DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 1997          TAG: 9711120056

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: LARRY BONKO

                                            LENGTH:   87 lines

IN LOTTERY ADS, STACK SPOOFS HIMSELF

AS HE EMERGED from the shadows dressed in a trench coat, Robert Stack's face was Eliot Ness-granite - no smile, no frown, no raised eyebrows. Nothing.

``This has been a true story from the files of . . . ''

The files of the gangbusters on ``The Untouchables''?

The files of the FBI Uniform Crime Report on ``Unsolved Mysteries''?

Guess again.

Stack these days is quoting from the files of the Virginia Lottery in slick commercials that have the look and feel of ``Unsolved Mysteries,'' which returns to primetime Thursday night at 10 on CBS. Speaking for the Virginia Lottery, it's the same serious, solid Bob Stack of ``The Untouchables'' and ``Unsolved Mysteries'' - same doomsday delivery, same I-won't-smile-even-if-you-tickle-the-bottom-of-my-feet expression.

``In May of 1996, Alphonso King of Hampton was having a meal at a local Chinese restaurant . . . ''

And then what happened, Bob?

``Inside a fortune cookie, he found six numbers . . . ''

King played Lotto with those six numbers and won $7 million.

``This has been a true story from the files of the Virginia Lottery.''

Bravo, Bob.

The commercials, gentle spoofs of ``Unsolved Mysteries'' which were produced in Virginia and Los Angeles, are a hoot.

Stack, who did all of his filming in California for a fee in the $100,000 neighborhood, says he had fun giving the commercials the ``Unsolved Mysteries'' touch - no disrespect intended for the series he's hosted since 1988.

``This isn't `Hamlet,' you know,'' said Stack, who at the age 78 is still a dynamo, giving his voice to animated characters in ``Hercules'' and ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America,'' popping up on ``Cybill'' earlier this month and doing voice-overs for Texaco and Arby's commercials. And now he's inducing Virginians to gamble in the lottery commercials.

A Richmond company, Siddall, Matus and Coughter Inc., signed Stack to do both TV and radio spots for the Virginia Lottery after a wouldn't-it-be-great-if-we-could-get-Robert-Stack brainstorming session.

You want Stack? You got him, said Stack's agent. The man is a working fool. ``I'll retire when the phone stops ringing,'' Stack said.

CBS brings back ``Unsolved Mysteries'' with a dash of tabloid TV: ``Did Elvis Take His Own Life? Is Michael Landon communicating with his daughter from the grave?''

The timeslot is murder - opposite ``ER'' - but Stack is happy to have it as CBS commits to six episodes. ``We have a good show with millions of loyal viewers. I darn near broke up introducing the Michael Landon story. It's very touching. The question now is will the popularity we had on another network be transfered to CBS?''

Could ``Unsolved Mysteries'' do any worse in the ratings (No. 68) than ``48 Hours,'' the show it replaces this week? Attract even less younger viewers? ``I'm not bashing NBC,'' said Stack. ``But I have to wonder why a network would drop a show that consistently won its timeslot.''

A year ago, when ``Unsolved Mysteries'' aired on NBC at 8 p.m. Fridays, it was No. 41 in the ratings. The show that replaced it, ``Players,'' is No. 62. ``Unsolved Mysteries'' is a show with a heart, said Stack.

``Players'' doesn't have a heart. It has Ice-T.

Nothing would please Stack more than to pull a Cosby, which is to say he'd like to see ``Unsolved Mysteries'' evolve from six specials on CBS to a regularly scheduled series. That is what happened for Bill Cosby's ``Kids Say the Darndest Things,'' which began as a series of specials including Friday night's airing at 8.

CBS says ``Kids'' will be a weekly series early next year. Stack is delighted that the Virginia Lottery approached him about doing commercials, even if it meant working way past midnight to get the job done quickly. ``It was smashing. The crew was courteous and respectful. They even gave this old guy flowers.''

Stack is still before the cameras 46 years since he first appeared on TV. ``The Untouchables'' made him famous the world over as he played the relentless Ness who tracked down hoods named Jake ``Greasy Thumb'' Guzik and Frank ``The Enforcer'' Nitti.

Stack looks good, sounds great, and believes he has prospered for more than half a century in a highly competitive business because long ago he took the advice of Clark Gable.

``When I broke into films, he was like a father to me,'' Stack said of Gable. ``He advised me to show up on time, learn my lines, read them like the writer intended, and be a pro. Gable told me that if I ever became a celebrity who pushed people around, he was going to kick my behind.''

In Hollywood, they will tell you that Robert Stack is as gracious as he is durable. He's also one heck of a salesman. And now, for another strange but true story from the files of the Virginia Lottery . . . ILLUSTRATION: Photo

NBC

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