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Evidence Of Love 2003

Cancer benefit brings 'CSI' star back home

Phil's Old Radios Goes to the Movies! (Lethal Vows)

Redbook October 2001

Playboy October 2001

Marg and the NFL (January 31, 2002)

Celebrities return for fund-raising weekend (September 25, 2002)

Stars to tee off for cancer (September 27, 2002)

Putting for a cure: Celebrity duo says they will keep coming back to C.B (September 27, 2002)

Evidence Of Love

North Bend native and CSI star Marg Helgenberger and husband Alan Rosenberg host a gang of celebrities in the fight against breast cancer.
by Patrick LaGreca

Traveling to Omaha has always been a major event for Marg Helgenberger. The star of television's top-rated show "CSI" and North Bend, Neb., native grew up making pilgrimages to Omaha — then the cultural Mecca of her world. "When I got to be a teenager and we could drive, that [going to Omaha] was like going to Paris," she said laughingly on the phone with the Omaha Weekly Reader. "There was nothing better than getting in our car and driving to Omaha for the day, for girls, teenage girls, who loved to shop."

However Helgenberger and actor husband Alan Rosenberg ["The Guardian," "LA Law"] won’t be browsing at Westroads this trip. The duo will be hosting Marg and Alan’s Celebrity Weekend, a benefit to raise awareness — and funds — for the fight against breast cancer.

The Cancer Center at Jennie Edmundson Hospital will receive the proceeds from the three-day event that was inspired by Helgenberger's mother, Kay Snyder, a cancer survivor of 21 years.

" Both of us have been involved in trying to raise awareness about breast cancer," Rosenberg said. "It wasn’t long before Marg and I met when her mom was diagnosed. Marg’s mom’s medical history makes me concerned for Margi, so it’s something that affects me very deeply and of course Margi, in honor of her mother, and also as someone who is concerned for her own health."

This year marks the fifth year for this particular event; however, the celebrity couple have been returning to participate in Breast Cancer awareness events in the Omaha vicinity for some 12 years. Helgenberger said she is eager to return to her roots every year and spoke fondly of her youth in North Bend and adolescent escapades in Omaha.

In high school, with the inevitable freedom spawned by a drivers license, Helgenberger and her friends began their own forays into the big city. Primarily the trips were based around shopping, teenage girls that they were, "When I was really little they didn’t even have the Westroads, they just had the Crossroads and that was the really big deal. Then the Westroads opened and that was like candy — we couldn’t believe it, … and there was a shop called the Hitchin' Post & Wooden Nickel."

As the girls matured, they discovered that Omaha was a regular stop for many major acts of the day — ranging from rock 'n roll to comedy — and their destinations became the Civic Auditorium and the Orpheum Theater. "I saw everybody from Fleetwood Mac to Bad Company to Frank Sinatra, to Lynyrd Skynyrd … Peter Frampton … Occasionally I saw a couple of shows at the Orpheum," Helgenberger recalled, "which is a beautiful, beautiful house. In fact, I saw Steve Martin there when he was just a standup — and he did that rambin' man thing with his banjo."

Shortly before graduating high school, Helgenberger and her crew discovered the Old Market, which, being the late 70s, was still in a stage of germination. "I think probably when I was in my upper teens was when the Old Market started happening," she said. "And of course that was always a blast to go down there — it still is, you know? Omaha was always fun."

Upon graduation, Helgenberger enrolled in Kearney State College and though she enjoyed acting — she had done numerous plays and musicals in high school — she didn’t have her sights set on the theater as a long-term goal. "At the time I wasn’t really thinking of it as a career," she said. "I just knew that — as I’ve always kind of done in my life — I’ve just kind of gotten on the road and let it sort of steer me."

Inevitably the road steered her toward acting, and after two years at Kearney a boyfriend told her about the theater program at Northwestern University. "I started reading up about it and found it had a great reputation," she explained. "So I thought, ‘Lets see how I do there?’ and I applied."

Even still, a career as an actress did not seem like an achievable reality. "I don’t think I ever really thought of … I dreamed about it," she admitted, "but I didn’t necessarily think it was going to come to fruition … but it did."

Eventually Helgenberger’s patience and Que sera approach paid off and she found herself working her way into the world of television. She landed work on the daytime drama "Ryan’s Hope" (where she met now-husband Alan) and eventually made her first major prime-time debut on the critically acclaimed show "China Beach." Her portrayal of the character K.C. Koloski won her an Emmy for best supporting actress.

