or whether they be black. >> for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on. the cause endures. the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. >> all of those just unbelievable political moments. it's sadly fitting then that patrick packed his bags on a day when the president, president obama sat next to mitch mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate, and capitulated to the wealthy on tax cuts. >> as norm ornstein points now the "the new york times," to go from the kennedy toss the pauls, that's a pretty big difference. >> indeed it is. thanks for being with us tonight. tonight. please join ah gain on monday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com say hello to my little friend. >> larry: tonight my good buddy,

my best man, al pacino. >> i love the people i play. >> larry: one of the world's greatest actors in a very private guy. he's going to sit down for a rare and revealing interview. you putt the godfather would bomb at the box office. you ever turn down a role you regretted? >> let me see. yeah. >> larry: the academy award winner al pacino. will talk it george clooney, brad pitt and others, all next on "larry king live." we're in al pacino's backyard in beverly hills. last time he was with us after much begging and cajoling was back in 1996. we thought it would be the start of hundreds of interviews, and this is the second time. we've become very close friends. we spend a lot of time together. this is only the second time on the show. let's show you a little clip of

the first time from 15 years ago. >> no, don't. >> larry: watch. why have you finally come? >> i've come here? >> larry: yes, finally, after years of asking. >>y is nihility, i guess. >> why do you dislike interviews? >> well, i don't -- i think it's because it starts with the whole idea of being an actor, which is something that is a kind of -- the anonymity of an actor. the more anonymous you are, the easier it is for an audience to accept you in a role. i think it starts -- it starts there. and it's also basically because i think i'm somewhat shy. >> larry: you still feel that way? do you still feel -- >> yeah, i do. but i'm so shy now, i wear sunglasses everywhere i go. >> larry: you play -- >> i sleep with these. >> larry: now do so many things. your so outgoing. why would you be shy in a conversation? >> i've always said there are two kinds of actors. more greggaruous type and the

shy type. and both go into acting for the reason that they are able to access stuff because they have these big personalities and they -- they are able to get involved and they are open and they do things. and the other goes into acting because they can't do that. and in acting it allows them that freedom. so i think there's -- i'm sure there's people who are a little bit of both. but -- >> do you enjoy fame? >> this play i did, "remember the local stigmatic," which you saw the movie of. i filmed it. the quotation in there from the author. the start was fame is the perversion of the natural human instinct for validation and the tension. can you follow that? >> larry: yeah. >> i didn't make tuit up, but i just said it. it's a strange thing. when it first happened to me it was quite daunting.

and i got the best advice i ever got from anybody. >> larry: is this after "godfather"? >> yeah, after the big movies started coming out. it started earlier in the theater, too. it was escalating. and i got the best advice i could ever get from anyone. lee stross berg, the great lee strossberg said to me, darling, you simply have to adjust about fame. >> larry: al is currently starring on -- >> i haven't adjusted, but i'm trying. >> larry: he's currently starring on broadway in "merchant of venice." he played it in the summer outdoors in central park. that was free, right? >> that was free. >> larry: you works for nothing? >> joseph papp started it. it's a -- it's a great place. and they do it every summer. they do shakespeare. they are even doing other things. >> larry: is it different when you are working without pay? >> no, of course -- i mean -- >> larry: no? >> no. >> larry: you don't ever think of that? >> no. you don't think you are --

again, it's a job. and again, doing it in the park is -- because you are dealing with all the elements of the park. it's not quite what you think it's going to be. it's outdoor theater. but it doesn't work out kind of the way you think it would be. >> larry: so like this, plane goes overhead while you are acting. >> everything happens. it rains. as a matter of fact, we were in the middle of the scene and it started raining. >> larry: what do you do? >> you stop the show. but you don't stop until the announcement comes up by the stage manager. he announces, all right, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to stop the show for a while and the audiences love it. they love it when that happens. you go back -- i don't know why. they just do. they like that. you are a part of something that's different. and so -- but we did and we stopped for a full half hour. went back out again. >> larry: by the way, the advance for merchants of advance was the largest on broadway. $4 million. as of weeks ago before you opened. so you should be very proud. the reviews were amazing. i want to touch a lot of bases.

