It's going to be an exciting Fall season for Courtney Thorne-Smith. First off, the last time we saw Melrose Place, her Alison Parker character was in a drunken stupor, only moments from being blown to kingdom come by a bomb placed just below her apartment unit. Although we're fairly certain that she's going to make it out alive, that doesn't mean it won't be an interesting journey.
Much less predictable is an NBC movie called Beauty's Revenge in which she plays a Fatal Attraction like psychopath. Described by Thorne-Smith as a black comedy, it is slated for a September airing." It's based very loosely on a true story about a girl in the Midwest who was a dairy princess," she explains, "She falls in love with a guy (played by Homicide's Kyle Secor) and wins him from his girlfriend. But, he breaks it off with her because she's a needy idiot. So her response is to kill his girlfriend and his best friend, thinking that he'll have to turn to her."
Watching Courtney portray a deranged character should be great fun, because in real life, she's exceptionally friendly, funny and, actually, somewhat of an intellectual.
Born in San Francisco in 1967, Courtney's parents would now be labeled "New Age." In the 1970s, however, they were called hippies. "We were living in northern California and my mother jumped right into everything was happening: EST, transcendental meditation, massage, yoga, consciousness raising, Esalan, everything! When I finally went to public school, I was so mad about my upbringing because I didn't even know how to dress. I had never even had to wear shoes before! Now, looking back, I understand that it was probably one of the best times of my life."
Courtney's career as a performer began in high school, almost by accident. As a senior, she was involved with a theater company, and was just about to enroll at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. Out of the blue, 20th Century Fox called her acting instructor requesting a few young faces to be cast as extras - for a film they were shooting called Lucas. Courtney was sent and ended up being cast as Charlie Sheen's girlfriend.
After Lucas, Courtney aborted her plans for college to pursue acting full time She appeared in a number of other ?joys of being a teenager" type movies, including Welcome to 18 and Summer School. On the small screen, she landed reoccurring roles on the sitcoms Fast Times and Day by Day, and had a brief stint playing Harry Hamlin's uncomplicated Laker Girl girlfriend on L.A. Law.
Then on a fateful day in 1992, Thorne-Smith auditioned for producer Aaron Spelling who was casting a pilot of his about doctors, called Partners. She was told by Spelling that although she wasn't right for the part, he was interested in working with her. The next day Courtney found five scripts delivered to her doorstep. The one she chose was Melrose Place, The rest is history.
With the exception of, perhaps, The X-Files, there probably isn't a series on television that genders the rabid following of Melrose Place. Melrose is famous for inspiring weekly parties where its fans gather together to cheer on the wicked ways of over-the-top vixens like Amanda (Heather Locklear), Sydney (Laura Leighton), the too-good-to-be-true Alison (Thorne-Smith, and Billy (Andrew Shue).
Thorne-Smith believes that Melrose has become such a phenomenon because, "It's fun and it doesn't make any apologies." She adds, "We don't try to be anything we're not - people can just relax, yell at their TV and enjoy it. They don?t have to pretend they?re learning anything. In fact, Melrose is anti-educational.?
Now that Melrose Place has made Courtney Thorne-Smith famous as a sweet and lovable good girl, is there any pressure in taking a role that is almost the opposite from her well known persona? ?No, not at all,? she answers. ?I?ve always wanted to do something like this. For so long I was the sensitive girlfriend. Or, the girl who was very sweet and just happened to wear a lot of bikinis, but was smart. I think that because they found someone who could do that, they decid-ed I was that. It's much more exciting to play something differ-ent from yourself because then you can get a better sense if you pulled it off or not."
If what Courtney Thorne--Smith says is true, and if she does portray an effective maniac in Beauty's Revenge, it will be great acting indeed, because in real life she is truly a very warm person. Describing herself as, "an introvert who's been forced to act like an extrovert," Courtney admits that she's the type of per-son who loves nothing better than to stay at home and hang out with her friends.
Her "pet" pro-ject is working with an organiza-tion called PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support). It's a non-profit group that helps peo-ple with AIDS keep and take care of their pets. "It's a wonderful organization," exclaims Thorne-Smifh. "It's heartbreaking to know that because of the toll the disease takes on their health and finances, many AIDS patients have to give up their pets at a time when they need them most. Anyone who has ever had a pet can appreciate the service PAWS provides. "
Understanding who Courtney Thorne-Smith really is I wondered how she prepared to play a multiple killer. ?The thing is, I could get into her mind very easily," she says. "You just take it that one step further. I want that thing. Most of us say 'I can't have it.' But, if you don't have that little thing in your head that says, 'OK, that's the way it goes,' then you do whatever you have to do get it. You just have to create a strong enough need."
For now, the future of Courtney Thorne-Smith is, of course, Melrose Place, But when that show finally runs its course, Courtney's ideal project would be, surprisingly, to star in a sitcom. "I love having a regular job. I love knowing the crew really well. I love my home, I love my life and my friends. A sitcom is a 9:00am to 5:00pm job. Neat people, fun times, get to do it in front of a live audience. I would really like that." Who knows? By the time she's able to make that leap, maybe Oliver Stone will be ready to produce a sitcom version of Natural Bom Killers.
