reporting our cover story. >> reporter: another stageded appearance. >> i'm here today with my client sharon bialek. >> reporter: one mare sensational bombshell. >> he suddenly reached other and he put his hand on my leg. >> reporter: tireless champion of women's rights or shameless self-proceed poeter. >> i'll do whatever, whenever, however, to win. >> reporter: lawyer gloria allred-- love her or hate her-- ahead this sunday morning. >> osgood: silence is golden is a bit of folk wisdom that's at home in libraries and other quiet places but could it possibly apply to today's movies big and bombastic as so many of them have been lately. according to our movie director our lee cowan will be taking us to meet. >> reporter: it looks like a relic from the heyday of silent movies, but this film is as modern as they come. the current work of a french director who came to hollywood with a dream. >> nowadays we usually think talent is nothing. i think it's the opposite. talent is really something. >> reporter: why silence is golden, maybe even oscar gold ahead on sunday morning. >> osgood: from silence we'll turn to a high decibel sound that is positively red hot. we're speaking of a red hot band with millions of loyal fans around the world. red hot chili peppers, anyone? john blackstone will be serving them up. ♪ give it away now > it's ben almost 30 years since the red hot chili peppers exploded on to the l.a. punk scene. >> we were like an underground hollywood street urchin band. ♪ i don't ever want to be > since that time they've sold more than 60 million records. and with a new album out, the chili peppers are as excited as ever. >> i love hearing us on the radio, man. >> reporter: later on sunday morning. the red hot chili peppers bear all. >> osgood: from hot peppers to high spirits this morning. that's what comic dan akroyd never fails to provide in his tv performances. this morning he'll provide them to us and our colleague michelle miller. >> reporter: his name, his face and his unique sense of humor are familiar the world over. do people expect you to be fun? >> some people. people who don't know me, i guess. people who know me know what they're going to get. >> reporter: what you'll get these days is a taste of his latest venture. we'll lift the glass with dan akroyd. >> later on sunday morning. >> osgood: rita braver looks into the legacy of f.b.i. chief j. edgar hoover. chip reid goes kayaking with some wounded veterans. steve hartman has a tale of friends to the end. and more. but first the headlines for this sunday morning the 13th of november, 2011. eight republican presidential hopefuls took the stage in spartan burg south carolina last night for a foreign policy debate. sponsored by cbs news and the national journal. jan crawford has some highlights. >> reporter: the issues-- afghanistan, pakistan, iran-- were complex. the answers serious. on iran, former massachusetts governor mitt romney would consider military action. >> we will not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon snrment former house speaker newt gingrich agreed. >> you have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: there were sharp differences with president obama. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann. >> if i were president, i would be willing to use water boarding. i think it was very effective. it gained information for our country. ( applause ) >> reporter: there were no obvious stumbles not even from texas governor rick perry who joked about his brain freeze in the last debate. >> governor perry, you advocate the elimination of the department of energy. if you eliminate the department of energy.... >> glad you remembered it. (laughing) >> i've had some time to think about it, sir. >> me too. (laughing) >> reporter: this was a tense republican debate but it was the first to test which of these candidates could be most trusted as commander in chief to answer that 3:00 a.m. phone call. for sunday morning, i'm jan crawford in spartan burg, south carolina. >> osgood: after nearly two decades in power italy's prime minister has stepped aside. he resigned yesterday not long after parliament approved a plan to try to deal with its huge debt problems. evelyn lauder, the cosmetics executive who came up with the pin i can ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness has died in new york from complications of ovarian cancer. she was 75. tonight nasa resumes its manned space travel program... sort of. the american astronaut will hitch a ride as a passenger aboard a russian rocket. penn state yesterday played its first football game since the child sex abuse scandal broke. and the president of the university, the legendary football coach, joe paterno were fired. nittany lions lost to nebraska 17-14. our or men keteyian is in state college and has more for us later on sunday morning. now for today's weather. rainy around the great lakes and the rockies, sunny and mild elsewhere. the week to come will be both cooler and darker, courtesy of autumn's fast-fading sun. cooler and darker, courtesy of autumn's fast-fading sun. next, attorney gloria allred.,,, >> osgood: she's on the case, as anyone who has been following politics well knows. she is gloria allred, america's best known and perhaps most controversial women's rights attorney. as for the case, it involves an allegation of sexual harassment years ago on the part of herman cain, now a presidential canned date. our cover story is reported by erin moriarty of "48 hours." >> reporter: ready, action, gloria! >> i'm attorney gloria allred. i'm attorney gloria allred. >> reporter: there she was just this past week... again! a must-see event starring her newest client, and herself. >> thank you for coming today. i'm attorney gloria allred. i'm here today with my client sharon bialek. >> reporter: republican presidential hopeful herman cain says he never heard of the client. >> i don't even know who this woman is. >> reporter: but he sure knows the lawyer. >> have you considered hiring gloria allred at your attorney. >> i can't think of anything that i would hire her to do, okay. >> reporter: plenty of women wouldn't agree. earlier this year, she was hired by the exotic dancer who received sex text messages from former congressman anthony weaner. >> all right. my package and i are not going to beg. >> the last time i spoke to him.... >> reporter: and she was with the women who claimed to be tiger woods' mistresses. and a client who complained that her womanly figure drew too many stares in the office. >> i see myself as a strong advocate and a person who works to win justice for women. >> reporter: sometimes avenging wrongs. >> could be. i'm pretty tough. >> i disagree with the learned counsel here. >> as she usually does. >> reporter: love gloria allred or hate her. >> meg witman is exposed. >> reporter: just don't ignore. >> nicky was meg witman's