The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 3

Th Nawt-Journal, Wilmington, Saturday, April 26, 1980 3 al cartwright- Olivia Walton by another name is just Michael Learned Olivia Walton in the flesh is tall, blonde, sexily 40-ish, half-excited and half -scared Olivia Walton in real life is Michael Learned, and definitely not in drag Michael Learned that's my real name; you think I would have picked something like is a female person, the ma of the long-running "The Waltons," who has divorced herself from it to spread her wings and soared into things like "After The Season," which has its premiere Monday night at The Playhouse and is Broadway-ticketed. That's why she is torn between fright and delight. It has been a long time since she has faced a live audience. For eight years she grew both rich and restless with the Waltons. "You could say I am a little apprehensive.

A she added, rolling her eyes. "This is a challenge that is affecting my eating, my sleeping. But that's part of the game. Some people in this position get sick. I find my knees wobbling on stage.

You'd better not print that everybody will be watching my knees." I have to print that. Into each Walton some jerk must fall. As one who has managed not to see a single Walton chapter, I had to fake knowledge of the show, but I had not missed the word of its longevity nor the awards to its Olivia. Still, I wondered if she resented being play-billed as "star of The Waltons." make it more appealing to him, they also invited me. I became a leading lady.

But when Peter and I split, I had to go to work to support the kids three. So I went to Los Angeles, and the Waltons eventually happened." Michael Learned calls her non-professional self "boring a jogger, but physically lazy. When I was a girl in London -my father moved around, as a State Department man I went to a ballet-dance vocational school, was rejected by the Sadler Wells Company, and was crushed. But I figured it out, with the aid of some gentle hints, that I wasn't meant for ballet. I was too tall.

I towered over the other students. I looked like the village idiot." Michael Learned, like the Walton fans, is wondering how she will be written out of the show. She suspects they simply will hire another actress because the mother of the author of the autobiographical story, Earl Hamner, is living. Thus, Olivia probably will not be literally killed off. "I thought maybe they'd have you run over by a tractor," I said.

"Please," said Michael Learned. "I'd prefer something a bit more glamorous." Al Cartwright's column appears on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Evening Journal and on Saturdays and Sundays in the News Journal. She has done some pretty heavy theater. "Not at all," she said across a table of a Green Room that was bracing for the lunch crowd. "If it weren't for the Waltons, I wouldn't be here.

I'd be unknown except to theater-goers in San Francisco." She admittedly left a sure thing in the Waltons. "Eight years is a long time to be doing the same thing. If I didn't push myself to make a move to get out and try something else, I never would. All the exploration work on the character of Olivia had been. done.

I had reached the point where I couldn't make any more mistakes. The role was lucrative, safe and seductive. I loved the whole family, but part of me did not feel fulfilled." There still are times when she longs for that security blanket "especially as opening night gets closer. Funny thing in the early stages of the Waltons, I wanted out. I had difficulty making the adjustment from the American Conservatory Theatre; I had had wonderful roles and it was a warm and supportive atmosphere.

Now I'm in sort of a reverse position. Financially, the series was the best thing that ever happened to me. Professional, too. Some persons spend their whole life in the theater and nobody ever hears of them." Michael Learned has wished many times that she were an Avon lady, or a stenographer, anything but an actress. "I guess that shows a singular lack of grati tude.

The business has been good to me, but it is a tough business. The work is very hard and you must take it seriously. At the same time, you must not take yourself seriously. I've always said I wanted to quit and do something else, but I guess I really don't mean it. I'm still here." I felt increasingly awkward calling her Michael, and I had waited long enough to ask what has to be the mandatory question: What's with the name? "I've been asked that so many times I went to my father a couple of years ago for a fresh answer," she said.

"All he told me was that if I had been a boy, I would have been named Caleb but I was a girl, so I was called Michael. You figure it out. He still has his Caleb, though. That's my oldest son. "When my husband runs into old college friends and tells him his wife's name is Michael, he gets some peculiar looks.

