Diahann Carroll makes it clear she couldn't care less about the reaction of ex-husband Vic Damone to her upcoming "The Legs Are the Last to Go" autobiography.

The veteran superstar of stage, screen and TV says of the tell-all text, in which she outlines numerous humiliating and demeaning experiences during her marriage to Damone, "Those things were done to me. My duty was to satisfy myself, my publisher and my friends."

She tells of the time fourth husband Damone reportedly arranged for "his financial advisor to approach me in a totally inappropriate (sexual) way." And she recalls the day, some time after their divorce, when she says she phoned to tell him she had just been diagnosed with cancer, and he responded, "Oh, s—-! What next, Diahann?" And slammed down the phone.

As it was, she says, she went back and forth as to how candid to be in the text. "At one point I decided not to go forward with the book. At another I decided it would be a shame not to finish. And now here it is five years later."

She says she is sorry she focused so much on Damone, but justifies, "He was the most prominent (of the men in her life) to use humiliating behavior." She is just grateful that, "Thank heaven, I was too old to have children at the time."

After four marriages, she is happy leading the single life and looks back and realizes she often found herself teamed with the wrong man because, "I was filled with insecurities and didn't want to face living alone — a situation that's common with so many women in show business."

Carroll spent her 73rd birthday last week, "At a small dinner party with friends, celebrating my Emmy nomination (for her guest appearances on "Grey's Anatomy"), and going to the doctor. Nothing wrong, but at my age you keep pasting things together if you want to keep going."

And going she is, in many directions, as she continues with her one-woman performances and a gig that will pair her with Harvey Fierstein in England in September.

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: The movie "Twilight," hitting theaters in December, is already hotly anticipated, given the runaway hit status of the Stephenie Meyer novels from which it's drawn. Actor Cam Gigandet says fans won't be disappointed, especially those who are big followers of the books. "It's a huge movie that has all of these up and coming actors in all of these interesting roles. It's difficult being that we only have two hours to tell the best story possible within that book, but the movie is as true as it can possibly be," claims Gigandet, who plays James, the leader of the villainous vampires.

The role comes as a big break for Gigandet, who recently starred in "Never Back Down" and had a popular recurring guest spot on "The O.C." In fact, he's already turning heads having recently been honored at EMA's Home Media Expo as the "Rising Male Star of the Year."

In the meantime, folks can become more familiar with Gigandet as "Never Back Down" hits DVD and Blu-Ray July 29. It shows the lengths he went to in order to prepare for the intense part. "The bonus features are amazing. It's wild how they show the fights from the very beginning of how it all started to how it ended," he notes. "It gives me a sense of pride because when you're in it and you're working so hard, you don't really know what's happening. We did nine weeks of training prior to filming with some of the best fight choreographers in the world. It was like 105 degrees, and we were doing these fights over and over again for days at a time. Now I get to see how all of this hard work paid off."

WORD LESS: Cole Hauser applauds the technique employed by writer/director Nolan Lebovitz on Laurence Fishburne's forthcoming "Tortured" big screen drama, in which Cole is part of a supporting cast that includes James Cromwell, Kevin James, Jon Cryer, James Denton and Emmanuelle Chriqui. At one point, says Cole, "He thought that as a writer, he'd had my character say something too obviously, so he took the dialogue out and had me just using my eyes. There were a lot of interesting moments like that. I'm a big proponent of 'If you don't have to say it, don't.'"

WOW BOW WOW: As a noted dog trainer and expert, Victoria Stilwell of CBS's "Greatest American Dog" and Animal Planet's "It's Me or the Dog" says she never ceases to be amazed by what canines can be taught to do, given the right "human-dog bond, that's based on cooperation …There are more and more of these dogs — hearing dogs for the deaf, guide dogs, companion dogs for disabled people — all with training that's play and reward based. I've seen a dog drug sniffer, who, when he found drugs was rewarded with a game with his favorite ball. I've seen a bomb sniffing dog who learned to sit completely still for five-to-10 minutes, if need be, after he made a discovery. Just an amazing dog. I'm so happy to be doing shows that highlight these relationships."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

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.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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