The First Ladies of Capitol
Carolyn Jones and Constance Towers

Carolyn Jones

Myrna Clegg skulks through the corridors of power looking for a chink here, a tear there, a weak point wherever she can find it. For Myrna, building her own spheres of influence means destroying someone - or something - along the way.

Is the lady immoral? Is she, perhaps, amoral? Is she an unsavory villain; evil, singularly sinister and unworthy of salvation?

Yes on all counts? "Definitely not," says Carolyn Jones, the striking blonde actress who plays the menacing Myrna on CBS's newest soap "Capitol."

Ms. Jones (who has sometimes been called the thinking person's actress because her performances not only appeal to the emotions but leave one feeling intellectually satisfied as well) is starring in her first soap opera. Her distinguished career has included theater, movies (she won an Oscar nomination in the Paddy Chayefesky film "The Bachelor Party") and television. Carolyn earned kudos for her work in such prestigious productions as "Playhouse 90" and then found viewer "immortality," thanks to her role as Morticia in "The Addams Family."

Although Myrna has been described as immoral, possibly even amoral, Jones declines fa describe the lady as either, nor does she think the woman is beyond redemption. "Immorality," says Carolyn, "implies a deliberate disregard of what we might call the conventions of polite society. If anything, Myrna truly believes that what she does she does with an approved framework of behavior. That's why she's not amoral, either. Myrna knows very well what's wrong and what's right. What makes Myrna such a fascinating personality is that she believes she's doing the right thing, for the right reasons, and for the right goals. Whether you agree with her or not, it's hard to argue about her behavior if the action proceeds from what someone 'knows' to be the truth. Myrna sincerely feels she knovs what the truth is.

But way down deep????. "That, is what makes the lady so fascinating," insists Carolyn. "She didn't always operate from this standard or set of standards. Over the years she may have persuaded herself to accept them as truths. But of course, there is the Myrna whom we might call 'the pre-rejection woman' and once in a while I try to show that basic foundation of her personality coming up to the surface before it's quickly pushed down again."

When "Capitol" first went on the air, viewers were shown an almost classic example of good vs. evil, light vs. dark, heroine vs. villainess in the Clarissa McCandless (Constance Towers)/Myrna Clegg confrontation. The personality of each woman was clearly and deliberately drawn so that there'd be no mistaking which woman was taking the high road and which was saaking along the low road toward their respect goals.

Chatting with John Conboy, I learned that even the names of the ladies were chosen to highlight the differences between them "Myrna Clegg lays there, doesn't it," the ex- ecutive producer said. "Clarissa McCandless, however, is very much an image of light." Carolyn agrees that the two women have been shown to be opposites. But she adds a significant observation: "Since nothing exists without its opposite – or, perhaps we should say – we would not be aware of anything if its opposite weren't also something to be experienced – then, perhaps, we can see Myrna and Clarissa as two sides of the same coin. Both are mothers who want the best for their children; both are women who have been in love – and as we now know – with the same man. Keep in mind, also, that at one time they were very close friends. Indeed, they cared for each other as sisters would; sharing thoughts and dreams and, of course," she smiles, "clothes! Myrna may have been the more submissive of the two, but for the most part, she adored Clarissa. And Clarissa certainly didn't flaunt her dominant status. Instead she always tried to help Myrna."

But today, because Clarissa married McCandless, the man Myrna loved, the two women are arch enemies. "Perhaps," Carolyn muses. "But essentially, what it's all come down to is the way each woman fights for her children. Through Trey – her adopted son – Myrna expects to become the mother of a future president of the United States. And of course, Clarissa believes Tyler, her son, should one day sit in the White House. "As I said, Myrna now believes that what she does is right – and she firmly believes that Trey would be better man for president; so why not do everything possible to help the better man win?"

Carolyn touched on one of the most interesting relationships of the human condition; that of the "best friends" period between two girls (who often become closer than sisters). "That's the tragedy of Myrna and Clarissa, don't you think? That they had the sort of friendship that should have allowed them both to overcome problems between them. But Myrna had, for so long, been the less popular of the two, one supposes that when she blossomed out she wasn't prepared to lose the man of her dreams to Clarissa. She thought of it as... well, perhaps the word is betrayal."

Will there ever be a time when a Myrna and a Clarissa could become friends again? "I think that could happen. Of course ... and wouldn't it be interesting to see how that occurs."

