Medium and author James Van Praagh is talking to ET about how he feels about Barbara Walters' comments about him on "The View" last week.
On July 17's episode of "The View," Walters told the audience that when Van Praagh had been on the show the week before, he had warned her of possible health issues. "Even though I knew that this was ridiculous," Walters said, "I called my doctor." She said that she went to the doctor and he told her she was fine. She said of Van Praagh's psychic impression: "I think it's a dangerous thing to do looking at someone and saying, 'Oh let me see, you have an elevated, there's an aura, you have an elevated white blood count.'"
Launching new series is never an easy proposition. Take a look back at the fall season when "Just Legal," "Reunion," "Hot Properties" and "Sex, Love and Secrets" premiered. All got a big push when they started, and all are gone and mostly forgotten. But there are always a few exceptions, a few series that make it in the ratings, and "Ghost Whisperer" star JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT is happy hers is one of them.
"I was unbelievably surprised and so grateful to be a part of it," she tells ET. "When I was on 'Party of Five,' which was a successful show, I had no appreciation for how hard that is to do on television. Now that I have had some down time, and I have watched my favorite TV shows and I have seen my favorite TV shows canceled, I have a bigger appreciation of what it means to have a show be successful. I feel so incredibly lucky. I hope it doesn't end for awhile."
"Ghost Whisperer" quickly became a Friday night hit for CBS, and no one is happier than JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, who plays Melinda, the woman that talks to the dearly departed and helps them cross over to the other side, or Co-Executive Producer JAMES VAN PRAAGH, one of the foremost mediums in the world.
"I think what's great and beautiful about this show is that it makes you believe, if you don't already, that the people you love the most maybe don't actually leave you for good," Jennifer says. "That maybe they look after you and are there to see you through the rest of whatever your journey is."
JAMES VAN PRAAGH, the man behind "Ghost Whisperer," and CHAR MARGOLIS, internationally renowned psychic intuitive, are about to do the unthinkable... For the first time on television, they will expose the side of Hollywood the stars never let you see!
"James and I explore the afterlife from the grave and beyond," says Char. "Famous people talking to their lost loved ones, and oh, so much more!"
The "Ghost Whisperer," loosely based on the life of real-life medium JAMES VAN PRAAGH, has been such a hit for CBS's Friday night lineup that it has already been given a full season pickup. Series star AISHA TYLER ascribes that to the fun that the cast -- JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, DAVID CONRAD and she -- have on the set and also to the good scripts.
"What is really nice about the way the episodes are progressing is the way they are working to integrate our lives in a really intertwined way," she tells ET's JANN CARL, who dropped by the set for a visit. "What Jennifer's character has to do every week is a really heavy burden. What I love about the show is the way that my character and David's character are really there to support her. It is spooky, and it is cool, but it is really about relationships and love and that is what I love about it."
JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT helps the dead cross over to the other side in "Ghost Whisperer," the newest Friday night hit of the fall season!
On tonight's episode, "Mended Hearts" -- airing at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS -- a woman in Andrea's (AISHA TYLER) apartment building attempts to commit suicide. When Melinda (Hewitt) and Jim (DAVID CONRAD) intervene, Melinda discovers that the woman is being haunted by her fiancé, who was killed in a triathalon bike accident and is still very much in love with her.
JAMES VAN PRAAGH, JOHN HOLLAND, PAM CORONADO and JEFFREY WANDS all have something in common: They are go-betweens for the living and the dead, and as such, they are the subject of a two-hour A&E Network special "Mediums: We See Dead People," airing Friday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m.
For the special, Van Praagh, who is probably the best known of the psychics, as CBS' hit series "Ghost Whisperer" is loosely based on his life, does a reading for RENEE BAILEY, a woman he has never met and knows nothing about.
In her brand-new series, JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT talks to dead people. "Ghost Whisperer," airing Fridays on CBS at 8 p.m., inspired by the work of famed medium JAMES VAN PRAAGH, is the story of Melinda Gordon (Jennifer), who has the ability to communicate with earthbound spirits and help them find their way into their next life. Of course, the messages aren't always clear, causing those she comes into contact with to doubt her, but even in her darkest moments, she never doubts that what she is doing is a blessing, not a curse.
Jennifer is quick to point out to ET's MARK STEINES that she doesn't have the ability to talk to dead people, but she believes James does.
World-famous for communicating with the dead, JAMES VAN PRAAGH has brought his life experiences to the small screen with the hit CBS show "Ghost Whisperer." Now, the medium reveals secrets to the hit show!
"I'm on the show to make sure it's real," he says. "How she sees them, how she's feeling them, what's being done with the ghost, how the ghosts work -- that it's real stuff."
"Two and a Half Men" has been a family affair with DENISE RICHARDS, series star CHARLIE SHEEN's wife (the couple are now separated and Denise has filed for divorce), guest starring with the couple's infant daughter SAM in happier times. Now, Charlie's dad MARTIN SHEEN, also known as President Bartlet on "The West Wing," will be dropping into Charlie's Malibu bachelor pad on the popular CBS comedy.
"I am so thrilled to know that he is coming at the right time," says the younger Sheen of his dad's casting. "It's sad that he's coming because he has a little more free time this season, but we're thrilled to have him, and I think it is going to be something really special."
Stars collide as an array of highly anticipated new shows prepare to hit the airwaves. Many of the actors heading to a TV near you this summer and fall are recognizable faces and television veterans making their long-awaited comebacks!
LISA KUDROW shines in "The Comeback," debuting June 5 at 9:30 p.m. on HBO. The former "Friend" teams up with "Sex and the City" exec producer MICHAEL PATRICK KING for the comedy that tells the story of Valerie Cherish, a washed-up actress so desperate to return to the spotlight that she agrees to do a reality show.
ETNOW: Jon and Kate Gosselin Agree to Divorce Terms
http://tinyurl.com/ylbr8sc
BradBesseyET: Jon Gosselin brought roses to Kate today as they arbitrate the end of their marriage in PA.
ETNOW: Taylor Lautner on Kristen Stewart: We Have a Similar Relationship to Jacob & Bella http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/11/81249/index.html
ETNOW: Taylor Lautner says now that 'New Moon' is out he's ready for Thanksgiving, "family, food and football." RT @BradBesseyET @OfficialTL
ETProdSharlette: TWILIGHT-NEW MOON breaks all records. Midnight crawlers brought in 26.27 Million last night. WOW congrats vampires and wolves, ET has it!
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Catch Hollywood's brightest stars out on the town!
Donning their most dazzling duds, Hollywood's loveliest ladies and sexiest studs descended upon legendary hotspot the Chateau Marmont for the 14th annual GQ Men of the Year bash. Take a look at Hollywood's biggest names as they light up Los Angeles!
GQ's page-turning "Men of the Year" issue hits newsstands Nov 24.
