The last of a line of Hollywood power gossips, whose bylines became nearly as recognizable as their subjects, Rona Barrett gave up reporting a decade ago and recently started a new life as a seniors’-rights advocate and the head of both a lavender-products company and an organic farm. Now the tables are turned on the indomitable Miss Rona as she gets a grilling on David Begelman, that notorious tarantula-in-the-mail story, and the future of gossip in uncertain times.

George Wayne: As the legendary gossipeuse emerita Rona Barrett, are you of the opinion that since that September Tuesday pop culture has to be sifted through a whole new context?

Rona Barrett: I always felt it had to be—not just from that Tuesday. But I always felt that it had a larger importance in the context of society. I always thought it was the third-largest industry in the world, and the No. 1 industry that we exported to the rest of the world. And therefore I know how people like to make fun and think that what we did was trivial, but for the most part I took it very seriously.

G.W. Very well said, Rona, but do you believe that John and Joanna Public will have no more interest in the shenanigans, say, of serial dater Julia Roberts? That the only sopranos that really matter now are those that lift every voice and sing?

R.B. There is a possibility that for a while it may seem like that, but in the end we will probably go back to form. For no matter how horrific war is, there is the moment when we must take a moment to smile.

G.W. From 1960 to 1990 you knew where all the bones were buried in Hollywood. What’s the celebrity scoop you are most proud of?

R.B. Believe it or not, the David Begelman scandal. Before that, Hollywood was more like a family-held business. They never wanted the outsider to come in, because they never wanted anybody to realize how much money was being made in the entertainment industry. So they did everything in their power not to show that this was an industry where both whiteand bluecollar crimes could occur. I thought that was a significant scoop because it triggered a change in the moral climate of the industry.

G.W. Didn’t Ryan O’Neal once send you a tarantula?

R.B. The truth hurts more than anything else, and, yes, Ryan O’Neal did send me a tarantula. It happened during the first actors’ strike in Hollywood. My secretary received this box, and inside was a tennis can. Only, when she opened it, there weren't any tennis balls; out popped the last dying breath of a tarantula. If they couldn’t control you, they wanted you out of the business. Because most of the press in Hollywood for years and years was at the mercy of the studios. When I came along I wasn’t part of any of that. I just knew that I had to tell the truth.

G.W. Didn’t Mae West also hate your guts?

R.B. Where did you get that from? Iwas probably one of the few women she ever really liked. Oh, my darling, Miss Mae held me responsible for having directed her career.

G.W.Raquel Welch swears that Mae West was born a man. What does Miss Rona think?

R.B. I don’t think so at all. She was petite. You couldn’t have bought that kind of bosom.

G.W. These days the only dirt you dig is on your 40-acre farm in Santa Barbara. What are you growing out there?

R.B. A commercial crop of lavender. I decided to make a line of lavender foods and lavender skin-care products because I think lavender is a very wonderful part of the good life.

G.W. Well, you know what they say, black and blue makes purple, so Lavender by Rona couldn’t be a more timely or prescient business.

R.B. It’s a very medicinal kind of herb, and a lot of people don’t realize it’s not just a flower, it’s a fabulous herb you can cook with. The reason I started to grow it is because I wanted to support seniors that are in need. And I figured if I created a line of products like my good friend Paul Newman, then maybe I would have a way of supporting this charity. I have a 93-year-old dad who lives with me. And it was because of him that I began to deal with senior issues. I’m very happy that the public has begun to understand that we are in a very different kind of crisis with what’s happening to seniors. That we don’t have sufficient housing for them, or programs, caregivers. So if everyone goes out and buys one Miss Rona lavender product, I’d be very thrilled. We have a lavender applesauce that’s fabulous, a lavender chocolate sauce, honey mustard, mayonnaise, my wonderful lavender teas, lavender ginger sauce, blended spices. On the skin-care line I have this wonderful stay-young cream. We have lavender bath and shower gels, candles, soap. You can order through my Web site, which is www.lavenderbyrona.com.

G.W. You’re still digging dirt, but in a very postmodern way. Yours is a life now devoted to charity. How awesome is that?!

R.B. It’s my way of paying back.

G.W. Thank you, Miss Rona.