captioning sponsored by cbs and johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations. >> osgood: good morning. i'm charles osgood and this is sunday morning. the holidays are over. the new year is well underway. it's time to take a look at where america stands. they don't standstill. that's for sure. we believe our country's creativity and innovation will keep us on the cutting edge. but in the world that isn't standing still either, is america's creativity keeping pace? is that is the question susan spencer will be addressing in our sunday morning cover story. >> reporter: so where does america stand? this month cbs news is taking stock, both of where we stand now and where we could stand in the future. for our part, sunday morning is going for a full culture shock, taking america's temperature in the arts, books, movies, all things creative which brings us to this morning's status report on american creativity. >> you've seen that great industrial revolution where people are inventing the telephone, the telegraph, the light bulb and everything else. you've seen the push that came because of the internet and the digital revolution. and now we're looking for what's going to be the evening inof the driver of a new creativity. >> reporter: the creative mind and more. where america stands starting this sunday morning. >> osgood: creativity takes many forms. there's a school of art that you could call beetle mania. january blackstone this morning meets its star practitioner. >> i was phobic of insects growing up. the first half of my life i could not stay far enough away from bugs. >> reporter: now christopher marley's life is nothing but bugs. >> this is from a pool in new guinea. this is from the philippines. this is from peru. >> reporter: bugs he krans formed into art. learning to find the beauty in things that creep and crawl and bite. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: finding the inner truth about characters think play is what good actors do. stanley tucci has long since proven himself. once again he's on a roll as erin moriarty will show us. >> all right, all right, i'll give you the goods. >> reporter: actor stanley tucci has certainly played his share of bad guys, italian mobsters, nazis, and did we mention italian mobsters? now he's playing a serial killer. >> i didn't want to do it. >> reporter: why not? >> i don't like to watch movies about a serial killer. >> reporter: but he took the part and it's paid off with a golden globe nomination. actor stanley tucci, later on sunday morning. >> osgood: the first rock star to become an american idol died in 1977. in many ways he keeps going strong. elvis presley would have turned 75 years old the day before yesterday, had he lived. imagine! this morning, jeff green field remembers. >> reporter: for a young photographer it seemed like just another job. take some publicity shots of a 21-year-old singer. instead, it became the chance of a lifetime. to record some of the most private moments of one of the most compelling public figures of his time. >> she says to him sticking out her tongue a little bit, elvis, i'll bet you can't kiss me. she sticks out her tongue. so elvis says, i'll bet you i can. >> reporter: later on sunday morning, capturing elvis as he became king. >> osgood: we'll also give a listen to four singers of today. the manhattan transfer. the kitchen ware guru of chuck williams. and ponder the future of the printed word and more. but first the headlines for this sunday morning, the on 10th of january, 2010. the 6.5 magnitude earthquake rattled northern california yesterday afternoon. the quake which was centered off the coast near eureka triggered widespread power outages in the county. only minor damage and injuries have been reported. funeral services were held yesterday for three of the victims of a suicide attack on a c.i.a. base in afghanistan. services for harold brown were held in massachusetts, the security contractor in washington state and in ohio for scott robertson. president obama says he has accepted senator harry reid's apology for remarks the majority leader made about him. in a new book from authors mark halpern and john hilman reed is quoted as saying, quote, obama was able to become the first african- american president because he's light-skinned and, quote, has no negro dialect. the authors are interviewed tonight on "60 minutes." the inventor of the gumby, that green pop culture artifact of the 1950s has died. animateor's creation made its way into toy shops and on to tv. he was 88 years old. last night tennessee's wild card game the cowboys dominated the eagles 34-14. it was the first play-off victory for the cowboys since 1996. earlier in the afc match-up rookie quarterback mark sanchez led the new york jets to a 24-14 win over the cincinatti bengals. play-off action continues later today when the baltimore rains tangle with the new england patriots here on cbs. in a later game the green bay packers will take on the arizona cardinals. today's weather. this will be another cold cold day in much of the country with temperatures topping out in the teens. in the week ahead that mass of arctic air finally moves on. while it will still be cold it won't be so cold. next, where america stands. >> what is it that you would really like today? >> osgsg,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: in these early days of 2010, we at cbs news are assessing where america stands. we're examining many of the problems of our time and looking at any number of creative solutions. but what about creativity itself? do we americans ever find that in short supply in our sunday morning cover story is reported now by susan spencer of "48 hours." >> reporter: a new idea, a new approach, a new technique, creative breakthroughs can come like a bolt of lightning. or in the whisper of a muse. or sadly not at all. many of us would welcome any sign of creative inspiration. >> creativity is the ability to give the world something it didn't know it was missing. >> reporter: like what? >> like the i-pod. you have tens of millions of people who carry around an i- pod. eight years ago i don't think they knew they were missing an i-pod. >> reporter: even without your i-pod, this author's views may be music to your ears. a former speech writer for vice president gore, he now writes about creativity and believes we all have at least some potential. >> you have it because you're a human being. >> reporter: everybody is creative. >> absolutely. it doesn't mean... when i say everybody is creative. it doesn't mean that everybody is a budding picasso or a budding edison or a... budding tony morrison but the human species is defined by its ability to create. >> reporter: and he thinks this country's got a pretty good track record of doing just that. >> what's happened in the last ten years that has changed the lives of people all over the world? the i-phone. twitter. started by a guy from nebraska. facebook. started by a guy from florida who went to harvard and dropped out. >> reporter: and not just because america is a rich country with more time to think and create. think also... he also