ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512180036
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
The prime of Ms. Cybill Shepherd has arrived, again. And the actress is nearly ready for it this time.
There was acclaim, first, for the provocative ingenue of ``The Last Picture Show.'' Then the surprising emergence of a deft comedienne on ``Moonlighting.'' Now the even more deft star, and co-producer to boot, of ``Cybill.''
With a couple of devastating intermissions of divorce, tabloid trashing and ``whatever happened to...'' as bridges.
When professional success and oblivion alternate with the predictability of a wash-rinse-spin cycle, a smart woman gets a handle on it. Shepherd is smart, but she's still vulnerable.
Cocooned in a recliner in her studio trailer, without makeup or apparent defensiveness, the actress examines the joys and perils of getting what you wish for. Over and over.
``When you achieve that success again, as I've been blessed to do, essentially to have a third act ... in a career this long, it's an extraordinary thing,'' Shepherd says.
``You have to have been where I've been, to have been totally forgotten and doing nothing, to appreciate it,'' she says. ``The only job I could get was regional [theater] and playing jazz clubs and singing outside New York and L.A.
``Just like you get older, right, and you don't know what you've got till it's gone? I've lost it a few times. I know how quickly they forget.''
They, of course, being fans, like the airport security guard who squeals ``Oh, Cybill, I love you!'' as she's frisking her. And who probably wouldn't have loved her last year, before ``Cybill'' made a splash with critics and viewers (it airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on CBS).
Shepherd sparkles as an actress juggling an iffy career, two ex-husbands and two daughters. And, with the superb Christine Baranski as her wine-swilling foil, she is half of the wittiest gal-pal team around.
Shepherd was part of another popular duo when she and Bruce Willis starred in the 1985-89 ``Moonlighting.'' Stories of temperament and ego emerged, and Shepherd caught blame for undermining the series.
It was a ``bad rap,'' she says.
``The truth will out. You can't hide it. They can say lies or whatever. It's just an easy thing to blame; it makes good press, and I just took the rap.''
There have been rumors of discord on ``Cybill,'' sniping that suggests Shepherd is envious of acclaim for Baranski and her Emmy award for best supporting actress.
Shepherd grimaces. ``Give me a break,'' she responds. Among the lessons learned in her odyssey: Such tales are part of the deal.
``They've got to turn around and hate you for a while so they can love you again. I just try not to take it personally. I don't read [the stories] now; I used to read [them] more.''
She has better things to do with her time. Her producing duties, which make for long work days. Her three children, whom she's raised after the breakup of two marriages.
There's her romance with musician Robert Martin (``I consider myself married. I might as well be married, except for the scary piece of paper that wreaks havoc.'')
And her ongoing political activism, including support for abortion rights, gay rights and victims of domestic violence.
An ardent feminist, Shepherd revels in the sometimes-disdained label.
``I use feminist, feminist, feminist, and proud of it,'' she says.
``I have a debt for the freedom that I have. ... It infuriates me that whole generations of women refuse to use this word when our foremothers gave their lives to achieve the vote and the most minimal of civil rights.''
And, in a narrower context, the chance for a 45-year-old actress and former covergirl to play a sexy TV role AND be part of the brains behind her series.
``I feel like I've become fully myself for the first time, and become empowered and accepted my own power, really, with this show, for the first time,'' Shepherd says.
Power, however, does not mean invincibility. Another lesson learned.
``No matter how many times you've been a has-been,'' Shepherd says, ``it still is a paralyzing experience, success.''
``There's always that `Will it last?' There's always that fear the next time I go down, the pain of it. So I put on this great face that it doesn't hurt me. I'm indomitable.''
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Shepherdby CNB