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Katie Holmes' Missing Days


Tuesday, June 21, 2005
By Roger Friedman

PHOTOS














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ARCHIVE

BACKGROUND




•
Is Jacko Cut Off From Family by the Nanny?
June 22, 2005


•
Katie Holmes' Missing Days
June 21, 2005


•
No Message From Jacko at Farewell Party
June 20, 2005


•
Jacko's Champion Speaks
June 17, 2005


•
Jacko Jury Was Denied Evidence Index
June 17, 2005


•
411: Jacko May Head to Europe Next Week
June 15, 2005


•
411: Jacko's New Lawsuit; Verdict Aftermath
June 14, 2005


•
Jacko's Weekend Holiday
June 13, 2005


•
Where Is Jacko?
June 13, 2005


•
Jacko Prosecutors Celebrate Early
June 10, 2005


•
The Jackson Family's 'Jackie O.'
June 09, 2005


•
Jacko's Money Woes Get Worse
June 08, 2005


•
Book: Jacko Had 'Radar' for 'Woo-able' Boys
June 07, 2005


•
Jacko Shocker Book: His 'Radar' for 'Woo-able' Boys
June 06, 2005


•
Jacko's Future Signed Away?
June 03, 2005


•
Jacko's Rich Protégé?
June 02, 2005


•
Jackson Clan on Their Way for Support
June 01, 2005


•
Lawyer Hints Kids Aren't Jacko's
May 31, 2005


•
Jacko Trial Mysteries Remain
May 27, 2005


•
'Star Wars' Set to Smash $200M Mark
May 26, 2005


•
Jacko Accuser's Mom Had $20K Deal for Story
May 25, 2005


•
Jacko's Future: He'll Move to Europe
May 24, 2005


•
Jacko's Receipts Could Exonerate Him
May 24, 2005


•
Jacko Witness Invited Along on 'Kidnapping'
May 20, 2005


•
Jacko Witness Immunity?
May 19, 2005


•
Coldplay Getting Ready for Summer Tour
May 18, 2005


•
Jacko Bail Mystery Deepens
May 18, 2005


•
Jacko Witness: Just Call Him Angel
May 17, 2005


•
'Sahara' Dry as the Desert
May 16, 2005


•
Neverland Romance for Accuser's Sister?
May 14, 2005


•
Jacko Defense Witness Got Immunity
May 14, 2005


•
Mac Attack: Jacko's a 'Human Being'
May 12, 2005


•
Macaulay Culkin Testifies for Jacko
May 11, 2005


•
Stones to Tour, Release Album
May 10, 2005


•
Jacko Stakes Family Home on Innocence
May 10, 2005


•
Wonder Video Features Narration for Blind
May 10, 2005


•
Macaulay Waits for Green Light
May 09, 2005


•
Culkin Still Undecided on Jacko Trial
May 06, 2005


•
Jacko's Old Friends Can't Save Him
May 06, 2005


•
Jacko Shocked: Bank Sells Out Beatles Loan
May 05, 2005


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The newly engaged Katie Holmes still has some explaining to do to her friends and family.

There were 16 days in April during which no one seems to know where she was.

Holmes made a public appearance on April 4 at the premiere of "Steel Magnolias" on Broadway.

She came with her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick, and a couple of other friends. They were there to support Rebecca Gayheart, who was making her Broadway debut.

I know this because I spoke to Holmes at length during the play's intermission. She said she had just moved into her New York apartment and was looking forward to seeing the city.

I also know that on April 4, she had not yet made the acquaintance of Tom Cruise. She briefly dated Josh Hartnett after breaking up with actor Chris Klein.

Hartnett, Klein, Cruise: Which of these three is not like the others?

Klein and Hartnett are young and tall. Cruise is middle-aged and height-challenged.

On the other hand, he's the biggest movie star in the world. They are not.

Holmes was busy during that first week in April. On April 7, she was photographed at the Fragrance Foundation's FiFi event.

Four days later, Holmes was still in New York and was photographed at VH1's "Save the Music" concert. She still had not met Cruise.

Sometime that week, her friends say, she flew to Los Angeles for a meeting with Cruise about a role in "Mission: Impossible 3." The meeting took place after April 11.

The next time anyone heard from Holmes was on April 27, when she appeared in public as Cruise's girlfriend and love of his life.

Where was she during those 16 days?

Somewhere during that time, she decided to fire both her manager and agent, each of whom she had been with for years and who were devoted to her.

The manager, John Carrabino, also handles Renée Zellweger and is beloved by his clients.

Holmes also acquired a new best friend, Jessica Feshbach, the daughter of Joe Feshbach, a controversial Palo Alto, Calif., bond trader.

The Feshbach family, according to published documents, has donated millions to the Church of Scientology. Jessica's aunt even runs a Scientology center in Florida.

According to Richard Behar's now famous 1991 story in Time magazine about Scientology, the Feshbachs were the subject of congressional hearings in 1989.

Behar wrote: "The heads of several companies claimed that Feshbach operatives have spread false information to government agencies and posed in various guises — such as a Securities and Exchange Commission official — in an effort to discredit the companies and drive the stocks down.

"Michael Russell, who ran a chain of business journals, testified that a Feshbach employee called his bankers and interfered with his loans. Sometimes the Feshbachs send private detectives to dig up dirt on firms, which is then shared with business reporters, brokers and fund managers."

The risk-taking Feshbachs, known the world over for making their fortune "shorting" stocks, and the level-headed, conservative Holmeses would be a difficult mix at a dinner table.

Katie's father, Martin Holmes, is the senior partner in a large and respected Toledo, Ohio, law firm. His son, Martin Jr., has recently joined the firm. He's a Harvard graduate. Katie's mom, Kathy, is frequently cited in Toledo for her charity work.

There is some fear among Holmes' close circle that her instant romance with Cruise is not as organic as portrayed.

For one thing, Holmes was raised a strict Catholic. Also, gone from the picture are two close Holmes friends who used to be with her when she did publicity for a film.

One of these is Meghann Birie, a childhood friend who has suddenly disappeared from Holmes' world. Another, a local TV producer here in New York, was too afraid to discuss the situation with me.

We know that Cruise auditioned several actresses for this role before settling on Holmes. This column reported a story about Jennifer Garner. There have been published stories about Kate Bosworth, Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Alba being approached.

A newer one involves Scarlett Johansson, who ran for her life when presented with a fait accompli dinner at the Scientology Celebrity Centre in Hollywood.

And history has been rewritten since the April 27 unveiling.

Curiously, since the Cruise-Holmes situation popped up, we have heard over and over again that Cruise was the young actress' idol when she was growing up.

That's certainly interesting because all of the publicity that used to run on Holmes — still found all over the Internet — lists another Tom as her favorite actor.

That would be Tom Hanks.