Funny Girl

Detroit native Patty Dworkin has
made her mark as a comedienne
and an actress. But it's air
freshener that pays the bills.

Patty Dworkin: Her
hair color goes well with
the Formica.

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P.,

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Assistant Editor

ime and again Patty
Dworkin has been
truly distraught a-
bout her kitchen
floor. No matter how
much she scrubs and buffs, no
matter how much she polishes
and mops, it just doesn't have
that special sparkle, that
shine that pleases men and
makes fussy mothers-in-law
smile with satisfaction.
How does she survive such
trauma? She leaves the set.
Ms. Dworkin's kitchen
floor crises occur regularly
in TV commercials, where
the actress often finds
herself cast as the woman
who is nearly in tears after
the dog runs in with muddy
feet and a pan of grease falls
from the stove. Then all her
problems are solved by some
nice blonde who is always
glad to share her bottle of
Cleaner Than A Whistle
floor polish.
A Detroit native, Ms.
Dworkin now lives in New
York, where she has ap-
peared in more than 300
commercials. Among her
credits: she was the first
voice of the "Snuggles" fab-
ric-softener bear and served
as spokesman for Kleenex,
Magic Mushroom and Air-
wick air freshener.
Appearing in commercials
is lucrative work, Ms.
Dworkin said, because
actors receive a residual
each time the commercial
appears. This allows her the
opportunity to appear on
stage (where salaries are
generally limited) and on
television, where she has
had roles on "Night Court,"
"Moonlighting" and
"Dynasty," among others,
and in films including
Ghostbusters, Mr. Mom and
Airplane II.
Ms. Dworkin believes her
first interest in theater may
have come from her mother,
an actress who starred in
Detroit radio programs like
"The Green Hornet" and
"The Lone Ranger."
While in 11th grade at
Southfield High School, Pat-
ty made her own try for the
stage when she auditioned
for the school play. She did
not get a part.
"But I had a teacher,
Robert Horner, who was
really an inspiration," she
said. "He always made you
do your best and taught me
to trust my instincts. He also
told me to try out for the
12th-grade play, to 'make me

Mr

proud.' Well, I tried to make
him proud for the next 20 ,
years."
Mr. Horner also taught
Patty that the more skills
she had, the more valuable
she would be as an actress.
So she set out to improve not
only her acting skills, but
her singing and dancing
abilities as well. It's called,
she said, "the triple threat."
After attending the Uni-
versity of Michigan, Ms.
Dworkin got her first job
with the John Kenley
Players, an Ohio-based
group with whom she ap-
peared in numerous stage
productions. She later made
a national tour with the
comedy group Second City.
"I was sort of odd as a kid,
sort of gawky," Ms. Dworkin
says. "I found the best way
to get attention was to be
funny." She developed what
she calls "my own sense of
humor: I tried.to find the ab-
solute opposite way anyone
would approach something."
Fully determined to be a
star, Ms. Dworkin in 1976
' moved to New York and took
a room at the Barbizon Ho-
tel. Three weeks later she
got her first role in a Broad-
way show, "and I thought
the whole world was there
for the taking."
Among her early credits,
Ms. Dworkin was Lucie
Arnaz's understudy in See
Saw, 'Ed Ames' daughter in
Shenandoah and played op-
posite Jackie Gleason in Sly
Fox.
What Ms. Dworkin did not
find upon arriving in New
York was glamour.
"I shared my first Broad-
way dressing room with a
mouse," she said.
After finding success on ,
stage Ms. Dworkin moved to
Los Angeles, where she
began guest-starring on TV
programs. It was thrilling
for her friends and family —
people would often stop her
father and say, "I saw your
daughter on 'The Love
Boat'!" — but Ms. Dworkin
missed the New York stage.
"I forgot how to be an
actor," she said. "I forgot the
thrill of standing in the
wings.
"Yes, it's great to be rec-
ognized, to go someplace and
get the best hamburger be-
cause your face is familiar,
but that doesn't have a lot to
do with being an actor."
So she moved back to New
York, returning to the stage
and finding steady work in
TV commercials.
"You need a special look

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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