Q 13

PLAYBOY: Describe your worst date.

Susan Dey: I've never really done a lot of dating. But two come to mind. One was with a musician. All we did was listen to his music. I guess that was his way of communicating, but it wasn't mine.

Then there was a first date--and a last one, as I recall. We were driving by street construction. And, just by way of conversation, I said, "There's something about those sawhorses with the little lights that's great. Something quite artistic." The next thing I know, the guy is out of the car, picking up a sawhorse and putting it on the back seat. When he took me home, he carried it into my living room. I told him I didn't really want it there, particularly because it had PROPERTY OF THE CITY OF L.A. written all over it. But he left it anyway. I had to drag it outside. And, sure enough, a policeman came to my door and asked, "How did that get there?" And I looked at him unblinkingly and told him I didn't have any idea.

Q 14

PLAYBOY: Articles about you invariably mention your preference for older men. True?

Susan Dey: That's basically true. My first marriage was to an older man. And I'm engaged to someone who might be considered an older man. But I think my life has been balanced. I have been attracted to young men, some younger than myself. When it comes to commitment, though, I definitely favor the older man.

Q 15

PLAYBOY: What's the most romantic thing that has ever happened to you?

Susan Dey: A birthday bed. To celebrate my birthday, a room had been reserved at a hotel; and when I entered, a birthday bed had been prepared for me. Let's see, how to describe it? I don't think I can. You can probably figure it out. There were balloons. And the gifts were not wrapped.

Q 16

PLAYBOY: Aside from the obviously serious anorexia problem, there have been reports of other unusual diets in your past. Could you tell us something about the carrots episode and the doggy Milk Bones?

Susan Dey: Right around the same time as my anorexia, I began eating so many carrots that I turned orange. Since then, someone has made an awful lot of money selling carotene to people who want to get fast tans. When the doctor told me I was turning orange because of the carotene in carrots, I should have started marketing it.

As for the other, I did eat Milk Bones when I was a kid. I pretended I was a dog. I used to get on the floor with our dog and use my "paws" to eat them. I loved them. I was very young. It was like sucking on a baby bottle. I have tried them since and found them disgusting. But my daughter asked if she could eat them and I said, "Absolutely; go right ahead."

Q 17

PLAYBOY: Would you be happy having your daughter follow in your footsteps in other ways? Acting, for example?

Susan Dey: She's had offers, and recently, I took her to a luncheon for the L.A. Law cast and she said, "I like this life." She is also interested in writing. She has informed me she hopes to get a contract to write a book about me. It's going to be something like Mommie Dearest. Chapter seven, she says, will be titled "Mommie Isn't a Real Blonde."

Q 18

PLAYBOY: People magazine called him the sexiest man alive, and you have to spend a lot of time in bed with him, but is Harry Hamlin really your type?

Susan Dey: [Long pause] Nobody's ever asked that before, and let me say this: There is only one man in my life. Only one. Are he and Harry the same type? I don't think I'll answer that. Watch the show. See how Harry and I get along.

Q 19

PLAYBOY: Is it possible that Grace Van Owen is too tough, that audiences will stop finding her appealing?

Susan Dey: There is a difference between being tough and being strong. There are tough ladies who are also very dependent on men. Grace is not dependent. I think that's part of her appeal--her independence.

But I don't believe this show is about creating characters that are appealing to keep the audience watching. That's not L.A. Law cocreators Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher. In last season's episodes, just when you thought you were comfortable with the characters, they shifted.

Q 20

PLAYBOY: What's the worst advice about men your parents ever gave you?

Susan Dey: When I was still living at home, my stepmother told me not to go out with a man because he was 37 years old. I was 15. So, of course, I snuck out to see him. If she hadn't said anything, I probably would have thought he was too old for me.