ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601100013
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-20 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD
SOURCE: N.F. MENDOZA LOS ANGELES TIMES
Diagnosis: Stuffiness. Rx: Levity in the ``medicinal'' form of impish charmer Charlie Schlatter.
Producers hope that Schlatter will make Dick Van Dyke's Dr. Mark Sloan ``less stuffy'' as the CBS series ``Diagnosis Murder'' moves into its third season, which began last month.
Executive producer and director Tom Chehak says he wants to bring Dr. Sloan ``back to what he was originally created as: a kind of eccentric, bumbling character who's distracted by his thoughts. Now, with Charlie as intern Dr. Jesse Travis, we've been able to capture a more carefree spirit with Dr. Sloan. Jesse feeds Dick's character, because in actuality, he is Dr. Sloan at that age.''
``Charlie has a marvelous energy,'' says Chehak. ``And a wide-eyed innocence that helped us with the younger audience.''
Schlatter, 29, who last appeared in Fox's pilot for the currently on-hiatus ``Too Something,'' replaces the now-departed Scott Baio. Of Jesse, Schlatter says with a laugh, ``He's basically me. He's very goofy.''
Schlatter's self-effacement is no act. Although extremely chatty over a lunch of grilled cheese and fries, Schlatter doesn't find it easy to talk about himself. Luckily, joining in the lunch is his wife, Colleen, who happens to be a publicist - his publicist.
Colleen proudly points out that ``Charlie can play just about any instrument and sings, too,'' reminding that New Jersey-native Schlatter has a musical theater background, which began in seventh grade. He received a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater from Ithaca College in New York.
Schlatter's career once seemed on a near-meteoric rise with his first role in 1988's ``Bright Lights, Big City,'' followed by leads in 1988's ``18 Again!'' and ``Heartbreak Hotel,'' 1990's Australian blockbuster ``The Delinquents,'' 1992's ``All-American Murder'' and the video release that year of ``Sunset Heat.''
``A lot of good projects got away,'' Schlatter says matter-of-factly. He acknowledges he may not have made the best choices in film roles. His follow-up films to ``18 Again!'' were disappointments in the United States.
Even Schlatter's turn in NBC's 1990 sitcom ``Ferris Bueller,'' based on the Matthew Broderick film, proved ill-fated. The series lasted only four months.
``When I had a chance to be the one to say, `Yes,''' Schlatter recalls, ``I was waiting for that one project. The `one.''' When it became apparent that the role of a lifetime wasn't coming his way, it was too late. ``By that time, other people were being asked to say `yes.'''
But Schlatter has no regrets. ``You get to know your neighbors real well when you're not working and outside gardening a lot,'' he jokes of their suburban Los Angeles hillside neighborhood.
The actor's clear about what's important: ``Doing what you love, which includes acting. I haven't been a snob about TV or film or theater. I've kept a hand in all of them. Here's what is most important,'' he says pointing across the table: ``Colleen and any children we might have.''
Lest the moment become too sentimental, Schlatter flashes his crinkly-eyed smile and says he hopes eventually to direct and see one of his scripts produced.
Schlatter hasn't abandoned features. With a co-starring role in Universal's upcoming ``Ed'' starring ``Friends''' Matt LeBlanc, he continues to toil on the big screen.
Working with an icon and an idol such as Dick Van Dyke has been a dream for Schlatter. ``It really has been just a pleasure and complete fun,'' he says.
Chehak agrees: ``Charlie's a wonderful actor. From the seed of the character I created, he's nurtured it into a full-grown tree. He's very inventive, and has great comedic timing. He knows how to play the subtleties of a line. Best of all, he really plays well opposite Dick. There's a great chemistry between the two.''
Schlatter hopes that chemistry plays itself into a song-and-dance number with his fellow cast member and favorite song-and-dance man.
``Oh yeah,'' says Schlatter, who looks forward to more musical theater. ``They've already done something where there's been a murder at a talent show, but maybe another opportunity will come up where we'll get to do a little soft-shoe together. Now that would really be great!''
``Diagnosis Murder'' airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on WDBJ-Channel 7.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB