You're going on tour, right?

DR: Well, I do an act, and I've been doing an act for 50 years. I do a variety show, which is a musical comedy show. I do impressions of Mae West and Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, I do Katherine Hepburn, I do Barbra Streisand, I do Zsa Zsa Gabor advising Paris Hilton, who is her niece, how not to slap a cop. I do comedy, and I do singing, Broadway show tunes and different songs that I like. Been doing it for many, many years.

You've worked in movies, TV, and on stage. Is one more rewarding than the others? Do they offer different pleasures?

DR: Well, they're very different techniques. One is, if you a do a play, it's a different technique. If it's acting without music, that's another technique. If you do a musical, it's really thrilling and it's a lot of work, but it's very rewarding. I would say, for me, what I like best is what I do, which is, I call it vaudeville, I call it live, I call it in concert, I call it what Bette Midler does, and what Garland did for years, and Ethel Merman. Musical comedy... Ann Margaret does it, Mitzi Gaynor's doing a new act now. So there's just a few of us that still do it.

You worked with so many of the greats. Was there anyone you particularly loved working with?

DR: Most every performer was so different. I had a lot of fun with Frank Sinatra, because he was such a hooligan, and so to himself, he was the king, and everything was his way, and I enjoyed watching that. And I loved working with Bette Davis. Bette Davis was great to work with and a wonderful teacher, and very kind to me. We became good friends. Agnes Moorehead was a great friend of mine; we worked together, and then we became dear friends until she passed away. We saw each other all the time. Lucille Ball was a good friend of mine; loved her, we saw each other all the time. Jimmy Stewart was a good friend. I miss them all. I knew Jack Benny; we were not as close, but still saw each other at least once a month or so. You know, just a lot of good friends.

Are there any contemporary actors and actresses that you particularly admire?

DR: Well, I think Meryl Streep is a lovely actress, of course. I think there's a lot of lovely women today that are... Gwyneth Paltrow is wonderful, Jennifer Aniston is good, Angelina Jolie... They're all turning in really good performances. Meg Ryan is lovely. I love George Clooney, of the guys. Johnny Depp is one of my favorites.

So you still watch movies.

DR: Oh, I would never stop watching film. The reason why I say I like the old ones is I like the subject matter better. I thought they had more variety to them, they had more romantic comedies and things that appealed to me more. I'm not a big shoot-em-up, bang-bang, you know? I like romantic films.

I understand you patched things up with Elizabeth Taylor. Do you think people are more scandal-minded today than they were back when you started in the business?

DR: I just think there's more paparazzi, there's more cable TV, there's millions of networks now, there's more paparazzi. People liked gossip then, and they like gossip now.

Right, so that's not a big change.

DR: Not a big change, just more coverage. I mean, I went through a lot of it in my time and it was difficult then, and it's difficult for the people today. I feel sorry for the young people today. I think there's too much paparazzi and not enough protection. I don't think it's the fans, I think it's the fact that they get paid a lot of money for a picture of you doing something wrong. They don't seem to be interested in anything good any more.I think people appreciate what you do. I think the fans do. I think the press does, too; it's just the few crazies and paparazzi that give them a bad name. Real writers write good things. My daughter's a writer, and she's a quality writer.

So you read her books...

DR: Do I read her books? Of course. [Laughs] She's my daughter; I'm a fan of hers.

Are there any parts of those that are hard to read, given some of the subject matter?

DR: Carrie's? Oh no, not all of it's true that she writes about me. She wants to have an imagination. That's what a writer does; they make things up and that makes for good reading. I don't mind anything she wants to say and make up; that's up to her. Doesn't bother me. I love her.

You two still live next door to each other, right?

DR: Yes, I live right in front of my daughter. I have a little house right in front of her because I can stay in touch. It's like a little commune, and it's very nice, because you can be close. I can see my granddaughter. I live very close to my brother, too, and my son. We're a very close family.

What are you working on next? Anything new coming out with you?

DR: I tour all year, 42 weeks a year, so it's hard for me to remember every place I play. Myrtle Beach, Florida; Oklahoma; Denver. That's my business, show business. So I'll be like Irving Berlin: "There's no business like show business." And I'll just stay in it till they stuff me like Trigger, when I drop dead.

Click here for Debbie Reynolds' complete filmography.