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Wishing all of our
customers and friends
a happy and healthy
N ew Year!
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10 Mile at Southfield Road
559-4230
and it's entire staff
Extends Best Wishes
For A Joyous And
Healthy
NEW YEAR
We Sincerely Wish Our
Customers and Friends
Many Years of Wonderful
Health and Happiness
On The New Year
Thank You For Your Patronage
PYRAMIDS CAFE
29267 SOUTHFIELD RD. (Southfield Commons) 1 Blk. N. of 12) • 569.1112
Eat less
saturated
fats.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
YOUR LIFE
American Heart
Association
Young Lady Adds
Touch Of Class
MICHAEL ELKIN
S
SPECIAL TO THE JEWIS H NEWS
he was the class act of
TV's "Doogie Howser,
M.D.," playing the
precocious doc's win-
some girl friend Wanda.
Now Lisa Dean Ryan adds
a touch of that class to
"Class of '96," the Fox TV
series about chaotic college
life of the '90s, where AIDS
and BMWs are serious con-
cerns for a lot of students
learning to cope with life.
Ms. Ryan's Jessica Cohen
comes from a privileged Jew-
ish family, something that
Ryan can relate to.
No, she says, not the re-
ligious part — the actress is
not Jewish; she just feels
privileged and happy to be
playing such a well-rounded
character.
Not that Jessica is without
her rough spots. Indeed, the
"socially reserved" Jessica
has jagged edges that occa-
sionally don't jive with the
rest of the students, who
come from all kinds of
socioeconomic environs to
attend the mythical
Havenhurst College.
It is a difficult role to pull
off, but the actress is on a
roll. She is one of the major
reasons why "Class of '96"
and its depiction of the fic-
titious Ivy League school's
freshman class provides
such a refreshing bit of pro-
gramming.
Ms. Ryan relates to
Cohen's college campus
challenges. "All of us suffer
trying to be one of the gang,"
she says of the character's
attempts to fit in.
Indeed, Lisa Ryan herself
wasn't so sure if she would
feel comfortable filling out
Cohen's character. "The fact
that someone who is not
Jewish is playing the role"
could have been prob-
lematic, she says.
No problem, she has
discovered. "It has worked
out," says the actress, who
originally read for the part
of Patty, another college
coed.
"I feel very comfortable
with Jessica," says Ms.
Ryan. "It's not like she is
constantly going to battle
over what it means to be
Jewish."
But there was a war of
Michael Elkin is the enter-
tainment editor of the
Jewish Exponent in
Philadelphia.
words in a recent episode
that showcased the actress'
talents as well as the explo-
sion of animosity on cam-
puses around the country.
Anti-Semitism hit home at
Havenhurst, where Jessica
Cohen, making inroads into
being one of the "in" crowd,
suddenly felt on the outs
again when a frat house's
slurs and snide remarks
about Jews became ugly.
The actress felt the episode
was an important one to air,
and she is eager to broadcast
her own concerns about
racial/ethnic hatred running
rampant on campus. "It
bothers me when religion is
used to set people apart from
others," she says.
To a degree, show business
has served as the actress'
campus over the years. A
Long Beach, Calif., native,
Ms. Ryan says she didn't
always long to become an ac-
tress.
But after performing in a
junior high school play, Lisa
Ryan entered the Orange
County High School for the
She knows that a
good character
allows room for
growth.
Arts, snaring "Actress of the
Year" honors in 1988.
She has been acting since
the age of 15, appearing in a
number of TV projects, in-
cluding the telemovie
Casey's Love: A Gift of a
Child.
A gifted child performer,
Lisa Ryan has grown up on
screen. She hasn't noticed
any other changes, however.
"Except for getting jobs in
this business, I didn't
change as a person. I never
considered myself as being
in the public eye," she says
matter-of- factly.
But the public certainly
had their eye on Wanda
Plena, who injected a certain
sensuality into the young
doe's life as Doogie's attrac-
tive and talented teen
sweetheart. "I still don't
realize what a big show
`Doogie Howser' was to be
on," she says. "I never
grasped (the enormity) of