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Showbiz Tonight Presents: Real Star Stories: The Jackson 5; Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen

Aired May 30, 2011 - 23:00:00   ET


A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Tonight, a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: The Jackson 5."


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our music is positive. We were just kids with dreams and wanting to do something good.


HAMMER: Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael. How these five kids from Gary, Indiana literally became an overnight sensation.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, "I don`t want any kid acts."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to the studio and did our first record.


HAMMER: And they were on their way to changing the face of music. The life, the legend - it`s Jackson 5.


Welcome to this SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents "Real Star Stories: The Jackson 5." Tonight, a revealing look at five kids from Indiana who became one of the biggest musical acts in history.

Millions of albums sold. Countless artists influenced. Michael Jackson`s career launched. A lasting legacy that will likely never be matched.

One of the original members of the Jackson 5, Tito Jackson, is going to join me to share his fascinating stories. But first, we begin with that lasting legacy of the Jackson 5.



(voice-over) It`s a moment that wowed the nation. The Jackson 5`s first national appearance in 1969 on the variety show, "The Hollywood Palace."


The Jackson 5 burst on to the music scene in 1969 with their debut album "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5." Their first single "I Want You Back" -


Shot straight to number one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "I Want You Back" is as perfect a single as anyone has ever made.

HAMMER: The man behind the music was Motown records legendary founder and owner, Berry Gordy. He says it was his assistant, Suzanne de Passe, who discovered The Jackson 5.

BERRY GORDY, OWNER AND FOUNDER, MOTOWN RECORDS: I said, "I don`t want any more kid acts." It was Suzanne de Passe that insisted I at least take a look at them.

HAMMER: The oldest of The Jackson 5, Jackie Jackson, remembers that first day they met with Gordy in 1969.

JACKIE JACKSON, MEMBER, THE JACKSON 5: We performed for his birthday, and we did our thing. The next thing we know we went to the studio within a week, maybe two days, in the recording studio recording our first record.

ALAN LIGHT, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": The first four singles they put out all went to number one. That had not been done before. That`s an extraordinary way to come out and introduce yourself to the world.

HAMMER: Their next two LPs produced hit after hit on the soul singles chart. "I Want You Back" "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I`ll Be There" all went straight to number one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, my friends, The Jackson 5.


HAMMER: The Jackson 5 immediately appeared on a slew of TV shows, including this early appearance in the 1970 on "The Jim Neighbors Show." A 12-year-old Jackson sings -


GORDY: As a kid Michael was always beyond his years.

LIGHT: To watch Michael Jackson in those early days when he was 10, 11 years old, it was superhuman to see what he was capable of.

HAMMER: The Jackson 5 were breaking records and getting noticed. And together, they were making history.

MICHAEL YO, CORRESPONDENT, "E! NEWS": The Jackson 5 was the first African- American group to take over the households of America. They were the first black group to do that.

LIGHT: Think about how politically charged, racially charged 1970 was. These were kids who were not changing and cleaning up that black style. It was modifying it in a way that translated to a pop crowd.

HAMMER: There may have been racial tensions in the U.S. In the early `70s, but you would never have known it watching The Jackson 5 on TV, like in this 1971 appearance on "The Flip Wilson Show" singing "ABC."


LIGHT: There had been black singers who had made girls scream and swoon. But there hadn`t been this kind of black, young teen idol. That really wasn`t something that we`d seen before.

JERMAINE JACKSON, MEMBER, THE JACKSON 5: Our music was positive. We were just kids with dreams and wanting to do something good.

HAMMER: More albums and more fame came to The Jackson 5.

LIGHT: The Jackson 5 were such a direct product of Joe Jackson`s ambition.

HAMMER: Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Joe and Katherine Jackson had six sons and three daughters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think from my father - he saw something in us.

HAMMER: Every free minute the Jacksons had outside of school, they practiced and they competed in talent shows and contests around the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all traveled together. It was something I never (UNINTELLIGIBLE) as a family. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the uptown, all through the Regal Theater in Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a great learning experience for us.


HAMMER: In 1974, they took their album and its hit single, "Dancing Machine," on the road.


HAMMER: Making historic television appearances on "Soul Train" and "The Carol Burnett Show," and in the process, setting off a new dance craze, the robot.

