Mike Wallace, who perfected the ambush interview during his nearly three decades on "60 Minutes," met more than his match last month while pursuing an interview with an alleged Nazi war criminal: a German shepherd.
"The dog went after me," Wallace said Wednesday. "He simply went after my leg. . . . He tore my coat."Wallace had been warned about the dog before driving with a crew to the suburban Toronto home of suspected Nazi Oskars Perro. He was told to blow the car horn twice before getting out, and did so.
But when Wallace and the others approached Perro's son Arvil, who was outside the house, the dog bolted toward them. After tearing Wallace's overcoat, it sunk its teeth into the pants of of soundman Kevin Trainor, biting an extra camera battery in his pocket. Trainor was unhurt.
Throughout, Perro's son was yelling for the dog to stop.
"He had no intention of letting that dog attack," Wallace said, adding he wasn't afraid. "I'm too stupid."
Wallace has for a month been tracking ex-Nazis in Canada. Many have lived there since the end of World War II without interference from the Canadian government, he said. Oskars Perro is alleged to be a former leader of a Latvian unit that murdered Jews.
Perro wouldn't come out of the house to talk, but earlier told a show producer the allegations against him are "Communist propaganda."
During the visit, Perro's son told Wallace that his mother was a fan of "60 Minutes."
"I said, `Well, under those circumstances, let me talk to her,"' Wallace said. "He said, `No, she's got the flu.' "
The encounter can be seen Sunday on "60 Minutes."
As for the torn coat, Wallace hasn't asked CBS to replace it.
"It's an old coat," Wallace joked. "But it's getting more expensive."
MRS. CLINTON CAN'T SING: First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton can't sing very well.
She admitted it Wednesday during a taping of "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," for airing Monday. In the segment, Clinton talked about her high-school performance in a "Bye Bye Birdie," noting that she can't carry a tune "even in the shower."
Clinton presented O'Donnell with official White House M&M's and the children's book "Woodrow the White House Mouse." Prompted by O'Donnell, she said the White House does have mice, and that humane traps are used to get rid of them.
But, she added, "When we get tired of them, we nuke them."
TNT IS TOPS: Armed with the month's No.1 offering, TNT was the top-rated cable network in prime time in January, according to Nielsen.
TNT, which has been on top in recent months, was buoyed by Tom Selleck's "Last Stand at Saber River," which was watched in 5,182,000 homes on Jan. 19, the most for any cable offering this month.
Overall, TNT averaged 1,534,000 homes tuned in during prime time. The Turner network was followed by USA Network, 1,394,000 homes; Nickelodeon, 1,382,000 homes; Turner's TBS, 1,352,000 homes, and Lifetime, 1,070,000 homes.
TNT was also tops with the advertiser-desired viewers ages 18 to 49. It was followed in that category, in order, by TBS, USA, ESPN and Lifetime.
Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite was the highest-rated network based on around-the-clock numbers, with 1,205,000 homes tuned in.
While Selleck's "Last Stand at Saber River" was the highest-rated program in household ratings, TBS' telecast of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was the most-watched show with the 18-to-49 set. "Last Stand at Saber River," however, was No. 1 with viewers aged 25-54.
Incidentally, on Jan. 19, with a "No Football, No Problem" movie marathon featuring such flicks as "Top Gun" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," TBS generated the highest one-day, noncrisis-coverage ratings for any basic cable network ever.
MORIARTY GETS A JOB: Michael Moriarty, who left the cast of NBC's "Law & Order" in 1994 after a dispute with the show's producer, will return to series work next spring as a cast member on the syndicated "PSI Factor: The Chronicles of the Paranormal."
The series, hosted by former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Dan Aykroyd, is about investigators who explore purported paranormal incidents. Moriarty will play one of those investigators.
Story lines for the series are pulled from case files of the Office of Scientific Investigation and Research, a real organization.
Production begins in May on the show's second season.