you play shylock. in the time of shakespeare, was he anti-semitic in your opinion? >> in my opinion, no, he wasn't. but it's hard to tell what was going on back then. that's 400 years ago what was being interpreted. there's a lot of interpretations of the play. to me, i think there is anti-semitism in the play, of course. but i also think shylock is -- it's also a blatant cry against prejudice in some ways when you think of what they do to this person because he's a jew. and how he reacts to it. and what he's become. what he is made into. >> so before you play him, do you think about it a lot? do you think about how i'm going to -- how i view him? do you have to like him? >> well, yeah. i mean you know, you don't -- first of all you think of anybody you are playing as a human being. and what his needs are. what drives him.

why he is where he is and what he's doing. these are the things you focus on. and in that point of view, you are -- as far as i'm concerned, i am looking at the play through shylock's point of view. and he's defiant. he's defiant in the face of prejudice. he defies it. that's what i love about the character. >> larry: you like playing shakespeare? >> i love playing shakespeare, yeah. yeah, i do. >> larry: and i just saw solome. when is that going to come out? you directed it. you star in it. >> one never knows. you know, this has been an ongoing thing for me for four years. it's sort of -- it isn't rare for documentaries to go on for a long time. you work on them. you develop them because there's no script to start with. so i had an idea. as i did with "looking for richard." there was an idea i had. that took me three or four years. you do it while you are doing

other things. and it goes back and forth. >> larry: it's a brilliant movie whenever it comes. see it. when you do hollywood, sometimes are you doing it for money? since you love theater so much. >> well, i wouldn't do some of the pictures i did for nothing. i'll tell you that. >> larry: great way to put it. >> sailors, but men. they'll be land rats and water rats. water thieves and land thieves. i mean, pi-rats. >> larry: dog day afternoon, scarface, that great line. do that line. the great line -- >> every day above ground say good day? that's an oliver stone line. >> larry: no, my little friend -- >> say hello to my little friend. >> say hello to my little friend! my little son told me that.

he said someone told it to him. what is that line your dad says? it's a catchy phrase. >> larry: when you take an accent like tharkts a cuban accent, do you keep it the night you go home for dinner, too? >> you sort of get involved. it becomes a part of your fabric, a part of your life. even after the movie is over, you are still a little bit in it. your frame is, you know, it was interesting. because it was -- it was a relief for me to come home and i was lucky enough to be -- i had fallen in love during "scarface." i had fallen in love. doing that 10, 12 hours a day and then coming home and listening to my girlfriend's problems and her day, would take me out of what i was doing. and i -- because, you know, it's like you don't talk much when you are doing something like that afterwards. you aren't -- you know, you have -- it's almost tantamount to being a fighter. like a boxer who is in the ring.

it doesn't fight much afterward. he doesn't go out and get into a brawl in a bar usually. it's because it's -- you know, it's -- it's what we do. and doing scarface every day for 12, 14 hours every day kind of -- i want to hear other people's issues and their problems. "scarface" was written -- people don't realize this -- by oliver stone and directed by brian depalmer, produced by martin brickman. but oliver stone wrote that text. so when you say say hello to my little friend, i think of oliver. >> larry: when you see your films, are you very self-critical? >> no. i stopped being that long ago. it doesn't serve -- let the others be. i'm going to have enough critics without it being myself. so what i look for is where the actor is working. where it's working. what i can do about it. i don't like seeing movies when i can do nothing about them. >> who put this thing together?