YO: Whatever was hot at the time, they would embrace it and make it better.

LIGHT: The Jacksons could look and see that there were other musical forces that were changing, that were ahead of where Motown was, that black music was expanding. They started to bristle against the restrictions that Motown kept on them.

HAMMER: In 1974, their contract expired at Motown and The Jackson 5 left their Motown roots and signed on to Epic.

LIGHT: Motown actually held the rights to the name "Jackson 5." And so when the group left, they started calling themselves The Jacksons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now, ladies and gentlemen, The Jacksons!

HAMMER: With more creative freedom and the addition of their brother, Randy, the newly-branded Jacksons forged ahead and dove right in to disco.

LIGHT: They certainly had big hits after they were at Epic. They had "Shake Your Body Down to the Ground." "Blame It on the Boogie," "Heart Break Hotel," a significant number of major hits that still came at that point.

HAMMER: The Jacksons would release one final album in 1989, "2300 Jackson Street." But The Jackson 5 will be forever remembered as the young vibrant kids from Indiana who influenced music and culture around the world.


There is just so much more to the incredible Jackson 5 story. And here to share the J-5 experience, a man who obviously had a front row seat to this real star story, an original member of The Jackson 5, Tito Jackson.

Tito, it is great to have you here. When The Jackson 5 made their debut, all the way back in 1969, it really was as if all of America instantly fell in love with you guys. But you were all touring and competing for years before you made it big. What was that time like?

TITO JACKSON, Oh, that was a lot of work and a lot of practicing and traveling. And actually, we had this little Volkswagen van that we used to pack with equipment.

And we used to sleep and sit on the equipment because there were no seats in it. And we would ride for hours like this, whether we were going to St. Louis or Wisconsin or Chicago or New York. This is how it worked.

HAMMER: Hard to imagine you legends all crammed into a little VW van. And of course, life really changed when you first met Motown legend, Berry Gordy at his mansion. And performed for him at his birthday party. Tell me about that experience.

T. JACKSON: Well, that was quite interesting because I remember the first time we saw the mansion, we were all in awe because we`ve never since something so extravagant.

And so Berry Gordy had this golf course in his yard. And he betted all of us he would give us a $100 if we could do a hole in one.

We didn`t know how hard it was to do a hole in one. But we tore up his whole yard trying to put that golf ball in the hole.

HAMMER: And you never could imagine you would be leading your lives as Berry Gordy led his life as life went on for you all.

T. JACKSON: No, no. We couldn`t imagine but being under the wings of Motown, we knew that we would be OK.

HAMMER: Well, I want to bring in R & B singer and songwriter, Johnny Gill. Johnny, it`s great to have you here as well. And you, of course, were in the massively successful group, New Edition, which was a boy band born in the 1980s.

The Jackson 5 was probably the first ever African-American boy band. How did they specifically pave the way for your success?

JOHNNY GILL, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Oh, my god. Without the Jacksons, there would definitely not be a New Edition. And the list goes on from Boyz II Men to a lot of the boy bands that you see today.

The Jacksons started it all. And I tell you, it`s like when I watch some of the footage here, it`s just - it takes me back to a time and a place in my life when I was just a little kid, a little baby.

And you know, when you`re living in that moment, you really can`t grasp what`s really going on when it`s happening. And it`s like I`m sitting there and looking at him, and I`m just like, my god, this is royalty. These guys have paved the way and opened the doors for so many of us.

And it`s been great to watch you throughout the years, Johnny, first with the bands and then in your solo career. And it was clear that, you know, it was just part of your DNA what The Jackson 5 brought to your life. But what to you is their lasting legacy?

GILL: Oh, my god. You know, I`ve often said that what`s written in stone could never be erased. And when you look at, you know, Tito, you guys might not have gotten that hole-in-one on the golf course, but you sure as heck got a lot of number ones. And that made up for your -

HAMMER: In golfing terms, I think it was eagles all the way throughout their career. Johnny Gill, Tito Jackson, thank you so much. Please don`t go anywhere. I want you back in a second to talk about The Jackson 5`s dramatic impact on its youngest, original member - that, of course, Michael.

But first The Jackson 5 - musicians, cultural icons and masters of merchandising?


LIGHT: To see The Jackson 5 as a cartoon on TV reaching into, you know, white households around the country on Saturday morning to kids who were their age and younger - that was a very powerful statement.


