The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 34

C-10 Town Talk, Alexandria-Pineville, La March 15, 1985 Actress More Often Heard Than Seen Comedies Do Well in TV Ratings voice," she said. "And my voice changes has changed all the time. I no longer have the high F's and the high E's. On the other hand, what I've gained is more meat and more warmth. Though I remain a lyric soprano, I guess I will never be a bird-girl again." LOS ANGELES (AP) Marni Nixon is a red-haired optimist who is more often heard than seen.

Miss Nixon was the ghost-voice who sang off-camera for such movies as "The King and "West Side Story" and "My Fair Lady." But Miss Nixon, who is now 55 and a grandmother, still makes concert appearances around the country. Miss Nixon said she never stops working on her voice, because "singing is definitely an athletic activity. "I never stop reworking the PLUMBING REPAIRS PH. 445-2931 OPEN TIL NOON SAT. OSBORNE PLUMBING Into Of Uul, Slit national rWxH.

)(( Cta( Crtrdrs with ABCs "Night of 100 Stars." In the evening news competition, CBS widened its one-point lead from two weeks ago, which was the narrowest margin since last November. Last week, the "CBS Evening News" averaged a 13.5 rating. The "NBC Nightly News" had an 11.8 and ABC's "World News Tonight" had a 10.8. Here are the top 15 televisions programs as compiled by the A.C. Nielsen Co.

for the week of March 4-10. Listings include the week's ranking, with season-to-date ranking in parentheses, rating for the week, and total homes. An in parentheses denotes one-time-only presentation. 1. (3) "The Cosby Show," NBC, 28.0, 23.8 million homes.

2. (7) "Family Ties," NBC, 25.4, 21.6 million homes. 3. (1) "Dynasty," ABC, 24.0, 20.4 million homes. 4.

(6) "The A-Team," NBC, 23.5, 20.0 million homes. 5. (15) "Cheers," NBC, 22.9, 19.4 million homes. 6. (2) "Dallas," CBS, 22.4, 19.0 million homes.

7. (5) "Simon Simon," CBS, 21.8, 18.5 million homes. 7. (4) "60 Minutes," CBS, 21.8, 18.5 million homes. 9.

(17) "Kate Allie," CBS, 20.8, 17.7 million homes. 10. (17) "Newhart," CBS, 20.7, 17.6 million homes. 11. 8) "Knots Landing," CBS, 20.4, 17.3 million homes.

12. (12) "Murder, She Wrote," CBS, 19.7, 16.7 million homes. 13. (21) "Highway to Heaven," NBC, 19.3, 16.4 million homes. 14.

(13) "Riptide," NBC, 18.4, 15.6 million homes. 15. X) "Helltown," NBC, 18.2, 15.5 million comedy and lowbrow humor were being rejected, while more realistic comedies were succeeding. "I guess the American pubic is signaling us that they want classy comedies," Gerald Jaffe, NBC's vice president for research projects, said Tuesday. "You're not going to see slapstick comedies succeed," said Mike Eisenberg, CBS director of audience measurement.

"That cycle is over, and this is the strongest evidence yet" Eisenberg said it might have "something to do with the upbeat mood of the country. We don't need escapist comedy now." WITH SIX WEEKS left in the prime-time campaign, the five popular comedies also were among the Top Twenty shows in the season-long rankings. "Cosby" was third, "Family Ties," seventh, "Cheers," 15th, and "Kate Allie" and "Newhart," tied for 17th. Last week," the next highest-rated comedy was the premiere of NBC's "Michael Nesmith in Television Parts" tied for 30th. CBS' "The Jeffersons" and "Alice" were among the 10 lowest-rated programs.

In the final ratings for 1981-82 season, "The Jefferson" and "Alice" were Top Ten shows, along with ABC's farcical "Three's Company," Joanie Loves Chachi" and "Too Close for Comfort." Eisenberg said the appeal of this year's most popular comedies reminded him of the 1973-74 season when "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," "Maude" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" were Top Ten hits. Last week's other highlights included Robert Blake's return to prime time as an unorthodox inner-city priest in "Helltown." The two-hour movie ranked 15th. CBS' movie, "Kids Don't Tell," which was about child abuse," was 16th. Clint Eastwood movies continued to do better than most theatrical films. A repeat of "The Enforcer" on NBC ranked 18th, tying it By Fred Rothenberg AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) Led by the front-running "Cosby Show," five of the Top Ten shows last week were comedies, confirming that contemporary humor is alive and well on network televison.

"The Cosby "Family Ties," "Cheers," "Kate Allie" and "Newhart," labeled "classy comedies" by a network research executive, all cracked the elite ratings tier, according to figures for the week of March 4-10 that were released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co. CBS won another week, despite NBC placing four shows in the first five. CBS averaged a 16.2 rating to NBC's 15.8 and ABC's 14.5. Season to date, CBS has a 17.2 rating to NBC's 16.4 and ABC's 15.6.

A rating equals 1 percent of the nation's 84.9 million TV homes. Last week, network viewing dropped by more than 2 million homes over the previous week, principally because of network preemptions for the Billy Graham special and college basketball conference tournaments, according to network researchers. NBC'S "COSBY SHOW" has become so successful that it took the top spot last week with a repeat program. The episode drew a 28.0 rating against an original of "Magnum, P.I." on CBS and the theatrical movie "Buddy Buddy" on ABC. When the "Cosby" episode was initially broadcast last October, it drew a 21.8 rating.