me! that's who. who do i trust? me! >> larry: universally repped. >> oh, yeah. >> larry: it's a kults. everyone talks about it. >> i would say it's the most successful movie i made. for me, yeah. >> larry: and dollars taken in? >> yeah. it's really -- and it's been that way for -- it's gotten all this -- and it's across the board. when i go to europe, when i go around. that's the picture they -- >> larry: do you ever turn down a roll you -- role you regretted? >> yeah. >> larry: without embarrassing the actor -- >> i don't want to embarrass anybody. you mentioned a role you turns down and -- but i realized about this role that i could have -- when i first read it i said, no. i'm not right for it. but later, when i -- when i saw it and i realized -- when i saw

a comic -- oh, i gave it away now. anyway it doesn't matter. >> larry: it was a comedy. >> i saw somebody doing something in a club. and i suddenly saw what i would want to do with this part. >> larry: lenny. >> and what happened -- we're just going to -- it's -- i just -- that was a great performance by dustin hoffman. it was a great performance. it was amazing. with an irresistible full key... oh, too much? now get an lg quantum™ for $199.99, and get one free. only from at&t. rethink possible. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker."

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♪ i knew it was you, frado. you broke my heart.

>> larry: godfather one and two may be the best movies ever made. many consider that now, ranked with "citizen kane." >> wow. i know. i know. i know. >> larry: did you like michael coralione? >> i loved the people i played. that's like saying to a painter when he paints a painting that, how did you -- how could you paint this painting of whoever? do you, you know, you don't feel as though -- you don't do that. you see always are looking at the met tor. always looking at what the character is. what is the deeper -- what is being said about our life and our world through this character. you know. and one can make the argument that michael coraleone. why did the audience like him? because it was couched in a drama, so it had a different -- it comes at you differently. it comes out of the drama. >> larry: do you agree godfather is about a family.

>> that's what i mean about this. that's was the thing that turned people on so much to the first one. i remember i was there and the reaction was so universal across the board. had a lot to do with family. the family structure. and people related to it. you didn't have to be an italian-american or -- you just related to the whole family dynamic. >> larry: when he goes into the bathroom, gets the gun and comes out and shoots the cop, was it your idea to throw the gun in the air? >> i guess it just happened. >> larry: very effective. >> i think -- >> larry: you tossed it and out. >> and the way it was like -- i'm sure it was in the script. i can't remember that far back. but it's sort of -- yeah, i think it was in the script. >> larry: we're all over the board tonight because i'm just so happy to have you. >> i'm glad to be here. want to stay here tonight? >> larry: do you ever watch other movies and say, i would

have liked to have played that? >> no. >> larry: no? >> as far as i can see it, any part that anyone is doing, i couldn't do. so i just look at it and say -- because i look at all parts, movies, as an audience looks at it. >> larry: you do? >> yeah. it's like going to a baseball game or something. you watch them. the pitcher pitch the ball. the hitter hit it. you know, you are -- you don't want to go out there and do it yourself. >> larry: if you were at a film, your own craft -- >> yeah, i don't see it that way. >> larry: you don't cry. >> there's no crying in baseball. >> and i am inclined to agree with that. >> they know when he or she is missing the mark. >> i can't tell you anything more than it just felt right. >> now i'm in big trouble. >> start training now.

>> we're humble guys, larry. >> i'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. [ male announcer ] this is lara. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol.

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♪ ♪ godfather is the term used

by his friends. one of affection. one of respect. >> michael, wasn't enough time. >> we'll get there, pop. we'll get there. >> in my home in my bedroom where my wife sleeps! >> i know it was you, frado. you broke my heart. >> larry: working with brando, what was that like for a young guy? >> when you think of growing up with the image of brando as your source of inspiration because i remember seeing him in a movie when i was 16 and i went into this movie house and saw "on the

waterfront." i was alone. and i had seen a member of the wedding came first with julie harris at the water. it was a great movie. she was great. but it was you know -- and then i saw this movie. and in those days, two features, two movies. i'm sitting there and this movie comes on, "on the waterfront" and i'm just locked because it had the great kazan directing it. it's over and i just sat there. did not move. sat through the whole member of the wedding movie again just to see water front again. that's how it impacted me. and it truly -- it's -- it was a, you know, today when you tell young people today about it, the response isn't quite the same. but you have to understand, this was in that period. it was a revelation. it was a breakthrough. his acting on screen was different than anything we'd all

