THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
FROM THE recent Television Critics Association press tour in Southern California, here are the quotable notables:
Kirstie Alley, late of ``Cheers'' and soon to be seen in an ABC film, on rumors she will replace Candice Bergen of ``Murphy Brown'': ``It would be stupid to try to step into her shoes. They don't have enough money to tempt me to do that. As for returning to series television, the pile of scripts I see go from dumb to dumber to dumbest.''
Jane Pauley of ``Dateline NBC'' on writing an autobiography: ``I will spare the world a book about my career. I haven't thought much about how far I've come, the people I've met or what I've accomplished. At the dinner table, my children ask me, `Mom, have you ever been to such and such a place?' I have been to the four corners of the Earth. I regret not keeping up with my archives.''
Leslie Nielsen, film star soon to be heard on PBS as narrator of the children's series ``Katie and Orbie'': ``The idea of sitting down and reading stories to children is very appealing to me. I don't want to grow up. I want to grow down. I decided long ago to never take myself seriously.''
Robert Urich, star of the syndicated ``Lazarus Man'' series and soon to be seen on The Family Channel in ``Captains Courageous'': ``The appeal of the classic TV western is good against evil. It's that simple. The western never goes out of style. It's always refreshing. Doing a western, you come home smelling of smoke, mud, wet sage and horse. I love it.''
Randy Spelling, soon to be seen in ``Malibu Shores'' on CBS, about life with sister Tori of ``Beverly Hills 90210'': ``Tori didn't use her real last name when she first auditioned for parts. I never went under a different name. That was no advantage. I competed fairly with everyone else.''
Author Dominick Dunne, whose book ``A Season in Purgatory'' will soon be the basis of a CBS miniseries, on covering the O.J. Simpson trial for Vanity Fair magazine: ``Have you ever heard of a millionaire with an expensive defense team who has gone to prison? No. It's been like that for a long time in this country. It's unconscionable for a lawyer to win acquittal for a wealthy person you know is guilty.''
Shannen Doherty, formerly of ``Beverly Hills 90210'' and the co-star of a CBS film, ``Gone in the Night'': ``People in the media have done me wrong. They have taken liberties with the truth. Some journalists are irresponsible. They are not objective. They do not report things fairly about me. I've been a working actor for 14 years, and you never heard a complaint about me before or after `Beverly Hills 90210.' ''
Barbara Walters of ``20/20'' on ABC, also commenting on how she has been treated by the press: ``There was a time when every newspaper and magazine seemed to take delight in the fact I was failing. And there was all this ridiculous stuff about me insisting on having pink typewriters and pink limousines. It was terrible. It made me look like the biggest prima donna.''
Jerry Seinfeld on the final season of ``Seinfeld'' on NBC, whenever it comes: ``Generally speaking, a TV series has a healthy life of five to eight years. Beyond that, it often stays on the air because of financial reasons. My feeling is that our show is still really good. I will plan the final episode like we do all the others - about a week before time.''
Spalding Gray, actor-writer who will appear in ``Gray's Anatomy'' on Bravo: ``Breaking into acting, I soon learned things to do and not do. I learned not to eat on camera because if you do, you must eat in every take. I just finished a film with Sharon Stone in which, for one shot, I had to eat chicken a la king over and over for three days.''
Jon Cryer of the Fox sitcom ``Partners'' on why he wears a goatee: ``I look like a 12-year-old without it. In an upcoming episode, my date wants me to shave it off. I have to decide if the girl is worth the loss of my beard.''
Blair Underwood, formerly of ``L.A. Law'' and a co-star in the HBO film about baseball in the Negro leagues, ``Soul of the Game'': ``As African-American filmmakers, we should do more to create dramatic roles for black actors. We need to show there is a market for such roles. Also, the networks need to step up to bat and explore more opportunities for black actors. We have a long way to go.''
Alan Thicke of ``Hope & Gloria'' on daytime trash talk: ``It helps for a host to succeed if he or she is overweight, abused, maligned, likes to talk about past love lives or is dysfunctional in some other way. Bring those skeletons out of the closet.''
And that's how you do a daytime talk show. by CNB