Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Bruce Dern, Emmy-nominated for his guest-starring work on "Big Love," tells us that the recognition took him completely by surprise.

"I never had that much to do on the show," explains the esteemed actor — who certainly made a lasting impact as the manipulative, nasty and sometimes downright frightening polygamist Frank Harlow.

Bruce says he'll be at the awards, though his work schedule couldn't be much fuller. He has Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming "Twixt," a gothic horror picture, making a lot of noise. In September, he reveals, daughter Laura will begin production on the drama they've been planning to do together for a while, "Hart's Location," with Joe Dante directing the film and Laura's mother (Bruce's ex-wife) Diane Ladd also cast.

"It's a father-daughter story," says Bruce. "My character divorced her mother when she was three and went off to pursue life as a big-time photographer."

He goes on to explain that when the characters eventually do reunite, his daughter's a grown woman just getting out of jail — and anxious to get her 5-year-old son back. She finds her father not to be the bad, dangerous person she's been led to believe he is.

"I tell her I'll take her to get her son back on one condition — that I drive," says Bruce.

They'll shoot in Georgia.

Bruce also has an independent feature just about to start production in upstate New York: "Love Orchard," with Kristanna Loken ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines").

"Her father wrote the script," Bruce reports. "It's his story." Bruce goes on to describe an incident in which Immigration and Naturalization Services arrested a 3-year-old girl, although her parents were in the country legally and working in an orchard.

With a career now spanning five decades, Bruce keeps finding himself on the receiving end of accolades — including his star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame last fall, his Legend Award at the inaugural Gold Coast International Film Festival in June and — possibly — an Emmy.

"Is it sacrilegious to say it?" muses Bruce. "The nomination is the win in itself."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Marg Helgenberger kept cracking up like a schoolgirl sitting next to the class clown — Ted Danson — during the "CSI" panel at the Television Critics Association press tour at the Beverly Hilton this week. If any of that fun energy gets into the 12th season of the stalwart crime procedural, it'll make for quite a lift for the show; the producers acknowledged that the forthcoming season will be lighter than the last, which became quite dark, even by "CSI" standards.

Ted's kid-friendly-family-man character is a change of pace. Ted already seems at home with his new series family, despite coming aboard "CSI" quickly.

As he noted, one week he was standing and looking out at sea on Martha's Vineyard, and the next, he was viewing his first autopsy in Las Vegas ... and the following week — he was at the press tour.

Only time will tell whether Patrick Wilson's "A Gifted Man" medical show will achieve its lofty goal of exploring big issues facing doctors today — disparities in health care, holistic approaches, science vs. faith, and why some people have access to medicine while others don't. (Critics are wary of the fact his character's late wife, Jennifer Ehle, a free clinic doctor, is a character in the drama.)

Given its pedigree and cast — including Julie Benz in a recurring role — don't bet against it. Executive producer Dr. Neal Baer gave Wilson his ultimate endorsement, saying he hasn't felt this excited about an actor in a particular role since 1994, when he worked on "ER." Guess who.

ANOTHER SIDE OF A BELOVED CLOWN: Tomorrow (August 6) marks the 100th anniversary of the late Lucille Ball's birth — in case you missed advance word on celebrations ranging from Jamestown, New York's Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy (or Lucy Fest, in popular parlance) to Hallmark Channel's 48-hour "I Love Lucy" marathon, which launches at 6 a.m. tomorrow and lasts until the morning of Monday, August 11 (with no repeats).

Of course, you can't hear the name "Lucy" without thinking of America's beloved, crazy redhead and her antics. Her legendary fiery marriage to Desi Arnaz might also come to mind. But long spells of infirmity and physical struggle? Those are aspects of the Hollywood icon's life you probably wouldn't imagine. Yet she certainly lived through them, and recalled them decades later.

"I was 17 years old and working as a New York model, running myself ragged, becoming so run-down that I developed pneumonia," she recounted to Marilyn Beck in 1972. "And from that, I contracted rheumatoid arthritis. It was terrible! I ended up in bed for eight months, then restricted to crutches for several years with 20-pound weights on my legs to help strengthen the muscles."

She smiled and added, "That might have been the best thing that could have happened to me. I mean, a girl confined from ages 17 to 19. Imagine what trouble that kept me out of!"

Of her 1960 run as the star of "Wildcats" on Broadway, she said, "I had gone into the show run-down, exhausted, still recuperating from a leg I had broken on a Bob Hope picture. I stayed with the show for a year, and each month became more of an agony. I was spending my Sundays off at doctors and chiropractors for therapy. I developed pneumonia. I lost 22 pounds. I reached the point where I was so weak I would faint on stage. Once I fell into the footlights and broke my finger."

Aside from her physical travails, Lucy went through divorce from Desi Arnaz twice and suffered some profound professional disappointments as well. And yet, for all the times she was knocked down in life, she kept bouncing back up with a ready attitude and a fast quip.

As she once famously put it: "The ham always rises."

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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