credits what's been a nurturing environment. >> in this country failure is less stigma niced than in other countries. if i start a business and it fails, i don't shame my entire family. in fact, the bankruptcy code in this country affords me, quote, a fresh start. what the american experience offers when it comes to imagination is that we're a melting pot of so many different types of people. >> reporter: walter isaacson runs the aspen institute, a think tank in washington and has written biographies of two creative geniuses: albert einstein and benjamin franklin. >> you see at the founding of our republic you've seen that great industrial revolution where people were inventing the telephone, the telegraph, the light bulb and everything else, the phone owegraph. you've seen the push that came because of the internet and the digital revolution. now we're looking for what is going to be the engine or the driver of the new creativity. >> reporter: the challenge for the u.s. now, how to keep up that momentum. >> you can kind of feel it in our society that there's no new burst of innovation or imagination happening. >> reporter: is it an attitudinal thing? are we too greedy? >> i think one problem we've had is that people who are smart and creative and innovative as engineers went into financial engineering. they decided to go to wall street with the great derivatives and hedge fund. didn't really help our economy and i think may have hurt the economy. >> reporter: they were creative. >> they were very creative. when the fpk sector sucks up all of your creativity, i don't think you'll have the most creative society. >> reporter: is the creative spirit in america less than spirited these days? certainly not here at the m.i.t.-media lab in cambridge massachusetts where work is underway on more than 300 inventions, everything from stackable cars to socialable robots. in fact, e-books, car navigation systems, even the popular video game guitar hero sprang in part from research done right here. >> i think i am very fortunate to be in a place like the media lab where i mean we are brimming over with creativity. this is like the mecca, i think in many ways. >> reporter: cynthia brazil is in charge of personal robots research at the media lab. her creative vision, robots as helpers in the home. in 5 to 10 years. >> my name is mixy. i'm an mds robot. mds stands for mobile dexterous, social. >> reporter: the key she says is making them, well, as people like as possible. >> touch things or even pick them up. >> reporter: take this robot. >> i can communicate in many of the ways that people do. i can tell you that i'm sad. mad. confused. excited. or even bored. just by moving my face. but i hope you can see that i'm very happy to have met you. >> reporter: unbelievable. in terms of feeling like there's a connection, it's amazing. >> these social cues are really significant. >> reporter: nexy and all other media lab inventions began with what brazil calls the secret sauce of creativity. getting people in different fields to share ideas. >> not just about multiple sciences and multiple engineering. it's like you have designers and artists and musicians. we're all under the same roof. >> reporter: and if the key to working under the same roof is getting along then creative types may have a leg up. psychiatrists and creativity specialist dr. nancy anderson says creative people often have similar personalities. >> they're not just curious about what they do. they're curious about all kinds of things. they're adventuresome. they push the envelope. they are rebellion... rebellious. they tend to have a sense of humor. >> reporter: i want to meet one of these people some day. they sound terrific. >> this mr-scan looks like it's from a very healthy brain. >> reporter: and they have one more thing in common. the very structure of their brain. dr. anderson recently started studying. >> i've only done a smallish number but what i've found so far is that, yes, people who are highly creative do have different patterns of activity in their brain. much more highly developed capacity to make associations. >> reporter: americans seem to agree the country could use more creative minds. a cbs news poll found that about one in four thinks the education system needs it most. while another 26% points to health care and 28% to alternative energy. but to keep thinking big as a country may require a new attitude toward those really creative souls among us. >> the beauty of our founding generation and the founders of our country was this they loved science. nowadays when people are a little bit wary of science. they don't realize it's beautiful. they don't realize a mathematical equation is just the good lord's brush stroke of painting something in physical reality. >> we need to celebrate people, not people who try to get into balloons to go on reality television and not people who lose, you know, 300 pounds on a television show. we need to celebrate the inventor and the scientist and the creators of this country. >> reporter: so that when the lightning strikes or the muse whispers, someone will answer the call. >> i'm very happy to have met you. >> where america stands continues all this week on the "cbs evening news," the early show, and in the pages of usa today. >> osgood: ahead, double trouble. with osteo bi-flex i can walk again, i can swim again. osteo bi-flex with the exclusive ingredient 5-loxin... shown to improve joint comfort within 7 days. thank you, osteo bi-flex. maybe it's because their department store makeup is so expensive. simply ageless with olay regenerist serum costs less and it won't glob up in lines and wrinkles. you'll look amazing and happy too. simply ageless, from olay and easy breezy beautiful covergirl. not to let your immune system become a statistic. support your immune system with patented ester-c. ester-c provides up to 24 hours of immune support. ester-c. the better vitamin c. ester-c provides up to 24 hours of immune support. mmmmmm. mmmmmm. wow! you have got to be kidding me. 80 calories? 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( applause ) >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. january 10, 2000, ten years ago today, a day for popping flash bulbs and cyber dreams. that was the day america on-line chairman steve chase shared a stage with time warner chairman and dropped the dot-com bombshell. >> we're pleased to have all of you here with us today as we announce the merger to create the first global media and communications company of the internet century, a.o.l./time warner. >> welcome. you've got mail. >> osgood: the $350 billion deal joined a hot internet company to an old-school media conglomerate known for its magazines. movies and cable tv networks. >> there is a natural fit between these two companies. >> reporter: time warner's levine voiced full backing for the deal as did cnn founder and time warner vice chairman ted turner who held nothing back in subscribing his support. >> i did it with as much or more excitement and enthusiasm as i did on that night when i first made love some 42 years ago. it was that.... >> osgood: but not all