Nonetheless the job that propelled Helgenberger into her current stature of superstar and Emmy nominee for best actress is the leading female role of Catherine on CBS’s top-rated show "CSI." Her character is a criminalist with a brilliant mind, a tough past — a Las Vegas dancer with a daughter and a less-than-ideal ex-husband — and a slightly cynical sense of humor. One byproduct of this misanthropic nature is that Catherine seems, from season to season, to have one particularly savory/unsavory evidence-gathering activity that becomes her signature.

" Every season I seem to have a specialty," she explained. "The first season tape-lifting [picking up evidence by sticking a piece of special tape to a surface and removing particles with the adhesive] was my specialty. The second season was collecting seminal fluid, and the third season I did a lot of swabbing people's mouths. Now I‘m doing a little bit of everything, swabbing and collecting seminal fluid," she laughed.

" The other day I head in the toilet [gathering evidence], and I thought, ‘God this is so symbolic.'"

Clever gags aside, the biggest question the "discerning" television audience has regarding "CSI" is why, amongst the current cesspool of reality programs and run-of-the-mill sitcoms, is this drama continuing to out-perform virtually every other program on television?

The answer, strangely enough, lies in the concept of realism. Not necessarily fashioning a realistic plot or subject matter — unquestionably not the alleged realism of so-called reality television — but the realism that was intrinsic to its original creation.

" It [the show] was created by a young guy name Anthony Zuiker," Helgenberger said, "who was a total novice to television [writing]. But he had a very imaginative mind, was a Vegas native and had a desire to be a writer. His wife loved a show called "The New Detectives" on the Discovery Channel, and she said, ‘Take a look at this show, I think there might be something in here.’ So he started riding around with criminalists in Vegas."

Conceivably this chain of events might appear typical, but in the world of corporate television, this germination process is aberrant. This "organic" evolution — an attitude that eventually carried over into all the elements of the show — is what Helgenberger credits for the program's astronomical success.

" Anthony, being the novice," she explained, "[meant] a lot of people had their hands in nurturing the show along and developing it." The fact that so many people participated in the early stages created a group of individuals that had something vested in the project. They had created their own entity, and they were determined to see it succeed.

" Then CBS green-lighting the pilot … it was the last pilot picked up — it was the last show picked up — and it just kind of had this magic surrounding it," Helgenberger said. "It was all very organic, and everybody believed in the show. I don’t think you can have a wildly successful show when the personalities don’t all come together in some kind of serendipitous way. The show just clicks, and it clicked from the beginning. Everybody gets along and everybody is very secure and confident in what they do. I think that [is what] happens with any wildly successful show."

Proof positive of Helgenberger's "organic" theory is the program's red-headed stepchild "CSI Miami." The same premise, or "formula," was prescribed by network executives in an effort to create a testtube version of the original megahit. Though the show was good enough to garner better-than-most ratings — then again so does "Fear Factor" — the product has nowhere near the charisma of the original.

" I think that the Miami show was a demand by the network in an effort to have an instant hit," she said. "From a business point of view, I certainly understand their thinking. It was clear the [original] show was a phenomenal success the first season. Even when they reran the show it did huge numbers. They would put us on every night of the week, or they put us on when ever a show was cancelled, or whenever a show was flailing, and the ratings would go back up."

Even with full backing of the studio from the very beginning, and the huge coattails of the parent show to latch onto, Helgenberger said she believes there is no comparison between the two programs. "I just feel anytime something comes out of a business," she said, choosing her words carefully, "you know … I hesitate to use the word greed, but, in other words, it didn’t come from an organic place. I think it’s an uphill battle to get any magic, and that’s why I think it doesn’t necessarily have the chemistry, the cast doesn’t have the chemistry that ours does.

" It doesn’t have the look," she continued, "it just doesn’t have a soul like our show. But I don’t mean to be disrespectful to that show at all," she added sincerely. "I don’t have anything against anybody personally at all. I just would rather have the [original] show just be by itself and enjoy the wild ride of success. But we’re in a different era now, when it's really just kind of about finding out what is successful and duplicating it again and again and again. It’s not just the Miami show, there are a lot of other shows that are both on CBS and produced by Bruckheimer that are almost the exact same show but with slightly different premise and a different cast, and there you have it."

