Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270021
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JUDITH MICHAELSON LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A spare man in a crisp summer-blue suit, Walston instantly projects an air of correctness and no-nonsense authority. A knife becomes his gavel; a linen napkin, which he folds into a long rectangle, a legal document. He is not averse to raising his voice or jabbing the air with his finger.
His portrayal of the small-town judge just won Walston his first Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series. You can almost hear him sigh, ``Finally'' - at age 80.
``I've been involved in television from the word `Go' - 1949 - half-hour murder mysteries and `You Are There,' and never getting any recognition,'' says the actor, perhaps best known for playing the quintessential space alien with retractable antennae on CBS' ``My Favorite Martian'' (1963-66). ``The Martian show, which was a ridiculous, silly show, was never recognized ... [although] I don't blame the Academy.''
Bone, however, is another world for him. ``He is the best character I've ever had in television, so pleasing for me and satisfying to do. ... He is me,'' Walston notes in a tone meant to brook no argument.
``Picket Fences,'' the quirky drama about the intertwining lives of the people of Rome, Wis., enters its fourth season on CBS (WDBJ, Channel 7) Friday.
There is toughness mingled with compassion in Bone, along with an innate streak of independence, whether it's arguing the meaning of the Constitution, shouting at someone - or at everyone - in his court to ``Get out,'' or gently closing the eyes of a dead priest in the final episode of last season - the episode Walston believes cinched the Emmy.
``This comes late in my career,'' he says of the award, ``and that it is a dramatic show is the best thing of all. Because, for the most part, my career had been on the stage in New York. And here, it's been devoted to a couple of those Billy Wilder [movie] comedies and running around with a couple of pieces of wire coming out of my head.''
Half a lifetime ago Walston, who had a range of Shakespeare and top Broadway musicals under his belt, won the 1956 Tony Award for best actor in a musical as the wily devil, Mr. Applegate, in ``Damn Yankees.'' That led directly to Hollywood - and to Fox, the very studio where ``Picket Fences'' is filmed.
Director Stanley Donen, who had seen Walston on Broadway, cast him as a Navy flier opposite Cary Grant in ``Kiss Them for Me'' (1957) at Fox. The following year, Walston reprised the devil's role in ``Damn Yankees'' at Warner Bros. and co-starred in the film version of ``South Pacific.''
Walston landed the ``Picket Fences'' role on a note of genuine anger; it was no act. Called in to read for what was envisioned as ``a recurring role, a small role,'' he resisted, but his agent, Harry Gold, insisted. ``[Creator and executive producer David E.] Kelley was there, a couple of the directors, and when I got finished - you realize Bone was supposed to be a very hard-tempered, tough guy - I threw the script down in my chair as hard as I could, not looking at any of 'em, walked to the door, opened the door and slammed it. And they said, `That's the guy,''' says Walston, his face breaking into a smile.
``Then the part got better as we went along. We ... I began to put things in it ... ''
Such as? ``Compassion for other people. ... Kelley saw this quality, and the second season there was a lot of wonderful stuff, and the third season even better.''
Walston has been watching the O.J. Simpson murder trial ``to learn as much about courtroom procedure as I could. Early on I said in an interview, `Judge Ito is a softy, a piece of cake. If Bone were sitting on that bench, he would throw the entire defense team out the door.' ''
Now Walston wants to amend the record: ``The judge faced a lot of situations and handled it like a gentleman,'' he notes softly. ``It's a tough case; it's hard to criticize him.''
And what has he learned about court procedure? ``Nothing!'' he shouts.
by CNB