NBC's "Family Ties" was the No. 2 show, followed by ABC's "Dynasty," NBC's "The A-Team," NBC's "Cheers," CBS' "Dallas," CBS' "Simon Simon" and "60 Minutes' (tied for seventh), CBS' "Kate Allie" and CBS' "New-hart." Last season, when no full-season situation comedy finished in the Top Ten, some industry observers were saying comedy was dead. But a closer inspection showed that slapstick BUY flHF P177A IT SECULAR I OR OFF GET OFF A LARGE OR 2.00 OFF A MEDIUM SIZE PIZZA ANY STYLE PRICE GET THE NEXT SMALLER SIZE FOR ONLY SIZE FOR ON 99 AND AS MANY I I TADDItlfC AC Vnil Uf AMTI mini uiiudcd ncTADOiuec iwrnnggng mw num. LI(UNL HUMIILn wi ivinnnv i Present this coupon with guest I Present this coupon with guest check. Not valid with any other check.

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"Ajlbion" antiques LAST WEEKEND OF REDUCTIONS improvise during rehearsals. He has a real handle on how teens are. "I'm nothing like Clare in 'Breakfast I'm probably more like the character Ally Sheedy plays or somewhere in between. And I don't have much in common with Lonnie who attempted suicide in But I understand them both. I know what they're thinking and why they are the way they are.

"That's the best reason for having teen-agers play kids in movies and TV." MARCH 14-15-16 NEW SELECTION OF UNIQUE BASKETS T1 Shop Will Cloud Hatch 17 To April II 9 HOURS: 10-5 Sat. Or By Appointment 442-5365 Lxafcd HaH Mil From Hwy. 71 South Toko Sound loft Paw Tho Overpast FOR 2nd WEEK ON A 2-WEEK RENTAL See what a great deal you can get when you come in before March 24th they'll say they know someone exactly like Clare in 'Breakfast Club' or Lonnie in 'Surviving'." Ringwald doesn't see most teen-oriented films because they don't give a true picture of her generation. She abhors the "Por-ky's" mentality and producers who insist teens be depicted in nude scenes. "They still cast people in their 20s and 30s as kids," she said.

"It's more convenient for the child la-bor lsws "IT'S SO OBVIOUS sometimes it's funny with the lines in their faces and the out-of-date slang. People in their 20s are out of touch with 16-year-olds, so sometimes it's insulting, too. "I think teens like to see roles played by kids their own age if for no other reason than we keep up with the language-within-a-lan-guage. Most writers write our dialogue with no intelligence at all. "Producers and directors usually trivialize teen problems.

They do these 'rites of passage' pictures. They think that coming of age is only a matter of your first sexual encounter or losing your virginity. Sure, that's a very big deal, but not so monumental that everything else is secondary. "Teen-agers are creatures of habit. They see those pictures even if they think they're trash and exploitive because that's all there is out there for kids.

The exploitation films don't represent us at all." Ringwald believes teen films with serious themes honestly representing young people would be more successful than pictures featuring wrestling matches in automobiles and titillating nude shots. "The pictures don't have to be super dramatic," she said. "I try to play my characters as honestly as possible. "Sometimes I'm unaware of acting, especially when I'm improvising. I can't describe how things just happen.

It helps when you work with a director like John (Breakfast Club) Hughes who encourages young actors to By Vernon Scott UPI Hollywood Reporter HOLLYWOOD (UPI) One of Hollywood's hottest and best actresses is Molly Ringwald, the red-haired star of "The Breakfast Club" and last month's TV movie, "Surviving." She just turned 17. In addition to becoming a heroine to her peers for flawless performances as a movie teen, she has inspired an adult following too. She connects with parents bent on decoding teen-age daughters. Ringwald has full command of her generation's patois, body language and wardrobe styles. She is, essentially, still a kid.

But she's more articulate than other girls in their junior year in high school. There is a side to Molly that is more mature than her peers. She began singing with her father's jazz band at 4. The fact that her father, Bob Ringwald, is blind has been a sobering influence in her life. She arrived for a recent interview in oversize white tennis shoes, an ankle-length antique ruffled dress, a tan vest and with a rag of some kind tied around her copper-colored tresses.

The effect was definitely punk. HER OUTFIT WAS doubtless a personal statement against the uniform she wears to her French school, on the Pacific side of the Hollywood hills, a half hour's drive from her San Fernando Valley home. Ringwald, no matter the location of her parent's home, is not a Valley GirL The breed has vanished with the ever changing ebbs and tides of teen chic. Of her performances in such films as "Tempest," "16 Candles' and "The Breakfast Club," Ringwald said, "I hope I represent my age group honestly. "I am a teen-ager, so it would be hard for me not to give an honest performance of a 16 or 17-year-old.

I sure don't have to do extensive research. "I live it. I can do a better job as a teen-ager than a 25-year-old because they forget what it's like. Fashions and slang and fads change so fast that when you get older you lose touch, not that anyone would ever want to go back to their teens. "Kids write or tell me that I play kids exactly like they are.

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