housekeeper for nine years. >> reporter: last year after she took the case of an undocumented worker accusing california gubernatorial candidate meg whitman of cheating her out of housekeeper wages.... >> she says i cannot help you. >> reporter: witman's approval ratings plummeted and ultimately whitman lost the election. allred's "in your face" style may not win her many fans with politicians or fill-and-ering husbands. >> but i'll venture to say more people know her name than who the vice president is. >> reporter: maybe so. but gloria allred's familiarity has bred plenty of contempt. >> every time some high-proceed fail case breaks out, you jump on television and act like you're god. >> reporter: and made her a frequent target of fun on late night television. >> gloria allred is representing the undocumented alien. how about we let the maid stay and take gloria allred. >> if nobody knew who she was, there wouldn't be a joke. >> reporter: nathan has been allred's law partner in los angeles for more than 30 years. >> gloria always stands up for what she believes. she doesn't take an opinion poll. she says what she thinks and lets the chips fall where they may. she takes the heat and doesn't shy away from it. >> reporter: she's also a bit of a scold. >> you are a disgrace charlie. >> reporter: publicly cast gating charlie sheen for his treatment of women. >> his sense of arrogance and entitlement is disgusting. >> reporter: even though she wasn't involved in any case against him. >> i know how the system works so i know that it can work better. but it does take advocacy. >> reporter: don't you sometimes just want to say let someone else do it. why does it always have to be you? >> it doesn't always have to be me. we want millions of someone else's to do it but if i know what needs to be done and there's no one else doing it, then i need to do it. >> reporter: was she different than any other mother you ever knew? >> yes. >> reporter: lisa bloom, a lawyer herself, is gloria allred's only child. and one of her earliest cases. when lisa was sent home in fifth grade for wearing pants to a school square dance.... >> she marched into school the next day and said, "that was discrimination. that was wrong." guess what? they allowed her to square dance ever after. some moms would have said don't worry about it, honey. make me cup cakes. my mom got in there and changed the policy not just for me but for other girls. >> reporter: at age 7 lisa was already joining her mom at public demonstrations. >> i remember somebody saying to me, how could you take that little girl on the picket line? and i said, well, actually i'm kind of embarrassed that it took me so long to have her come on to a picket line. >> reporter: gloria allred grew up in philadelphia, planning to be a teacher. she got married at 19 when she was a sophomore in college, had her daughter a year later, and was divorced before she graduated. >> as my father would have said. i went through the college of hard knocks. >> reporter: but life only got tougher. allred says she met a doctor on vacation in mexico and was raped at gun point. she became pregnant. >> that's when i found out though that you couldn't have a legal abortion. what you had to have was an illegal and unsafe abortion which i did have and which i almost died. >> reporter: that experience, she says, turned her into a fighter for women's rights. >> we as women don't only want equal rights. we want equal responsibility. >> reporter: at age 33, allred, a high school teacher, became a lawyer. she learned quickly how to grab headlines. in the early '80s she sued new york's all-male frier's club successfully to become its first female member. >> you know, henny youngman said some people bring happiness wherever they go. gloria allred brings happiness whenever she goes. >> that was cute. that was a good line. >> reporter: doesn't bother you? >> yeah. >> i have a trash bag with me. >> reporter: but it's no joke that today there are few actors in hollywood more skilled at grabbing the spotlight for herself and those she represents. >> so the attorney argument is garbage. therefore properly placed in the garbage bag. >> when she calls a press conference we all go because we want to see what's going to happen. >> reporter: this man works for the celebrity television news magazine inside edition. he's not troubled by the idea that allred uses the press to apply pressure. >> no one is forcing us to go to those news conferences. but because of those news conferences, her clients get attention. an issue that we might not otherwise talk about gets attention. i think if you had a man doing what she does you'll call him a champion. with gloria, you use the b-word. >> reporter: the better b-word might be big bucks. allred claims that over the years she has won a quarter of a billion dollars just in sex harassment suits. >> we'll do what it takes as long as it's legal, peaceful, i'll do whatever, whenever, however to win. >> reporter: take the case of rachael ukitell the self-professed miss stress of golfer tiger woods. in december 2009 as she was about to appear with allred in front of cameras to tell her story, allred abruptly canceled the press conference. did woods pay a reported $10 million for her client's silence? what about the rachael ukitell case. >> i have no comment about rachael. >> reporter: on this matter allred is uncharacteristically discreet. can you explain why that press conference was canceled at the last minute. >> no, i cannot. >> reporter: was there a settlement? >> no comment. >> reporter: why not? i would assume from your no comment that there has been a settlement. >> i have no comment. >> reporter: you're just not going to answer that question. why not? >> i have no comment on why i have no comment. >> reporter: well, allred is known best for her celebrity clients, she says she does most of her work out of the spotlight for women like rit a milla. >> when i was teenager, i was abused by a couple of catholic priests. that continued for a few years. >> reporter: allred took her case long before these types of lawsuits against the catholic church were common. she worked on the case without getting paid for more than two decades. >> 23 years on one case. >> reporter: 23 years. >> that's the longest for any case. >> reporter: in the end, she helped rit a milla went a half million dollar settlement. the impeccably turned-out attorney turned 70 this year. if her beach house in malibu is any indication, she no longer has to work. yet gloria allred shows no signs of softening, nor slowing down. do you even ever take a vacation? >> no. nor do i wish to take a vacation. this is what imminent to do. this is what there is a need for me to do. i have a duty to do it. i love to do it. i have a passion for justice. and this is what i hope to do for the rest of my life. >> osgood: ben franklin's take on taxes coming up. 