Winehouse family gives interview to Anderson Cooper

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family of Amy Winehouse will give their first major television interview since the British singer's death in June to American journalist Anderson Cooper for the September 12 launch of his new TV program.

Cooper, who launches his own syndicated daytime talk show next week, said in a Twitter message on Tuesday that he would be speaking with Winehouse's father Mitch, her mother, stepmother and boyfriend for the launch of "Anderson."

"I'm really looking forward to speaking with Amy Winehouse's family. They've been through so much, and her talent was so great," Cooper said on Twitter.

The singer of hits such as "Rehab" and "Back to Black" was found dead in bed at her London home on July 23 at the age of 27. Despite well-chronicled addictions to drug and alcohol, the cause of her death remains a mystery. An autopsy found no illegal substances in her body and although alcohol was present, it could not be determined if it played a role.

In the interview with Cooper, the singer's parents will discuss for the first time their daughter's long and public battle with substance abuse, the "Anderson" show said in a statement.

Mitch Winehouse said in July that Amy had beaten her drug dependency and had been happily looking forward to a future with her boyfriend, film director Reg Traviss.

Sales of Winehouse's records have soared in the weeks since her death, and she was remembered in a special segment at the MTV Video Music Awards last week.

Cooper's new talk show, to be broadcast before a live studio audience from New York, will cover pop culture, social issues and human interest stories. Cooper will also keep his job as host of nightly CNN news show "Anderson Cooper 360".

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)