Beck/Smith Hollywood

Kevin Sorbo is pleased with the real-life role he’s taken on – as an inspirational force and example of someone who’s come back from serious illness.  The actor who rose to fame as the mighty Hercules came out a couple of years ago with his frank memoir, True Strength: My Journey From Hercules To Mere Mortal And How Nearly Dying Saved My Life – disclosing the full extent of his battle back from three strokes and an aneurism that left him physically weak and with permanent blind spots in 1997.  The paperback version of the book came out a few months ago, and to his surprise, “I’ve actually gotten more attention from the paperback than I did when it originally came out,” Sorbo admits.

As a result, he finds himself being approached “not only by stroke survivors, but people who’ve battled cancer, come back from car crashes, whatever it may be.  People tell me that this book inspired them to really find their own true strength.”

Once having done his utmost to hide his condition from the public, he now concedes, “It was a fight to get back, I’ll tell you. I told my wife many times, you know, if it wasn’t for my support I don’t know how I would have done it, but I had great people around me and I also believed in myself and had a strong will.”

Sorbo is cohosting “‘The View’ Friday (3/8), “so I’m hoping we can talk about these things,” he says.

He will definitely be talking about his two latest projects — his March 23 “Shadow on the Mesa,” a Hallmark Movie Channel Original movie Western, and his newly-released on DVD “Abel’s Field” movie that he also produced.

“I love doing Westerns it’s my third Western with these guys,” he notes of the Hallmark project.  “It’s a great old classic Western, with two families fighting over some land — a Hatfields and McCoys type of situation.  Gail O’Grady plays my wife and she’s not so nice in this one.  She’s been having an affair with Greg Evigan, who is the bad guy who tries to take over my property.”  Meredith Baxter is also in the cast, and Wes Brown of “Deception” plays Sorbo’s son he knows nothing about, who’s tracking him down intent on killing him in revenge for his mother’s death.

“I wish I could do more Westerns,” he tells us.  “They used to play very well overseas, but that’s not so much the case anymore.  I don’t know what happened there.”

He has movies and how they play very much on his mind, with a slate of six film projects of his own in development.  As soon as Sorbo finishes his promotion tasks for “Shadow on the Mesa,” in fact, he says he’s heading to Arizona for huddles with potential investors.

His “Abel’s Field” movie, with Samuel Davis as a teen struggling to overcome a terrible home situation, was five years in the making, and Sorbo was aboard for two and a half of those years helping bring the film to fruition.

“We shot it in Texas, put some of it together, and Sony – who I did ‘Soul Surfer’ with – loved what they saw and picked it up for distribution, which was awesome.”

There is a mentoring aspect to the film, in that “the character I play is pretty much thrown in a situation with a teenage kid who’s thrown in a situation with me.  At first we don’t want to deal with each other at all, but eventually we become friends and mentors to each other and ultimately that helps lead him lead his own life.”

Mentoring, of course, is a subject close to the actor-producer’s heart, as Sorbo’s Fit for Kids program continues strong.  “The mentoring started back 15 years ago, in my ‘Hercules’ days,” he recalls.  “It was something I’ve always wanted to do, and we’ve created the Number One after school program in the States, with a 98 per cent graduation rate for kids in the program and we’re very proud of that.”

As far as his health these days, “Oh, I’m feeling good, yeah,” he says with a smile.  “The stroke happened in 1997, and it took six years for me to fully recover but I went on and did the last year of ‘Hercules.’  I did 110 episodes of ‘Andromeda,’ and I’ve done about 40 movies since then, so I think I’ve proven I’m back in good health.”

Not too surprisingly, Sorbo says he has another book percolating.  Write on.

Regardless of the response to Roma Downey’s and Mark Burnett’s 10-hour History Channel treatment of the Bible when it premieres next March, the project already stacks up as one of the most profound experiences of the couple’s life.  The actress immortalized by “Touched By An Angel” tells us they began filming in Morocco in February “and are just back.  We produced it together.  The opportunity for us to work together as husband and wife has been extraordinary.