HAMMER: From cereal boxes to TV specials, the ABCs of J-5 nostalgia, next. You`re watching a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stores: The Jackson 5."


(voice-over) The Jackson 5 weren`t just a force of music. They were a force of fashion.

LIGHT: The Jackson 5 had such a career visual identity with the afros, with the patch suits and the bell bottoms.


HAMMER: Their variety show in the mid `70s, "The Jacksons," brought their style into living rooms across the country.

BELL: It was taking a lot of the young, black street style and putting that out to a general public. And that was a very powerful thing.



HAMMER: Welcome back to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: The Jackson 5." I`m A.J. Hammer.

And now, behind The Jackson 5`s money-making empire. You know, if you grew up in the `70s, you were probably up on Saturday mornings. And before you even changed out of your PJs, you were watching The Jackson 5 cartoon or maybe you took a Jackson 5 lunch box to school or watched their star- studded variety shows.


(voice-over) The Jackson 5 were masters of branding and commercial success. Not only did they grace the cover of magazines and cereal boxes, they also have major endorsement deals -


Like this 1973 Alpha Bits commercial. Through much of the `70s, they had their own variety show and Jackson specials. And they had their own hit cartoon show called "The Jackson 5."

LIGHT: To see the Jackson 5 as a cartoon on TV reaching into, you know, white households around the country on Saturday morning - that was a very powerful statement and impactful thing.


HAMMER: Well, let the nostalgia talk begin. Joining me again from Hollywood, R & B singer and songwriter, Johnny Gill. Right now, in New York, radio host and editor of "EgyptSaidSo.com," Egypt Sherrod. And Janet Hubert, the author of the book, "J.G. and the B.C. Kids." She also played Aunt Viv on the `90s sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

Janet, you grew up in the Jackson`s generation. What was it like to see a black pop group go so mainstream at a time when, let`s face it, there were still serious civil rights issues in the country?

JANET HUBERT, AUTHOR, "J.G. AND THE B.C. KIDS": Well, for me, growing up in a high school in a small town where there were probably maybe 10 of us, 10 black kids in the whole town, it was momentous.

It was like nothing we had ever seen. It gave you the hope and the feeling you could actually make it from a small town. And I had five brothers. So we all grabbed our Coca-Cola bottles and we put our microphones on and wanted to be the Jacksons. It was spectacular.

HAMMER: And look at you - you made it. And so did Johnny Gill. Johnny, you were also a product of The Jackson 5 generation. And I`ve heard where you have said that, as a kid, watching The Jackson 5 special was like watching an event. Why?

GILL: Oh, my god. It was like the whole family would gather around and it was like - you know, we were just in awe. I mean, as kids, we didn`t believe they were really real.

HAMMER: Egypt, I want to ask you as somebody else who really got to follow the Jacksons along as you were growing up, how did you feel that they impacted America? Not just musically, but culturally.

EGYPT SHERROD, RADIO HOST AND EDITOR, "EGYPTSAIDSO.COM": Well, you had to think, at that time, when the Jacksons first came out, we`re in the middle of the civil rights movement.

So black people were ready to break out - not only break out and dance, break out and scream, break out and tear the walls down.

And to have them on television - I`m sure you can agree, Janet - it was like, "Oh, my god. Black people are on TV. Mom, I can do it, too."

But the bigger implications there were, now, you have little white girls and little white boys also singing and dancing to the same songs, so they also helped to bridge the cultural gap there.

HUBERT: And there weren`t afros at that time.


HAMMER: If you look at pictures from back then and what was going on, there was a lot of that going on. Let`s go back to somebody who was right there and brought it all to us, Tito Jackson. Did you have any idea what an impact you were making in all of these ways on an entire generation of kids?

T. JACKSON: No. Us as children, you know, we were just having fun. We loved music and we would perform with people like Jackie Wilson, Gladys Knight, Miracles and so on and so on. And we wanted to be like these guys. We would study and stare at these guys to death, and that`s all. We were kids with a dream to be superstars.

HAMMER: And at a point, Tito, I imagine you probably got used to either seeing footage of yourselves on television, maybe even seeing yourselves in the magazines or on posters.

