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Poll: Cruise top star of 2005

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Al Roker
Michael Douglas
Tom Cruise
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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Tom Cruise led a poll of movie exhibitors aimed at determining the top 10 moneymaking stars of 2005.

Cruise, who appeared in last year's "War of the Worlds," has won the annual survey by Quigley Publishing Co. seven times, Arnold Robinson, the actor's publicist, said Thursday.

Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and Bing Crosby have all snatched the No. 1 spot five times.

The Quigley Poll, conducted every year since 1932, asks motion picture exhibitors to vote for the 10 stars who generated the most box-office revenue for their theaters.

Johnny Depp finished second in the 2005 poll. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt tied for third, followed by Vince Vaughn, George Clooney, Will Smith, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler and last year's winner Tom Hanks.

Douglas: Star power helps

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Michael Douglas knows that those who attend the World Economic Forum can move mountains and make mounds of money.

But a little star power -- be it Bono, Angelina Jolie or Peter Gabriel -- never hurts.

"It's an impressive group, to say the least, that covers a broad spectrum," said the 61-year-old actor-producer, adding that the free-flow nature of the event promotes dialogue in a friendly environment.

"People seem to let their hair down a little bit and loosen their ties. And there is a lot of give and share that's going on both in front on the panels and behind," Douglas told The Associated Press.

"So it's a learning experience for me and, I guess my from end, I hope they will recognize as they have from Bono's efforts and others, that many of us on the entertainment side can talk about the issues," he said.

Douglas won a best-actor Oscar for his role in 1987's "Wall Street." He also has starred in "Fatal Attraction," "Traffic" and "Wonder Boys," among other films.

As for using celebrity to advance causes, Douglas said that can be a double-edged sword.

"We obviously help fundraising a whole lot, and as spokespersons you bring the issue on the table as a message of peace from the United Nations talking about disarmament, in particular areas (like) weapons of mass destruction, nuclear disarmament," he said.

"People tend to get an audience from television when celebrities are involved. That helps. The danger is when you get in over your head and then you lose your credibility."

Ten years of 'Today' for Roker

NEW YORK (AP) -- He's only two-thirds the man he used to be, but Al Roker won't be eating heartily to celebrate 10 years on NBC's "Today" show. He's dieting.

"Today" was to mark the formerly rotund weatherman's anniversary on the air Friday.

"I was just thrilled to get the gig to begin with," Roker told The Associated Press. "Ten years later to still have it is not only thrilling but also somewhat of a puzzlement."

Due to his gastric bypass operation in 2002, Roker spent the past few years as the incredibly shrinking man. With the Winter Olympics again near, his thoughts drift to the Salt Lake City games in 2002, just weeks before he went into surgery.

"I ate myself stupid," he said. "I thought, 'I'm never going to eat like this again.' The only trick was to make sure I didn't have a heart attack before I did the deal."

He was 330 pounds at his peak, and bottomed out at 200. He has gone back up to 225 pounds, which is why he's trying to take some more off now.

"Today" is on a high right now, having beaten back a challenge from ABC's "Good Morning America." During the week of January 16, the "Today" lead was up to 1.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"When the country faces a crisis, like they did this summer with Hurricane Katrina, they make a decision -- do I watch a show because it's the headquarters for a Sunday-night soap opera, or do I watch the program because I know when there's a crisis, these are the people I trust and go to?" he said.

The reference was to ABC's "Desperate Housewives," which was frequently featured on "GMA" when that broadcast was surging last spring.

The core "Today" family of Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Roker have been together since 1997, although perhaps not for long. Couric is considering jumping to CBS to anchor its evening news when her contract is up this spring.

"None of us can worry about that, because it's not something we can control," Roker said.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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