seen. so it was -- so playing with him in the movie, i'll get to that answer. it was a little -- >> larry: nervous? >> a little unnerving. you don't know. and marlon would play that a little bit. he was always -- he was so good to me. he was so sensitive to the condition that eye because i was in a precarious condition, to say the least because they were going to let me go, i think. >> larry: they were going to let you go? >> yeah, they had made a mistake. >> larry: they thought you were wrong for michael? >> well, they did, yeah. because i started out slow. and that was my plan. my plan was to do michael corleone slow and discover him. he discovers who he is in this thing in a way. he really doesn't know who he is. he can be anything. and i wanted to see if i can get to that so that the moment, when

it comes, we know this guy, where did he come from? he's kind of a schlepp during the thing. he's here. he's there. we get the sense he's an independent kind of guy. but he's the kid. he's the kid and eventually he becomes the don. >> then i'll kill them both. >> and i thought, if you start like this, you got nowhere to go, really. and the impact of that moment of change won't be as strong. >> larry: was it difficult for -- >> but what kept me was that restaurant scene you see. when they saw that scene, they kept me in the movie. because i would have been gone. >> larry: wow. i never heard that. >> even frances said i had a lot of belief in you. i wanted you. i just thought you could do this thing and now there you are, you aren't cutting it for me, kid. i want you to see some of the rushes. so i said all right. by that time ididn't want to be in the movie anymore. i just you know, you get the feeling you aren't wanted.

so you don't want to be there. >> larry: so you were thinking you might not be in the movie when you did that gunshot scene? >> yeah. but i saw the rushes. i went in and saw what he was talking about. and i looked at the movie and i thought, wow. i don't know. i seem to be doing what i wanted to do. but i'll just pretend like i said, oh, yeah, you're right. i can see it. but i knew i was into something right but i didn't see anything. but they kept me after the -- after the shooting. ohhhh.... will you marry me? oooh, helzberg diamonds. yeah, well he must have saved some money with geico. reminds me of the gecko mating call. really? how does that go?

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>> larry: "scent of a woman," playing, and you are wearing glasses now. you wore glasses as a blind man, right? you had them off a lot, too. >> i had them off a lot. >> i didn't wear sunglasses that much. >> larry: when you are playing a blind person and you had to do that scene at the dance, what do you see? >> it's the oddest thing. you don't see anything. >> what do you mean? >> because you don't focus your eyes. and what happens is you just go into a state. as a matter of fact, i had an eye injury during the shooting of the film because i fell into a bush. and it was -- and the worst kind of eye injury is when plant life gets into your cornea. it's stuck in my cornea. but as i was falling, my eyes weren't focusing and the thing went in my eye. so it's also dangerous to do that. >> larry: so you are saying you

were blind during that movie? >> yeah. and what's so interesting because i asked my little daughter at the time. she was at that time about 3. and i said to her, julie, could you show me -- if you were doing something, how do you do a blind person? she was spot on. she was just perfect. i said bam, no work, no preparation, no nothing. she just did it. so it's -- i didn't, you know, i did a variation on that theme, but -- >> larry: was it difficult? >> no it wasn't. well, having an affliction or something, it's sort of -- it's like having an accent. it gives an actor something to feed into it. it feeds you. it serves you as an actor. >> larry: how did you coming up with hoo-wa? >> i had this guy who was teaching me how to assemble and disassemble a .45 blind. >> larry: you did that yourself with the gun? >> yeah. and i would spend hours just

learning how to take it. he was a real lieutenant or one of the guys. i don't know what his rank was. one time i did it right and he went hoo-wa. >> hoo-wa! i said what's that? and he would do it every time i did something. he said it's an expression used in the army. so i thought, let me -- and it worked its way into the part. >> larry: that was a hell of a movie. "sea of love." >> "sea of love." >> larry: that sex scene. >> yeah. i thought you'd never ask, larry. >> larry: you and ellen barkin, one of the sexiest scenes ever for me. i don't want to bring up names -- >> that's because i had all my clothes on. >> larry: marcella macrioni told me that sex scenes are the hardest thing to do because it's hard to be sexy when there's 43 cameramen around. >> yeah. well, you know, i think that had a lot to do with harold beck's