business love affairs survive. the two corporate cultures did not mix well. in the dot-com shakeout that followed the merger a.o.l. subscription service lost its cache. >> it's very slow and expensive. >> a lot of people canceled the accounts. >> osgood: by the end of 2006, a.o.l. had lost 13 million subscribers from its peak. the letters a.o.l. have been stricken from the corporate name. steve case and gerald levine were both long gone. last year a.o.l. was spun off into a separate company with a rebooted logo. in a cnbc interview just this past week, levine offered its mea culpa. >> i'm solely responsible for it. i was the ceo. i was in charge. i'm sorry about the pain and suffering and loss that was caused. >> osgood: to his credit he spoke on camera. he didn't phone it in. or email it in either. >> osgood: coming up, meet the beetles. pretty. ( laughs ) there we go. ( phone rings, laughter ) ♪ ( phone rings ) victory starts now. with the special k challenge, you can lose up to 6 pounds... in 2 weeks. now with so many delicious ways to be victorious. lose up to 6 pounds in 2 weeks. join us at specialk.com. last year, my little guy got the flu... and it was bad. there's nothing more important than the ones you love, which is why now is the time to protect them and yourself. the h1n1 flu vaccine is available now at cvs/pharmacy and minuteclinic, the walk-in clinic inside select cvs/pharmacies. it's peak flu season, so don't risk it. get vaccinated for h1n1 flu today. to find a location near you, visit cvs.com, or call... caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix. protection that helps save lives. people with stomach ulcers or other conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, may affect how plavix works. tell your doctor all the medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. >> osgood: can a butterfly be art? you be the judge after watching this report from our john blackstone. >> this is probably the bulkyiest beetle in the world. they are quite dangerous well. >> reporter: where many of us see something that is ugly, even repulsive.... >> this is from south africa. >> reporter: christopher marley sees beauty and the raw material for art. >> this is an interesting species from japan that is very, very variable. they'll go from a deep blue to a deep green to this fuchsia color. >> reporter: he searches the world for beetles and butterflies. >> any time where i can get one genus of a butterfly that really has some wonderful diversity, it's just magic. >> reporter: he pays collectors living deep in tropical rain forests for sending him creatures colorful and strange. >> they come in almost every color of the rainbow. kind of a strange-looking little guy. >> reporter: and then in his studio in salem, oregon, he carefully turns them into framed works of art. >> i want to kind of juxtapose order and cleanliness and composition with the radical diversity of insects and their colors and their shapes and their patterns. >> reporter: marley's framed bugs sell for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars. >> they are real bugs. the colors are unenhanced. we don't mess with the colors at all. >> reporter: he does preserve the bugs to make sure they'll last pretty much for. >> spread it, pin it. dry it in the position it's to be remained in. it has to be sealed. it is good for the rest of eternity. it will never fall apart. did it does, we'll replace it. >> reporter: in their sealed frames they become bugs guaranteed not to bug you. >> the problem with insects is they're always surprising you and popping out where you don't expect them and being in places where you don't want them. i was phobic of insects growing up. the first half of my life i could not stay far enough away from bugs. >> reporter: working as a fashion model for a dozen years, marley traveled to a lot of exotic locations and came across a lot of exotic insects much to his distress. did you ever think what is it about bugs that bothered you? was it that sound of them skitering? >> you know, to me i think it's the legs. it's the legs that propel them. it's the legs that get stuck on you. it's the legs... the experienced i've had with bugs i mean you can't get them off you once they're on you. >> reporter: but gradually he developed an appreciation. >> i started noticing them as a design element. i just fell in love with them. it became a real passion to display them in a way that is structural and architectural and clean and anti-septic to it's approachable for people like me who were horrified of insects. >> what i want to do with this guy. >> reporter: now perhaps it's the insects that should fear him. he may admire them but you're killing a lot of bugs too. >> we are. absolutely. >> reporter: however, by paying local collectors marley says he's helping to protect fragile tropical eco-systems. >> the only way you can damage or adversely effect an insect habitation is destroying its host plant. we use a very few spence mens and that gives an economic incentive to people to preserving its habitat. they're making a living off the standing rain forest instead of having to develop it to make a living. >> reporter: the bugs don't have to die. he sells reproductions of his creations and the images now adorn products like calendars and mouse pads. a thick coffee table book mixes photographs of his work with a dose of science. >> these are all leaf mimics. this is a giant katydid. this comes out of papa new guinea. >> reporter: the world is rich with all kinds of things that inspire him. >> so we're incorporating exotic krystal formations and fossils and rough gem stones. i want to kind of have my fingers in the entire natural world if it's exotic, beautiful, strange and new, then it's fair game. >> reporter: it's also fair game to be proud of his creations but christopher marley would argue that the real beauty comes from another creator. >> i've kind of had this vision for a long time of what would god's living room look like? i would imagine that he would have these framed pieces of all these prototypes, everything immaculately portrayed and perfectly clean and beautiful. that's what i'm trying to create. i'm trying to create something that would look good in god's own living room. ♪ waiter, waiter percolateor ♪ >> osgood: next, making harmony with the manhattan transfer. ,,,,,,,,,,,, ♪ operator ♪ jesus on the line >> it's sunday morning on cbs and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: songs such as operator have made the manhattan transfer famous far beyond the new york city city from which the group took its name. this morning the group talks to our michelle miller for the record. ♪. >> reporter: in this age where it seems notoriety not necessarily talent brings celebrity, where the manhattan transfer just keeps on harmonizing. ♪ never ever say good bye > they've been performing their own special take on the american song book for 38 years and counting. >> people haven't stayed married as long as you all have been together. >> it's amazing, isn't it? ♪. >> reporter: the places they've been, the things they've done. they've played clubs and concert