Anne Heche rips into ex-KR spokesman's son

You wouldn't think there'd be any connection to what once was Knight-Ridder on "The Late Show With David Letterman." Well, there is.

Wednesday night in a rerun show actress Anne Heche ripped into her former husband, Coleman "Coley" Laffoon, while talking to Letterman. Such words as "lazy-ass" were uttered by Heche.

Coley, born in 1973 in Cincinnati, is the son of former Knight-Ridder vice president of corporate relations and spokesman Polk Laffoon IV. Coley grew up in Grosse Pointe while Polk was with the Detroit Free Press, once a K-R newspaper. Polk made splashes with his 1980's "Who's Running Cincinnati?" series in the Cincinnati Post, which showed that a handful of companies controlled much of what went on in The Queen City. He also wrote “Cincinnati’s Jewish Community” in 1977 for the same newspaper. Polk began as K-R VP of corporate relations in 1994 and added the title of corporate secretary in 1999. He was investor relations officer for Taft Broadcasting in Cincinnati for 17 years and went to San Jose after Ridder basically absorbed Knight.

Heche and former movie cameraman Coley have a 7-month-old son, Homer, from their five-year marriage. Heche pays $3,700 monthly support to Coley for the child. He also got a lump sum of $515,000. She told Letterman that Coley's main occupations are playing soccer and opening his mailbox to get her child-support checks.

Actually, Coley has a job, with Los Angeles real estate company Hilton & Hyland. His reaction? "I wish Anne Heche could see that public bullying isn't good for the soul or positive for her child. It's mean."

Coley attended the University of Florida.

Heche, starring on HBO's "Hung" series, and her former "Men in Trees" series star James Tupper have a baby boy, Atlas Heche Tupper, born earlier this year. She once was linked romantically with comedian/talk show host Ellen De Generes.

My thanks to former BJ reporter Charlene Nevada for tipping me off about the connection.

To see photos of Heche, Coley and son Homer, click on the headline.