But seriously, we`re looking right now at cereal boxes that had your pictures on it. There were lunch boxes. I`m pretty sure I had a Jackson 5 thermos at one point. What was it like for you seeing yourselves on all of this paraphernalia and merchandising?

T. JACKSON: Well, it was very exciting, but there was so much in our life at that time, you know, doing new things that we didn`t have time to concentrate and stop and enjoy all the things that were happening around us.

Like people ask me today, "What was it like," like you just asked. And actually, it`s hard to grasp it because we were doing so much and we were just kids with a dream. It`s hard to grasp and my brothers and I talk about it all the time.

And we say can you believe we did so much as little children? We can`t believe it ourselves.

HAMMER: You know, it`s funny, it`s almost hard to believe. But maybe we enjoyed the ride a little more than they were able to because they were right in the mix of it.

HUBERT: Probably.

T. JACKSON: That was work to us.

SHERROD: From the time Diana Ross introduced you, the next day, you were overnight sensations. And it was probably a whirlwind that you can barely remember.

When you look at the pictures and the albums and the videos, you say, "Oh, I remember when." But in that moment, yes, you didn`t really get a chance to enjoy it.

HAMMER: Yes. Unbelievable. Janet Hubert, Egypt Sherrod, Johnny Gill, I thank you all. Tito, please stay right where you are because when we come back, Michael Jackson`s brother, Tito, back with me.

He`s going to tell us the dramatic story of how the Jackson 5 molded Michael into the pop sensation we came to know and love. This is a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents "Real Star Stories: The Jackson 5."



ANTONIO "L.A." REID: Michael Jackson is the greatest performer that ever lived. I think he influenced generations of people. We haven`t even felt the full impact of the brothers yet. You know, they`re amazing. All friends of mine, by the way.


HAMMER: So how did The Jackson 5 impact its youngest original member, Michael Jackson?



(voice-over) The moves of Michael Jackson`s 1983 smash hit, "Thriller," owe a lot to his Jackson 5 roots, especially their work after 1975.

LIGHT: Those later Jackson records really were kind of the canvas where Michael tried out a lot of the things that then fully flowered on "Thriller" and his solo work.


HAMMER: Watching Michael on the hit variety show "THE JACKSONS" in 1977, you can`t help but see the roots of "Thriller" and so much more.


LIGHT: He did the robot and everybody went insane and that was years before he did the moon walk.


HAMMER: With me again, Michael`s brother and Jackson 5 band mate, Tito. So Tito, there`s really no doubt that Michael got a lot of his dance moves that made him famous in his solo career straight from the Jacksons and the Jackson 5. How did you guys develop those memorable, incredible moves?

T. JACKSON: Oh, well, actually, we used to put ourselves in a room, you know, and we would practice all day. We would put the song on that we had choreographed.

And Jackie, Marlon and Michael would stay there and they would work out dance moves and get in front of the mirror and say, "This works. That doesn`t work." Once they had something that worked, they would practice it for hours.

HAMMER: Yes. It was kind of thing, Tito, that seemed as natural as it appeared to come to you guys and to Michael later on. It was a lot of hard work, wasn`t it?

T. JACKSON: It was a whole lot of work. I can`t even imagine that I did all of that work. And I enjoy today looking back on it as God`s gift and I`m very grateful. But I wouldn`t want to go through that again. That was - it was hard.

HAMMER: Yes. It`s nice to look back. At least you know you had it in you at some point, right? That`s always a good thing.

So when you look at Michael`s later work, when you watch that "Thriller" video, when you watch "Billie Jean," do you clearly see The Jackson 5`s influence in Michael`s moves? I know he evolved but you see the J-5 there, don`t you?

T. JACKSON: Oh, absolutely. You know, he`s part of the product. You can`t peel something off the apple and not call it an apple. You know, he`s definitely a part of the product.

And that was training camp for Michael. Everything he did afterwards were just things that he had accomplished during The Jackson 5 as far as his dance moves. And his - everything about him. His video ideas, everything.

We used to brain storm and talk about things that was out of the circle and try to come up with things that were unusual and different. That was our whole thing. We wanted to be different.

HAMMER: Yes. It was such magic and it certainly was different. Tito Jackson, thank you so much for sharing your amazing story with us tonight.

This SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special continues with another remarkable story, Charlie Sheen. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT uncovers the disturbing clues behind Sheen`s stunning meltdown. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents "Real Star Stories."


HAMMER: Tonight a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event - SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen."

SHEEN: It`s the hair, babe.

HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT uncovers the disturbing clues lined Sheen`s stunning meltdown going back some 20 years ago.

SHEEN: I want to play homosexuals and lovers and gamblers and thieves.

HAMMER: Tonight, we`re daring to ask is the Charlie Sheen of today -

SHEEN: An odyssey of epic proportions - epic, epic proportions.

HAMMER: The same guy in these interviews from the `80s and `90s.

SHEEN: I`ve got to thank (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for augmenting my beard. With you, I`m always having the eyes of a thousand universes of pain.

HAMMER: The interviews that were so bizarre -

SHEEN: Excuse me. Boiled egg.

HAMMER: So warped -

SHEEN: Did I already talk about this?

HAMMER: They`ve never been seen, until now. A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, "Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, rolling, speed, action.



HAMMER: Welcome to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen."

Tonight, we are revealing the disturbing clues behind Sheen`s stunning meltdown, which actually go back a long time. Charlie`s story today is one of failed marriages, abuse charges, addictions, porn stars and a nasty battle over the hit show he got fired from, "Two and a Half Men."

But Charlie Sheen`s life began with hope and aspiration. In the beginning, Charlie`s dreams were simple. He wanted to be a star. He was determined to be a Hollywood legend.

Actually, in spite of having so many demons, overall, Sheen has had a lot of success in his career. But in this SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s "Real Star Stories," you will see that when Charlie first began his movie career, there were tell-tale signs that the troubled man we see today was lurking in the eyes of a young Charlie Sheen.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charlie Sheen with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


HAMMER (voice-over): Just a few days after his 29th birthday in 1994, Charlie Sheen was celebrating a high in his career, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

SHEEN: On the third day of September, 29 years ago, I was brought into this world by my mother and father as Carlos Irwin Estevez.

HAMMER: On that breezy Hollywood day in September, it was all about Charlie and his family. Hollywood royalty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look this way, look this way!

HAMMER: With Charlie that day, his brothers, Emilio Estevez and Ramon, his mom Janet and sister, Renee. His young daughter, Cassandra, who he had when he was 19 with his high school sweetheart and his bigger-than-life Hollywood legend father, Martin Sheen, who, on that day, was proud of his son.

MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: We just want to you know how much we love you.

HAMMER: But he had already been in and out of rehab once, battling addiction to drugs and alcohol and those demons we`ve come to know so well.

SHEEN: I`ve got to thank Brown Day for augmenting my beard, weepy wipes and always having a thousand universes of pain standing close by.

HAMMER: In late 1980s and early `90s, Sheen was a heartthrob. He had his father`s good looks and bad boy image.

CARLOS DIAZ, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: People in their 20s don`t know Charlie Sheen as a serious actor. But Charlie Sheen, in "Platoon," was part of the best picture that year.

HAMMER: Charlie Sheen first made his name in Hollywood in 1986 with that lead role in Oliver Stone`s Oscar-winning role, "Platoon."

SHEEN: Come on, boy. Get the big skin on that thing. Dig - haven`t got all day. Dig, dig!

HAMMER: It was the beginning of his career and his very public battle with addiction.

SHEEN: That`s what this place feels like, hell.

HAMMER: "Platoon" was shot in the Philippines, an important place for Charlie, who lived there when he was 10 while his father, Martin, filmed his own career-defining movie, "Apocalypse Now."

M. SHEEN: I love the smell of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the morning.

HAMMER: Charlie says his father didn`t want to split up the family. Where Martin went, so went the family. Charlie`s life was centered around acting and Hollywood.

He made his first screen appearance in 1974 in his father`s Showtime movie "The Execution of Private Slovitt." And he made High Eight(ph) movies with his school friends and later fellow stars, Sean and Chris Penn and Rob and Chad Lowe.

But he would say that his most impressionable moments as a kid were on the road with his father and his family.

SHEEN: Growing up on location, various arts, seen most of the world by age 12, which was quite fascinating.

HAMMER: Living in the Philippines during the filming of "Apocalypse Now" was a life-changing experience for Charlie, who revealed it was there that he was first introduced to his life-long love of guns and drugs.