One reviewer pointed out the fact that Clarissa has friends but Myrna has allies. "Exactly what you would expect. After all, it was, she believes, her best friend who betrayed her. Friendships for Myrna mean potential pain," Carolyn notes.

Another reviewer observed Clarissa's many fermale friends; Myrna had none to speak of.

"Don't we all need friends?" Carolyn reflects. "It's true that in "Capitol" we can see how friendships or alliances, work and how power is achieved, lost, schemed for and so on. Myrna is determined to get and use power to achieve her own ends. Since, in Washington, as elsewhere, most of the power is held by men, then it has to be through men, and from men, that someone than Myrna feel she must operate. She appears to need only the sources and resources of power. But I'm sure, if thinghs had been different, she would also appreciate her friendships; with men and with women."

"In every others performing art - music. theater, other television shows, movies, dance – and in every other writing medium (she's the author of two suceessful books) there's a beginning, a middle and an end. In a soap, there's really only the ongoing performance. As in real life, no one really knows where he or she will turn up after a series of experiences. It's a constant process of change, yet with a need to sustain the character all through those changes she – or he," she smiles, "goes through.

"I feel extremely fortunate in playing one of the finest female roles on television today – nighttime or daytime. Myrna has so many layers to her! She's not all black; the way Clarissa is not all white. She's a very human human being. She's perfect for the soap medium, where you can take the time needed to allow her to reveal herself. As a matter of fact, one of the challenges of a soap is adjusting to the way a role is played. In the other media, you build towards that denouement; the ending. In a soap it's a continual unfolding, or unwrapping... The Amarillo, Texas-born actress is divorced from producer Aaron Spelling ("Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," etc.). But there's a very special man in her life now. Carolyn asks that she be permitted to keep this part of her life "as private as our business allows." An intelligent woman with a keen analytical mind, she enjoys learning and doesn't hesitate to question anything. "Any fact that can't stand up to analysis can't be considered a fact," Carolyn says.

Jones is proud of her American Indian ancestry and is involved in projects concerned with native Americans. She's also involved in a project in California that helps cancer victims and their families face the demands made by the disease, comes through the worst times, and then rebuild their lives afterwards.

And for those of you who wonder why Carolyn Jones is now a blonde, when she's been one of the most popular brunette actresses for years, the fact is – she didn't "dye" because she suddenly believed that blondes have more fun. Rather, Carolyn Jones, has always been a natural blonde who dyed her hair brown because she was once advised that with every aspiring actress going blonde, it's the dark-tressed beauty that will catch ihe attention of produers. Evidently, it worked.

SELI GROVES

Constance Towers

I'm going to commit a cardinal sin. I'm going to begin an article with a cliche. "Constance Towers is like a breath of  spring air." There, I've said it - but without apologies - because Constance really is like a breath of spring air. An exceedingly attractive woman, she is at once both gracious and vivacious; a lady and one of the boys.

Born in Whitefish, Montana, and raised throughout the wildes of the great Northwest, Connie's family eventually settled in Seattle, where she gained a reputation as a diva on the rise. "At the age of eighteen, opera was my life. I was considered to have a great deal of promises and after high school graduation, I moved to New York, where I attended the Julliard School at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After my first year at the AADA, one of my instructors asked me if I'd be intrested in doing summer stock in Worchester, Massachusetts. I wasn't too wild about the idea of musical theater - after all I was an opera singer. But after a summer of doing shows like 'Girl Crazy,' 'Anythingh Goes' and 'Carousel,' I sat down with my parents and told them I'd decided to switch from opera to musical theater. I still love the opera - in fact I work on arias during my singing lessons - but I've never regretted my decision."

She didn't have time for regrets. Connie was immediately plunged into a series of musicals, the majority of witch were revivals in the Rodgers and Hammerstein   tradition. But it was in an original musical that Connie made her first, important mark. The production was called "Anya," it was the musical version of "Anastasia," and it was one of Broadway's most beautiful losers: a gigantic flop that many insiders thought should have been a gigantic hit.

"The night after the show opened our director, George Abbott, came backstage to my dressing room. He said, 'You know, the critics don't seem to like what's on stage, it's my fault and nobody else's.' It takes an awfully big man to say that and even though 'Anya' closed after two weeks it was a rich experience in every way.

Except for closing night. Lillian Gish (who co-starred) and I walked out of the theatre that night, hand in hand. We left our costumes, all of our makeup... we just couldn't face packing up our things because we loved that so much. Now that was in 1966, but to this day when Lillian and I see each other we start to cry because it was such a heartbreaking experience."

