Mary McCormack tells us that shooting the USA network's "In Plain Sight," debuting June 1, "I honestly for the first time understood why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture. I got pregnant between the pilot and the series production. Luckily, they decided to wait for me. But when we started shooting, the hours were really tough because I had a not even 2-month-old, and I'd be up all night with her and up all day working."

McCormack, now on Broadway starring in "Boeing-Boeing," also has a 3-year-old with her husband, "Brothers & Sisters" producer Michael Morris — who flew in to Albuquerque, N.M. location to see Mary and the girls on weekends. That family separation was another challenge.

Still, she loved playing Mary Shannon, a U.S. marshal attached to the government's witness protection program. "I like her because she's a really complex character — good at her job, cranky, sort of rants. It felt to me like a part written for a guy," says Mary. Creator David Maples "is such a good writer. I love that he just randomly made her cheap as well. She never wants to pick up a bill. And her boyfriend (Cristian de la Fuente) is way more mushy than she is. When anyone talks about feelings, she just cringes, though deep down, she wants to be touched."

SO THAT EXPLAINS IT: James Van Praagh, the psychic/medium who created "Ghost Whisperer," claims in his new book, "Ghosts Among Us," that people are surrounded by ghosts every day, and Hollywood is no exception. In fact, he wants to send the book to Britney Spears as he is certain she is not alone. "I see people's energy around them, and Britney Spears has two low-level ghosts attached to her. One has tattoos all over him, and the other is kind of creepy looking," says Van Praagh — and, no, he's not talking about Kevin Federline. "Around every living thing is the aura, which is the electromagnetic bubble protecting us, but if someone is overly involved with drugs or drinking and isn't taking good care of themselves, what happens is that little pinprick holes appear in the aura, and these lower-level entities who have nothing else to do but hang around the earth can attach themselves and influence that person. I talk in the book about how you can get rid of them."

This certainly isn't Van Praagh's first brush with celebrities as his devotees include Cher, Shirley MacLaine, Barbara Walters, Goldie Hawn and, most recently, Heath Ledger. Yes, you heard us. "About two weeks after Heath Ledger died, he appeared to me in the mirror when I was shaving. It was really quick. He said, 'I f'd up.' He gave me the thought of his daughter, and then he was gone."

However, you don't have to be famous to get use out of Van Praagh's book. "I created 'The Ghost Whisperer,' and Hollywood got a hold of it and made it a little scary, so I've gotten thousands of e-mails from people from all over the world, who ask if this is the way it really is. Being the teacher that I am, I've got to explain to people exactly what it's like when you leave the body and you're a ghost and what it's like as a ghost being earthbound." Believe it, or not.

THE INSIDE TRACK: Tears for Fears co-founder/singer Curt Smith says his first solo CD in 10 years, "Halfway, pleased"(cq) reflect the changes parenthood has affected in his life. "When I was younger I was protesting against things, but now my main concern is really protecting these small human beings I'm looking after," says Smith, who has two young children. "Until you have children, it's all about 'I need this. I need that.' Now, I want it to be this way or that way because of them. It's not just me beating my head against the norm, but really trying to change the future for what we're leaving our children."

Smith wrote all the tunes on the semi-autobiographical album, but he says the most personal tune is the title track "Halfway, pleased." "It's really about my relationship with my mother and how it's sort of changed over the years. I view it differently because I'm a father now." He adds since becoming a father he's experienced "that feeling for the first time in your life of knowing, honestly knowing 100 percent, that you would actually die for another human being, and that's quite an amazing and powerful thing." Smith is releasing his new CD May 20 on his own KOOK Media record label. "I'm not going to be doing excessive touring because of my children," he says, adding he and Tears for Fears mate Roland Orzabal are "going to do some touring later in the year in Europe, which is another reason why I don't want to go out on my own." For more info go to www.curtsmithofficial.com.

GIVING BACK: Deion Sanders may be retired from his illustrious athletic career in football and baseball, but he says he still takes his role as an athletic mentor very seriously. "I mentor in football, baseball, basketball — from the NFL, all the way down to junior high kids," says the NFL commentator and star of the reality television show "Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love," with his wife Pilar Biggers. "If I'm naive enough to think that God blessed me with athletic ability just to make money and hoard it for myself, then I would be a fool. I was blessed at this level to be able to reach people and touch them, to evoke change in their lives, and I take that very seriously," declares Sanders, who has helped the likes of football players Devin Hester and DeAngelo Hall. "I don't want to see people make the same mistakes I made or have their dreams thwarted by some type of foolishness."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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