Setting the record straight

By Mark Shanahan , Globe Staff  |  June 4, 2008

Longtime WBZ-TV newsman Joe Bergantino e-mailed us yesterday to clarify the details of his departure from the CBS affiliate Friday. Although we spoke to Bergantino on Monday, we didn't reach him to confirm the specifics of his last day. Bergantino, who accepted a contract buyout after 22 years with the station, said he "carefully coordinated the sending of my farewell e-mail with the station news director" and that "no one encouraged me to leave earlier in the day. They gave me the time I needed to pack up my office and then I left having said goodbye to some of those colleagues who were also leaving."

Maybe Sandra Bullock really is "Miss Congeniality." The actress was sweet as could be during a shopping trip to Rockport the other day. Bullock, who's been busy shooting "The Proposal" in Gloucester, dropped some dough at Captain Steve's Seashell Shop, picking up a present for the film's director, Anne Fletcher. "She was extremely gracious and unpretentious," shop owner Steve Squillace told us. Seems Bullock bought three sailors' valentines, which are custom-made octagonal mosaics of shells. (The works of art were created by Marci Chamberlain of Derry, N.H.) "The pieces are drop-dead gorgeous, and Sandra wanted to give one to her director as a memento," said Squillace.

At 86, a lot of lesser lights might be losing steam now. Not Betty White. The actress whose resume includes two of TV's most iconic characters - Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Rose Nylund on "The Golden Girls" - has been in Boston for the past several weeks shooting "The Proposal," with stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. White's also co-written a new book, "Together: A Novel of Shared Vision," that reflects her longstanding support - no, passion - for animals. We reached Betty back home in Brentwood, Calif., where she was lounging on the couch with her beloved dog lying across her lap.

Q. You spent five weeks shooting in Boston and Gloucester. Did you have a good time?

A. I tell you, it's the most wonderful company of people. I dreaded going away from home so long because I have a golden retriever who takes a very dim view of me being away. Sandra [Bullock] is not only talented and smart but one of the nicest and funniest human beings ever. All we did was giggle and scratch.

Q. A lot like your golden retriever.

A. Yes.

Q. What's the dog's name?

A. Pontiac.

Q. Like the car?

A. No, like the Indian chief.

Q. Did you get out while you were in Boston?

A. A little on the weekends. Mary Steenburgen is in the movie, so Ted [Danson] came in to see her, and we all went to the aquarium and had a wonderful time. I was holding one of the octopuses arms. My, all of those little suction cups. Did you know each one is controlled individually? That's a hard thing to work into a conversation: Did you know . . .[Laughs].

Q. Who do you play in the movie?

A. Grandma Annie. She's Sandra's to-be grandmother-in-law. She's really a nice gal, for a change.

Q. What does that mean?

A. Well, like "Lake Placid." Did you see that? So often, for shock value, they put these terrible words in my mouth.

Q. Ryan Reynolds got engaged during the making of "The Proposal." Did you meet his fiancee?

A. Oh yes. Scarlett Johansson is a delight. Everybody just loves her. They seem very close and very happy.

Q. Why are you still working? Wouldn't it be easier to just put your feet up?

A. I get a lot of bad scripts. A lot of them. So when a good one comes along, it's a tremendous temptation. I tried to turn this one down. At first, it was going to be 10 weeks, and I couldn't face being away that long. I'm the luckiest old broad on two feet. I spend half my time on animal welfare stuff and half on showbiz. Those are the two things I love best.

Q. In reality, are you more like the neighborhood nympho Sue Ann or the kind-hearted Rose?

A. People used to ask my husband Allen [Ludden] that, and he'd say Betty's pretty much like Sue Ann except she can't cook. I think I'm more like Rose: annoyingly cheerful, always believing everything's going to work out.

Q. The book, written with Tom Sullivan, is about a seeing-eye dog. Tell me about your work on behalf of animals.

A. Animals are sort of my whole life. I do animal-welfare work, not really animal rights. Animal-rights people are very political and do demonstrations. Not to put that down, but I don't do that. I just like to accentuate the positive instead of the negative. I've worked with the LA Zoo for 40 years as a trustee and a commissioner.

Q. Is there a role you'd still like to play?

A. Just a love story. Nothing sexy, just a romantic love story. Well, I suppose I did that with Leslie Nielsen in "Chance of a Lifetime." Oh, I guess I just take what comes along.

Burlington-bred "Baby Mama" Amy Poehler made a triumphant return last night, attending the opening of the new Kiehl's store at the Burlington Mall. The "Saturday Night Live" comedian, who's expecting her first child with hubby Will Arnett in the fall, confessed to us that she spent a lot of time in high school tooling around the mall. "This is where I did my loitering," said Poehler, who worked at a mall store called Au Coton. "It was the worst period of Burlington fashion in the late '80s." The event last night was a benefit for Children's Hospital Boston, the Cystic Fibrosis Center, Rosie's Place, and Burlington High's drama department, where Poehler got her start in a production of "Once Upon a Mattress." "I didn't have to sing well, just loud," she said with her mom, Eileen, and Arnett standing nearby. "I handled the loud part well."

There's apparently no picture too mundane for those pestering paparazzi. The celebrity shutterbugs were snapping away in New York the other day as Gisele Bundchen strolled down the street not with boyfriend Tom Brady but with the Pats QB's parents, Tom Sr. (above) and Galynn. The supermodel and her prospective future in-laws ditched the photographer by ducking into Extra Virgin for lunch.

In his haste to spill the beans yesterday about Jill Epstein's brand-new baby, flack Chris Haynes forgot to check the tot's sex. Epstein, the publisher of Where to Eat & Drink, had a girl named Chase Higgins.

The cast and crew of "The Surrogates" set up shop yesterday at the Beehive. We're told the South End hotspot was made to look "all Moulin Rougey" for a bar scene with Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, and a bevy of beautiful extras. The sci-fi thriller will be filming in and around Boston for several more weeks.

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