DIAZ: He allegedly got his first joint from Laurence Fishburne, you know, on the set of "Apocalypse Now."

HAMMER: Sheen says that time in the Philippines set off years of teenage angst and aggression that included getting arrested for credit card fraud and possession of marijuana when he was 16.

SHEEN: I had aspirations of wanting to play baseball professionally. And that didn`t come together when I didn`t graduate high school.

HAMMER: Charlie`s bad boy ways and his red hot temper prevented him from passing his final exams during his senior year of high school. But Charlie says that failure would wind up leading him to acting.

SHEEN: Acting was the only other thing I knew how to do at the time. And I was trying to kind of shelf my baseball dreams, you know.

HAMMER: And act he did. In 1984, he made his first big movie, "Red Dawn."

SHEEN: It`s getting out. Where? Where?


HAMMER: In 1985 and `86, Sheen returned to the Philippines for the first time since his youth to film "Platoon." And once again, the country proved to be a powerful and dangerous player for Charlie.

SHEEN: It`s just the way the whole thing works. People Elias get wasted. People like Barnes just go on making up the rules any way they want.

HAMMER: "Platoon" was a huge hit and Charlie admits the fame went straight to his head.

SHEEN: I was in love with the idea of being a movie star, you know. And although I hate that labeling, I spent a lot of time out with my brother, Emilio and Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson and Tom Cruise and the whole brat pack thing going, which I was never a member of.

HAMMER: Charlie was finally feeling like an equal to his already successful older brother, Emilio Estevez.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Charlie Sheen, the son of Martin Sheen, the brother of Emilio Estevez.

HAMMER: But Charlie`s newfound fame came at a price.

SHEEN: When it finally hit and I couldn`t go anywhere all of a sudden, it was like suddenly I walked into a room and I felt like I wore my second head that day, you know, or my fly was open.

Certainly, it was nuts, you know. And you know, there was no gradual lead- in to this sudden onslaught of, you know, this is your life, welcome to it.

It`s nice to be appreciated and respected in the business, but at the same time there`s an added pressure of, like I said, what`s next.

HAMMER: What came next was partying - outrageous, out-of-control partying.

SHEEN: I have to have a schedule and I have to have a place to go and someplace to focus the energy or I get kind of distracted by, you know, the elements of life.

HAMMER: In a 1987 "People" magazine interview, Charlie Sheen talked openly about his wild ways and his womanizing, admitting to drinking until dawn on the day "Platoon" was nominated for an Oscar.

He even stopped the interview with "People" to try to get him to pick up a model. Charlie`s career kept forging full steam ahead. For Charlie, no role was too dark or too gritty.


HAMMER: In 1987, a 24-year-old Sheen gave a very telling interview that revealed his worst-case scenario if movie roles ever dried up for him.

SHEEN: I`ll just jump on TV and play the same character for five years, which is what I want to avoid. Howard, I thought you were a gentleman...

HAMMER: But it wasn`t time for sitcoms yet. In 1987, he had another box office success, starring with his father in another Oliver Stone film, "Wall Street."

SHEEN: Well, congratulations. You just did a great job embarrassing me and not to mention yourself.

HAMMER: Sheen admits he was drinking heavily during filming, telling this "Movieline" magazine in 1990, "I showed up on the set one day for a big scene with Michael Douglas. I was so hungover that during the rehearsal, I couldn`t keep my shades off. Just sipped water to keep from vomiting on Michael."

Sheen`s troubled ways didn`t go unnoticed by director Oliver Stone.

OLIVER STONE, DIRECTOR: I don`t know Charlie anymore. Obviously, he`s a nice guy. You know, he always was. But he`s had his share of demons, you know, even then, as a young boy.

HAMMER: "Wall Street" was a box office hit for Charlie Sheen. He wanted to star in Stone`s next big film, "Born on the Fourth of July."

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I volunteered, Tommy. You don`t know what you`re talking about. Where were you? Were you there? Were you there? You can move on or just leave it, Tommy.

HAMMER: He claims Stone offered him the role, but then gave it to Tom Cruise. It was a major disappointment for Sheen who "Playboy" in 2001, "He couldn`t even call me and say, `I`ve changed my mind, I`ve made mistake. I`m going with Tom.` That I`d respect. Nothing is worse than getting a job and then it goes to some schmuck who pisses all over it."