“I know it’s epic, and I think it will be the must-watch event of the spring,” she adds.  “You’ll see the Red Sea parted with the latest special effects that are available.  We have Hans Zimmer creating the score…We have Noah, we have Abraham, we have Moses.  We have Jesus walking on water.  We have scenes coming to life in the extraordinary ways.  Yes, it’s going to be a faith journey, but it’s also going to be really exciting and dynamic television.”

In the course of the production, exec producers Roma and Mark and company were out in heat and sand and “all of that.  The climate was extreme.  When we started it was cold, then it was boiling — in excess of 110 degrees.  We were caught in dust storms.  And of course, during the filming, Mark was back here a lot because he as a few other things going on,” she says of the husband she clearly adores, whose many productions include “Survivor,” “Stars Earn Stripes,” “The Apprentice” and “The Voice.”

Roma had other things going on as well — including a role in the Bible series.  “I am on camera as Mary, the mother of Jesus.  We have a young actress of course playing Mary during the nativity and the early years of Jesus’ life, and 30 years go by.  An early version of the script referred to that as Young Mary and Old Mary and when I stepped into the role, I said, ‘You know, could we have Young Mary and Mother Mary?’” She laughs.  “Oh, vanity.  It was  more than I could deal with.”

She and Mark are well aware they’re treading on controversial ground, no matter how their Bible depiction is done.  “But you have to step out there,” she says.  “We are stepping out together and I’m sure people will hurl what they want to hurl.  But it is being made with full hearts. We’ve had scholars and theologians help. We’re not pretending to be biblical experts. We brought experts in once the scripts were created to take a look at the scripts to make sure we were accurate and true to the Bible, but obviously we’re making a movie, and so we breathed creative expansion into that.”

She’s hoping the TV event will attract the faithful and the Bible illiterate alike.  “I think it’s going to bring the Bible alive in new and exciting ways to a lot of people.  I think it’s really going to touch another generation,” says the actress. Covering Genesis through Revelation, the series is scheduled to conclude on Easter Sunday next year.

AND:  Roma just smiles and closes her eyes when we ask about the chances for a “Touched By An Angel” reunion movie.  It’s not on her radar, to say the least.  But she does continue her close friendship with fellow “Angel” angel Della Reese.  In fact, “She was just here at our home yesterday for lunch,” reports Roma, who lives in a spectacular seaside mansion in Malibu with Mark and their family.  The posh digs are a long way, both literally and figuratively, from Mark’s and Roma’s similarly humble backgrounds — in London and Derry, Northern Ireland, respectively.

The executive producer of the “Little Angels” animated children’s video series notes, “Clearly, there’s a theme going on in my life.  I don’t have to work.  I’m very blessed , very fortunate.  So my passion, my purpose is to be involved with things that uplift and open people’s hearts and raise their consciousness.”

“Dancing With The Stars” winner J.R. Martinez received the American Red Cross Spirit of Inspiration Award the other night in Santa Monica, adding to the military man-turned-actor-speaker-dancer-author’s many accolades.  Between traveling to speaking engagements and putting the finishing touches on his November-release Hyperion book – Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength and Spirit – J.R. hasn’t had much time for dancing.  And, considering he and his beloved Diana Jones are expecting their baby daughter’s arrival next month, he’ll soon have even less time.  J.R. gives a moving account of how faith and love brought him through his harrowing Iraq war experience and journey to stardom as the May cover subject of Guideposts magazine.

Her story was told on the big screen.  And now, Bethany Hamilton might be heading to the small screen.  The one-armed surfing champ — whose comeback from a devastating shark attack to global recognition as a mighty source of inspiration was chronicled in last year’s “Soul Surfer” – reveals she has more than one reality show prospect in the works.  One is being pitched by producers now, “and I’m also teaming with my brother on a couple of things,” says the 22-year-old.  “It’s a hard world to get going in and conquer,” she adds.

Hamilton’s world now is pro surfing.  She just returned from back-to-back competitions in Australia, in fact.  Still, “I definitely think about my future and stuff — what five things I’m really passionate about.”

One of them is surfing.  A second is, “Encouraging people who are going through rough times.”  Her efforts as an Encourager have made Bethany into a public speaker, albeit a somewhat reluctant one.  She says with a laugh that sometimes, “It’s like you have to practically drag me up there on a leash, but once I’m talking to people, I like it.”

