George Clooney's Bizarre Marriage & Wacky Divorce ,
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     [IMAGE]GEORGE CLOONEY'S BIZARRE MARRIAGE & WACKY DIVORCE     [IMAGE]  =
[IMAGE] GEORGE CLOONEY was once married, and some of his friends had no ide=
a.   No wonder George Clooney has become a confirmed bachelor - his only ma=
rriage didn't last as long as the divorce wrangling!   Clooney wed actor Ma=
rtin Balsam's daughter Talia on Dec. 15, 1989, and they separated 20 months=
 later. But it took 25 months before the divorce decree became final in Sep=
tember 1993.   The couple fought long and hard in court over their communit=
y property - including George's prize possession, a potbellied pig named Ma=
x.   "George wound up getting Max although Talia had become very fond of hi=
m," Talia's uncle, actor Dick Van Patten, told The ENQUIRER. "They fought o=
ver that - it was like a child custody battle!   "George didn't treat Talia=
 badly during the marriage. I remember he took her to Vegas for their honey=
moon. But after they were wed he just decided, 'I guess I shouldn't have go=
tten married. I didn't know what this marriage business was like.'   "It wa=
s too confining for him."   At the time of the marriage, George, now 40, wa=
s a struggling actor who was "pursuing stardom with a vengeance, but Talia =
wanted a more traditional marriage so she was not at all that supportive," =
a close friend revealed.   "Over the course of their marriage, they continu=
ed to grow apart because they could not find a compromise. Eventually, Geor=
ge started getting better and better roles and people started to really not=
ice him - especially women.   "George and Talia began arguing more often be=
cause he wasn't home a lot, so they finally decided it would be best for bo=
th of them if they divorced.   "That's when things got really ugly. George =
was furious when Talia - whose family had money - insisted she get all the =
furniture and other household goods because as a struggling actor, it took =
him a long time to acquire those things."   In the end, Clooney got a baby =
grand piano, a 1959 Corvette, a 1983 Harley, a l988 Saab and a 1991 motor h=
ome, plus the money in four bank accounts, interests in partnerships, stock=
s and a Studio City house.   Talia got $95,000 in cash from George, her jew=
elry, some bank accounts and a 1988 Dodge.   Each was allowed to keep whate=
ver "furniture, furnishings, artwork, antiques, fixtures, personal mementos=
, household equipment and appliances, crystal, china, flatware and linens c=
urrently in (their) possession," according to court papers.   Said the frie=
nd: "That whole experience didn't turn George off women, but it did turn hi=
m off to getting married again."   Even while he was married, George always=
 acted very much like a single guy, say sources.   "I had no idea there was=
 a Mrs. Clooney," said a waitress at Du-Par's restaurant, where Clooney was=
 a fixture. "Nobody did.    "He was in here all the time with a group of bu=
ddies. He was the quintessential single guy."   And a former neighbor in St=
udio City disclosed: "We all remember the pig, but most people had no idea =
George was married.   "Some days he kept the pig in the yard outside. Some =
neighbors complained it smelled. It never bothered me. It just snorted at n=
ight sometimes.   "But as for his wife - I never saw her. Then she was gone=
 and he lived there with a few buddies."   Talia married actor John Slatter=
y in 1998, and they live happily in New York City.   Said a New York pal: "=
Talia's husband is gorgeous, he makes her laugh. They're really connected. =
So I'd say she's done pretty well since George. I don't think she's crying =
over him at all."   [IMAGE]       [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]     [IMAGE]    [IMAGE]HA=
LLE BERRY STRIPS FOR "MONSTER'S BALL"    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE] HALLE BERRY  Atte=
ntion Halle Berry fans! If you were excited to see her bare breasts in "Swo=
rdfish," you're in for another bare-all Berry-fest with her newest film "Mo=
nster's Ball," with Billy Bob Thornton.    According to reports, producers =
had to cut a sex scene that would have put the movie at an NC- 17 rating be=
cause of its very graphic content.    "I would only do it if Billy Bob agre=
ed to be as naked as I was," Berry told the New York Times Magazine. She al=
so added that the nudity in "Swordfish" was "gratuitous," but that it gave =
her the courage to take it all off one more time for "Monster's Ball."    "=
We shot the sex scene on Day 19 of a 21-day shoot," saidBerry. "I always sa=
y Billy Bob and I dated for three weeks, and then we had sex."    "Monster'=
s Ball" opened this week to audiences in New York and Los Angeles.   [IMAGE=
]       =09[IMAGE]=09 [IMAGE]     [IMAGE] [IMAGE] CELEBRITY  FACE-OFF [IMAG=
E]   [IMAGE] [IMAGE]       What former Golden Globe winner do you like best=
?   [IMAGE] ? TV Guide Online    Kevin Spacey     [IMAGE] ? Jerzy Dabrosky/=
ZUMA Press    Harrison Ford                    See  Results     [IMAGE]   [=
IMAGE]   [IMAGE]  =09

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