Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 5, 1994 TAG: 9403050206
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By N.F. Mendoza Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It should. Shaughnessy's father grew up in Britain's Windsor Castle, the stepson of the personal assistant to King Edward VIII and King George VI.
"Fran and I have this running battle about Maxwell," he says. "I always resist that he's like me. I say, I'm not a bit like him, I'm a hip, happening guy, but Fran is always saying I am exactly like him. We share cultural backgrounds, but it's more like once removed. He's more like my father's generation."
His dad's "extremely privileged background," was "kind of like Maxwell's, and like Maxwell, he was theatrically inclined, which kind of made him the black sheep of the family," says Shaughnessy.
"Our house was very actor-oriented," Shaughnessy recalls of his upbringing in London's Chelsea area. "People like Noel Coward and Roger Moore and their chums and mates were always around."
Shaughnessy's father, who eventually became a BBC television writer ("Upstairs, Downstairs"), passed his affection for the arts to his son.
Being around actors - both successful and still-aspiring - made Shaughnessy want stability and security. He earned a law degree from Cambridge University before realizing he wanted to act full time. He joined the Footlights Revue, a comedy troupe whose membership has included Emma Thompson, John Cleese and Eric Idle.
He got even more work as an actor when he came to the United States 11 years ago to marry Susan Fallender, an American actress whom he met while they were both studying drama at the Central School in England.
Back in Fallender's hometown, Los Angeles, performing in "The Genius" at the Mark Taper Forum, Shaughnessy caught the eye of an agent. He won a role on "General Hospital," which led to an eight-year run on "Days of Our Lives." Later, he was a guest star on various prime-time series.
While he would love to eventually produce his own show, as Drescher has, he is content to be her second banana.
" `The Nanny' was Fran's idea," he emphasizes. "It's her show and it works very well. She's the package and is what America is watching. The butler (Daniel Davis) is like the Greek chorus. The show is very much an ensemble."
Shaughnessy's lord-of-the-manor Maxwell rounds out the cast. "There are so many capable dads on television today, like on `Sinbad,' on `Home Improvement' and John Goodman on `Roseanne,' " he says. "Those shows depict dads who are very involved with raising their kids. Maxwell is so awkward as a parent."
But Maxwell, he stresses, is not a bad parent. "He's not inhuman, he has a heart and a passion and love for his kids, but with all of his different neuroses and anxieties, he's a bit uncomfortable to be left alone with them. I hope we keep him that way."
Shaughnessy points out that he can keep Maxwell's ineptitude charming, since someone as capable as "The Nanny" is at the helm.
He sees the TV Fran as a reflection of the real one: "Fran is amazing," he says of the show's star. "On the day we taped the pilot, she arrived with a vat of spaghetti she cooked the night before. She's funny and smart as a whip and fun to be around."
Drescher's a great role model for what he eventually wants to do. "I'd like more creative input and I've learned a great deal from just watching her."
"The Nanny" airs Wednesdays on CBS.
by CNB