At least, I haven't been drafted yet." Her sister, Gretl, is on the road with Michael. Hearing that, I had to wonder how the old man could have missed naming her Hansel. Her husband, as of last December, is William Parker, writer. It is her third marriage. "I don't talk about the second one," she said, but she did talk about the first one.

It was to actor Peter Donat, a nephew of Robert Donat. "The ACT in San Francisco invited him to join the company and to if 4 Is ml I fi. It Michael (Olivia Walton) Learned capital notebook Guilty plea gets drug suspect 4 years Du Pont offers Dems a money-saving tip Others involved in the case included Randall Craig Neff, 23, of Perryville, sentenced yesterday by Longobardi to a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of $500 for third-degree conspiracy; Lynvel H. Burnett, 32, of Perryville, presently in prison in Maryland, whose scheduled sentencing for delivery of cocaine was continued; and Fernando Jose Trimarchi, 27, of Miami Beach, a fugitive charged with delivery of cocaine and conspiracy. Judge throws out Calif, nuke laws SACRAMENTO, Calif.

(AP) A federal judge has thrown out all of California's laws regulating nuclear power plants, ruling the federal government has exclusive power over nuclear energy. U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said the state's three 1976 nuclear laws, including one blocking new plants until a waste disposal method exists, and other laws regulating plant construction are unconstitutional. drugs against the loss of a good job and his family. Annone had been in prison for 40 days time to "balance" the use of cocaine against what he might lose.

"I don't believe the court will hear from him again if he's placed on probation," Kennedy said. Annone told the judge he was "just a little man," that he didn't sell drugs and had become involved in the deal in which he was caught because a man "kept bothering me." Longobardi called the case "particularly tragic." He said he believed every one of numerous letters to him commenting favorably about Annone. "I think you are that kind of person, on one side," he said. "On the other side, I can't help but believe a good deal of what the state says. That's the tragic part." Longobardi sentenced Annone to six years in prison, suspended after four years for two years' probation, and levied a fine of $5,000.

Longobardi suspended $3,000 of the fine, but Annone must pay 10 percent of the entire fine to the crime victims' compensation fund, bringing his total obligation to $2,500. "Glenn will pick up the difference." "Out of his travel budget," Rep. Dick Sincock added. Kenton was torn between his role as Pollyanna and his duties as economic missionary. "My gut feeling," he finally said, "is this figure is $200,000 too high." Judicial discretion Joint Finance Committee members, who finished a three-day budget-writing marathon this week, were frequently pestered by agency heads wanting to protect their appropriations.

Judge Robert H. Wahl of Common Pleas Court even interrupted the proceedings at one point to talk to a legislator. involved in an interstate cocaine deal that was part of an international cocaine operation. Hall said $16,000 was confiscated from a bedroom in Annone's house, along with elaborate scales, a cutting sifter, bags, a bag sealer and the cocaine, valued at about $3,800. Lengthy incarceration was in order, Hall said.

One of Annone's lawyers, George Goldstein, of Philadelphia, disputed Hall's characterization of Annone. "To say that he is a big-time dope dealer is a very big mistake," Goldstein said. Only 19 percent of the white powder seized was actually cocaine, he said. The cocaine would have constituted 70-80 percent of the powder if it had come from an international shipment, Goldstein said, adding that Annone was a "scared kid who got in over his head." Annone had been employed by the railroad for 13 years and would continue to hold his job if placed on probation, Goldstein said. Annone's other lawyer1, Charles J.

Kennedy, said he thought Annone "got greedy," although he was not the "prime mover" in the drug operation. He said it was hard to understand why Annone would "gamble" By TOM GREER A Conrail engineer who pleaded guilty last month to involvement in what a prosecutor described as a "large scale international cocaine operation" was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison and fined 12,500. The defendant, Ronald F. Annone, 31, of the unit block of Brookside Place, Holly Oak Terrace, had been charged with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Joseph J.

Longobardi. Annone and four others were arrested last Aug. 21 by state police and federal drug agents who raided Annone's home and confiscated less than four ounces of cocaine, Longobardi was told yesterday. Among the four others was Susan Ferrari, 24, who later married Annone and was in court yesterday with their recently born child. Charges of possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy against her and a conspiracy charge against Annone were dropped by the state under a plea bargain with Annone.

