Movie Stars Survive Scandals And Just Go On

Hugh Grant finally has finished his rounds of the TV talk shows, having added a new wrinkle to the science of Hollywood spin control: career rescue by public expiation.

Arrested in flagrante with a Sunset Strip hooker, Grant faced significant damage to his squeaky-clean image and new status as a big-money Hollywood player. But his televised confessionals, which coincided with promotion for his new movie, “Nine Months,” seem to have repaired much of the damage.

“It’s a no-win situation,” observes veteran film publicist Harry Clein. “The best you can hope for is to come out breathing, and Grant seems to have done that. … If he had hidden from something like this, it probably would have gotten much worse.”

Longtime publicist Bruce Feldman agrees Grant used the right strategy.

“He was able to put himself out in public, show that he had a good sense of humor and was somewhat humble,” Feldman said. “He made himself accessible, so his interviewers weren’t too hard on him.”

Meanwhile, actor Charlie Sheen is taking the hush-hush approach after getting caught with his pants down.

Last week, the scion of the Sheen-Estevez family sweated through a videotape he made for a federal jury in the trial of Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

Sheen admitted that he had ordered Fleiss’ call girls at least 27 times, running up a tab of more than $50,000.

The 29-year-old actor issued a statement through a spokesman apologizing to “my family, my future wife, my close friends, for any embarrassment these incidents may have caused.”

But that was it. Unlike Grant, there have been no shamefaced comments to Jay, no sorrowful afterthoughts with Dave.

Publicists generally feel Sheen has done the right thing. After all, how can he sit on Leno’s or Letterman’s couch and chat about shelling out $1,500 to $3,000 for “heterosexual services,” and once on Christmas Day, no less?

Sheen might take heart from the examples of past stars who became embroiled in scandals but whose careers survived nicely with little or no spin control:

Mary Astor: In 1935, Astor was sued by her ex-husband for custody of their daughter on the grounds the actress was an unsuitable mother. The evidence was her diary, which purported to list her affairs with famous Hollywood males. Miss Astor won the suit, and the diary was never revealed. Her career thrived for decades, highlighted by an Academy Award as best supporting actress in 1941 for “The Great Lie.”

Errol Flynn: At the height of his career in 1942, he was tried for statutory rape of two teenage girls on his yacht. He was acquitted, and he became a bigger star than ever. “In like Flynn” became a national catch phrase.

Robert Mitchum: In 1948, Mitchum was arrested while smoking marijuana with a starlet in her apartment. The married actor served two months in the county slammer and emerged so much in demand that Howard Hughes bought his contract from David Selznick for $200,000.

Rex Harrison: The rising star Carole Landis committed suicide in 1948, reportedly because her lover, Harrison, would not leave his wife. Harrison left Hollywood soon after the tragedy but returned years later to win an Oscar for “My Fair Lady.”

Lana Turner: In 1958, Cheryl Crane stabbed to death mobster Johnny Stompanato in the bedroom of her mother, Lana Turner. Turner, who had been trying to end a romance with Stompanato, continued as one of the highest-paid actresses in films.