Helgenberger, however, is by no means a television naysayer. She thinks that the variety alone available on television today is positive and that the industry is just going through another transformation. "I actually happen to think there are some really good shows on TV," she said adding quickly "not that I’m a big TV watcher. But the fact that there are so many options for viewers — you know when I was doing "China Beach" — there really weren’t very many options, and now there are."

In reference to the omnipresent reality TV, she doesn’t deem it the end of western civilization, but she does question the use of the word "reality." "The reality TV … I think that’s just a phase," she explained. "I understand it from a business point of view, but it really is pathetic. Let's face it, I can’t stand to watch it — the dating shows [for example] — they're just stupid. There’s nothing real about it. Our show is more real than some of these dopey shows."

As part of Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend, the two are offering some reality theater Friday, Sept. 5, at the Rose Theater. Helgenberger and Rosenberg will present a one-time performance of A.R. Gurney's The Love Letters. Tickets are available through the Rose box office.

The "celebrity" part of the weekend's events includes actors Dennis Haysbert ("24," Far From Heaven), Robert Kind ("Spin City"), Robert Hayes (Airplane), R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket), and many more names from the entertainment industry.

In addition to the Friday night performance of The Love Letters other events include:

Sept. 6 — Harrah’s hosts The Survivor Celebration. Tickets available at the Jeannie Edmundson Volunteer Department.

Sept. 7 — Celebrity Golf Championship at the Dodge Riverside Golf Club. Open to spectators. Tickets available at Hy-Vee food stores, Harrah’s gift shop and the Dodge Riverside Golf Club in Council Bluffs. [Top]

Published Friday
September 5, 2003

Cancer benefit brings 'CSI' star back home

BY KIM ROBERTS

On "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," star Marg Helgenberger uses science to track down the bad guys.

Nebraska native Marg Helgenberger headlines a "celebrity weekend."

This weekend, the Nebraska native will trade technology for golf clubs in the fight against a different sort of villain: breast cancer.

Helgenberger and her husband, actor Alan Rosenberg, return to the Midlands to host "Marg & Alan's Celebrity Weekend," an annual benefit for Jennie Edmundson Hospital's Breast Health and Cancer Centers.

The event, which runs today through Sunday, includes a two-day celebrity golf tournament at Dodge Riverside Golf Club and a cancer-survivor celebration at Harrah's Casino.

The couple also will give a benefit performance of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" at the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center.

"It's a great way to give back to the community," Helgenberger said by cell phone from the Los Angeles area. "I think we have a lot of impact on people's lives, breast cancer survivors in particular."

It is a cause that is close to her heart.

Helgenberger's mother, Kay Snyder, is a breast cancer survivor. Snyder, who lives in Omaha, was diagnosed with the disease in 1980. She is healthy now, but Helgenberger remains dedicated to raising funds and awareness of the illness.

Last fall, the Lifetime network chose Helgenberger as the subject of an "Intimate Portrait" episode, based on her contributions to breast cancer awareness. More recently she talked about the disease with "Golf for Women," which featured her on the cover of its September/October magazine.

Helgenberger enjoys golf and says the charity golf tournament is a fun way to accomplish her goal.

"It's fun just goofing around," said the actress, who says she doesn't often get the chance to play. "It's a game that's always fun to play, no matter how much you play."

She brings a troop of celebrities with her to this weekend's benefit, including Dennis Haysbert ("24"), Richard Kind ("Spin City"), John Beasley ("Everwood"), Jim Turner ("Arli$$") and sports greats Dominique Wilkins, Russ Francis and Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

Comedian Tom Parks will perform at the "Survivor Celebration" Saturday night, along with actor/musician Chris Mulkey and his band, the Blue Veins, featuring Fleetwood Mac guitarist Billy Burnette.

The goal is to raise between $25,000 and $30,000, which will be used to treat needy breast cancer patients at Jennie Edmundson.

The Council Bluffs hospital says it appreciates the efforts of Helgenberger and Rosenberg, who stars in CBS' "The Guardian."

"They truly pour not only their heart and soul but also their time into making this event successful," said Tara Slevin, director of volunteer services at Jennie Edmundson.

Whether the tournament will continue in the future depends on Helgenberger's busy schedule and how people respond this year.