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[ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil. lugging around a hot water extraction unit can be a rush! that's why i'm carpet for life. but if things get out of hand, there's no shame in calling us. ♪call 1-800-steemer. >> osgood: now a page from our sunday morning almanac, november 13, 17189, 222 years rag, the day benjamin franklin wrote to his french friend that, quote, our new constitution is now established. and it has an appearance that promises permanency. but in this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes. we've mostly forgotten franklin's optimism about our constitution. we remember only his dire thoughts on taxes. indeed taxes have been the running theme throughout our history. from the british tax that triggered the boston tea party to the ratification in 1913 of the 16th amendment that authorized the income tax, heated tax debates are an american tradition. >> middle class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. >> a 20% flat tax on the personal side. >> a tax on corporate income, a 9% tax on personal income and a 9% national sales tax. >> osgood: taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society said justice oliver wendell holmes. and enduring the endless arguments over taxes appears to be part of the price we pay as well. what benjamin franklin so famously said about paying taxes and one day being dead are the only two things of which we can be sure, that may once have been true but could this long endure under a tax code that's so complicated that nothing can be unequivocally stated? and so many people-- and this, there's no doubt of-- think of taxes as something they try to get out of. ahead, the return of the silent movie. so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today. no, no, i just paid my car insurance bill -- ouch. 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"yeah, okay, but i mean what do you want to do for real?" >> reporter: he was for real. the script he wrote is about a silent movie star normed george valentine played by french actor jeanne dejardins complete with a side kick. john goodman plays valentine's boss, a studio executive desperate to modernize by branching into talkees instead. what was it about this role that attracted you? >> playing a big shot. without lines. >> reporter: since there was no scripted dialogue he and all the actors just made it up. acting outloud even though the audience would never hear a word. >> if i screwed up the dialogue and i was improvising it who cares. >> reporter: you didn't have to memorize a thing. >> less work for dan. me like. >> reporter: not that it was easy. cromwell who plays valentine's loyal chauffeur says on the silent screen overacting is far too easy. >> the difficulty for an actor is that you have no reference as to where to pitch your performance. usually we gauge it by hearing ourselves speak. this you have to rely completely on your facial expressions and your gestures. >> reporter: and of course the music which becomes almost a character itself. it helps set the mood for what becomes a love story between valentine whose star begins to fade and his beautiful chorus girl who soon finds her voice in the talkees. to bring peppy miller to life, the director's wife spent hours studying classic hollywood legends like marlene a dietrich. >> i used to watch the way she winked and she smoked cigarettes and held her head and moved just because i needed to have a sense of what it was to be an american movie star. >> reporter: but perhaps even the best movie star of old couldn't have done quite so much with a coat rack. even her husband director was shocked. >> i was like trying this out and i thought, oh, i can do this. he said, oh, keep that. that is so funny. >> reporter: funny and charming. those are the two words most often used to describe this film. it's gotten rave reviews at the film festivals in can, toronto and tell uwe ride. some are talking an academy award. the last time a silent movie won an oscar it was the very first oscar ever given all the way back in 1927. >> to have this film to watch, it was so much fun. looked so easy. >> reporter: the l.a. times film critic sees just one down side to the art. >> the hardest thing about this film is to convince people that they're going to like it. i've been telling people about it for months. you can tell by the look in people's eyes they say, yeah, you say it's good but it's a silent film. i'm not going. >> reporter: that would be a shame. silence, says the director, has so much to offer. >> when you want to tell to your wife you love her, for example, i mean, you can say i love you. but if you just look at her, something happens with no words. i think usually it's more powerful. >> reporter: which is why we'll stop talking now too. >> osgood: next, the red hot chili peppers still red hot. and later.... >> no peace ever ends for the federal bureau of investigation. >> osgood: the truth about g-man j. edgar hoover. ,,,,,,,,,,,, ♪ i don't ever want to be like i did that day ♪ >> it's sunday morning on cbs, and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: under the bridge was a big hit for the red hot chili peppers back in 1992. all these years later the group is still red hot and now on a european tour. before heading out they spoke about their music with our john blackstone "for the record." ♪ lipstick >> reporter: on a roof top above l.a.'s venice beach, the red hot chili peppers are out to prove they've lost none of their talent. just as they have done for almost 30 years, singer anthony kiedis and the guitarist named flea have shed their shirts by mid performance. ♪ >> reporter: to be sure their music might have you scratching your head. sometimes it sounds like rock'n'roll. at other times like rap. ♪ who said three is a crowd? ♪ >> reporter: and then there is the occasional ball add. ♪ i don't ever want to be like i did that day ♪ >> reporter: they're indefinable and unmistakable sound is a tribute to their southern california roots with all its diversity and eccentricity. ♪ give it away now >> reporter: whatever the sound, their legion of fans have made them one of the most successful bands the last quarter venturi, so far selling more than 60 million records. not bad for some middle aged guys who started in 1983, just wanting to have fun. >> the very first night that we played we called ourselves tony slow and the miraculously majestic mayham but as soon as the club owner asked us to come back the next week with another song, he said can you come back next week with two songs we realized this could be a... this could go on for at least a month. >> reporter: as teenagers, kiedis and flea were friends at fairfax high in los angeles. >> i met anthony who was equally as wild as me when we were about 15. you know, we definitely got along. >> reporter: that