Few interviewers in the history of Hollywood have been able to ever-so gently and so completely pry off the masks that so many movie stars hide behind to reveal the real flesh-and-blood human beings underneath as Rona Barrett has. As a young journalist in the 1950s who was among the first to recognize that virtually no one was covering the rising stars with whom the Baby Boomers were obsessed, her print column “Rona Barrett’s Young Hollywood” was soon syndicated in more than 100 newspapers across the country. Those early interviews with Elvis Presley, James Dean and Natalie Wood soon earned her a reputation as a good interviewer and features writer. Those skills ultimately led to her own small entertainment magazine empire. Even more notably, they led her to crack the glass ceiling for women on TV, where she became famous in the 1960s and ’70s with her very intimate and in-depth interviews of stars ranging from Cher to John Wayne. In addition to her specials, Rona was a regular on shows such as “Good Morning, America,” “The Today Show” and “Entertainment Tonight.”

Although she retired from journalism in 1991, Miss Rona has recently released a DVD of her 10 favorite interviews from the 1970s entitled “Rona Barrett’s Hollywood: Nothing but the Truth.” (Click here to enter a SWEEPSTAKES for a FREE autographed copy.) Though technically retired, Rona is very actively involved in her nonprofit foundation, which raises money to help low-income seniors find and afford medical care, assisted living centers and much more. In fact, $1 from every sale of this DVD goes straight to the Rona Barrett Foundation.

Movie ‘Tudes was recently lucky enough to catch up with Rona for the following interview.

Movie ‘Tudes: You’ve said before that you got into interviewing the stars because you wanted to understand what makes them tick and to share what you learned with the public. What were some of the most poignantly revelatory insights you got and from whom?

Rona Barrett: I think Bette Davis when I asked her if she had any regrets and she said, “I never got it right where marriage was concerned. I was deeply in love with Gary Merrill, and I just blew it!”

MT: Stars such as Elvis, James Dean and John Wayne seem to have evolved beyond plain-old fame and risen to an almost mythological status in public perception. Were any of them truly larger than life? (If no, what did you experience with them that made them vulnerable and human just like everybody else?)

RB: I never saw Elvis lose his cool. To the press he was always so polite and according to some actresses who dated him he was always courteous and a gentleman. Therefore, the public never saw that side of Elvis where he really let his hair down. I thought it was very interesting during that first interview Priscilla gave me for network TV that when I asked her if she had any problems could she go to him and she basically said, “No. I would never think of bothering him.” The exact quote is on the DVD. There were always rumors when Elvis started gaining weight and then losing it and then regaining it that he had a drug problem. When Elvis’ cousins, the Wests ( I think they were cousins) wrote their book about life inside Elvis’ home, and the medical drugs he was taking to wake up, go to sleep, etc., etc. was the first time we had knowledge that there was a medical problem with Elvis. It was rather ironic that I had received an advance copy of the book and the day I reviewed it on TV was the very morning he died! When I think of larger than life people like Elvis and Jimmy Dean I always say to myself, “Never judge a book by its cover.” Elvis to me never lived his life in what some of us might say the “ordinary” way. There was always something mysterious about his relationship with his mother, the fact he had a twin who died at birth and other issues. People who start out in life the way Elvis did usually have rather mysterious and different experiences than most people.

When John Wayne drank he became a different person. It was true that many people thought he was such a tough guy they started fights with him in parking lots or wherever. He could lick almost anyone. When he was sober I found him to be a big pussy cat. Like many big men he had a soft heart and could be extremely kind. It was only when he was drinking that you heard these other stories about him. He also had a fetish for petite women and in our last interview together he admitted that was his biggest regret. Like Davis he could not stay married for more than “9 innings.” He was a far better actor than most people in the industry ever gave him credit for.

MT: Your DVD highlights interviews with some of the biggest stars who are still very relevant today. However, you interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of stars and up-and-comers. Who stands out in your memory as someone who should have made it big but didn’t? Why?

RB: John Gavin, Alec Baldwin. I was never sure Gavin wanted to really be a “star.” Alec in my opinion has a lot of demons he still fights. The films he has chosen to accept were never right for him, but I’m very happy he has found success on television. He’s a very good actor.

MT: Who stands out as someone who was extremely different from their public persona? Why and what are/were they really like?

RB: Lee Marvin and James Coburn. They often played bad guys in films. When I once asked Marvin how did he get to be so mean he said, “It was easy. All I had to do, while taking a bath, is think of anyone who had done me wrong and then I played a scene as if I were really killing him! But I never had to go to jail, so I thought I was very lucky to be an actor.” Coburn pretty much said the same thing to me, but conjuring up that image of Marvin, in a bathtub, thinking of all the bad things he thought people had done to him, was something I never forgot and sometimes I would find myself laughing when I would watch a scene in which he was very bad!

MT: In your early years you had to overcome both a rare form of muscular dystrophy and later a gender barrier for professional journalism on TV. What advice can you give to people who have their hearts set on what might seem at times like an unattainable dream?

RB: Never allow an obstacle in the road to stop you. There is always a way to climb over that big rock that stares you in the face! If you believe in what you are doing or want to do, it’s easier said than done, but never give up!

MT: Even before this awful recession, safe and affordable elder care was very difficult for many seniors and their families to find. Will you please tell us a little about the Rona Barrett Foundation and how it helps the elderly poor?

RB: Primarily we help other non-profits raise money to provide the additional finances that are needed so an elderly person (over 75) and poor can get the assisted-living care they cannot afford. Sometimes it’s to help an elderly person, without funds, to get a new prosthesis, which Medicare will not pay for. Primarily, at this time, we raise money to help those who need low income housing and assisted living care the extra funds in order to provide better care for these people who helped make our nation what it is today, but can no longer do it for themselves.

On our website, we have a list of non-profits that we have supported over the last 8-9 years.

MT: Is there anything else you think our readers would like to know about you or your foundation?

RB: If you buy my DVD through the foundation website, www.ronabarrettfoundation.org a dollar of every sale will go to our foundation. You can buy, from our site, the DVD from Amazon.com; Barnes & Noble and several other retailers around the country [including DVDPlanet.com] who are selling it in their stores. We have a crisis in this country regarding the care of the elderly. Socialization with other seniors is very important. Keeping them busy is equally as important. And perhaps the most important is making sure a caregiver has time for him or herself. Burnout is one of the largest problems facing caregivers–especially those who care for Alzheimer patients and those who are bedridden. No one person can do this job forever. We all need help!