and her crusade against women's cardiac disease. this woman has heart. >> larry: the legendary barbra streisand for the hour is next on "larry king live." >> larry: we are delighted to be at the home of the incredible, which is the only word to describe her, barbra streisand, the oscar, grammy, tony and emmy winning entertainer, singer, actress, and activist. she sold more than 71 million albums. her latest, "love is the answer" just nominated for a grammy. became a best-selling author with her debut book, "my passion for design." we are in the red room in the house that is the subject of that. this is more than a house. it's a barn. a main house. a grandma's house. a chicken coop. is this the house of your dreams? >> yeah, i would say so. coming from an apartment in williamsburg, brooklyn. and then another apartment that was a railroad flat when i was 19 years old. so yeah, this is the house of my dreams, yeah. the houses of my dreams. >> larry: was it as tough to put together as it appears? >> well, actually, this main house i put together in three days. because -- that's why i love this house so much. because it was basically built. all i had to do was decorate it. and i did it in three days. because when you love things, when you love your collection of things, like a four poster bed or whatever it is, you know, it fits. it fits most everywhere. so i was able to take things from my house that i sold in town and storage and fill it up and it felt like i lived here for years after three days. >> larry: are you a designer by nature? >> yeah, i think so. i think so. >> larry: do you think if you didn't have all this talent, you'd have been a designer? >> probably, yeah. i was once going to be a hat designer when i was young, when i made rounds as an actress and couldn't get any work. >> larry: why do you like it so much? >> designing? >> larry: yeah. >> well, composition and graphics and order, symmetry, appeal to me. they satisfy my mind. my eyes. my heart. i don't know. maybe it's because my mother, you know, we lived with slip covers out of plastic. >> larry: i know the bit. >> you know the bit? with the newspapers on the floor. >> larry: that's right, don't sit there. >> with the lamp shades covered with the plastic? it never appealed to me. i always thought it was so awful that i guess in rebellion for that, i don't know how i quite developed this sense of what seem to be beautiful to me. >> larry: why did you decide to do a book about it? >> well, i was going to direct a movie and it fell through. and i guess i needed my creative process to work, and so i decided to work on a book about it. because i had taken about 57,000 pictures of the house in process. >> larry: they're all your pictures in this book? >> not all. i'd say three-quarters of the book are my pictures. so i was documenting the process. and then when things are beautiful to me i like to capture them. on film. and so my rose garden or, you know, a particular arch. the stonework. whatever it is. woodwork. i just had to take the pictures. and then i thought, well, i'm halfway there practically. so this took two years, this book. >> larry: it shows it. it's a great book. >> really? >> larry: what do you want the reader to get? >> hmm, well, that it's not so easy to build. it's a difficult process. i know a lot of people love it. and they say -- they go away actually and the builder builds it and they love it. you know, for me, i guess i have such particular sense of detail of things that should be as i want them to look and so i had to be there. i had to -- i had to draw. >> larry: think you could have been an architect, too? >> well, if i went to architect school. >> larry: -- actually -- >> yeah, i love architecture, especially around the turn of the century, when so many great architects were working at the same time. >> larry: yeah. >> like, for instance, greene and greene, who worked in california, and had such an inimitable sense of identity. how they saw things. the construction. the pegs. the roundness. the appreciation of japanese and chinese architecture. >> larry: they wanted me to ask you about a tiffany lamp story. what's the tiffany lamp story? >> oh, oh, oh. just because in the book there's a page of talking about my compulsion to -- as a collector, you know, i had to have -- had to find -- because part of the fun is the search. for these things. so tiffany had made the most beautiful base out of large red turtleback glass. and mosaics. the colors of the rainbow. and this beautiful peony shade. when i was having an auction of all my art nouveau things, i put this lamp up for sale with many others. and i always regretted it. as i say in the book, i made a mistake. i should have given it to a museum. a, so that people could enjoy it. and that i could come visit it. and so i was very disheartened about it. and so i decided -- i decided to buy it back and give it to the museum. which is what i did. and, of course i had to pay more than double to buy it back. >> larry: that is so you. >> but now it will be there for everyone to see, including me. >> larry: it is a brilliant book. it's appropriately titled, "my passion for design." lots of talk about -- on with us on our next to last "larry king live." >> i'm thrilled to be there with you. >> larry: barbra has given us an incredible look inside this house. watch. >> this section of the house is done in the arts and crafts style. also from the turn of the century. a macintosh hallway leads into a library inspired by the brilliant architects greene and greene. the furniture is covered in burgundy velvet. the color of a rich merlot. the lamps are by tiffany. the stained glass door was inspired by the gamble house. it leads to a tiny octagonal bedroom like on a boat. i was lucky to find an old burgundy sink for this vanity, based on an inlaid sideboard by green and green. noce ts as oho, of nfl training camp to put our 24-hour frequent heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. [ diehl ] people think we're indestructible, but if you're out there and you're feeling burning it's gonna affect the way that you play. prilosec otc is the one thing i can count on to block my heartburn. when i take it in the morning i'm ready to go for the rest of the day [ male announcer ] prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn! buy two 42-count boxes of prilosec otc. get $25 back. i've always loved barns. ever since i can remember. they feel so american to me. and of course barns have to have chickens. mine happen to lay green eggs. >> larry: we're back with barbra streisand. remembering one of the great weeks we had in the history, when she was on in the same week as the middle east leaders. we've had some interesting times with you, barbra, over the years. there are photos in the book, you point out mistakes in the house. it's a very honest book. i want to read something from the book about how a contractor got mad at you for make him change some beams. it says a lot about you. page 108, if you want to read with me, folks. difficult. i think it's a very misogynist attitude because when a man does this kind of thing, people say, man, he's precise, he cares. he made them change it to get it right. as i said in a speech for women in film in 1992, a man is commanding, a woman is demanding. a man it forceful, a woman is pushy. a man is a perfectionist, a woman is a pain in the ass. has that changed? >> no, not at all. no, not at all. >> larry: do you -- so therefore, when you want something done right, as opposed to a man wanting something done right, it's two different things? >> i think so. we've come a long way. we're not equal yet. >> larry: so, does that annoy you? >> well, it's funny and sad at the same time. you know? it's odd and -- yeah, i guess it does annoy me. yeah. >> larry: because you must have had it all your professional life, right, in anything? >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: when you directed a film? >> right. >> larry: there are male directors who are tough. when you were tough, it must have been -- who was she to be tough? >> who says i was tough? >> larry: i'm guessing you were tough. >> no, as a matter of fact, one of my prized possessions is the cast of "yentl" actually wrote a letter to the press that no one would print, and all of them signed it, and it was about how quietly i spoke on the set and that i smiled or -- you know, i was very friendly, of course, with the crew. i needed them desperately to be part of the dream of the film. and care, you know? so it is odd, you know, what is tough? because you say, you know, the light should move a little to the left? if a man says that that's fine. i guess it's just we're still differentiated, you know. we are still different. in a way, i'm glad hillary clinton wasn't the first woman president, because with this economic crisis, they would have probably blamed her gender. rather than the eight years proceeding, you know? >> larry: you're probably right. whoever is in will be blamed. as the first black has been blamed, has he not? we'll get to this a little later. are you also, therefore, a control freak? >> that i am. yeah, of course. but as i say in the book -- i tell a story about my friend. my good friend, ronnie myers. architect. and everybody was so admiring of him coming into the house and saying, the wall is an eighth of an inch off and it won't work. and you have to replaster the wall. and everybody thinks, well, that's the mark of a great architect. but in a sense, yeah, like one contractor that i was trying to hire said, go away and i'll build the house. i said, what, are you nuts? you know? no. i had to -- i had to be there to make sure things were precise. >> larry: but architects more than any other profession are the most controlling of figures, are they not? i they so. i'm sure of that. it's their baby. >> it depends. no, no, no -- well, no, this was different. because, you know, maybe if an architect -- as a matter of fact, i had once asked quothme to once work with me on another house, something i wanted to build, like a southern plantation with spanish moss coming down and, you know, from the trees. but he said no, you have the vision. it's too strong in your head. there's nothing for me. i want it to be my creation, not yours. but that's what's so hard. you want a great builder. you want expediters to carry out your vision. which i can do when i'm directing a film. then it's perfectly fine. because everyone respects the director. especially in england, by the way. when i was doing "yentl," because they had a queen and a woman prime minister. so it was no big deal i was a woman director. you see? >> larry: got it. barbra streisand's our guest. plantation with spanish moss coming down and, you know, from the trees. but he said no, you have the vision. it's too strong in your head. there's nothing for me. i want it to be my creation, not yours. but that's what's so hard. you want a great builder. you want expediters to carry out your vision. which i can do when i'm directing a film. then it's perfectly fine. because everyone respects the director. especially in england, by the way. when i was doing "yentl," because they had a queen and a woman prime minister. so it was no big deal i was a woman director. you see? >> larry: got it. barbra streisand's our guest. what an honor to have her with us. double honor to be in her home. we'll be right back. attention medicare and insurance beneficiaries. do health issues limit your mobility? is it difficult to get to the bathroom on your own? do you feel like a bother to others due to your lack of mobility? have you fallen in the past 12 months? if you answered yes to any of these questions, you may qualify for a new power chair at little to no cost to you. hi i'm doug harrison. if you're living with limited mobility, call the scooter store today. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. i promise, no other company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to ensure your total satisfaction. because making you mobile is our mission. we'll work with your doctor, medicare, and your private insurance. so don't wait any longer! call the scooter store today! call for your free mobility consultation and free lighted magnifier right now. >> larry: i said to barbra during the break that ian chose for the profession of the driver and force of the fountain head an architect, a man who would blow up his own building if it was not done the way he wanted it done. as an example -- >> it's a great story. because of the people trying to destroy him because the mediocre against the real visionary, you know? >> larry: architects, they're their own people. even the mediocre architect. >> well, yeah. i mean, the problem that i had with architects is that when they came in to check the process, sometimes they didn't see what was wrong. and there were many discrepancies that had to be changed. >> larry: let's touch some other areas. we'll get back to the book. it's a great book. christmas is here. what a gift. you're the top selling female performer in u.s. history. with all you've done, do you ever say, i'm a little jewish girl from williamsburg, wow? >> i always say it. >> larry: me too. >> yeah, i always find myself saying that. isn't that funny? you know, it's funny, we went to a -- kind of fund-raiser for president clinton's library. no, foundation i think it was, the other night. and i remember something my grandfather said about my father. that i read about. my father had died, you know, many years before. but he said, he was so smart, about my father, he was so smart, he could talk to presidents. and there i was, you know, talking to president clinton. and i thought of it. went through my mind, you know, that i'm talking to a president. i mean, it was -- i thought that's that little -- >> larry: two jews from brooklyn. what are we doing here? >> you never change, you know? >> larry: sure. so is it true you're out of brooklyn but brooklyn's not out of you? >> of course, it will always be. it will always be there, you know? a street sense. a pragmatism. >> larry: grow up there? >> oh, yeah, totally. people yelling ought of windows and sitting on the stoop singing, you know? the neighbors caring about you in some way. >> larry: you ever go back? >> i heard it's disappeared. >> larry: is it? the famous high school. >> i always gave money to it every year to support them. >> larry: because you and neil diamond went there at the same time, right? >> yeah, but we didn't know each other. i think he was a grade ahead of me. >> larry: your bio says you're an actress, singer, director, writer, composer, producer, photographer, activist -- >> who said that? >> larry: that's what your official bio -- >> my official bio. >> larry: is there any one thing of those that you identify with the most? your driver's license would say what? >> self-employed. >> larry: good. when you think of yourself -- i asked you this once. >> you did? >> larry: are you a singer who acts or an actress who sings? >> an actress who sings. yeah. i mean, i really didn't start to sing but out of, you know, a need for a job, to pay the rent. i wanted to be a classical actress. shakespeare. i couldn't get a job. so i entered a talent contest and got work as a singer. >> larry: did you always know you had that voice? >> a little bit. when i was a young girl, i kind of -- yeah, i was the kid on the block with a good voice. >> larry: you ever amazed at your own voice? you have an amazing voice. >> i'm critical. i'm self-critical. >> larry: of the way you sing? >> well, i just never paid that much attention to it. and after i was doing this house, you know, i was singing and i had to record. i was singing with a kind of hoarse voice because i was talking over buzz saws every day and dust and hammering, you know, for five, six years. so -- >> larry: i tell you a compliment a catholic priest told me once. you want to hear best record of "silent night," streisand's record of "silent night." >> wow. that is lovely. because last night we were at a party. we were all singing. i said to david foster. i said -- because he played some beautiful chord. i said, i remember beautiful chords that peter mass had written for the arrangement of "silent night" in the middle of central park. on a hot summer night. >> larry: everyone should hear that recording. >> it's on "the happening at central park" album i think. an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. >> larry: so many things to talk about with barbra streisand. this historic week personally for me. going to tour again? >> not sure. part of me wants to go to places i've never been. that's where i'd go, you know? around the world. kind of a good excuse -- >> larry: vegas again? >> vegas? >> larry: vegas. >> i never say never but i'm pretty sure i wouldn't. >> larry: are you still very self-critical about your singing? you've told me in the past you've always wondered, did i get it? >> i'm less perfectionistic about that. >> larry: why? >> i don't know. because it's human. in other words, as a person gets older, their vocal chords get older. i can't expect the same sound all the time. but it is fun. you know, the -- you said before i was up for a grammy this year for "love is the answer." do you know, i love numerology because when i got my last grammy, it was 24 years ago. i was born on the 24th. and i said that -- i had my son when i was 24. and my lucky number was 24. and the day that the grammys were on, 24 years ago, i really didn't think i would win against madonna, tina turner, cyndi lauper and there was another person. i didn't think i'd win. except for the fact that it was february 24th. the day of those grammys. and i won. for the broadway album. and i said in that speech, you know, who knows, maybe 24 years from now, i'll be up for another grammy. and here it is, 24 years later. isn't that funny? >> larry: that's fu