stuff was often on l.a.'s sunset strip. >> flea and i actually used to sneak into the roxy on a regular basis because we couldn't afford to go see shows. we would climb up the drain pipe in the back and go into the back stage window and surprise whatever band was playing and say, "do you guys mind if we just kind of come in and see the show?" it's hard to turn somebody away who has got that much enthusiasm. >> reporter: but it was on stage where their story started. >> maybe i could rap, you know. let's try it. a week later we're on stage, you know, and we put together a song and got together and did it. it was so fun. the excitement level was just like an undeniable magical thing. the next thing you know we're the red hot chili peppers and there are lines around the block wanting to see us. >> reporter: the chili peppers became known for their wild performances including appearing on stage wearing only a sock. their lifestyle was equally wild, soaked in alcohol and drugs. and with kiedis and flea always present, others members have come and gone. 13 in total. but who's counting? drummer chad smith wasn't there at the beginning, but he's been with the peppers since 1989. >> we're kids. we're just big grown-up kids, you know. >> reporter: they have grown up. smith is 50. flea and kiedis both 49. all three are parents with young children. the real kid in the band is its newest member lead guitarist josh klinghoffer. at just 32 he was barely walking when the peppers first performed. >> amazing thing to play these songs that i've grown up with. >> reporter: klinghoffer probably first listened to the 1991 album blood sugar sex magic which introduced the world to their distinctive sound. it sold more than 15 million copies and included perhaps the peppers' best loved hit "under the bridge." ♪ i don't ever want to be like i did that day ♪ ♪ i came into the place i love ♪ ♪. >> "under the bridge" gets a lot of love, yeah. i'll be driving down the street and a car full of what looks like hard core gang bangers will roll down their window and say, "i love that song "under the bridge." i'm like i'm so glad you didn't just kill me. ♪ listen what i say, oh > during the late '90s and early oos, the chili peppers dominated the air waves the hits such as "by the way" and stadium arcade-ium which won five grammy awards. >> i love hearing us on the radio, man. whenever i hear it, i just can't believe other people are hearing. like i got in the car and he's hearing it too. >> reporter: staying on top meant a grueling worldwide tour to promote stadium arcade- ium. for two years the chili peppers criss-crossed the globe. a two-year break followed. >> we decided on the last day of tour in whatever year it was, we're going to take two years off and do absolutely nothing to do with the red hot chili peppers. in two years' time we'll get back together and have a discussion and take it from there. >> reporter: during his time off, chad smith made a children's record with none other than dick van dyke. >> he sang actually a rap song. he's 84 years old. he's just totally cool. >> reporter: flea spent his down time at school as a teacher. he founded and at first largely financed the silver lake conservatory of music in los angeles. it provides lessons for 700 students a week who might not otherwise be able to study music. >> now beethoven, mozart, bach, they're just killing me. >> reporter: and then flea became a student himself, studying classical music at the university of southern california. >> i was like running across the campus holding a big backpack of books. i'm late to class. i'm late. i'm going to be in trouble. i'm like what am i doing? i could be on the beach in the bahamas right now eating a papaya. >> reporter: the two-year break also included some unexpected misfortune. guitarist john frusciante who had helped write some of the peppers' biggest hits announced he wasn't coming back. while others may have thought the chili peppers were finished, the rest of the band had no intention of calling it quits. >> you know, i feel very close to these people as friends, and i i couldn't couldn't imagine not spending that kind of amazing time and experience with them. >> reporter: josh klinghoffer had played with the group as a side man. he was at a baseball game when flea called his cell phone and told him they wanted him to become lead guitarist. what was your answer? >> i'm at the dodgers game. i'll call you back. >> reporter: priorities. with josh on board, they recorded the new album "i'm with you." it shot right to the top of the charts when it was released this summer. in september, the band was nominated for the rock'n'roll hall of fame. and though their music still might be difficult to categorize, many fans of the red hot chili peppers will insist the band has its own exuberant brand of genius. how else to explain why they didn't just survive; they continue to thrive. >> energy takes over on stage when certain people play music together. it lifts you. it fills you with an energy that you could never find anywhere else. lots of love. thank you very much. you were fun to be with. god bless. >> osgood: next, charting a new course. some folks call me a rock star, some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll. [ daniel ] my name is daniel northcutt. [ jennifer ] and i'm jennifer northcutt. opening a restaurant is utterly terrifying. we lost well over half of our funding when everything took a big dip. i don't think anyone would open up a restaurant if they knew what that moment is like. ♪ day 1, everything happened at once. ♪ i don't know how long that day was. we went home and let it sink in what we had just done. [ laughs ] ♪ word of mouth is everything, and word of mouth today is online. it all goes back to the mom and pop business founded within a family. ♪ when i found out i was pregnant, daniel was working on our second location. everyone will find out soon enough i think that something's happening. ♪ ♪ you know what else is early? medicare open enrollment. now through december 7th. can i stick with my old medicare plan? sure! or find a new plan with better coverage, less cost, or both. medicare plans give you free cancer screenings and wellness visits and 50% off on brand-name prescriptions when you're in the doughnut hole. it's part of the healthcare law. so it's time to look, compare... and choose the right plan for you. learn more at 1-800-medicare or medicare.gov. >> osgood: america marked veterans day this past friday as a new generation of veterans is surprising us all with all they can do. as chip reid will show us now. >> reporter: near the potomac river just outside washington d.c., gary love carries his son todd, a u.s. marine who lost his left forearm and both legs, when he stepped on an i.e.d.last year in afghanistan. when they reached the river, todd is placed in a kayak. he attaches his prosthetic arm so