Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Even with the publication of Billy Ray Cyrus' "Hillbilly Heart" memoir more than a year away, it's a safe bet that the book will engender emotional responses — for and against.

In the tome, Cyrus purportedly opens up about his own rebellious youth, his rise to fame with "Achy Breaky Heart," and the role that religious faith plays in his life. And of course, there's the eye-catching part: that he writes "with great candor" about the challenges of raising his talented wild-child daughter, Miley.

Uh-oh.

Having been continuously accused of exploiting Miley's success for his own career gain ever since "Hannah Montana" made her a Disney Channel "It" girl in 2006, Billy Ray's had more than his share of print misadventures. There was the infamous Vanity Fair story of 2008, with the cover picture of a bare-topped, 15-year-old Miley amid rumpled sheets and an eyebrow-raising father-daughter inside photo spread.

Then there was Billy Ray's notorious GQ interview of a year ago, in which he criticized "Hannah Montana" and the people handling Miley's career — in addition to comparing her to the late Anna Nicole Smith while airing his worries about her many episodes of questionable behavior. When her widely reported response was hurt and anger, he talked some more about wanting to repair his familial relationships in People.

And then there are the stories of his own interesting relationship histories, including fathering children with two different women in the same year.

No wonder Billy Ray comes off extremely guarded — wounded — in interviews, unless he happens to be talking about such safe topics as his music and charitable causes.

Which brings us to the other Billy Ray, the patriotic guy who has visited countless troops here and in Iraq and Afghanistan, has supported various worthy causes and has played roles in uplifting fare. To his fans, he's gotten a bum rap in the media.

Now, with his Amazon book deal, the public will get a chance to hear the whole Cyrus story from Billy Ray himself.

No prejudiced journalists spinning his words negatively or taking them out of context. No photographer surprises. It will be all his way, in his hands. Miley, gird yourself.

ALSO TELLING ALL: Debbie Reynolds has a gloves-off memoir coming out in 2013 also: "Unsinkable," which is being described as her "definitive memoir and tell-all." By the time it's released, the Hollywood icon will be 80. Publishers Lunch (which is its own entity and not related to Publishers Weekly, as we said the other day) points out that Debbie published her first autobiography in 1988 and quotes her observation: "When I read the optimistic ending of that book now, I can't believe how naive I was when I wrote it."

CLOSING UP 'HOUSE': Considering that Hugh Laurie said way back in May 2011 that the end of "House's" eighth season would likely be its swan song — "That's as long as they've got me for" — it's surprising that anyone is surprised the show is readying for its final farewell. Laurie also made no secret of the fact that he missed his family in the U.K. and yearned to spend more time on his music.

However, he certainly appreciated the success of his rightly acclaimed show. As he told this column, "It's not quite winning the lottery, but close to it. When you realize the number of projects that die in pilot stage, the number of pilots that never become shows, the number of series that never last more than a season, well, I look back and feel like we walked through a minefield. We had a very modest beginning. I never realized how fragile we were as an infant show or the fact we were in sort of intensive care for a while. And yet we managed to survive."

FUNNY BUSINESS: Robin Williams and Mort Sahl were among the Marty Allen admirers who turned out to see the pudgy veteran comic perform at Marin County, California's 142 Throckmorton Theatre the other night. He performed along with his wife, singer/comedian Karon Blackwell. Marty says, "Karon and I are like the new Burns and Allen, except I'm Gracie."

Marty turns 90 on March 23.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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