The tournament usually falls during the filming of "CSI," CBS's top-rated drama. This year, she also is preparing for the Emmy Awards at the end of the month, for which she is both a nominee and a presenter.

"It does get complicated," she said. But, "I think it's pretty gratifying. I hope we'll be able to do it again." [Top]

How TV's favorite chameleon puts family first. October
2001 by Julia Dahl

You may not know how to pronounce her name (it's, Mar-guh), but chances are you recognize Marg
Helgenberger's face. Maybe you remember her as the cancer-stricken mother in Erin Brockovich or
as Patsy Ramsey in CBS's tawdry miniseries about JonBenet. and with a starring role in CBS's CSI, last
season's hit drama about crime-solving Las Vegas scientists, Helgenberger (who garnered an
emmy, nomination for her role as Catherine Willows is finally making the leap to household-name
status.

But don't expect the 42-year-old Nebraska native's life to change. After all, this is a woman who picked graduatingfrom college over a starring role on the ABC soap Ryan's Hope, has been married to actor Alan Rosenberg for 12 years (a.k.a. a Hollywood lifetime), and has an 11 year-old son whom she calls "cool." Wonder where he got that trait?

REDBOOK: CSI is your first regular series since China Beach in 1991. Has balancing home and work gotten harder or easier?
MARG HELGENBERGER: It's actually easier to have a regular gig than tip be flying all over to different movie sets. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to get back into TV. I wanted to be able to drive home every night, not have to hop on a plane to see my family. Of course, it's still not easy. Fortunately, my son, Hughie, is pretty cool and seems to understand when I'm Busy during the day. It's the nights I get home late that I feel guilty.

RB: How do you keep romance alive when you and Alan travel so much?
MH: Once you have a family, you have to make sure you and your husband go out alone together once in a while. I was being pretty diligent about that prior to CSI, but since then I've wanted to include Hughie because I'm away from him so much now. But I think it's time for Alan and me to have a date. [Laughs] Now I just have to figure out a time!

RB: You play a single mom on CSI. Does that make you appreciate your husband more?
MH: Yes. Last Year Alan was away filming in Toronto for five weeks, and I got a taste of how difficult it is to try to juggle a child and a career all by yourself.

RB: What's the weirdest thing you've learned from being on CSI?
MH: I went to Las, Vegas and rode around with a woman who investigates crime scenes in real life for a few nights. She told me she works the night shift because since it gets so hot in Vegas, when you go to a crime scene and a body has been there for God knows how long ...well, you get the idea. Apparently the heat makes it, like, 5,000 times worse.

RB: You've played strong, controversial women-a prostitute, a mother accused of killing her daughter, a woman dying of cancer, and now a single mom/ex-stripper who works with dead bodies. What's up with that?
MH: I feel an affinity for people who have been through hardships but are able to keep going. My mother is a breast cancer survivor yet has always looked on the bright side of life. I find that kind of person fascinating to play.

RB: Do you ever miss being single?
MH: [laughing] Hell, yeah! I wouldn't have to pick up after my husband or listen to him yell, "Where are my keys?" Every married woman on this planet would say that from time to time. It would Be wonderful to only worry about myself. But truthfully, I couldn't be happier. [Top]

Playboy October 2001 by Robert Crane
Playboy.Com
Photography by Jack Guy

TV's brickhouse on romance, tommyknockers, and whether her CSI character will ever strip again.

She is the best thing about CBS' top-rated drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Her character K.C. brightened China Beach and won her an Emmy in 1990. Her appearances in Stephen King's miniseries The Tommyknockers and her stint as George Clooney's love interest on ER were more than memorable. In fact, Marg Helgenberger enhances every project she accepts.

She grew up in Nebraska and acted in school plays, but it wasn't until she attended Northwestern University that acting took hold as a career possibility. Upon graduation she was cast on the ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope.

Her work includes movies, of course. She managed to create a romantic interlude with Michael Madsen amid the mayhem of Species (she also appeared in Species II). And she made Steven Seagal look good when he wasn't punching someone in Fire Down Below. Most recently she garnered rave notices as a cancer patient in Erin Brockovich and in the CBS miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, playing Patsy Ramsey.

Robert Crane met with Helgenberger in Santa Monica. He reports: "Marg is a bright, no-nonsense, funny person. She's incredibly earthy and sexy and she smells like she just got a little sun."