he could hold the paddle. and when he and his instructor reach the water, todd is transformed. his disability all but disappears. >> when i'm in the kayak it makes me feel free because something about being on the water, it's just therapy. any time i'm out of my wheelchair it's a good thing. >> reporter: it's good therapy for gary love too. >> definitely as a father it's a crushing blow to have my son wounded and maimed like he is. as a marine, as a former marine, i can't be prouder of him. >> reporter: the organization providing this opportunity is called team river runner. the instructors are all volunteers. team river runner started small, about seven years ago with just a few kayakers out here on the potomac river. but in recent years with so many injured veterans coming home from iraq and afghanistan, it's grown quickly. there are now chapters in more than two dozen states. many of the instructors are also injured veterans, including this man. >> team river runner is what gave me my life back. you know, it got me... it gave me a purpose again. >> reporter: he returned from afghanistan in 2009 with post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury after a 500-pound bomb blew up near his armored vehicle. >> i couldn't go to restaurants with friends. i couldn't go out. i was more or less confined to my own little world. i couldn't get out of it. >> reporter: the chance to help his fellow veterans opened the door. >> when i'm with the other veterans and i'm teaching i'm alive. there's nothing better in the world than to take someone who thinks they've had everything stripped this them, that they're never going to lead a functional life again, and to teach them a whole new skill. >> reporter: joe, a high school teacher who founded team river runner, says nothing gives him more joy than watching veterans like todd love reclaim their confidence. >> you can't even tell he's disabled when he's out there. >> isn't that awesome? isn't that what it's all about'? the whole thing is, they're not disabled. they're inabled. >> i was born to do something. >> reporter: love says his success at kayaking has him looking for new challenges. he's planning to go sky diving soon. and.... >> i've always wanted to wrestle an alligator. >> reporter: a u.s. marine, discovering that he can still satisfy his thirst for adventure. >> osgood: ahead.... >> director hoover,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: the f.b.i.'s j. edgar hoover is back in the news. a new movie out about his life. 39 years after his death, mysteries linger about both his professional and private lives. hoover ran the f.b.i. and at what cost is the story rita braver has to tell. >> reporter: it is fitting to begin here in the heart of washington d.c. where j. edgar hoover lies at rest. >> he was a local kid, grew up on capitol hill just a few blocks away. this is his family's plot. >> reporter: for rebecca roberts of congressional cemetery, she says it's the former f.b.i. agent who built the fence and the bench creating a memorial that draws new recruits. >> every now and then young men with dark suits and little wires coming out of their ears come through the front gate of the cemetery and they're coming to pay their respects to the director. >> reporter: the director. >> no peace ever ends for the federal bureau of investigation until it is solved and closed with the conviction of the guilty or the acquittal of the innocent. >> reporter: over an astonishing 48 years starting in 1924, j. edgar hoover became one of the most powerful men in american history. a man who collected secrets and knew how to use them. >> g-men must be lawyers or graduate accountants, trained minds to get the facts. >> reporter: he made the f.b.i. a symbol of professional law enforcement. >> the f.b.i. men shoot only in self-defense. >> may i emphasize the federal bureau of investigation is as close to you as your nearest telephone. it belongs to you. >> reporter: but he also considered the bureau his personal keystone. >> the presidents were afraid of hoover. the congress didn't want to do any oversight. the f.b.i. was a law unto itself. >> reporter: ron kessler has written three books about the f.b.i. he says ironically in the beginning, hoover, a young justice department lawyer was charged with cleaning up a corrupt division. >> hoover emphasized the need for professionalism, not hiring people just because they were friends with someone or family members. he established the fingerprint operation. he established the indexing system with the files. >> machine gun sharp shooting from a fast-moving car. >> reporter: he also established the f.b.i. academy to train agents in crime-busting techniques, making sure he got the credit. >> director hoover super sizing field practice, and the target might be a gangster car. >> reporter: in fact, the bureau's reputation and hoover's soared with high-profile takedowns of gangsters like john dillinger. but out of the spotlight the director was consolidating his power in another way. how did he go about collecting dirt on people? >> hoover, for one thing, would tell, for example, the head of the washington field office, i want material on congressmen, and they would include affairs that they might be having or they were picked up for seeing a prostitute the night before. then he would make sure that they knew that he knew what they had done. >> reporter: hoover kept files on celebrities like marilyn monroe, john lennon, elvis presley, and even albert einstein. >> in part because he wanted to have little gossip items to impart to presidents. on the other hand, just to maintain his aura as being this powerful person who knew everything. >> that's a complete fabrication. >> reporter: now 91, this man was one of hoover's topate lieutenants. so this is you and the director. >> yes. >> reporter: he insists that if the f.b.i. kept files on public figures, it was for legitimate reasons. case in point. the information that president john f. kennedy was sharing a girlfriend, judith campbell exner with chicago mob boss sam giantana. >> that came to our attention. the attorney general approved. the white house knew about them. we had that on him. as a result the white house would sometimes call exner and it would be overheard by a wire tap. >> reporter: as for the bugging of martin luther king jr., who feuded with hoover over the bureau's enforcement of civil rights, the f.b.i.'s alleged justification for tapping king was an investigation into two of his advisors who were said to be communists. but the taps ended up recording evidence of king's extra marital affairs. >> hoover was outraged that king was having affairs and projecting himself as a minister but at the same time hoover also was jealous of king because he got the nobel prize and that really infuriated hoover. hoover just totally went after him. he would even write letters to people who