A third area of passion:  “Health and being able to encourage people to have a healthy lifestyle,” says Bethany, who recently taught contestants to surf on an episode of “The Biggest Loser.”  She’s also become a spokes-athlete for Zico Pure Premium Coconut Water – part of their Team Zico, along with such names as NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett and Olympic Gold Medal Decathlon champ Bryan Clay.  “I’m glad to be promoting something healthy, keeping it natural.  I drink it every day,” she declares.

And the other two things on the devout Christian’s list of passions — Faith and Family.  “God is so good to me, getting me through the hard times I’ve had in the past.  And if in the future there are hard times, I’ll be all right.  God is my strength,” she says.

Bethany does still stay in touch with AnnaSophia Robb, her big-screen alter ego.  She notes that the actress is “really busy right now, getting ready to graduate high school, and she has a new role on a TV show.”  For those who haven’t heard, Robb is playing the pre-“Sex and the City” Carrie Bradshaw in the CW’s fall-debuting “The Carrie Diaries,”  which is certainly a world away from “Soul Surfer.”

A funny thing happened to the “Buried Life” guys as they were ramping up the launch of their What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? book next week.  The quartet, who became famous via the MTV show that centered on their zany bucket list exploits, were getting ready for an appearance at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, and noticed that their Twitter feeds were getting numerous tweets with the hash mark #SaveRichard.  It was an effort by students to get the fired-up four to help find a kidney donor for fellow student Richard Bland.   And so they are. 

With “Buried Life” Twitter attention,  #SaveRichard was soon the top trending topic in Atlanta, then became No. 1 in Georgia,  and a matter of hours later, landed at No. 3 worldwide, according to group leader Ben Nemtin.  The next day, the guys were on hand at a rally to support the ailing student at Kennesaw State’s common area, along with press.  Also, “We posted a You Tube page,” Nemtin adds.  If massive attention can bring Richard the help he needs, he certainly will get it.

As fans are well aware, good deed doing is standard procedure for the “Buried Life” boys – along with such shenanigans as crashing the Iowa State Fair Parade, trying to steal a lock of Robert Pattinson’s hair, and getting to play basketball with President Obama (yes they did).  Now they’re massing their vast Twitter and Facebook forces to help them get their new, captivating tome high onto the Best Seller lists so as to fulfill the “Write a Best Seller” item on their famous list. 

It is a worthy book.  A collection of followers’ shared “Buried Life” goals and dreams, What Do You Want to Do Before You Die is touching and funny.  “I have so many favorites – the girl who wants to be the first woman president, the guy who wants to be the best father to his future children,” says Nemtin.   It’s full of inspiring quotes and eye-catching images as well.  And it has tens of thousands of user reviews on book sellers’ sites already, another testimony to the power of their following.              

So, what of the purported new, improved version of the “Buried Life” series they’ve been prepping?  “It’s coming along really well.  We’ve been in the editing bay, putting it together.  I can’t talk about details,” says Nemtin, “but we’re finally on the home stretch.”

 ”Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” designer Paul DiMeo is philosphical about the ending of the two-time Emmy-winning reality show this week.  “I certainly think that moving to Friday night gave us an indication of what was coming,” he says of their cancellation after nine years.  “Trying to have some type of TV savvy and realizing that all good things come to an end, I think we were pretty prepared.”

 The show winds with a two-hour special finale episode tonight, with the team in tornado-devastated Joplin, Missouri, working with 21 builders to raise seven houses in seven days.  “If it has to end, so be it, but I’m just grateful this is the way we’re going to go out,” DiMeo says.  “I’m honored to be a small part of this show.  There are people I’m going to keep in touch with the rest of my life.” 

He won’t be watching tonight.  He never watches the show.  “Why would I?  It’s an abridged version of what I lived through.  It would just make me angry to know all the things that didn’t get on the air.  We used to shoot 600 hours of video for 43 minutes of television.”

Looking back, he notes, “There are things about what we’ve done over the last nine years that are iconic: ‘Move that bus,’ hitting all 50 states, having the First Lady be part of our efforts.”  His personal list of stand-out memories includes LeAnn Rimes singing “Amazing Grace” on the show, accompanying Kermit the Frog on guitar and piano, interacting with firefighters and the military — and innumerable off-camera moments.  Such as: “There was a little boy, six or seven years old, they knew only had a couple more years to live, who wanted to help out.  We’re not allowed to have kids on the [construction] set, but at that point I said, [bleep] that,’ and had him put up a little piece of trim.  If you can do something like that, it’s a good day.”

Such days are not over for DiMeo and the rest of the team led by Ty Pennington.  They’ll be shooting an episode next week in Knoxville, TN, in fact, for airing late in the year.  There may be more specials.  And DiMeo points out that even though the cameras may be off, volunteerism continues.  “Joplin is rebuilding.  Whether or not we were there, the people would be stepping up.  Habitat for Humanity came in and built 17 homes right after we left,”  he points out.  And he expects to be involved some kind of way.

Holly Robinson Peete back on daytime TV today with Nate Berkus

Holly Robinson Peete is glad to be back on daytime TV — even if it is just for one day — as she’s guest cohosting on “The Nate Berkus Show” today (11/14).  “If they’ll have me I will definitely return.  Nate is just such a cool guy, the funnest friend to have,” she says.

It wasn’t so long ago, of course, that Holly was a daytime regular, as part of the team on “The Talk” before her surprise axing from that show.  As followers of Holly’s know, she’s rebounded with a new recurring role on “Mike & Molly.”

“Just when you think you’ve kind of figured this stuff out, something happens and you realize you’re still learning things you thought you already knew,” points out the actress, who is also remembered for coming in a close second to Bret Michaels on “Celebrity Apprentice.”

“My kids are like, ‘If you did your job and did everything you’re supposed to do, don’t you get to keep your job?’  They saw me working nights, preparing for the show.  They saw my total dedication,” relates the mother of four.  “This is a great life lesson about picking yourself up.”

There are also fans watching, she’s aware.  “It’s a total bigger picture.  There are lots of people losing their jobs through no fault of their own these days, and it’s tough.  It gets harder and harder to be patient, to say something better might happen, when you’re having to deal with the day-to-day realities of life.  That’s when your resolve has to get even steelier, if that’s a word.  I’m still hustling and grinding trying to figure out the best thing to do next.  I learned to do live daytime TV and that I’m pretty good at it.”

Holly says she learned resilience and perseverance from watching her own mother.  “We could start when she gets divorced and has no money, basically, $500, and is on her own — and she makes a trip from Philadelphia to Malibu of all places, in a beat-up Volvo.  She was like the black ‘Alice,’ this mom driving across the country, thinking she could break ceilings as a talent manager when she had all the chips stacked against her and knew, like, one and a half people in L.A.”

Holly was nine years old at the time, and saw her mother — well-known Hollywood dealmaker Dolores Robinson — find her way into the business and build a client roster including the likes of LeVar Burton and Michael Clarke Duncan.  She recalls: “I saw her get knocked down, but I always saw her get back up, and rebound in ways that she could say, ‘Thank God that happened.’  I didn’ t know I was learning lessons as a child, but I was.”

Holly — a.k.a. the wife of former pro quarterback Rodney Peete — tells us that she and Nate will be doing a football challenge on the show, and there’ll also be a bedroom makeover at the home of a family with an autistic child.  Holly’s No. 1 mission is helping kids with autism.  Son Rodney Jr., has the condition.

Ernest Borgnine Hallmark Channel photo

Ernest Borgnine just wapped his starring role in the feature “The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez” and he has a four-hour television movie event coming up Saturday night (11/5) with the Hallmark Channel’s “Love’s Christmas Journey.”  Not bad for 94 years old. 

 ”I feel great.  I’m going to be 95 in January,” he lets us know. As for special birthday plans?  “The family hasn’t figured it out yet.  All I know is, it’s probably going to cost me money,” quips the Oscar winner, laughing.   

Borgnine had to mine his talent for writer-director Elia Petridis “Vicente Fernandez” dramedy, which has him as an old man bitterly disappointed that he never became famous — who suddenly finds himself the center of attention among the Latino workers in his nursing home when they learn of an incident in his past.  “I doubted very much if I could pull off something like this,” he admits.  “Carrying a picture is a whole lot different than just being in a picture.  You have to think ahead to where things are going at all times.  But this young man was so enthusiastic and confident, it made me feel confident.  He said, ‘No one else in the world can do this.  You’re brilliant.’  He was just a dream to work with.  I learned so much.  I can’t say enough,” he says of Petridis. 

