DATE: Monday, July 21, 1997                 TAG: 9707190064

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: BONKO IN HOLLYWOOD 

SOURCE: Larry Bonko 

DATELINE: PASADENA, CALIF.                  LENGTH:   87 lines

AFTER SHORT ABSENCES, GUMBEL, CARUSO RETURN TO TV

DAVID CARUSO. BRYANT GUMBEL. One was a big TV star for a year. The other worked in TV for 15 years.

Then they both went away.

Where is Caruso today? Where is Gumbel?

Last week, they were meeting and mixing with more than 200 members of the Television Critics Association. Come September, Caruso and Gumbel will be back on TV, both with CBS.

Caruso is 13 pounds lighter than when he played Detective John Kelly on ABC's ``NYPD Blue.'' His thatch of red hair is shorter for the title role in ``Michael Hayes,'' which will air at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

Gumbel, formerly of ``Today'' on NBC, hopes to be lighter - by 20 pounds, he said - before starting ``Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel,'' a primetime magazine that will air on Wednesdays at 9.

Caruso has an advantage over Gumbel in his return to network TV. The man knows what his show will be about: Honest, crusading U.S. attorney takes on sophisticated, well-connected criminals and generally wins.

``Viewers want to see me get the bad guys. And there are plenty of bad guys on the horizon,'' Caruso said.

Gumbel's ``Public Eye'' is still evolving, he said when he met and lunched with TV writers. I suspect he knows more about the format than he's saying.

``No coach reveals his game plan to the opposing team,'' Gumbel said.

He did open his playbook just a crack for the TV writers. ``Public Eye'' will be mostly live TV, he said.

``We won't be sleazy or cynical. We'll not be TV's bottom feeders. We'll be flexible, passionate, spontaneous, energetic and topical. We'll tell good stories.''

Gumbel's support cast includes CBS News correspondents Bernard Goldberg, Alison Stewart and Peter Van Sant, plus two people who are new to TV news - Derek McGinty and Maggie Cooper.

Gumbel told them to expect anything.

``We'll not be slaves to a formula.''

Both Caruso and Gumbel said they surprised themselves by returning to the grind of weekly TV so soon after leaving it. ``I frankly expected to disappear from television and maybe be one of those crazy old guys living out their lives on the top of a mountain,'' said Gumbel.

But then the offers rolled in. NBC wanted him back. Fox wanted him. So did ABC - everyone, it seems, except Nick at Nite. CBS bagged him by making him a producer as well as an anchor.

``We could be canceled after two weeks, but I expect CBS to show great patience with us,'' he said. Sounds like the man has an deal etched in stone.

Caruso thought it would be a snap to ease from TV star to movie star. Then he made two so-so films (``Jade'' and ``Kiss of Death``). After that, the movie studios lost interest.

He is back on TV by the grace of producer Steven Bochco, even though Caruso walked off Bochco's ``NYPD Blue'' after the first season. ``I could have been more of an adult about that,'' said Caruso.

Did he leave ``NYPD Blue'' because he wanted to be an instant movie star? Not really, Caruso said. Was it because he wanted more money? Not really.

Caruso said he quit one of TV's best dramas, and the role of a lifetime, because he was bushed. Tired.

``I wanted more time off. A widening of the hiatus period. I had worked 56 weeks in a row in that period when I did `NYPD Blue.' We were doing 15- and 16-hour days on a show that is quite demanding. It was a challenge to summon the energy to do the takes.''

TV work requires the stamina of a linebacker. Caruso looks fragile.

One moment he was a TV star, a cover boy, an unknown actor who'd become a household name overnight. Then he was an instant movie star.

Then the movies flopped.

Now he's back on TV as star and executive producer of a CBS drama.

``I've had an amazing roller-coaster ride,'' Caruso said.

He's good in ``Michael Hayes,'' playing a heroic federal prosecutor. The role isn't as epic as Detective Kelly on ``NYPD Blue,'' but it's a part that could restore Caruso to a level he once knew - big TV star.

As for Gumbel, he's rarely been seen in primetime before now, and it's anybody's guess if the Wednesday-night viewers will take to him. They shared breakfast with him for years. But will he be as welcome in primetime with a straight-ahead TV newsmagazine?

No point in asking Gumbel about primetime television.

``I never watch it,'' the man said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]

CBS

Bryant Gumbel, above and David Caruso return to TV this fall with

new shows. Gumbel will host his own newsmagazine while Caruso plays

the title role in "Michael Hayes."

CBS

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