wanted to give awards to king saying, you know, we shouldn't do that. >> reporter: hoover may have amassed information on the sex lives of many prominent figures, but his own personal life has long been the subject of speculation. there were for years reports and rumors that hoover used to cross-dress. >> yes. the rumor that hoover cross- dressed was a concoction of someone actually having been convicted of perjury. it was quoted in a book. it didn't happen. >> j. edgar hoover director and his chief assistant. >> reporter: but how about hoover's relationship with his top deputy clyde tolson? >> tolson and hoover would go on vacations together, would take adoring pictures of each other, would have lunch and dinner together almost every single day. there's no actual evidence of a sexual relationship but i believe he was homosexual and that he had a spousal relationship with tolson. >> reporter: he says he never saw anything other than friendship between the two men. but that hoover was aware of rumors. he actually had agents go and visit people and say i understand you're saying some things.... >> i went. >> reporter: you went to people and said i understand you're talking about the director. >> yes. saying you have made remarks concerning mr. hoover being a homosexual. give me the evidence. they'd always back down. >> reporter: through the years, under eight presidents, hoover became all but untouchable. >> edgar, the law says that you must retire next january when you reach your 70th birthday. >> reporter: lbj even allowed him to serve beyond the 70-year age limit. >> i have just now signed an executive order exempting you from compulsory retirement for an indefinite period of time. >> reporter: and richard nixon didn't fire him either. >> nixon was afraid to do it. >> reporter: were people afraid to do it because they were afraid that hoover would go ballistic on them and start leaking out bad stuff about them? >> that was part of it. they were afraid of him. >> reporter: hoover died in 1972 at age 77. >> he fulfilled the american ideal of a man who made his own way. >> reporter: his funeral was a state occasion. but shortly after his death, details began leaking of a controversial domestic spying program and of hoover's own personal abuses. for example, using f.b.i. agents to work on his home. what do you think happened to hoover along the way? >> hoover, being as powerful as he was and having all this adulation all the time, did think he was god. initially he was very far-sighted. he did create this great organization. but as time went on, he became a despot. >> reporter: shortly after hoover's burial, clyde tolson, who inherited hoover's entire estate, bought the closest available plot. and almost 40 years after j. edgar hoover's death we are still wondering about his secret. those he used and those he kept. >> osgood: ahead, dan akroyd, still one wild and crazy guy. but up next, end of an era. so i got this new job last week, but their health insurance doesn't cover my kid's pediatrician. which is not cool. she was so fantastic. she had this sock puppet that she would use to explain exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it. i just wish there was someone to explain to me how i'm going to find another doctor like that. [ male announcer ] we know a good doctor is hard to find. we have some of the largest networks in california so you can choose one that's right for you. blue shield. >> osgood: as we reported earlier nebraska's football team defeated penn state yesterday afternoon 17-14. for penn state it was a depressing end to a dismal week that shook the campus to its core. cbs news chief investigative correspondent or men keteyian has filed a sunday journal. >> announcer: touchdown nebraska. >> reporter: on the surface, it looked like any other football game. but it wasn't. an emotional moment of silence before the game had stilled an entire stadium. penn state's way of showing support for the alleged victims of a child abuse sex scandal. despite a hard-breaking loss to nebraska, saturday's game provided a form of group therapy to the nittany lion faithful allowing them to focus if only for a few hours on something other than the worst eight days in the history of the university. >> announcer: there's jerry sandusky. >> reporter: the scandal erupted last saturday. news that long-time nittany lion defensive coordinator jerry sandusky had been indicted on 40 counts of child molestation, rape and abuse of eight young boys beginning in 1994. pennsylvania attorney general linda kelly. >> this is a case about a sexual predator accused of using his position within the community and the university to prey on numerous young boys for more than a decade. >> reporter: according to the indictment, the now 67-year-old sandusky had befriended at least six alleged victims through the second mile, a charity he founded for at-risk kids back in 1977. state police commissioner frank noonan. >> it's a case about children who have had their innocence stolen from them in a culture that did nothing to stop it or prevent it from happening to others. >> reporter: within hours of collective cloud descended upon the cocoon known as happy valley, home for more than 60 years to the patriarch of penn state, 84-year-old joe paterno. the winningest coach in the history of major college football. t.j.bard is student body president at penn state. >> i think the first couple of days students were confused and angry. them didn't know what direction to go. >> reporter: confusion and anger that late wednesday night exploded into outrage. thousands of students pouring into the streets, overturning a television truck, battling police. after hearing the shocking news delivered by board of trustees vice chairman john surma. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> reporter: paterno was ousted at least in part by his decision to tell his superiors but not the police. of an alleged shower room rape of a young boy by sandusky in 2002. >> i would hope that everyone would agree that what we're doing is what we believe in our best judgment is in the best long-term interest of the university. >> reporter: finally by friday, the penn state community was emerging from a fog. thousands gathering for a campus vigil promoting healing and hope. >> it was probably "the" most emotional experience of my life. at one point i actually broke down. there was so much pride and unity. >> reporter: on saturday amid heightened security, that unity was once again visible. the uglyness of an unspeakable scandal lost, if only for a while, in the familiar rhythms of a glorious football afternoon. >> cheers. >> cheers. >> osgood: a toast to dan akroyd just ahead. early stages of cancer, and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn. and i'm a cancer survivor. [ woman ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now. [ woman #2 ] i would