Question 1
PLAYBOY: Describe the Marg Helgenberger for us.
HELGENBERGER: Cheeseburger, pickles and ketchup. On a toasted sesame seed bun. I'm as basic as they come. I am a meat-and-potatoes gal. I'm from a small town in the Midwest. Not only do I prefer simply prepared foods, but they prefer me, too, if you know what I mean. So, yeah, meat and potatoes.

Question 2
PLAYBOY: Is the Helgenberger pink on the inside?
HELGENBERGER: Yes. Definitely. Medium rare-rare to medium rare. I like the taste of meat. I don't like it to be dry. It's got to be moist inside. Moist and juicy.

Question 3
PLAYBOY: So, how many great pairs of knockers were featured in The Tommy-knockers? And what the heck are tommyknockers, anyway?
HELGENBERGER: Wow, I'd have to say there were at least three pairs of great knockers in The Tommyknockers. Traci Lords, Joanna Cassidy and yours truly, because they're natural and regular size. That's the only reason. Tommy-knockers is an English expression that refers to miners. If someone was left underground after an explosion or a cave-in, you would hear them knocking on the sides of the walls. Miners were called tommys in the old days.

Question 4
PLAYBOY: You play a former stripper turned crime scene investigator on CSI. Is there a flashback in the offing?
HELGENBERGER: Every crew member on the show has asked me that. Even my agent, who's an erudite person, said to the producer, "I want to see episodes in which Marg gets strung out on drugs and has to go back to stripping." The producer said, "Do you think you're the only person?" If it involved a crime or forensics or something, it might be OK.

Question 5
PLAYBOY: What are your three distinguishing characteristics?
HELGENBERGER: My laugh, my hair color and my parties. I throw really good parties.

Question 6
PLAYBOY: You played Patsy Ramsey, and now you're a crime scene investigator. Do you think JonBenet's case will ever be solved?
HELGENBERGER: I watched a lot of Patsy Ramsey's press conferences. In one she talked to CNN shortly after the murder, when she was completely stoned on Valium-she's hardly coherent. And there was the press conference she and her husband held for journalists a few months after the murder. In that one they were very together and had their answers down. But they have stuck with their story the entire time.

Question 7
PLAYBOY: How did you get the name Marg?
HELGENBERGER: Well, it's actually Mary Marg. When my mother was in nurse's training, she worked in an orphanage with the nuns, because it was a Catholic nursing school. The nuns had named one of the little girls Mary Marg, and my mother loved the name-so that's what's on my birth certificate. Obviously it's usually Mary Margaret. But she just loved Mary Marg and intended to call me that, but it never really stuck. It's been Marg or Margie all my life.

Question 8
PLAYBOY: Do men who pronounce the hard g get further with you than the ones who say Marge?
HELGENBERGER: My opinion of them rises. It depends, you know, because it's an uncommon name, so I don't really hold it against people. If I've told somebody repeatedly how to pronounce it, then I hold it against him because it means he's not paying attention.

Question 9
PLAYBOY: Helgenberger suggests an imposing Bavarian edifice, something made out of bricks. What do you think?
HELGENBERGER: Of course. Back in Nebraska there were plenty of brick shithouses. My image of a woman who is built like a brick house, and it's probably a cliché, is buxom, large-like Chyna, the wrestler. It's a compliment if someone says I'm built like a brickhouse, because I'm a pretty solid person. And I'm fairly down-to-earth. I've got the hard-boiled thing. Some of the greatest compliments I receive, especially from men, are that I kick ass, that "that bitch is bad," that I'm bad-ass, that I rock. I love all that-it gives a spring to my step when I hear it.

Question 10
PLAYBOY: What's your favorite bedroom scene?
HELGENBERGER: It's in Species, and it was with Michael Madsen. It was kind of raucous. I just decided to make it fun and playful. We tripped over each other and fell to the ground. That kind of kick-started it. I remember once I took a flying leap onto him on the bed. And there was the time I tackled him. It was more playful and feisty than your typical sensuous love scene.

Question 11
PLAYBOY: You appeared in Fire Down Below. Is Steven Seagal as wooden as he appears?
HELGENBERGER: Well, I wouldn't use that word. He was rarely there. Seriously. He showed up when he needed to show up, and the rest of the time I acted with his stand-in. Because of his martial arts training, I think he's a very present guy. Whether or not he's going to fuck with you is another thing. He loves to play games more than anybody I know. Otherwise he gets bored. But once he realizes you won't play games with him, he'll back off. A game player doesn't like to play games with somebody who's not interested. They'll go on to find somebody who's going to fall for their shit. But he was very complimentary to me. He would always say, "We think you're a terrific actress. The best thing I did was put you in this film."