direction because he had orchestrated that in such a way that all you had to do is show up and he had just moved it in different ways. well, yeah. it's not the hardest thing in the world to kiss ellen barkin. that you do. but at the same time if it's orchestrated if it has a purpose. if it's made to do something and it's orchestrated, literally planned and worked out. moment by moment. step by step. and that's what harold becker did. he knew what he wanted. he knew how to get out of it the -- this quality, this sexual -- >> larry: did you get excited? >> well, you know, that -- >> larry: i mean, do you or don't you? >> i'm excite nod now. i'm always excited. >> larry: you are kind of passionates. nonoce ts as oho,

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>> larry: godfather, dog day afternoon, scarface. slx it's like you don't talk much when you are doing something like that afterward. you know, you have -- it's almost tantamount to being a fighter. >> i'm going to get him. >> like a boxer, right, who is in the ring? >> inch by inch. play by play, till we're finished. >> doesn't fight much afterward. didn't go out and get into a brawl in the bar. >> see? this is how we keep score. >> larry: are you easily directed? >> well -- yeah, kind of in a way. if the director knows what they want, yeah. sure. i kind of -- as sydney lament once said go here go there, you

go here. >> larry: you follow it well. but have you disagreed -- >> look, with a guy like lamet, he tells you this is where you go when you come in the bank. you go around here. you do this. and you know what? you are in a bank robbery. you don't have to act. you are just doing what he tells you and you're there. there's the bank robbery. that's genius. so when you work with a genius, that's what you -- that's good. that doesn't happen often. but sometimes you get lucky. >> larry: one of the great movies ever made. you made some of the great movies ever made. "dog day afternoon." >> yeah it was great. >> larry: and that actor you worked with. >> john cassell. he was a great actor. great artist. >> larry: when he was frado, was -- he had to play such a weak -- >> yeah. >> larry: -- character, yet the oldest brother. that was quite a job he did. you were sympathetic to him. >> yeah. yeah. i tell you, yeah, nobody liked

john. how about the guy in "dog day." >> larry: in that character, yeah. you were two gay guys robbing a bank. >> he wasn't. and remember when that moment comes. >> larry: he -- you were gay? >> i was gay. well, i was acdc. so i -- and so he -- it was this moment where they say two gay robbers in the bank and john's character says, i'm not gay. >> i'm not a homosexual. and john cassell says to sydney lament, why do i say i'm gay? why do i say i'm not gay? and sydney looked at him and says, well -- then he started talking. knowing john, i know this is going to go on for a while, right? because i know john. i work with him. and sydney starts to satisfy his question, you know, and then -- but it won't get satisfied. and it goes on and goes on. but i knew enough to go off to

the side and sort of practice whatever i was practicing. >> larry: he didn't want to say i'm not gay. >> he didn't understand why he said it and sydney -- you hear sydney say, you're saying it because it's in the script and i'm telling you to say it. he said you should have told me that in the first place. >> larry: that was a hell of a movie. >> yeah, but the thing about movies that's so interesting is that you can, and i've heard dustin hoffman talk like this. you can suddenly do something in a movie that's absolutely spontaneous and right there. like in "dog day." when i was going to say attica, attica. well, i have to go out there and talk to a mob. and this guy burt harris, a great a.d., assistant director of sidly la met's comes up to me and says, why don't you say attica. just say attica because it just had happened where they went

into the prison and killed all those -- all those prisoners. and it was really in the air hot and heavy in the air. and i just got it. and i thought, okay. and i went out there and said, attica! and the crowd just went attica. and -- i said attica and it was like this, you know, it was a reciprocal thing and it came back and forth. and before we knew it, we were in the zone together. >> larry: working with de niro. >> oh, my. bobby. well, bob is -- >> larry: the two of you are like -- but he doesn't do theater. >> no, he doesn't. you know, bob say kind of artist who has always been connected to movies. that's his al form. that's where he expresses himself. it's a different kind of thing. there are actors who find their art through film. a lot of them today. most of them today.

