. I wonder if we're ever going to find out who's really behind all this.
A handsome hero who of course sang.
Waiting at the jail house waiting for the fun to begin.
Where there's a hero there's a comic sidekick. A sneering bad guy.
Some grumbling townspeople. A trip to boot hill.
And the thrilling climax.
And so with justice finally served what better way for good old Jack
Valentine to end all the action in the afternoon than to strike up a song with the boys.
Oh
well it's not quite all folks. Tomorrow we'll be talking with tough guy Kirk Douglas looking
at a new tv movie based on a Philadelphia dance show and continuing our up and in Beverly Hills
series. A January 1st tradition here in Philadelphia is the Mummers Parade. We have with us today
members of the Quaker City String Band which has the distinction of having the tallest captain he's
six foot ten of any of the 22 string bands that march in the Mummers Parade. So as we both say
goodbye take it away Captain Bob.