Meanwhile, there’s “Love’s Christmas Journey,” the latest in the Hallmark Channel’s enormously popular “Love Comes Softly” movie series of 1800′s prairie family romance tales.  With JoBeth Williams, Charles Shaughnessy and Sean Astin also in the cast, the story has Borgnine as a mystery man named Nicholas who gets the town talking.  “I had a ball with it.  It turned out to be just fun.  When they said, ‘There’s going to be four hours,’ I said, ‘Are you going to show it all at once?’  They said, ‘All at once.’  So you’d better get a lot of popcorn and settle in.” 

Borgnine is also fronting a Turner Classic Movies cruise coming up Dec. 2 — and he’s hoping “Vicente Fernandez” will be ready to show.  Where does he get all his energy?  What’s his secret at almost 95?

“My secret is: keep laughing.  That’s the idea,” Borgnine replies.  “If you can keep laughing and keep smiling, one way or another, by golly, you’re bound to find other people around you laughing, too.  I’ve had my times when I just felt terrible, just awful, you know?   But hey, there’s always something that comes along that makes you feel good.  That’s what matters, really — it’s how you approach life.  You can be like the people who go around with a cloud over their heads for the rest of your days and it’s terrible.  Or you can wake up in the morning and say, ‘Hey, man!  I’m alive and God has had a good look at me and blessed me.’”

Patsy and Julian Myers

Here would be a reality show worth seeing: the remarkable world of 93-year-old athlete Julian Myers.  The Marina del Rey PR man won 11 medals (more than anyone else) at this month’s Huntsman World Senior track meet  in St. George, Utah – including First Place in the 3,000 meters and 1,500 meters, and second or third place finishes in the running long jump, standing long jump, triple jump, discus, javelin, shot put and 200, 400 and 800 meters.  

Being a Hollywood publicist, he didn’t waste the opportunity to wear a t-shirt touting a film project –  “Hopper’s Nighthawks: 90 Minutes and Lives” that he is co-producing with Loyola Marymount Cinema and Television writer Arlene Clendenin, about the story behind the story of the world-famous Nighthawks painting. 

In the wake of Centenarian runner Fauja Singh’s completion of a full marathon the other day, it’s worth noting that Myers has not only completed dozens of marathons, he ran 90 miles to celebrate his 90^th birthday.   There isn’t a TV camera crew following him around, however.   At least, not yet.

Dr. Paul Dougherty, Dennis Miller

In what had to be a first, funnyman T.J. Miller wrote a tribute song to his opthamologist, Dr. Paul Dougherty, on his recently-released Comedy Central album.  “I was actually pleasantly shocked.  He texted me about it, and sent me a copy.  I did his eyes a couple of years ago,” the medico tells us.  “It’s fantastic.” 

But that is not the end of the number, it turns out.  Now,  Miller “is planning to do a video to go along with the song.  We’re trying to find the right time to make that happen,” says the good doctor.

T.J. Miller

Miller was inspired by more than Dr. Dougherty’s superlative lasik surgery.  The eye doctor-to-the-stars (Leighton Meester, Leeza Gibbons, Dennis Miller, etc.) is also a practitioner of extreme pro bono medical services.  When he’s not ministering to the wealthy and the famed, chances are he is working with the poorest of the poor, whether in a Palestinian refugee camp, or a local Santa Monica homeless shelter.  He has also performed surgery on patients from the Warrior Transition facility at Fort Hood in Texas — soldiers “who’ve gone through trauma, been severely injured.”

He explains, “I’ve been doing this philanthropic stuff for awhile.  For me, the reason was, between six and seven years ago, I lost my son.  That put things into perspective about why I’m on this earth.”  (His child went into cardiac arrest while fighting the flu.)  Dr. Dougherty, who has a book called “See for Yourself” on the way, plans to expand his mission, which he’s calling the World Vision Project.  No wonder Miller is singing his praises.