love to meet the people that made the machines. i had such an amazing group of doctors and nurses, it would just make such a complete picture of why i'm sitting here today. ♪ [ man ] from the moment we walk in the front door, just to see me -- not as a cancer patient, but as a person that had been helped by their work, i was just blown away. life's been good to me. i feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world. ♪ since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ >> what happened? are you okay? >> he slimed me. >> that's great actual physical contact. can you move. >> it's sunday morning on cbs and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: dan akroyd's high spirits were on full display in the classic 1984 comedy ghost busters. preparation perhaps for the very different sort of spirits he's bringing to market now. michelle miller offers this sunday profile. >> reporter: dan akroyd was just 23 years old, the youngest of the saturday night live original cast, when he became a super star. >> now i've done it. i've cut the chickens out of my finger. i'm glad in a way this happened. >> reporter: famous for his brilliant impersonation.... >> cone head. my name is cone head. please identify yourself. >> reporter: bizarre creations. >> and pitch perfect comedyic pitches. >> you use the whole bass without scaling, cutting or gutting. >> reporter: more than 30 years later he's pitching again. not for laughs but for his own krystal head vodka. >> this is an accurate blast rendering of a human skull. >> reporter: with a bottle that will catch your eye and a legend to go with it. >> scientists estimate that it took between 300 and 500 years to carve one of these heads from a single piece of quarts. >> reporter: does it take you back to your super bass-o-mat-ic days. >> absolutely of course. it was essentially the same thing that pitch but a little slower, yeah. >> reporter: the pitch continued. this time with the perfect pairing. >> you're pretty liberal with the calfier there. >> sour cream? >> definitely. >> okay. take a little sip and just kind of in your mouth a little bit. let it go down. >> very smooth. >> now eat the sandwich. >> eat it whole? >> yeah. >> just plop it right in? >> well, i like to sell. i really do. i can sell you this and make it fly. that's not what we have here. you know, the vodka is an award-winning fluid. our notes are vanilla, sweet, dry, crisp with a kick at the finish. >> reporter: in fact, akroyd's vodka was awarded a double gold medal at the san francisco world's spirits competition this year. >> the world's cleanest non-polluted non-adult rated no additive vodka. what better vessel to put it in than a vessel that speaks about purity and enlightenment and positive drinking? >> reporter: the legend of the krystal skull is grounded in his family's fascination with the para-normal. akroyd's great grandfather was a spiritualist, he says, and his father a canadian government official wrote an entire book on ghosts. >> the family was into seances. right through the 1950s. they had seances there. we had a family medium named walter asher, a locomotive mechanic. >> reporter: that fascination, says akroyd, gave birth to ghost busters. one of the top grossing comedies of all time. >> get her. >> i wanted to treat the material that i was reading as a kid and i also wanted to do a comedy just like the old comedies that bob hope did and abbott and costello. i thought if we did that flavor of comedy but used the real theories of para-normal research and marry them up together and there you have it. >> sir, what you have there is a focused non-terminal repeating fan tachl or a class 5 full roaming vapor. a real nasty one too. >> reporter: dan akroyd turned another one of his passions, blues music, into at hit movie, the blues brothers. ♪ going to a party in the county jail ♪ ♪. >> reporter: john bluchy, his best friend and co-star died of a drug overdose in 1982. just two years after the movie's release. can you believe it's been 30 years? >> i think of him every time i go into the house of blues how much he would have loved to have his own nightclub whether in las vegas or new orleans or l.a., you know. >> reporter: akroyd founded house of blues in part as a tribute to his dead friend. >> he would have loved it. i miss him a lot. >> reporter: what do you miss most about him? >> his intelligence. how well read he was. his expertise in theater and movies and plays. his impressions. i think, had he lived, he would have directing on broadway right now. he's be probably one of the leading directors in the american theater. >> reporter: really? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: it must still pain you to know.... >> well, you know, i couldn't be there for him. people, you know, have these addictions. it helps them to get through. his appetites were huge. the fact of it is he was killed by a mistake. he died accidentally. he put himself in that situation. that's just a warning to people out there. just stay away from powders and pills. come on. you know, have a nice shot of legal vodka. that will get you through. >> reporter: akroyd's home life is remarkably stable by hollywood standards. he's been married to donna dixon for nearly 30 years, the actress and beauty queen he met while filming dr. detroit. >> enjoy. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: they have three daughters. how do you make it 30 years? >> well, it's communication really. women really love for a man, for their mate, to share. if you come home at night and you say, hi, honey, what happened today, how did it go? anything happen today? and you go, "oh, nothing." >> reporter: (laughing) >> what you want to say is i went down to the shell station. they have a nice special on gas and i got that jumbo coffee that they have. i went by the video place. you know those tapes they wanted they're now on blue ray. we're going to get them. give all the details. they love that. ladies love to hear what's going on. they feel engaged. >> reporter: it's that simple? >> well, hygiene is important. that's one of my failings so i've always been called on that. >> reporter: what is this? >> okay. you're sitting at jerry's deli in l.a.. >> reporter: to finish our interview akroyd showed us how to make his favorite vodka drink which he calls the krystal driver. >> slowly infuse the orange juice as if you're breaking an egg in there. looks like an egg yolk going in. >> reporter: it goes best he says with a pass tramy sandwich. >> mmm. the writers' l.a. lunch. i'm eating all the sandwiches here. >> reporter: i know (laughing) and for all of you who have been wondering, ghost busters 3 is in the works. >> i can't say too much about it. we really hope it gets made. we're working right now to redine the script. we're quite confident, as of this point, that it's in a ship, you know, at sea, you see the beacon. you