halls. they've done commercials. >> and the grammy award is given to.... >> reporter: they've won eight grammys. >> ...manhattan transfer. >> reporter: their first was for bird land which remains their most popular song. ♪ >> reporter: but whatever they do, wherever they do it, it's always with that signature sound. four-part harmony. precise. >> i sing the melody most of the time. that's tough. people think it's easy but it's not. >> reporter: tim, januaryice and alan have been around from the start. sheryl is the newby. she signed on in 1978. >> trying to stay in tune with the band and then my partner is falling me tune. if i go off we're in big trouble. >> reporter: why do you think manhattan transfer works as well as now as it did nearly 40 years ago. >> people see in us something that they wish there was more of in the world, which is harmony. no matter how technologically advanced the music business becomes, i think people will want to hear the sound of the human voice especially when it's in harmony. ♪ in a little while > they've harmonized with gospel. ♪ and all kinds of jazz including vocalese where they improvise to instruments like trombones and saxophones and add new lyrics. ♪ better get moving while the getting is good ♪ >> what you want to do is really emanate the emotion, the feeling that is there. ♪ you are my... > but what may be their favorite genre is do-wop, inner city rhythm and blues. tim grew up on it in the '50s. >> i started studying. i got it after a while. the more i got it, the larger it grew inside of me. you know, it just.... >> reporter: it just filled you up. >> yeah. you stay with it long enough, you get it because the soul, the dirt is in the music. it's there. >> reporter: the manhattan transfer nearly never made it at all. their big break came in 1974 when legendary atlantic records producer ahmet came to a club to have a listen. three years ago not long before his death, he recalled what happened next. >> i got them together after the show in a room. i said, what can i tell you? you've given me one of the biggest thrills i've had hearing a new group i've never heard before. >> reporter: they joined the greats in the atlantic record hall of fame. artists like ray charles, led zeppelin and the rolling stones and a reith a franklin. >> it's not a group about making hit records. this is a group about making great music. that's just wonderful about them. ♪ 1, 2, 3, operator >> reporter: the tune "operator" was their first atlantic hit. ♪ operator ♪ information >> reporter: tim says he knew the song had legs the day he first heard the friendly brothers version back at villanova university in philadelphia. ♪ operator >> when i played that record... i said, i just put it away. i said some day when i get out of school and some day i'm going to make this record, man, because this is a hit. i believed it. >> reporter: there have been some two dozen albums since. their latest is out this past september. still the group isn't exactly a household name. but there are plenty of true believers. ♪. >> i saw them twice in one week in the palladium. it was wonderful. ♪ >> great ears, how they can pick up those harmonys. >> you can't go wrong with people like this out there listening. makes it all worthwhile really. >> reporter: for transfer fans and for the transfer. how have you been able to maintain, remain relevant? >> we're the real deal. i mean we don't rely on our, you know, i surely don't rely on my glamor. >> reporter: you don't? >> no. we're obviously not chasing trends. that's pretty obvious. i mean we stick to what we've always been. ♪ >> reporter: for 38 years and counting. >> osgood: do books have a future in the digital age? the fine print just ahead. i had chronic muscle pain all over. and i was so tender to the touch-- but i didn't know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia. and then he recommended lyrica... fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. so now, i'm learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should not drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. could your pain be caused by fibromyalgia? ask your doctor about lyrica today. >> osgood: earlier this morning susan spencer mentioned the rise of the e- book. it's a gadget that has some people wondering about the status of the book-book. is it on the verge of going out of print? jeff glor has a status report on the future of the printed word. >> reporter: when johannes gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid 1400s, he built a system. movable type that works and worked very well with incremental advances for more than 500 years. >> sheet after sheet, the printed pages begin to pile up at one end of the press. >> reporter: the system still works but in this new decade, the book business is undergoing its biggest change since, well, forever. where do books stand in 2010. >> they're certainly at a crossroads. >> reporter: larry kirschbaum is a literacy agent and a former publishing house ceo. >> we are at the crossroads in terms of this new technology. >> reporter: that's because when you talk about books now, it's impossible not to talk about physical books. paper and bindings you can feel and see and smell versus electronic books, downloaded documents, digital ink, a whole new world of reading. >> if you handed gutenberg a kindle today, what would he think? >> i think he'd scratch his head. well especially the idea that there are thousands. i mean this guy sweated to get out, you know, a few bibles. what do you mean there's a database here of a million titles? what are you talking about. >> reporter: what we're talking about are these. increasingly more elegant instruments that store lie rathers of information in plastic cases thinner than a pencil. just look at the numbers. in 2009 there were about 2 billion physical books sold in the united states. sounds like a lot but that's down nearly 5% from 2008. in 2010, that number is expected to drop another 2%. but e-books? sales will go from about 150 million dollars last year to an estimated billion dollar business by 2012. as new products from tech companies like apple flood the market. >> did the transition to electronic books happen slower or faster than you thought it would? >> everything happens faster. there's nothing that happens slowly anymore. >> reporter: best selling author ken auletta is a media watcher and columnist for the new yorker. >> the speed is exponential. it just is stunning if you think about it. it took television over three decades to reach 50% of the american public. it took electricity 70 years. it took the internet ten years. it took face book five years to reach 350 million people. that's extraordinary. >> reporter: electronic books could up the ante even more. though not every author is on board, j.k.rowling writer of the harry potter series refuses to sell her books at e books over worries of piracy and wanting readers to experience physical books. still e-books have the potential to rewrite the publishing business model. you will might be surprised to learn that most books don't make publishers penny. as in the movie business they