Addiction in Hollywood with Jeff Wald

In the 70's and 80's Jeff Wald had a flourishing career managing stars like Sylvester Stallone, Donna Summer, George Carlin and Crosby Still & Nash. In Wald's heyday, drug use was an accepted and arguably a necessary part of doing business in Hollywood. But even so, he stood out with his staggering cocaine habit. As he says, he was high from when he woke in the morning until he went to bed at night. He was also hot-tempered and badly behaved. In 1980, Wald was arrested after shoving a shotgun into the mouth of a picketing hotel employee in Tahoe. After he split from his wife, singer Helen Reddy, in 1983, he tried to run over her boyfriend at the time with a $50,000 silver Maserati. And in 1986 his addiction nearly killed him. He talks about the intervention that his kids, Hollywood moguls and actresses like Ali McGraw and Jane Fonda staged to confront him and how going to rehab at Betty Ford saved his life. Wald also looks to present day stars like Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan offers his take on drugs and Hollywood today.

Today's Banter Topics:

Oprah's future on her cable channel, OWN

Universal and Relativity duel over their competing "Snow White" films

Disney drops its bid to trademark "Seal Team 6"

Banner image: Actor Sylvester Stallone (R) and Jeff Wald, producer of The Contender, at a casting call for the unscripted drama on May 25, 2004 at La Brea Boxing in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Giulio Marcocchi/Getty Images