Acting genes will out

Press, 6 July 1988, Page 17

Acting genes will out

Alix Elias, who plays precinct dispatcher Betty Bushkin. in “Hooperman” (tonight at 8.30 on Two), and had a starring role in “Telethon ’88,” was probably genetically fated for the profession — she just didn’t know it. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas (“we were just passing through”) to distinctly non-theatrical parents, she did not learn until long after her career had begun that she “came from a long line of Russian actresses” going back several generations. However, genes will out. After a childhood spent living in Austria and Germany, followed by a return to the United States for her teen years, she enrolled in a drama course at New York’s Neighbourhood Playhouse.

Even before she graduated, she had begun working in the theatre. Her

first major success came when she succeeded Barbara Harris in “Oh Dad Poor Dad” a role she played both on Broadway and in London. Her other Broadway credits include “Two Gen-

tiemen of Verona,” “Hello Dolly” and Saul Bellow’s “The Last Analysis.” Extending her talents to film work led her to split her time between New York and California. She has worked often in Los Angeles theatres and offBroadway, while appearing in a number of television series episodes — notably as Dick Butkus’ wife on a two-parter for “Night Court” — and has appeared on “Barney Miller,” “Scarecrow and Mrs King” and “Miami Vice.”

During the summer before “Hooperman” began filming, she was in Munich for a concentrated class in the Stanislavsky method, and took a side trip to Sweden, where she was featured in a movie called “Friends.” She is also a playwright and has staged one of her plays, “Modern Romance,” off-Broadway.