strike it big with big hits, the best sellers. now it's even tougher. with a.m. zone in particular serving up a wide range of e books at less than $10, a massive discount and other mainstream retailers offering select hard covers at less than $10 as well or a loss, everyone is scrambling to understand the new normal. >> amazon has changed the game. i mean there's no question. they have really brought the consumer into the game in a way that they never were involved before. >> reporter: it's not just e- books. it's books on the internet as well. more than 20 million of them. the stated goal of tech giant google. still in the middle of the monumental task of scanning and posting every single book ever written. >> are these guys as ambitious about books as they are about everything else? >> yes. >> reporter: that sure sounds noble. capturing and spreading information in a typically grand googleesque terms but the company has faced bitter copyright lawsuits along the way. >> with google book search they'll be collecting much more information. what happens to that information? who holds it? who can use it? can you sell it to advertising? is that.... >> reporter: i'm loath to say this as a book lover. given google's ambition, does anybody really want to read 20 million books? >> no, but you like to know you have access to them. >> reporter: great for google but maybe not so much for small bookstores. those quaint dusty nooks that, yes, still do exist in cities small and large. >> people want to come in feel appreciated, feel that they're doing something more than just buying something. >> reporter: this man has owned logos bookstore in new york city for nearly 20 years. >> they want good value. the good value is experiential. >> reporter: ten years ago there were about 4,000 independent bookstores in the u.s.; today, less than half that. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: a loss felt for sure. though as some chapters close, others begin. largely through digital delivery. not perfect yet, but given how easy it is to access information today, it's worth asking. has there ever been a better time to be a reader? >> no. content is still king in an odd sort of way. for 500 years publishers have done perfectly well with the same technology. they're going to do even better with this new technology. >> reporter: books aren't going away. >> they're not going away, no. they're definitely not going away. >> osgood: ahead, someone's in the,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, smarls the cream is from the signature cow creamer which you can pick up from the william sonoma along with as any cook will tell you a whole lot more. martha tirber... teichner introduces us to the williams behind the williams sonoma franchise. >> reporter: once upon a time before it had 263 stores, before it sent out 50 million catalogues a year, long before the williams sonoma name meant a $3 billion retail conglomerate whose stock is traded on the new york stock exchange, before most americans knew high-end cook wear like this even existed, in 1953, a man named chuck williams who lived in sonoma california and loved to cook took his first trip to france. so when you went to paris, you saw these and fell in love. >> yes. i saw them in paris and thought this is something we need in america. >> reporter: so he figured out how to import french kitchen ware never seen here before and opened a shop. it's something of a tourist attraction. this little shrine to foodee history. in the window of what's now a frame gallery. >> i have a couple books i wanted to show you. >> reporter: chuck williams is 94 now and still coming to work every day. he's a kind of senior ambassador for the san francisco-based lifestyle empire that bears his name. back in 1956 chuck williams was practically alone out there with just a few other food world pioneers like chefs james beard and later julia child teaching americans new ways of cooking. limited edition 90 years. you've seen those kitchen-aid mixers. did you get the first one? >> i got the first one. >> reporter: it was chuck williams who convinced the company to sell them to home cooks. you deserve the first one of these. >> yes. >> reporter: you earned it. >> i earned it. >> reporter: remember, there weren't cook ware shops everywhere then. before williams-sonoma, hardly anybody had ever heard of a whisk. >> only professional chefs. that's one that i found in england 30 years ago. >> reporter: williams-sonoma was a revelation to home cooks used to seeing grab tinny pots and pans piled up on tables in hardware stores. all of these pans, the handles stick out and go to the right. >> most people are right handed. so they pick it up and look at it. >> reporter: looking at his early life, nothing and everything seemed to prepare chuck williams to be one of the titans of the american food revolution. born in florida in 1915, he had a tough childhood, made tougher by the depression. by the time he was a teenager, he was on his own working his way through high school at a california date farm. he does remember enjoying learning to cook from his grandmother who owned a restaurant. during world war ii williams repaired warplanes in east africa and and i can't. in 1947 he settled in sonoma and taught himself to build houses before opening his shop a couple of blocks from the town square. you had your dog. >> i had my dog. we would come over here and watch the ducks. >> reporter: a belgian shepherd named bill. the dog went to work with williams even after he moved the shop to downtown san francisco in 1958. >> customers found that, you know, i had the dog. >> reporter: did they ever drop off their own dogs? >> yes. they dropped their own dogs for me to take care. their kids for me to take care of. >> reporter: the store became a destination. >> this is the first catalogue. >> reporter: prices have changed. oh, my lord. a copper sauce pan $6.35! >> you could probably add two zeros on to that now. >> reporter: by 1972 williams was sending out thousands of catalogues. he took on partners, borrowed money, opened more stores. and that's when things went very wrong. >> actually chuck wasn't running the company. his partners had hired a fellow to run the company. chuck was just kind of here. they pushed him off to the side. >> reporter: enter: oklahoma entrepreneur howard lester. in 1978, he bought the nearly bankrupt williams-sonoma. >> we're very fortunate that we were able to talk chuck into staying and being a partner here. >> reporter: lester ran the business. he let chuck williams do what he liked to do best: prepare the catalogues, write the cook books, and pick the merchandise. >> right from the beginning, i chose tools that really worked. >> reporter: something that's tricky doesn't get into the store. >> no. >> i think chuck understood not only the quality and the functionality and the design of the item, but he understood how to sell it in a very sophisticated way. >> two years ago you had our red onion comfey in your catalogue. >> reporter: the girl in the fig restaurant in sonoma gets its share of celebrities. >> so i bet you're hungry. >> reporter: but the