>> now that we've been face to fa face, if i'm there and i got to put you away, i won't like it. but i'll tell you. if it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you're going to turn into a widow, brother, you are going down. [ female announcer ] there's complete. and then there's most complete. like what you get from centrum silver ultra women's,

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♪ >> i don't know how to do anything else. >> neither do i. >> i'm in love with you. i love you. i am totally, completely mad for you. i love you. >> somebody trying to shake me up? hmm? hmm? ♪

>> larry: what your going to do after venice? >> what's he talking about? >> larry: after "merchant of venice." >> i thought where am i going, to venis? i'd love to go there. >> larry: did i lose your train of thought? >> after merchant i'm probably going to do another movie with adam sandler and -- >> larry: adam sandler? >> yeah. i think so. >> larry: oh, i heard about this. >> we don't want to go into it. >> larry: you play yourself. >> we don't want to go into that, though. it's not a done deal yet. >> larry: but it's a very funny concept. >> it's very funny and adam is great. he's very funny. not only is he a great actor, but he's a great comic writer. i want to go on stage again. >> larry: why do you keep working? >> because i'm here. because i still, you know, have my health.

and, you know, i had a few setbacks, as you know, people have heard about in my life. >> larry: -- >> not exactly. >> larry: took a lot. >> in a matter of speaking. >> larry: he's in jail. >> he's in jail. >> larry: so you have to work? >> well in a way, i do, yeah. and maybe that's good. wish i could do -- >> larry: al, it's an honor having you. >> it's an honor. congratulations for everything. >> larry: al pacino. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier.

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others. now that they need help, why are medical benefits being tied up by politician on capitol hill? specifically, senate republicans. many who championed their cause in the past, but who now seem to have changed their tune. tonight, we're keeping them honest. plus an american aide worker thrown in jail in haiti. i've been to the prison where he's at. the allegations, he kidnapped a 15-month-old child after turning the boy into a zombie. but he and the medical team that worked to save the child said the little boy died. there's a death certificate to prove it. we'll explain the bizarre case and talk to the jail volunteer's co-worker. and a reality show murder mystery. an "america's got talent" contestant named as a person of interest in his wife's death. he said he didn't kill her but went on with his audition even after police told him his wife may be dead. his explanation for that, part of tonight's crime & punishment. those stories and more at the top of the hour. now back to larry king. >> larry: susan boyle became an international singing sensation

as a competitor on 2009's "britain's got talent." her new album "the gift" entered both the uk and u.s. charts at number one. the first musician in more than 40 years to have two albums number one in both the united states and the uk. the last act to achieve that milestone, the beatles. what do you make of all of this, susan? >> i think it's really amazing. it feels a bit unreal at the moment. it takes a bit to sink in. >> larry: you deserve it all. let's go back in time. april of 2009. susan's extraordinary audition for "britain's got talent." video of this has been viewed -- get this -- more than 300 million times on the internet. take another look. >> and how old your, susan? >> i am 47. and that's just one side of me.

>> okay. what's the dream? >> i am trying to be a professional singer. >> okay. and who would you like to be as successful as? >> elaine page. >> what your going to sing tonight? >> i'm going to sing "i dreamed a dream" from les miserables. ♪ i dreamed a dream in time gone by when life was living ♪ ♪ for now for what it seems my life has killed the dream i dreamed ♪ >> the biggest yes i have ever given anybody. susan boyle you can go back to the village with your head held high. it's three yeses. >> larry: how did you feel that moment? >> i felt that i had done my best. i felt i had given my all. and i wasn't sure of the

