Marlo Thomas

Monday, November 19, 2001

By Marylynn Uricchio, Post-Gazette SEEN Editor

Marlo Thomas is an actress who produced and starred in "That Girl," the first television show about an independent single woman. Her prolific work in television has led to numerous awards, including four Emmys and a Golden Globe, and she has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. On stage, Thomas has appeared in "Barefoot in the Park," "Thieves," "The Vagina Monologues" and other works. She is here to star in the world premiere of "Paper Doll" through Dec. 9 at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Call 412-316-1600 for tickets.

Q. Why did it take television so long to make "That Girl"?

A. The culture had to change a little bit. There was a wave going on in the country, and "That Girl" really caught the wave. Television was kind of Neanderthal at the time. Lucy and Desi couldn't even share the same bed on television and they were actually married in real life. It was a time when you couldn't say the word pregnant on television, so a single girl living alone in New York who said I don't want to get married, I want a career was just unheard of. Everyone thought she was a revolutionary figure when in fact she was a fait accompli. Every home in America had a That Girl in it.

Q. Is the opinion you have of Jacqueline Susann now the opinion you had of her then?

A. To tell you the truth, I wasn't even interested in this play when it was first brought to me because I was not a fan of her writing and I never even saw the movie "Valley of the Dolls." But she was just a fascinating woman. She was fighting an uphill battle about what was allowed at the time, and all the women of my generation know what that's about, and she was trying to balance a marriage and a career. She was absolutely resilient. Nothing knocked her down. She just went for it, which is a great lesson in life. We all get our feelings hurt or we get discouraged or go away and lick our wounds, but she didn't. She just kept going.

Q. In what ways did you identify with Susann?

A. Her hunger to be somebody was so strong. My hunger is about the work. I have such a love for the work, I can't wait to get to the theater at night. It's two different kinds of hunger, but hunger's hunger. You are trying to find the things that are the same. I love the whole ritual of the theater, the whole idea of connecting to an audience, the desire to communicate thoughts and feelings to an audience. That's how I was raised.

Q. What's the upside and downside of becoming involved in a new play?

A. I don't know any downside. The exciting part of it is to find the play, which is what we've done here with these exceptional writers, and [director] Leonard Foglia is a master at constructing a play. To be involved in giving birth to a play ... I've done so many revivals of plays, and it's so much more fun to work on a new play. You're going somewhere where nobody's been before. It's exciting when it works, and when it doesn't work it's exciting to figure out why.

Q. What effect did having a famous father like Danny Thomas have on you?

A. I had such a great father. He was just such a good daddy in every way that it gave me a great love of the work and a great sense of reality about it. I was not one of these kids who came from Iowa starry-eyed about the glamour of Hollywood. I loved acting and was in all the plays at school, but I really weighed whether I wanted to go through with it because I knew how hard it was.

Q. How about having a famous husband like Phil Donahue?

A. That's been a pleasure. All the years I was dating -- it's really hard to be out on a date and have people come up to you. It dampens any ideas the guy has, it sort of makes him feel less. But now when people come up to us I know it's half Phil's responsibility. Also I think it's been good for me to be sharing my life with a man who understands the passion and the commitment. We've often talked about that with each other, how much our work means to us.

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