Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090040
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK PORTER KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Leach, who co-developed ``Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'' 12 years ago, has retooled the show, bringing in co-host Shari Belafonte as well as correspondents Katie Wagner, Niki Taylor and Mary Major. The show airs Sundays at 11:30 p.m. on WGN.
``The star system in Hollywood has changed in the last 12 years. Although I'm very knowledgeable about show business with people like R.J. (Robert) Wagner and John Forsythe, Joan Collins, Sophia Loren, I don't know too much about the Kiefer Sutherlands, the Sean Penns. That's what I'm relying on Katie for,'' Leach said in an interview.
``When I started the show, I was 40 years old. That makes me 52, going on 53. I think it was time to bring some youth into it. You can't have me, this slightly balding, slightly overweight guy sitting in a rocking chair on the porch screaming at the top of his voice. So we needed some young blood to bring a new dimension to it,'' Leach said.
``But nothing changes with the content of the show. It's still great stories about winners. ... If it's not broke, don't fix it. There's nothing wrong with if you've got a successful car model like the Mustang, there's no problem in making the color a little brighter or the chrome a little slicker.''
Leach got the idea for ``Lifestyles'' while reporting for ``Entertainment Tonight'' during its first three seasons. Leach was frustrated because he would ``go into these extraordinary houses in Hollywood and all we would do was an interview with the person and ask them about their work.''
Leach knew that people are fascinated with going to open houses. ``People [don't] necessary buy the house but walk through the house looking for ideas. ... I wanted to see what the celebrities were doing and spending their money [on] and the way they lived,'' he said.
The idea grew. ``Al Masini, who was my partner for the past 11 years on [the show], said, `If you can get Rockefeller and Dupont to do what Cher and John Forsythe do, then you've got an unbelievable winning formula,''' Leach said.
``Nobody believed [the show] would be a success, that 12 years later, it would still be on the air, still making excitement, still getting good ratings, and continuing as if there was no end in sight,'' he said.
Leach said he's traveled on average 250,000 miles a year while doing Lifestyles - about 3 million miles in total.
And he's seen some impressive sights. A tour of the palace of Brunei, which is owned by the Sultan of Brunei - the richest man in the world - ``always sticks out in my mind,'' Leach said. He also fondly remembers stories done on the new millionaires in Russia. ``We even went to China, and when we were there we found multimillionaires.''
But Leach said the pace was ``exhausting. For me, it was a 7-day-a-week job, 16 to 17 hours a day, and that's why I wanted Katie Wagner and Shari Belafonte to join the team, so I could take some time off and not have to work so hard,'' as well as helping to keep the show current.
Wagner, the daughter of Robert and former actress Marion Marshall, went to school in Beverly Hills and has worked for such popular entertainment venues as E Entertainment Television, MTV, VH- 1, Cinemax and HBO.
Leach isn't always successful in nabbing guests. He would have enjoyed having had Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on the show. He's also unsuccessfully tried to have Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer appear. He also mentioned the reclusive film legend Marlene Dietrich as someone he wished he could have gotten to appear.
The newly revamped ``Lifestyles'' already has an impressive and diverse list of celebrities scheduled to appear.
Among those scheduled include Dan Aykroyd, Francis Ford Coppola, Luke Perry Christopher Reeve, Joe Pesci, Melissa Gilbert, Ted Danson, Jack Nicholson, Karl Lagerfeld, James Garner, Mayim Bialik, Aileen Getty, Carla Bruni, Kellie Martin and Rue McClanahan - a list that suggests Leach and crew will succeed in bringing ``Lifestyles'' forward to new success.
by CNB