Deputy Attorney General Eugene Hall told Longobardi that Annone was "a dealer for a dealer" and was weather: there's a rainy weekend on tap miles or more. Average wave heights 1-3 feet along the coast, 2 feet or less on the bay. Chesapeake Bay North: Winds east 10 knots today, southeast 15 knots tonight. Rain likely, continuing through tonight. Visibility poor in rain through tonight.

Average wave heights 1 foot or less. Extended Outlook for Delaware, Monday through Wednesday: Fair Monday and Tuesday, chance of rain Wednesday. Highs in the 60V and lows 40-45. Highest temperature yesterday: 73 degrees; lowest: 54 degrees. Highest humidity yesterday: 83 percent; lowest: 27 percent.

A trace of precipitation was recorded in the 24 hours ending at 8 last night. Sun rises today 5:10 a.m., sets 6:51 p.m. Southern New Jersey: Cloudy, rain likely by afternoon; high 60-65. Periods of rain through tomorrow. Low tonight 45-50; high tomorrow 60-65.

Chance of rain 60 percent today, near 100 percent tonight. Winds light and variable. Delaware Bay: Winds east 10-15 knots through tonight. Cloudy, rain developing this afternoon, continuing through tonight. Visibility 5 WEATHER ELSEWHERE today's forecast Saturday, April 26, 1980 Greater Wilmington; Kent and Sussex counties; Eastern Shore: Cloudy, chance of rain by afternoon; high 60-65.

Periods of rain through tomorrow. Low tonight 50-55; high tomorrow in the 60s. Chance of rain 60 percent today, 90 percent tonight. Winds east 5-10 mph. Southeastern Pennsylvania: Cloudy, rain likely by afternoon; high 60-65.

Periods of rain through tomorrow. Low tonight 45-50; high tomorrow 60-65. Chance of rain 60 percent today, near 100 percent tonight. Winds light and variable. TIDES AT MARINE TERMINAL High Lew Today AM 9:30 4:00 Today P.M 10:02 4:25 HIGH TIDES TODAY AM PM Indian River Inlet (bridge) 5:41 6:10 Rehobolh Beach 5:29 Caoe Henlopen 5:59 6:23 Breakwater Harbor 6:04 6:28 Mispillion River 6:37 7:01 Bowers Beach 7 00 7:24 Woodland Beach 7:24 Reedv Point 1:39 9:11 New Castle 9:09 9:41 Baltimore 4:23 4:46 Kent Island 2:39 3:02 Chesapeake City 7:24 7:56 Townsends Inlet, N.J 5:13 5:42 TO TO CE7 Gov.

Pete du Pont had reason to be cocky this week as he prepared to formally announce his re-election bid. It seemed that Democrats had finally, if suddenly, found an aggressive gubernatorial candidate in former juvenile corrections chief Jack Mulvena. But Mulvena pulled out and once again Democrats were scratching their heads. Du Pont couldn't resist needling Democratic chairman Henry Topel with a suggestion that Democrats ignore the governor's race. "I told Henry Topel a long time ago: think of the money we'd save," du Pont said.

But he added that he didn't think that was a possibility. "They've got something up their sleeve," he said. No more teamwork Some observers blamed Democratic Senate critics of Mulvena's prison work for the former Rose Bowl hero's withdrawal from the governor's race. The most vocal of of those critics was Majority Leader Tom Sharp. As it turns out, however, Mulvena and Sharp were on the same team long before they were enemies.

The two went to school together in Wilmington more than 30 years ago, and then lost touch until as Sharp puts it Mulvena turned up as du Pont's "fair-haired boy" on the prison front. "We used to play ball together," Sharp recalled. "In fact, we were pretty good friends when we were kids." Like others, Sharp assumed Mulvena was a Republican. But had Mulvena made his peace with key legislators, Sharp said he would not have actively opposed the candidacy. "I probably would have said, 'Jack, I'm not going to go out and beat the bushes for you but Kent County Pete While du Pont is enjoying the absence of an opponent, he did get some practice this week voting in a contested, although nonpartisan election.