Then Towers made a brief, but dramatic foray in films. There was Samuel Fuller's "The Naked Kiss," where Connie played a prostitute who, in the opening scene, mind you, is forced by her pimp to shave her head - she subsequently kills him! C'mon Constance! How did Broadway's favorite ingenue turn into a bald hooker? "Simple" she laughs. "You audition".

For her next film role, however, Connie was saddled with a more conventional role. The film was "The Horse Soldier", her leading man was John Wayne and her director was the legendary John Ford.

"John Ford was mean, irascible and difficult. And he was also one of the wonderful human beings I've ever known!" He was oh-so Irish and we got along beautifully. Most of the time.

Constance returned to the stage in the late Sixties, appearing in such shows as "Ari" and branched out across the US, mingling her television appareances with tours of "Mame," "The Sounds of Music" and "Kiss Me Kate." Finally, in 1975, she hit her stride with the revival of "The King and I" starring Yul Brynner (the King of Siam). However, the opening night of tryouts in Indianapolis was less than encouraging. Yul lost his voice and Constance remembers, "The hoops to my hoop skirts had accidentally been sent to England, so the costumers hooped my skirts with hooked-together coat hangers. Before we went on I told Yul, 'Don't worry about your laryngitis - just pray that my hoops don't come undone!"
"The King and I" opened to spectacular reviews in New York and posted the highest box-office figures in the history of Broadway.

But if Connie considers "The King and I" to be her greatest triumph, she also regards her role of Clarissa McCandless on "Capitol" as her greatest challenge.

"I find that I'm constantly growing on "Capitol" because as you age 24 hours so does your character. It gives you a chance to stretch and improve on your character and that's healthy for an actor.

"Clarissa is the mother of four grown sons but I do hope they'll allow her some romance of her own because she's such a vital, attractive woman. They're beginning to explore her more now a romance with Ed Nelson (Mark Denning) may be in the offing. I read something recently. It was from a woman who had been married for fifty years and now  her husband was gone. And she said that the thing she missed most was that no one touched her anymore. She didn't mean sexually. She meant that no one held her or caressed her anymore, that she didn't have another person to be warm with. I hope I'll have a chance, through Clarissa, to show that every person is capable of love"

Since the competition is so fierce between Clarissa and Myrna it seems smart to ask whether or not the same feud continues offscreen between Connie and Carolyn Jones.

C onnie  laughs a big, incredulous laugh. "No feud, I have a tremendous amount of admiration for her as an actress. Yul Brynner may have been difficult at times, but he is a joy to work with because he's brillant. The same thing applies to Carolyn. We're both very fond of each other."

The same feeling seems to exist between Connie and the rest of the cast; in particular David Mason Daniels, who recently remarked, "She has a sense of grace, an uplifting quality. This is my first series, my first big break really, and that's a scary situation for an actor. But Connie has been totally supportive because she's secure in herself. She doesn't wear her talent to her sleeve because she doesn't have to."

With Connie's professional life sailing so smoothly along, it's nice to report that her personal life is peaking at the same time. Her husband and fellow actor, John Gavin, recently traded in the Beverly Hills high life for the three-piece-suit of diplomacy as the United States Ambassador to Mexico.

"John's appointment has changed our lives remarkably for the better. It's so difficult for an actor and actress to live  together so we made a pact. You see, when the phone rings and it's an agent and he's calling the other one, you automatically feel (no matter how generous you are), 'Gee, what about me? I'd like to have done that 'Love Boat' or that film or that 'King and I.' I'm worth it, too!' But our pact was that we 'd always try to complement each other rather than compete with each other. Now that he's in Mexico there's no chance for competition: we're both tremendously busy. But we're together most weekends and sometimes I'll fly down for dinner and fly back the same night.

Now that Connie has entered the political elite, is she finding parallels from the real Washington to the Washington of "Capitol"? "Not really. I suppose there are some situations that are similar, but it's not like I've based Clarissa on any maternal power figures like Jackie Kennedy or Rose Kennedy. If there is a role model I'm using for Clarissa , I'd say it's of a woman who's trying to be the best possible mother she can be."

So for the moment everything's as it should be. Personal happiness. Professional happiness. But you can't help hoping there'll be something more. Because throughout her life, Constance Towes has been the power behind the throne; of the King of Siam, of the Duke of the Westerns and now of the McCandless clan. Hopefully, the time has come for the power behind the throne to make her righful place - front and center.

DAVID CHURCH - SOD 9/14/1982