People: Brown says he might have saved daughter
Singer Bobby Brown said he believes things would have turned out differently for Bobbi Kristina Brown if he had been with his daughter days before she was found unresponsive in her home in suburban Atlanta.
Brown was to speak publicly for the first time since Bobbi Kristina’s death in July, in an appearance on Fox’s talk show “The Real,” which airs today. He became emotional several times while sitting next to his wife Alicia Etheredge in video clips of the pre-taped interview released in advance.
“If I could have been there two days before, it wouldn’t have went down like that,” said Brown, who wore a necklace bearing a photo of him and his daughter.
The 22-year-old Bobbi Kristina died in hospice care July 26. She was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub Jan. 31.
Bobbi Kristina was the only daughter between Brown and the late Whitney Houston. Brown says he thinks Houston was ready for their daughter to be with the singer “in heaven.”
Brown said he held out hope for months that Bobbi Kristina would survive.
“We prayed and hoped for six months, you know, for something better to happen,” he said. “But when God calls you, he calls you.”
His daughter was buried in New Jersey next to Houston.
Rather applauded at ‘Truth’ showing
A visibly moved Dan Rather choked up at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere on Saturday night of “Truth,” a drama that recounts the events surrounding the CBS News anchor’s downfall.
Rather attended the premiere of the film, which is based on “60 Minutes” producer Mary Mapes’ 2005 memoir about the network’s report on President George W. Bush’s Air National Guard service during the Vietnam War. Starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, James Vanderbilt’s film is a bid for the vindication of Mapes and Rather, whose careers both tumbled as a result of the scandal.
“Truth” is clearly on their side, portraying the controversy as a journalistic tragedy, with Mapes and Rather sacrificed by a corporation with motivations beyond truthful reporting.
Appearing on stage after the film’s premiere, Rather received a standing ovation. He told the festival that watching the film was “an eerie experience, and I confess that I still haven’t quite gotten my head completely around it.”
Sony Pictures Classics will release “Truth” on Oct. 16.
The birthday bunch
Actor Walter Koenig is 79. Singer-actress Joey Heatherton is 71. Actor Sam Neill is 68. Singer Jon “Bowzer” Bauman (Sha Na Na) is 68. Rock musician Ed King is 66. Country singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is 59. Actress Mary Crosby is 56. Singer Morten Harket (a-ha) is 56. Actress Melissa Leo is 55. Actress Faith Ford is 51. Rock musician Mike Cooley (Drive-By Truckers) is 49. Actor-writer-director-producer Tyler Perry is 46. Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley is 44.