go under a wave. you come up and you see the beacon. that's what ghost busters 3 is. but i see the beacon today. whether i'll see it tomorrow i'm not sure. >> reporter: hear, hear, to caviar and pickles. >> indeed. life is good. >> reporter: life is very good. >> osgood: next, don't bank on it. [ male announcer ] all over the world, there's a battery that's relied on to help bring children holiday joy, and while it doesn't travel by sleigh or reindeer, it does get around... in fact, every year duracell sends loads of batteries to the mattel children's hospital, u.c.l.a. of course, children here and everywhere don't really think about which battery makes their toy run... but, still... you'd never want to disappoint. duracell. trusted everywhere. for a medicare plan? now is the time to take action. the medicare annual enrollment period ends wednesday, december 7th. call unitedhealthcare medicare solutions today. consider a medicare advantage plan. it combines your doctor and hospital coverage and may include prescription drug coverage for as low as a zero dollar monthly premium. you only have until december 7th to enroll. call unitedhealthcare today. >> osgood: if too few financial institutions control too much of a country's money, that can be trouble. is that true of america today? here are josh landis and mitch butler of the fast draw. >> america is the most diverse country on earth. >> 312 million people, rich and poor, young and old. >> our diversity makes us strong. we're told it's good for us. >> except apparently when it comes to big banks. >> there was a time not long ago when about 15,000 banks held our money. but the number is about half that. more importantly the biggest banks got even bigger. >> in some ways it makes sense. big banks are faster at transactions and making sure that money is where it needs to be. but james quack wrote a book about the recession called 13 bankers. he says that there are more powerful factors at work. >> the motivation for consolidation in any industry are, one, ego and, two, people make more money. in a sense it's almost an unstoppable force. >> to get a sense of this force add up the assets of just the six biggest banks. the total is the equivalent of more than 60% of the country's entire economic output. that's a lot of power. >> these banks use consumers' money to help inflate the housing bubble. >> and then to tax payer money in the form of bailouts. >> neither event surprises james. >> when bank get too big, they're too big to fail and on the other hand they're too big to manage which means they're going to create such a crisis in the first place. >> in 1816 thomas jefferson wrote, "i believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies." >> two centuries later former fed chairman alan greenspan who oversaw the real estate bubble had this to say about banks. if they're too big to fail, they're too big. >> guess what happened since the recession hit? >> there are fewer banks. they are bigger. >> and they'll probably grow even more. >> osgood: ahead, an elephant who doesn't forget. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. some folks call me a rock star, some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll. >> osgood: according to the late children's author dr. seuss an elephant is faithful 100%. this morning our steve hartman has the proof. >> reporter: the elephant sanctuary south of nashville is more than 2,000 acres of ella-freedom but for this resident named tara there's not enough room in tennessee to escape the bad news she got recently. s. >> her whole demeanor changed. >> reporter: rob is the sanctuary's ceo. >> she became more reserved, quieter. she was depressed. >> reporter: far cry from the tara we've met before. for nearly a decade, tara had been best friends with a dog named bella, a muttate who wandered on to the sanctuary grounds and into the hearts of this gentle giant. tara clearly loved her little dog. and bella obviously responded right back. they were so close, in fact, that when bella got injured a few years ago and had to spend three weeks recuperating in the sanctuary office guess who held vigil the entire time? 2200 acres to roam free and tara just stood in the corner waiting. the home video of their reunion shows how inaccept prabl they had become. and remained right to the end. a few days ago sanctuary workers found bella's body. >> by all indications she had been attacked by coyotes. whether tara witnessed it, tried to intervene was too late no one knows. all they do know is that where they found bella.... >> right there. >> reporter: is not where she got attacked. director of elephant husbandry steve smith. >> when i looked around and saw there was no signs of an attack here, no blood, no tufts of hair, nothing and tara on the underside of her trunk had blood like she picked up the body. >> reporter: tara moved her. >> tara moved her. pretty amazing. >> reporter: why here? steve's theory is tara carried bella possibly a mile or more to bring her home. whether it really happened that way or not, no one doubts. tara was that devoted. >> there's nothing we can do to take away her pain. the only ones who can help now are the elephants. that is already happening. >> reporter: he says the elephants are spending more time with tara and making gestures like giving her a portion of their food. of course, anyone who has lost a dog knows you can't eat your way out of the grief. as much as we might try. but still nice to know at least tara's not alone in this. and that compassion is more than just human. >> osgood: a story from correspondent steve hartman. now to bob schieffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on "face the nation." good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. should we re-evaluate aid to israel and will military action be necessary to stop iran from building the bomb? we'll talk to our cross-section of republicans about those questions because they came up last night at the debate. >> osgood: thank you, bob schieffer. we'll be watching. next week here on sunday morning, eat, drink and be merry. the food issue next sunday. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. >> sunday morning's moment of nature is sponsored by... >> osgood: we leave you this sunday morning in yellowstone national park, the perfect place for a mother grizzly bear to raise her cub. i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then, i'll see you on the radio. i have copd. if you have it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... ...by keeping my airways open... ...a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens,... ...your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain,... ...or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. breathing with copd is no small thing. ask your doctor about spiriva. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ,,,,,,,,