But Stone says Charlie had changed in the years since his success in "Platoon."

STONE: Charlie moved into another lifestyle, another way of life.

HAMMER: Instead of moving on to more challenging, dramatic movie roles, Charlie switched gears.


But soon, the laughter stops. Coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories," Charlie Sheen, the addict. We are uncovering the first of many of Charlie`s ugly battles with addiction.


SHEEN: I have too much in life to live to be in a path of slow suicide.


HAMMER: Also, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the mysterious woman who went to rehab with Charlie that very first time.


UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that I was the first adult film star that he ever dated. I wanted to be supportive. I wanted to be there for him.


HAMMER: And that was just the first time. You`re watching a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen."


HAMMER: Welcome back to a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen."

And there were hints of the erratic, troubled Charlie Sheen that we`ve always come to know today as far back at 1986. That`s when Sheen became mega famous with his role in the Oscar-winning movie, Oliver Stone`s "Platoon."

But with Sheen`s dizzying success came shocking addiction. Charlie got in way over his head partying and more. And with the partying came big time trouble with the law.


SHEEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are going right down the tubes.

HAMMER (voice-over): dramatic roles like "Wall Street" and "Platoon" put Sheen on the map in the late `80s.

SHEEN: I`ll walk you out.

HAMMER: But by the early `90s, the dramatic roles started drying up and so he turned to comedy.

SHEEN: I had no intentions of pursuing any sort of comedic career. It just kind of worked out that way.

HAMMER: In 1989, the man who once dreamed of playing professional baseball would star in "Major League" as Ricky Vaughn, followed by other comedies including "Men at Work" and "Hot Shots."

Charlie was making a buck as a funny man and in his honest way, he made no bones about it.

SHEEN: I can be in little art movies for the rest of my life. But I don`t want to spend that much time and that much energy making a movie that nobody`s going to see.

HAMMER: But what nobody could see was that the Charlie`s life was imploding. Charlie was losing his battle to addiction.

SHEEN: Things were a little out of hand. And it`s time to look in the mirror and change what was happening.

HAMMER: Charlie`s partying was so out of control, his family staged an intervention in 1990. Former porn star, Ginger Lynn Allen was dating Charlie at that time and reveals to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT just what happened.

GINGER LYNN ALLEN, FORMER PORN STAR: When we first met, it was in February of 1990. And probably six or eight months into our relationship, his parents, friends and family - they did an intervention.

HAMMER: Charlie told CNN about it in a 1991 interview.

SHEEN: I checked in to a hospital and just said - you know, I wasn`t too proud that I couldn`t ask for help. I

ALLEN: I wanted to be supportive. I wanted to be there for him. So I decided to get with sober with Charlie and together, we stayed sober for over a year.

HAMMER: In the year that Charlie was sober, he had a philosophical take on his addiction.

SHEEN: I`ve got too much work to do. I have too much life to live to be on the path to slow suicide, which it is, you know.

HAMMER: It would be the beginning of a troubling pattern for Sheen - get clean, fall off the wagon, repeat. The early `90s would be a blur for Sheen. The comedies continue for Charlie. In 1993, he starred in "Three Musketeers."

SHEEN: Yes, this is a little gift from Planet Hollywood, from the "Three Musketeers."

HAMMER: And that same year the sequel, "Hot Shots Part Deux." But even as Charlie was out promoting "Hot Shots Part Deux," clearly, his hard live and fast life was taking a toll on him.

SHEEN: Hold on. Let me - I`m sweating up a little. Let me get a tissue -

HAMMER: Watch what happened during this interview for the movie.

SHEEN: It`s a better story, first of all. Did I already say that? Last interview.


SHEEN: Last interview. But I don`t know. What was the first question originally? I`m sorry.

HAMMER: In March of 1994, Sheen`s sequel, "Major League 2" flat lined at the box office.

SHEEN: What was that last pitcher threw me?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It`s called the eliminator.

SHEEN: I didn`t feel as involved in the comedic film, you know. I never really am in these comedies. So where am I going with this?

HAMMER: And this chilling, behind-the-scenes footage of Sheen in 1994 as he intended to promote "Major League II" and "The Chase" gives insight into his state of mind at that time.