Question 12
PLAYBOY: Did Julia Roberts have to ask someone how to dress for Erin Brockovich or did she have it in her?
HELGENBERGER: There was one day when she had on this outfit, tight white pants or capris and this push-up bra that put her boobs up into the stratosphere. And these huge fuck-me pumps. Julia is not that kind of dresser. She's very elegant. But I think she got into it after a while. And I thought she sashayed in those clothes beautifully. It was the best thing she's ever done.

Question 13
PLAYBOY: Julia Roberts was once your neighbor. Did she ever come over to borrow something?
HELGENBERGER: Actually, she came over to borrow the Cuisinart when Alan, my husband, was there-and, like most husbands, he doesn't know where anything is. He was probably struggling really hard to find it because it's Julia Roberts at the door. She said, "Oh, that's OK. I can just use a blender." Sometimes in those tabloids they would print photographs of the duplex she lived in, and our Pathfinder would be in the picture. Under the caption it would say, 'Julia ditches her Hollywood Hills mansion for a neighborhood filled with drug addicts and out-of-work actors." But that's my Pathfinder and I'm a working actor, as is my husband.

Question 14
PLAYBOY: Might there be sparks around the Bunsen burner with your co-star William L. Petersen?
HELGENBERGER: I think the sparks already exist around the Bunsen burner, just by the fact that we're both single on the show. And I think we're both relatively lonely-I'm trying to make it on my own as a single mom and he's got such tunnel vision. But if you deny your sexuality, it eventually comes out in one way or another. Even though we're completely professional and it's never really discussed, I think the feelings exist. It will be more interesting if Willows and Grissom don't get together. I think there's more to be explored in terms of two co-workers doing their thing without having any kind of sexual relationship. e's the more cerebral one and I'm the more instinctual, intuitive, sensual one-the two minds work well together on cases.

Question 15
PLAYBOY: Ever have the perfect date ruined by one thing?
HELGENBERGER: It wasn't necessarily the perfect date, but I do remember a situation when I was in high school and I had a crush on a guy. We had planned to meet at the bowling alley after the football game or something like that. He showed up with another girl! So I sort of wrote him off as a loser, but a few months went by and he realized what an asshole he'd been. Then he courted me heavily with gifts and poems. And we actually became an item for a year or so.

Question 16
PLAYBOY: Is it harder to be sexy when you're single or married?
HELGENBERGER: Probably when you're married. My single friends have a totally different life than I do. There's certainly a lot more sex. A lot more sex with various partners. Being single, you have complete freedom and independence. I have a child, and he's obviously the first responsibility. But I certainly don't feel like I'm stifled in any way.

Question 17
PLAYBOY: What are you going to tell your son about girls?
HELGENBERGER: Well, he already has a crush on Drew Barrymore, but he won't admit it. He asks me about her. I've met her. I think he saw The Wedding Singer, and she was so sweet, so adorable. She is that way anyway, but she was just so charming, and that's what he fell for-that bubbly, open, sweet gal. He's got good taste. He doesn't go for Carmen Electras. He goes for a good girl who's also sexy. Drew's sexy and she's a producer. She rocks.

Question 18
PLAYBOY: Your 16-year-old son brings home a young Marg Helgenberger. What do you say?
HELGENBERGER: You go, boy! I would say that he's got good taste. I definitely want him to have somebody who is fun, and smart, and interested in the world; and somebody who is going to be a challenge. I don't want him to settle for just anyone.

Question 19
PLAYBOY: What will you advise your son to avoid a broken heart?
HELGENBERGER: Oh, my God. The only way is to go through it. That road can be really painful, but I think there's great value in that. And I wouldn't want to shut him off. Some people are afraid to even go out there because they're afraid of being hurt, and I don't think that's any way to go through life. Then you're really not dealing with all your emotions or following your heart.

