The million-dollar question from Linda Bloodworth Thomason's scathing piece yesterday on disgraced CBS president Les Moonves:
"Soon, I would hear how he had invited a famous actress to lunch in the CBS dining room. Coming off the cancellation of her iconic detective show, the star began pitching a new one. He informed her that she was too old to be on his network. She began to cry and stood up to go. He stood up too, taking her by the shoulders and telling her, “I can’t let you leave like this.” She reacted, suddenly touched. Then he shoved his tongue down her throat. I know this happened because the star is the person who told me."Who was the female star?
My friend's first guess was Angela Lansbury -- which the internet seems to agree with -- but it seemed off to me given Moonves's penchant for young flesh. My first guess was Cybill Shepherd, whose "Moonlighting" had been off the air for a few years and she would have been about 45 when Moonves took over in 1995. But her show "Cybill" did end up on CBS, although it's possible the story is somewhat intentionally disguised ("Cybill" did get abruptly canceled during his tenure). Also, I can only seeing her punching rather than crying -- if someone said that to her!
UPDATE: Your guesses are very much appreciated. A friend has pointed me to what appears to be the correct "answer" HERE.
2 comments:
Angela Lansbury?
If this happened in the 90's then the timing of the incident with the cancellation of either show makes no sense. Both were cancelled in the 80's. On top of that Moonlighting was on ABC. This incident most likely took place in the 90's after Les joined CBS. The only iconic detective show cancelled in the 90's on CBS was Murder She Wrote. But I find it hard to believe Les kissed Angela Lansbury like that!
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