SHEEN: Excuse me. Boiled egg. Did I already talk about this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. So - I`m dying here. This is CNN? Everybody sees this?

HAMMER: But his battle with addiction and a series of mediocre movies didn`t seem to impact his popularity. Sheen was still a beloved movie star and a constant source of fascination for his fans. In 1995, Charlie`s life began to unravel again, this time, because of prostitutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you recall the substance of your telephone conversation with Ms. Fleiss?

SHEEN: Yes, I do.

HAMMER: In July of 1995, Sheen admitted to spending over $50,000 on prostitutes through the infamous Madame Heidi Fleiss.

SHEEN: The acquisition - meeting of a young lady.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For what purpose.

SHEEN: For sexual services.

HAMMER: Sheen`s confessions were startling. He admitted to hiring prostitutes through Fleiss at least 27 times. And just one month later, he surprised everyone by announcing that he was getting married on his 30th birthday to model Donna Peele.

SHEEN: I only knew her for about (UNINTELLIGIBLE) before I proposed.

HAMMER: He was married to Peele for five months when he filed for a divorce. He told "Us Weekly" magazine, "There was a voice, not like drug induced voices, but there was a voice that kept telling me this will not work."


HAMMER: Charlie Sheen`s issues with women were about to get much, much worse. Next, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents "Real Star Stories" the disturbing details around Charlie`s first bout with the law with domestic violence and Charlie`s dad, Martin Sheen.

SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s "Real Star Stories" reveals Martin`s emotional and public battle to save his son`s life.


M. SHEEN: My son was admitted here yesterday as a result of a drug overdose. Do anything you can to get between drug and your kids.




HAMMER: Welcome back to this SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents, "Real Star Stories: Charlie Sheen."

In 1995, Charlie Sheen didn`t make a single movie. His life became a whirlwind of drugs, prostitutes and legal problems as Charlie`s carefully balanced house of cards finally came tumbling down.


(voice-over) In 1996, Charlie Sheen was still making movies, including the extraterrestrial flop, "The Arrival."

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Why did they leave?

SHEEN: They didn`t.


SHEEN: Because we aren`t dead yet.

HAMMER: But in May of 1996 Charlie announced that he had found God.

SHEEN: I had an experience, some spiritual awakening and secured a relationship with God.

HAMMER: He claimed that the power of Jesus had helped him find strength after a year of partying, prostitutes and scrutiny.

But later that year, in December of 1996, a bombshell allegation. Girlfriend and porn star Brittany Ashland claimed that Charlie had beaten her brutally. Gloria Allred represented Ashland.

GLORIA ALLRED, BRITTANY ASHLAND`S ATTORNEY: A split lip which required seven stitches, injury to her face, to her neck and to her leg and she was unconscious as a result.

HAMMER: Sheen would be charged with battery. And in 1997, he pleaded no contest. He was given a suspended one-year prison sentence, was put on probation for two years.

Sheen was still battling addiction to drugs and alcohol. And the next year, in 1998, all hell broke loose.

M. SHEEN: The very first thing I want to assure you of is that my son Charlie Sheen is very much alive.

HAMMER: Charlie had gone on a major bender and overdosed. He later told "Playboy" magazine he couldn`t stop taking drugs so he decided, "If I can`t stop, I`m going to take this thing as far as I can. Let`s get on a horse and drive this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) circus completely out of town."


HAMMER: A tired and emotional Martin Sheen held a press conference the morning after Charlie`s overdose.

M. SHEEN: Do anything you can to get between drugs and your kids.

HAMMER: In reality, he was alerting the court that Charlie had violated probation from his domestic violence charge the previous year.

Martin asked the court to arrest his son and Charlie was sentenced to five months court-ordered rehab. By the end of 1998, Charlie came out of rehab clean and optimistic about the future.

SHEEN: Today was a good day. I`m very grateful today.

HAMMER: It was a good day, and Charlie`s newfound sobriety would lead to many more good days, including newfound love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you propose?

SHEEN: Very traditionally.

HAMMER: And Charlie`s major career reinvention into a sitcom superstar.


And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has revealed how he lived his life through the `90s would offer clues to the Charlie we see today.

And that is it for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event, "Real Star Stories." I`m A.J. Hammer.