Question 20
PLAYBOY: What are some warning signs?
HELGENBERGER: I would be wary of people who are users. They might seem like a lot of fun, but you can generally tell when somebody's not entirely sincere with their friendship. It's a fair-weather thing. And I think that's something you are susceptible to at a young age, because there are a lot of charismatic people. They draw you in, but then they spin out of control and you get left behind. So I would caution him against those very dynamic, charismatic personalities. Even though they're extremely attractive and I, too, fall for them all the time, just be wary. There's usually another side to those types of people. [Top]

Marg and the NFL
January 31, 2002

When the New England Patriots battle the St. Louis Rams on Super Bowl Sunday in New Orleans, "CSI" star and Oakland Raiders fan MARG HELGENBERGER will be among the 80,000 fans cheering them on.

"I'm so excited about going to the Super Bowl and being in New Orleans,"

declares the Nebraska-born Marg, who acquired a taste for football growing up in the Midwest.

But before she heads to the Big Easy, Marg will don a nondenominational football jersey sporting the number 32 as host of Lifetime's NFL Films special, "Her Life & the NFL." The show spotlights women whose lives have been affected by football. [Top]

The Daily Nonpareil

Published Wednesday
September 25, 2002

Celebrities return for fund-raising weekend

GREG JERRETT

This will be a weekend of stars over Council Bluffs as Marg Helgenberger of the CBS ratings-grabber "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and her husband, Alan Rosenberg of the "break-out drama" "The Guardian" play host to Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend.

	Marg Helgenberger of the CBS crime drama "CSI" will bring her unique brand of celebrity fund raising to Harrah's Hotel and Casino this weekend.

Celebrity Weekend is presented by Harrah's Hotel and Casino and sponsored in part by The Daily Nonpareil.

In a joint statement, Helgenberger and Rosenberg expressed their excitement at coming to the area to help raise money for local cancer charities.

"We're excited to be coming to Omaha with a new charity event and we're excited to once again be supporting the Cancer Centers at Jennie Edmundson and Methodist Hospitals."

John Zaring, event producer of Zaring/Cioffi Entertainment in Valencia, Calif., said Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend is meant to be a community event.

"The mission of Celebrity Weekend is to create an affordable and fun community event that raises funds to support the fight against breast cancer," Zaring said. "Marg and Alan are committed to the Council Bluffs/Omaha community and Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend will be a good time for everyone."

Celebrity Weekend will begin Friday, but the highlight of the weekend is a two-day golf tournament at Dodge Riverside Golf Club that will feature celebrities from TV, movies, music and comedy. Saturday's pro/am golf event will not be open to the public, but Sunday the stars will be hitting the green alone for an open-to-the-public exhibition.

Marg Helgenberger kisses her husband, Alan Rosenberg of "The Guardian," at last year's celebrity event. They will again be in Council Bluffs to raise money for local cancer charities.

In addition to the onlookers, benefiting from the event's ticket sales and amateur participation fees will be the Cancer Centers of Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs and Methodist Hospital in Omaha.

Celebrities, in addition to Marg and Alan, who will purportedly be in attendance are Zachary Ty Bryan ("Home Improvement," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), R. Lee Ermey ("Full Metal Jacket," "Seven," "Cracker"), Sam McMurray ("The Sopranos," "Drop Dead Gorgeous"), Bobby Costanzo ("Friends"), Rocky Carroll ("The Agency"), John Aylward ("ER," "Bad Company"), Vyto Ruginis ("Crossing Jordan") and Brett Cullen ("The Replacements, Something to Talk About") and more than a dozen additional stars from television and movies. [Top]

The Daily Nonpareil

Published Friday
September 27, 2002

Stars to tee off for cancer

GREG JERRETT

	Alan Rosenberg will be lining up puts with other celebrities at the Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend at Dodge Riverside golf club Saturday and Sunday. Rosenberg's wife Marg Helgenberger is the star of the television show CSI.

It will be a great weekend for golf, charity and hobnobbing with celebrities. That is if Alan Rosenberg, star of the well-received CBS drama, "The Guardian," has anything to say about it.

Rosenberg and his wife, Marg Helgenberger, star of the top-rated CBS show "CSI" and North Bend, Neb., native, are hosting Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend presented by Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel.

The annual event is produced by Zaring/Cioffi Entertainment of Valencia, Calif., and is designed to not only raise money for the Jennie Edmundson Cancer Center, but also to be a fun, affordable community activity that brings the average resident of Council Bluffs face to face with their favorite stars of film, television and comedy.

