Lauren Bacall criticizes `vulgar' Tom Cruise

NEW YORK (AP) _ Lauren Bacall has a few unkind words to say about Tom Cruise. <br/><br/>In an interview in the Aug. 8 issue of Time magazine, now on newsstands, the 80-year-old actress says, ``When you

Monday, August 1st 2005, 11:15 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Lauren Bacall has a few unkind words to say about Tom Cruise.

In an interview in the Aug. 8 issue of Time magazine, now on newsstands, the 80-year-old actress says, ``When you talk about a great actor, you're not talking about Tom Cruise.''

``His whole behavior is so shocking,'' she says. ``It's inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially, but I think it's kind of a sickness.''

Bacall was alluding to Cruise's displays of emotion and public courting of Katie Holmes in the weeks leading up to the release of his new film, ``War of the Worlds.'' Cruise and Holmes became engaged in June after he proposed at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Last fall, Bacall made similar remarks about Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman, her co-star in ``Birth.'' While promoting the movie, Bacall became irritated when an interviewer described Kidman as ``a legend.''

``She's not a legend,'' Bacall said. ``She can't be a legend at whatever age she is. ... You have to be older.''

``Private Screenings: Lauren Bacall'' and a marathon of Bacall's films were to air Monday on TCM.