He trekked to the polls to vote in the Dover City Council and mayoral races. Du Pont pays property taxes on "Patterns," his home in Rockland, New Castle County, but he is regis- tered to vote from "Woodburn," the state-owned governor's home in Kent County, where Republicans are scarcer. "He believes the governor should vote from the state capital," saiu press aide Fred Stern. He also believes, "Every man's vote is privileged," Stern said in declining to reveal du Pont's choices for the Dover offices. The governor, who served as a state representative and congressman from New Castle County, is slated to be a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Kent County.

Kenton's 'gut feeling' Secretary of State Glenn Kenton had no sooner returned from his goodwill trip to China than he had to attend a meeting of the state revenue-forecasting council. He found himself in an uncomfortable conflict of loyalties. He's in charge of the corporation division, which supplies estimates of how many millions of dollars profit it will make, and foots the bills for his travels. He's also a member of the council, with the unwritten assignment of injecting an optimistic note into the debate so that the du Pont administration doesn'thave to cut spending plans. Sen.

Dick Cordrey suggested that if the $65.2 million estimate for corporation fees turned out to be high, Amsterdam Athens Belgrade Berlin Brussels Copenhagen Frankfurt Hong Kong Jerusalem Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Montreal Moscow Paris Rio San Juan Slock holm Tokyo Toronto Vancouver Vienna 50 CY Boston 53 CL 66 CY Buffalo 52 CY 57 CY Chicago 46 CY 41 RA Cincinnati 56 RA 51 CY Denver 52 CL 41 CY Des Moines 66 CY 54 RA Fort Worth 76 CY 70 RA Indianapolis 56 CY 66 CY Kansas City 65 CY 54 CY Miami 80 CY 54 CY Minneapolis 57 CL 63 CL Nashville 55 RA 77 CL New Orleans 84 RA 45 CY New York 56 CY 70 CL Philadelphia 76 CY 54 CL Phoenix 83 CL 86 CL Pittsburgh 50 CY 82 CY Richmond 78 RA SI Louis 61 CY 95 CL San Diego 68 CY 43 RA San Francisco 57 CL 59 CY Seattle 63 RA 41 RA Washington 76 RA Cloudv-CY; Fair-FA; Fog FG; Your Honor, I hold you contempt," chairman Dick Sincock, R-Fairfax, declared. The judge tried to be conciliatory. "I'll put you in the women's prison for 30 days," he said. Loughney pops lid It's rough, what lobbyists sometimes do to legislators. Rep.

Joe Loughney disclosed during debate on the bottle bill, of which he has never been a fan, that certain lobbyists have been "trying to intimidate members of the General Assembly." How? They had gone into his district, talking to voters and misrepresenting the bill as a measure that would reduce litter, he said. Loughney suggested that somebody "have the attorney general look into the matter." Cicione in perspective Tony Cicione, the Elsmere Democrat, is a jealous protector of his prerogatives as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, especially when the committee controls a bill he doesn't want to reach the Senate floor. Last week some senators tried to put Cicione on the spot by offering to drop a piece, of legislation if he would promise to release a similar bill from his committee, but he took a moral stance on the issue. "I'm not making no deals," Cicione announced to the Senate. Dick Cordrey, the president pro tern, couldn't resist the opportunity to put Cicione's declaration in perspective: "At least not publicly," Cordrey said.

"At least not on the Senate floor." Dover chickens at work They trotted out the mushroom growers in the Senate Thursday for their annual pat-on-the-back, and pretty soon somebody got up the nerve to ask whether it was true that mushrooms are grown in what everybody seems to think they are. It's true, the senators were told. That prompted Cordrey to allow as how the governor made him feel like a mushroom a lot of the time. "I'm kept in the dark," Cordrey explained, "and I get a lot of chicken manure." But another senator suggested it wasn't only du Pont who was in the fertilizer industry. Referring to the six-month General Assembly session, he said, "From January to June, they could grow a hell of a lot of mushrooms down here." Reporters Bill Boyle, Bill Baldwin and Jeff Welsh contributed to this column.

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