Cancer is a personal issue for Rosenberg because his mother-in-law is a 22-year breast cancer survivor.

The Nonpareil spoke with Rosenberg on the practice green of the Dodge Riverside Golf Course where celebrities and amateurs alike will be playing this weekend.

Rosenberg said this weekend's event is the only one he holds and that it offers several things other charity events do not.

"All of the money this year will go straight to Jennie Edmundson," Rosenberg said. "There is no filter between the donations and the destination, so 100 percent of what is donated goes to the hospital."

Another factor in favor of Marg and Alan is celebrity accessibility.

"At some celebrity events, the stars can be very much like 'Don't come near me,'" Rosenberg said. "They keep the public at arm's length. They don't want to sign autographs or have their pictures taken. But none of the celebrities who are coming here this weekend are like that. You can come up and talk to them, shake hands. It's very friendly."

Some of the stars on hand this weekend to help raise money in the fight against cancer will be Zachary Ty Bryan ("Home Improvement," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), R. Lee Ermey ("Full Metal Jacket," "Seven," "Saving Silverman"), Sam McMurray ("The Sopranos," "Raising Arizona," "The Tracy Ullman Show"), Bobby Costanzo ("Friends"), Rocky Carroll ("The Agency"), John Aylward ("ER," "Bad Company"), Vyto Ruginis ("Crossing Jordan") and Brett Cullen ("The Replacements," "Something to Talk About") and over a dozen additional stars from television and film.

Celebrity Weekend begins today, but the highlight of the weekend is a two-day golf tournament at Dodge Riverside Golf Club that will feature celebrities from TV, movies, music and comedy. Saturday's pro/am golf event will not be open to the public, but Sunday the stars will be hitting the green alone for an open-to-the-public exhibition.

Tickets are available at the Harrah's and Jennie Edmundson gift shops. Two-for-one coupons are available at Council Bluffs Godfather's Pizza locations. [Top]

The Daily Nonpareil

Published Saturday
September 28, 2002

Putting for a cure: Celebrity duo says they will keep coming back to C.B.

TIM JOHNSON

"It's about helping people," actor Alan Rosenberg said Saturday night during a celebrity dinner at Dodge Riverside Golf Club's Riverside Grille, 2 Harrah's Blvd.

	Hank Bergantzel of Council Bluffs, caddied for Marg Helgenberger Saturday during the first day of the Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend golf tournament.

The event was part of Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend, a fund raiser for the Jennie Edmundson Hospital Cancer Center.

"We love you all, and we're going to keep coming back," Rosenberg said.

Why do celebrities like Rosenberg, cast member on the CBS drama "The Guardian," and his wife, Marg Helgenberger, who stars in the popular CBS series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," come to Council Bluffs every year to help raise money for the cancer center?

Maybe because cancer is universal: It can affect anyone at any time - and it has affected them.

Helgenberger's mother, Kay Snyder of Omaha, fought her own battle with breast cancer 22 years ago - and won. She is now a proud survivor.

Saturday night, Helgenberger, a native of North Bend, Neb., remembered her mother's struggle once again.

"It was a very confusing time, because I was a young adult - I was in college," she said. "I couldn't help but think, 'is she going to make it through this?'"

Having a loved one with cancer was one factor that led Helgenberger to join the fight against it.

"Being involved in the cause now makes me look back and remember how that brought us all together," she said. "It challenged us."

Now, Helgenberger and her husband are sharing their success with a Council Bluffs hospital.

"We always have a wonderful time," she said. "It's a wonderful event. It's been an opportunity to get together with friends, get together with family."

The Celebrity Weekend continues today with the second round of the golf tournament, which is open to spectators. Celebrities will swing into action at 9 a.m. and wrap up at approximately 2:30 p.m. at Dodge Riverside Golf Club. [Top]

Phil's Old Radios Goes to the Movies!

In late summer, 1999, I was contacted by a production company making a TV movie for CBS. Starring John Ritter and Marg Helgenberger, the plot would involve one of the characters researching old radio parts—specifically, selenium rectifiers—on the Internet. My website would appear on screen as the source of the crucial information. It sounded like fun, so I signed a release form and gave permission to use my site in the movie.

The movie, titled "Lethal Vows," was broadcast on CBS television on October 14, 1999. Below are a few scenes from the movie, showing how Phil's Old Radios website was used in the plot.