 |
With “Bank of Hollywood,’’ Candy Spelling (left) enters the world of reality TV. Daughter Tori stars in “Tori & Dean.’’ (Jeff Christensen/AP/File (Left); Peter Kramer/AP/File) |
Mom, like daughter, lands a reality show
HOLLYWOOD - Candy Spelling is already famous or infamous; it can be hard to tell these days. The wife of the late TV mogul Aaron Spelling, she’s also owner of one of the most expensive homes in the country and mother to “Beverly Hills 90210’’ star Tori Spelling, with whom she’s had a publicly tumultuous relationship for years.
Now she has entered that not-so-rarefied world of fringe celebrities on reality TV. She is the anchor judge on the new Ryan Seacrest-produced E! reality show “Bank of Hollywood,’’ airing Mondays, in which ordinary people line up to beg a panel featuring Spelling and other showbiz personalities for their personal cash.
“One of the key components to this show’’ is sniffing out the phony requests, said Seacrest.
Spelling, 64, made her own pitch for the new show during a recent event at the Spelling Manor pool house, part of a 56,500-square foot French chateau-style estate she’s been trying to sell for almost a year - list price: $150 million. The reality show, she said, surrounded by a wall of at least five handlers, seems “to fit in with this new chapter in my life.’’
“Being single again, I’m even dating,’’ she said. “I’m barely home anymore.’’
Starring in a reality show might seem an odd choice for Spelling, who this summer wrote an open letter published on the celebrity gossip news website TMZ that was addressed to “middle-aged reality show stars (like my daughter).’’ In it, she criticized Tori for exploiting their strained relationship to fuel the drama on her Oxygen reality show, “Tori & Dean.’’
The elder Spelling declined to elaborate on the letter or whether her perspective on reality shows has changed - a rep for E! and several of Spelling’s handlers also jumped in to prevent any further discussion on the topic - but she did say she was now dealing with Tori privately. (Since this interview, both Spelling and Tori’s husband, Dean McDermott, have told the tabloids that the relationship is on the mend.)
The new E! show was also a somewhat surprising decision since Spelling doesn’t watch much television. In fact, Spelling said, the only must-see TV in her life is CNBC.
“I can’t get up unless I know where the stock market is,’’ she said. “My head is still all about investing.’’
Initially, she was hesitant to appear on “Bank of Hollywood.’’ On paper, the program seemed suspect, a potentially mean-spirited marathon of ordinary people getting their financial dreams squashed by fabulously wealthy celebrities during tough economic times.
But eventually she felt the show steered clear of enough of those pitfalls to proceed. The task before Spelling and the other panelists is to figure out who is actually deserving of their money.
This can be a difficult call when faced with a paralyzed boy asking for a $93,000 pool to allow for hydrotherapy but a bit easier with a cone-bra-wearing Madonna fan requesting $80,000 to tour the world with her idol.
“It wasn’t easy saying ‘no’ to people,’’ Spelling said. “But we also made huge differences for others, and that’s a pretty good power rush, I have to tell you.’’
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