owner, sandra bernstein is genuinely star struck when williams comes in for lunch. >> saint george cheese and a little.... >> thank you. doesn't that look good. >> he's adorable. but he is really an icon. he has just done so much for the food business and for home cooks and for everybody. >> reporter: that's a lot more than just selling people pots and pans. ( applause ) happy birthday to you ♪ >> reporter: on his 94th birthday in october, they made a big fuss over chuck williams at williams' sonoma headquarters. ♪ happy birthday to you and many more. >> thank you. >> kroft: he never married. he gives his money to culinary and medical charities. these people are really his family. this place is his home. >> if you love what you do, then the world will fall in love with you. well, i've been doing that for 94 years. (laughing). >> osgood: next, anyone? host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? host: does charlie daniels play a mean fiddle? ♪ fiddle music charlie: >> osgood: it happened this week. word of the passing of the man behind the ubiquitous collectibleable. we learned of the death last month at age 87 of the former candy company vice president who came up with the idea of putting decorative plastic heads on top of pez dispensers. it's a time to reflect, every candy fan says, and to honor the work of the packer of pez. back in the year 1955, it was his job the sales of pez mints to revive. he decided each spring-loaded package to top with a colorful head. on which candies would pop. from that idea, myriad pez heads would follow to be treasured long after the dispenser went hollow. many a figure of cartoon fame would soon grace the spot from where those little mints came. millions of people these tweet would crave. when they were gone it was the gadgets they'd save. here's to the character dispenser inventor. we trust there will not be a single dissenter. next, stanley tucci. >> all right, everyone. gird your loins. >> osgood: at home in any role. ♪ one for the money, two for the show ♪ >> osgood: and later elvis, still shaking things up. (announcer) we're in the energy business. but we're also in the showing-kids- new-worlds business. and the startup-capital- for-barbers business. and the this-won't- hurt-a-bit business. because we don't just work here. we live here. these are our families. and our neighbors. and by changing lives we're in more than the energy business we're in the human energy business. chevron. really soft, really smooth lips. my blistex new lip massage. the soft tip smoothes away rough spots, as emollients moisturize and protect. my lips feel amazing. discover bliss. discover blistex. that brighten, hydrate, smooth, even tone, reduce the look of lines and pores, and lock in moisture. 7-in-1 olay total effects. >> it's kind of a fantastic subtle kind of.... >> tanky. it was a tankyness. >> tankyness. >> yes. that's who i married. >> osgood: in julie and julia, stanley tucci seems right at home playing a good guy. although he's played a lot of bad guys too. not to butter him up so much but with feature parts in two big recent movies stanley tucci is on a roll. erin moriarty of "48 hours" now with a sunday profile. >> reporter: the best of times, the worst of times. charles dickens wrote those words. actor stanley tucci is living them. >> it's funny. >> reporter: a photo shoot for the italian men's fashion magazine. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: it capped off an amazing year. >> julia in front of her stove has the same fascination for me. >> reporter: tucci had starring roles in two major movies including one opposite meryl streep and a golden globe nomination for his role in the lovely bones. but this was also a year of terrible loss which will explain... which we'll explain later. first, a look at the lovely bones and the part that tucci almost turned down. >> mr. harvey. >> it was the hardest role i've ever done. >> mr. harvey. >> reporter: tucci plays gorge harvey, a non-december strip middle aged man who is in fact a cunning serial killer. >> i built it for the kids in the neighborhood. i thought they could use it as kind of a clubhouse. pretty neat. >> reporter: his victims are women cluck the precocious daughter of one of his neighbors. >> would you like a refreshment, suesy? >> i have to go. >> i don't want you to leave. >> i didn't want to do it. >> reporter: why not? >> i don't like to watch movies about serial killers. i was really reticent. i talked to my wife about it and her first reaction was no you can't do that. >> reporter: why not? >> same reason. then i realized there's a really beautiful story there in the script and in the book of course. i wanted to be a part of it. >> you're a seven girl, right. >> reporter: what made the role so challenging says tucci was that he had to create an unremarkable character, someone whose ability to blend in helped him get away with murder. >> are you married? >> i was, yeah. >> but you have kids? >> no, i wish. i wish. >> reporter: tucci had to physically transform himself adding a ponch and even bleaching his body hair. >> i changed the color of my eyes because i felt he should have blue eyes or greenish blue eyes. he had to look like sort of an ever man in america in 1973. that person didn't look like me. >> reporter: are you comforted a bit by the fact that a lot of people don't even realize it's snu. >> yes, that's welcome. i mean have said i had no idea it was you until the end of the movie. >> reporter: you were relieved. >> i'm relieved and i'm flattered. >> what is it that you really like to do? >> eat. >> reporter: once the movie wrapped, tucci found the perfect antidote to the menacing mr. harvey. the role of paul childs, the husband of famed chef julia child in the film julie and julia. >> julia, you are the butter to my bread and the breath to my life. i love you, darling girl. >> he was a renaissance man. he was madly in love with his wife. he spoke three different languages or something. he was extraordinary. >> reporter: it's not difficult for you to go from a serial killer to this renaissance man? >> that was easy. that was easy. i would say that he actually is closer to me than the other guy. >> reporter: the part gave him the chance to work once again with meryl streep. >> all right, everyone. gird your loins, the. >> reporter: the actor he met when he played the creative director in the hit the 2006 film the devil wears prada. >> who is that sad little person? >> reporter: do you sometimes pick a role simply because of the other actors in the film? >> without question. at a party merrill said to me a few years ago, do you want to play my husband in this movie? i said no. of course, yes, i would love to. merrill was the one who really said stanley has to do this because he's a great guy for the role. >> heil hitler. >> reporter: tucci's ability to be the right guy for the role has led to parts as varied as the nazi officer adolph ikeman. >> good evening, mr. and mrs. .... >> reporter: gossip columnist walter winchill. >> my gentle puck, come hither. >> reporter: and even puck in a midsummer night's dream. but it wasn't always that