reaction. i was quite shocked. in a pleasant way. >> larry: susan was a guest on this show shortly after that audition. here's a brief excerpt from that interview. are you going to record now? >> well, that all depends on the results. we'll take baby steps at a time. >> larry: when you changed the way you look, your hair you dress, your style? >> why should i? why should i change? it would take away my identity. >> larry: has this affected you at all? all in any way? >> it hasn't taken away my identity but it's made me more of a lady. made me more of a lady i would say. >> larry: so susan boyle is still susan boyle. >> i'm still susan boyle underneath it all, believe me. >> larry: what about the pressure, though, of being an overnight hit? don't you feel a lot of pressure? >> well, i suppose anybody, speaking generally here, would feel under pressure in the same way.

but after a while it gets to be enjoyable and the question is really no pressure on me now because i'm very humbled. lrk the whole world was shocked when you did not win "britain's got talent." i bet a lot of people think you did. you finished second to a dance group. were you surprised? >> i was surprised but they were a very good group, good bunch of lads and they put a lot of work in and they really deserved to win. >> larry: so you didn't feel that you got left out in some way? >> i didn't get left out. look where i am now. have i been left out? i have not been left out. >> larry: all right. you sang for his holiness pope benedict. you sang "i dreamed a dream" during a papal mass. how did that make you feel? >> i never thought that i would get to meet his holiness because it's not something that happens to everyone. and i never thought i'd be

singing at the papal mass because again it's not something everybody gets a chance to do. i felt very honored and proud. >> larry: and you also recently appeared for prince charles at the pride of britain awards. what do you think about the engagement of prince william and kate middleton? >> i think it's wonderful. good for the country. it's a feel-good thing because everybody's talking about depression, about poverty and everything else. it's good for the country. i think it's good for the country. >> larry: i would not be shocked if you were asked to sing at the wedding. i would not be shocked. in fact, i'd bet one or two on it. >> i think that's something you have to wait. >> larry: i just have a feeling. you are a woman of modest means and now you've had this amazing success, extraordinary sales, the album going through the roof. have you done anything

extravagant? have you bought a new home? new car? something wild? >> i bought a new home and a new car but it's nothing -- nothing too flashy. i call it the posh. just down the road from the old one. >> i want to ask you a little bit about the album but there's been a lot of concern in the united states recently about bullying. you said that as a child you were bullied and beaten. did that leave a mark on you? >> well, beaten, if you're beaten, it's physical scars but the psychological scars take longer to heal. so i would actually encourage those who have been bullied at school to come forward and, you know, confide in somebody. i didn't have a confidant at the time. it's important to have a confidant. >> larry: tell me about the album "the gift." >> it is a gift, the christmas gift, and i hope they enjoy what they hear.

>> larry: it contains, perfect day, hallelujah, do you hear what i hear, don't dream it's over, the first noel, away in a main enginee manger, oh, come all ye faithful. do you enjoy singing holiday songs? >> they're feel good songs, i love to make people happy, and this is a perfect time, a perfect day if you like, to launch another album. >> larry: what are you doing this christmas? >> probably spending it at home with my family. that's all that's important. very important. >> larry: susan, you are a treasure. you are an international treasure. and it's always good talking with you. >> thank you. >> larry: susan boyle. she's at it again, number one in the uk and the united states. and she will also perform oh, holy night from that brilliant new album "the gift."

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>> larry: welcome back to "larry king live." as promised, susan is singing for us. her new album entered the uk and united states charts at number one. here's o holy night. ♪ oh, holy night, the stars are brightly shining ♪ ♪ it is the night of our dear savior's birth ♪ ♪ a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices ♪

♪ for yonder brings a new and glorious morn ♪ ♪ fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices ♪ ♪ oh, night, divine ♪ oh, night, oh, night divine ♪ oh, holy night the stars are brightly shining ♪ ♪ it is the night of our dear

savior's birth ♪ ♪ joy in grateful chorus ♪ let's all within us praise his ♪ ♪ holy name, christ is the lord ♪ ♪ noel, noel, oh, night