way. when tucci, who grew up in a suburb north of new york city began his career in the early 1980s, he was offered the same part over and over again. >> italian mobsters or the sort of bad guy. i mean if you were dark, you know, you had dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, when i had hair, that's what you were cast as. >> the question is what are you going to do to keep us happy? >> reporter: here he is as a mafia turn coat in crime story. >> what do you want to do? >> all right, all right, i'll give you the goods. you just lock me up where he can't get me. >> reporter: a mafia don in miami vice. >> i'll expect cash flow coming any way by the end of this day. okay. >> reporter: lucky luch chan owe in billy bath gate. and mobster frank niddy in the road to per digs. >> i suggest you drag yourself back. >> it was always assumed that italians were... there was never any explanation for why an italian did a bad thing in a movie. they were inately evil. >> reporter: which explains why in 1996 tucci co-wrote and co-directed big knife, a film that combined his love of art, food and his italian heritage. the story revolves around two brothers who run an italian restaurant in new jersey. one brother played by actor tony considers himself an artist in the kitchen. tucci's character, the younger brother, is concerned with keeping their restaurant afloat. >> what are you going to do? tell the customer what she can eat? this is what the customer asks for. make it. >> he wanted to play an italian american that is not often seen by american audiences ♪ it's a jungle out there > best known for his portrayal of the obsessive-compulsive detective aide ran monk, he has worked with tucci for over 20 years. >> he's a writer and a director, sort of a triple for him. and a hell of a cook. i just want to say that. >> david, david.... >> reporter: in 2006 it was his turn to offer tucci a role. >> look that sticker is peeling off. >> reporter: as a guest star in an episode of his show. >> why don't you fix that. >> why don't you. >> reporter: tucci plays an actor in the episode who becomes so obsessed with monk he becomes him. >> it's not that we losts.... >> that quarter is spent. >> well, i know. >> tucci walked away with an emmy for the role. it's been a mix of comedy and tragedy for tucci and not always on the screen. that brings us back to those worst of times. for many of his 25-year career, tucci's real leading lady has been his wife kate. when did she find out she was sick. >> four years ago. >> reporter: although kate tucci was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, they never gave up hope. >> we really believed that kate wasn't going to die. she was one of those people that wasn't going to die. >> reporter: but last april kate did die. tucci is now in the role of single dad to their three young children. is that still pretty tough even to talk about? >> you have to talk about it. you'd go crazy if you didn't talk about it. hard wouldn't be the word. i mean, it's still inconceiveable and probably always will be inconceiveable to me that she's not here or that i won't see her again. >> reporter: now he's taking jobs ha will allow him to stay close to home and family which is why he agreed to try something new and a little risky. this spring stanley tucci will be directing a play on broadway. "lend me a tenor." >> i don't do this just do make money. i don't do this just to have a certain level of fame. i do it because i want a challenge. i want to keep growing. i want to keep learning. i want to tell new stories. i want to find out something new about people and about myself. got the flu... and it was bad. there's nothing more important than the ones you love, which is why now is the time to protect them and yourself. the h1n1 flu vaccine is available now at cvs/pharmacy and minuteclinic, the walk-in clinic inside select cvs/pharmacies. it's peak flu season, so don't risk it. get vaccinated for h1n1 flu today. to find a location near you, visit cvs.com, or call... big nighttime breathing relief... introduces-- drum roll please-- new breathe right extra. the only strip with an extra spring-like band, it's 50% stronger for congested noses that need extra help in opening nasal passages... so you breathe even better. and now get two free samples... and experience a better night's sleep for yourself. go to breatheright.com to try new breathe right extra. there's a sizable piece of unfinished business left over from the old year. thoughts about that from howard kurtz of the "washington post." >> health care is one of the most important challenges of our age. this is the first time the country is close to passing sweeping health insurance reform in half a century. this year's debate also feels like it has gone on for half a century. does it all have to be so boring? >> health care reform cannot wait. it must not wait and it will not wait another year. >> and that was nearly a year ago. the house has been debating. the senate has been debating and the lawmakers seem to be speaking a different language. >> by amending existing law to shorten the lookback period for group health plans.... >> in january the democratic majority moved the s-chip reauthorization. >> they're in the donut hole under medicare. >> reporter: all that jargon, public option, letting states opt out, letting states popt in. public option with a trigger. kind of made me like full pulling the trigger or submitting to one of those death panels. i know there were no death panels. for some reason we spent weeks arguing about their non-existence anyway. >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: nancy pelosi got a health care bill through the house. you probably missed it because the vote happened late on a saturday night when most people are, well, enjoying themselves. the senate meanwhile oozed along at a pace of mow last he is. the senate is a club with 100 members each of whom has a nuclear weapon. they're always threatening to blow up the latest agreement or they'll keep talking which is called a filibuster. >> i'll tell you one thing the wild horses aren't going to drag me off those floor until those people have... hear everything i've got to say. >> reporter: except nobody actually filibusters anymore as is mr. smith goes to washington. they just threaten to talk all day and all night. >> chief executive officers at the seven leading insurance companies made a combined $118.6 million. >> the american people are asking us to stop this bill. and start over. they don't want a.... >> reporter: the democrats needed ever vote the legalized extortion, excuse me, parliamentary maneuvering paid off. marry land rue got millions in extra money and ben nelson got millions in extra money for nebraska. joe lieberman got the public option thrown out by promising to stop annoying everyone. on christmas eve mainly because they all wanted to rush home for the holidays, the democrats got the 60 votes they needed to pass the health care bill. but if you think our long national boredom is over, guess again. now we all get to watch the senators fight for this bill, all 2,074 page of it and the house members who have their own lengthy version. more jargon, more maneuvering, more breathless excitement. bring plenty of popcorn but hold the butter. remember, your health is at stake. >> osgood: commentary from howard kurtz. now to bob schieffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on face the nation. good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. well, why did the democratic leader in the senate say what he said about barack obama and race and where are we in the war on terror? we'll talk to democrat dianne feinstein, republican peter hoekstra about both of those things. >> osgood: thank you, bob schieffer. we'll be watching. ahead now on sunday morning ♪ since my baby left me >> rose: an elvis encore. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then... well... i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq. (announcer) pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or glaucoma. telling your doctor if you have heart disease... or before you reduce or stop taking pristiq. side effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. 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( blowing, shouting ) what now? we're cereal here! what? just cooling it down. - enough said. - gotcha. yeah, safety first. whoo hoo! watch the whole grain. try kellogg's frosted mini-wheats hot. just add warm milk and you've got a hot, new way... to keep your kids full and focused all morning. oops! dude, your eight layers are showing. mini-wheats hot. keeps 'em full, keeps 'em focused. ♪ love me tender ♪ love me sweet ♪ never let me go >> osgood: talk about an american idol. elvis presley was the most popular singer in the land years before the tv reality show. the day before yesterday millions of presley fans marked what would have been elvis's 75th birthday. here's one of them now. jeff greenfield. >> reporter: if we look back half a century and more, it is impossible to think of him as anything but an impossibly larger than life figure. dominating the cultural landscape. ♪ it's one for the money, two for the show ♪ three to get ready, now, go, cat, go, but don't you step on my blue suede shoes ♪ > he thrilled millions of young american girls and terrified millions of their parents. ♪ pretty women waiting out there ♪ > to the blander, safer figure from a dozen forgetable movies to the las vegas super star grown literally larger than life to the pop martyr, dead of excess at 42. to the figure who more than three decades after his death earns more than $50 million a year. >> elvis was laser focused on whatever he did. >> reporter: on st. patrick's day 1956, 26-year-old photographer alfred worthhammer walked into cbs studio 50 in new york to find a 21-year-old singer with no body guard, no entourage and apparently no concern about letting a photographer he had never met shadow him on stage and off. >> elvis felt that, yes, i'm going to become very famous one day. so he permitted to be documented when he was still a nobody. i was there at the crossing point. >> reporter: elvis had good reason to believe he would soon become famous. in the spring of 1956, rca, a major media power that had bought his recording contract from sun records, was about to launch the record that would become elvis presley's first number one hit. ♪ since my baby left me ♪ i found a new place to dwell ♪ ♪ it was down the end of the lonely street at heart break hotel ♪ >> reporter: for the next four months worthhammer reported some 2,000 moments in elvis's life, moments that are featured in an exhibit running for the next three months at los angeles's grammy museum. and as alfred worthhammer was documenting with his camera, america was starting to learn that elvis was offering something more, much more, than music. >> he made the girls cry. anybody who can make the girls cry is to be watched. >> reporter: his looks were sculpted, sensual, dangerous. frankly sexual. america's parents might hope their daughters would be drawn to this idol, the college educated milk drinking pat boon. but that's not who was driving them into frenzy. not just because of how he looked but because of how he moved. >> elvis said i sing with my whole body. >> reporter: worthhammer's photos capture one effort by tv host steve allen to tame elvis's image ♪ you ain't nothing but a hound dog ♪ > when he had presley in a tuxedo sing "hound dog" to a hound dog. but they also document his powerful appeal. in his most public moments on stage and in his most private moments as in this back stage encounter. >> she says to him sticking out her tongue a little bit, elvis, i'll bet you can't kiss me. she sticks out her tongue. so elvis says, i'll bet you i can. and then he backed off and he came in for a perfect landing. >> reporter: they also capture elvis in his last moments as a private citizen with any expectation of privacy. he could in june of 1956 sit at a lunch counter in richmond, virginia, unnoticed. he could a month later hop off a train outside of memphis and make his way home alone without the need for protection from fans who would risk life and limb to be close to him. >> little richard came with a phrase and said elvis got what he wanted but he lost what he had. what he meant by that was he lost his privacy. >> reporter: by year's end such solitude would be unimaginable. so would the idea that at 21 elvis presley had already lived half his life. before another 21 years had passed he would be dead. >> 1, 2, 3, 4 for private presley. >> reporter: except for one more encounter he was part of a gaggle reporting elvis's induction into the army in 1958, alfred worthhammer never saw elvis again. indeed he discounts the half century between the taking of these pictures and their rediscovery by an art dealer. >> i think of my life as being born when i was 26 and now. the rest of it is a blank. it's like a big blur. ♪ i'm in love > for worthhammer, those months with elvis presley were the most intense of his life creating the most powerful of memories. when you look at his photographs, it's not hard to understand why. ♪ i'm all shook up you something about 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(announcer) for a free trial offer call 1-800-4-boniva or visit boniva.com by 2010, 30%... of the data stored on the world's computers will be medical images. the trouble is all of that information is trapped. x-rays aren't talking to... medical records aren't talking to... patient histories aren't talking to... insurance forms. we're trying to connect all that data... make it smart. we would see the patterns in your medical history... in the histories of entire populations. predict dangerous drug combinations. we could tailor cures... to your genetic code. put the focus back where it belongs, on the patient. that's what i'm working on. i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. >> osgood: we leave you this sunday morning awash in the warm waters off the island of beenair in the caribbean. >> osgood: i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then i'll see you on the radio. captioning sponsored by cbs and johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generati,,,,,,,,