In Step With Fran Drescher
By James Brady
Parade Magazine September 27, 1998
Personal:
Born September 30, 1957 In Queens, N.Y. Married to Peter Marc Jacobson since 1978.
Television:
Includes
Stranger in Our House, 1978; Princesses, 1991; The Nanny, 1993-
Films:
Include
Saturday Night Fever, 1977; American Hot Wax, 1978; G.O.R.P., 1980; Ragtime, 1981; Doctor Detroit, 1983; This is Spinal Tap, 1984; Cadillac Man, 1990; Jack, 1996; The Beautician and the Beast, 1997.
Theatre:
Includes
The Rug Merchants of Chaos, 1991.
Brady's Bits:
Fran Drescher is proud of what she's doing professionally beyond The Nanny. Over the recent hiatus, she said, "I wrote, produced and directed a new original plot for MTV [not yet scheduled]. It challenges the traditional sitcom concept. The first truly Generation X sitcom. I'm not in it. They bought my talent as a behind-the-scenes person, which makes it a great career opportunity for me." The pilot is titled Daytrippers, and it stars, Charlie Newmark, Burke Roberts and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island). "She's really me as 'the landlady,' and she's wonderful," said Fran. "This is going to revive her career," Along with that famous whiny voice, Fran is celebrated for her trim, sexy bod. Is she really that tiny--a size 2? "Depending on the designer, I'm a size 2, a size 4, even on rare occasions a size 6," Fran said. How does she stay fit? "I have a kayak, and I love to go see the dolphins," she said. "I also work out several times a week with my Pilates instructor. And I do isometrics all the time. I can't sit still in a theatre without doing my isometrics."
You expect Fran Drescher to be funny. She is. What surprised me is how articulate, incisive and moving she can be when discussing subjects as disparate as her new house, her new wardrobe and her 20-year-old marriage.
Fran was revving up for yet another season of The Nanny on CBS, this time as the "married woman," when she called me from California. "I just bought this house in Malibu," said Fran. "It's right on the water, like being on a cruise ship. Then came what they call 'storms of biblical proportions.' Portions of my deck started to sink. Now I have engineers."
As The Nanny fans are well aware, she also has landed a new husband on the show. Drescher's character, Fran Fine, and her wealthy employer got married as last season ended, creating lots of possibilities for this season. "Historically, these things don't work--single heroines getting married on the series," Fran said. "But the thing about our story is its roots, blue collar vs. blue blood. The [the nanny and her employer] have a lot more conflict now."
"She [Fran Fine] always has a much stronger libido than Maxwell Sheffield [her new husband played by Charles Shaughnessy], " Fran continued. "He thinks she makes too much noise in bed, that the children might hear. She goes into the bathroom when he's in there, and he says, 'I can't do it in front of you.' The writers are really excited. There will be lots more scenes in the bedroom. I told the wardrobe, 'Get to work on some really great lingerie!'"
Meanwhile, her own marriage to her high school sweetheart, Peter Marc Jacobson,--co-creator, director and executive producer of The Nanny--has broken up. Yet they continue to collaborate. How's that working out? "It's actually a great thing," Fran said. "We needed some space. We haven't done anything legal. We're still married. We share the same checkbook. We both had this baby [The Nanny]. We both love it, and we're continuing to raise it."
"At times it painful," Fran added. "I never saw the ramifications of marrying a high school sweetheart when you don't maintain that small, provincial life. The world got so big and complicated for us. I realized I never even bought a chair without saying, 'What do you think, honey?'"
And now? "It's one and a half years later, and we're dealing with it," she said. "We maintain civility because we have to and because we still love each other."
Fran Drescher is proud of what she's doing professionally beyond The Nanny. Over the recent hiatus, she said, "I wrote, produced and directed a new original plot for MTV [not yet scheduled]. It challenges the traditional sitcom concept. The first truly Generation X sitcom. I'm not in it. They bought my talent as a behind-the-scenes person, which makes it a great career opportunity for me." The pilot is titled Daytrippers, and it stars, Charlie Newmark, Burke Roberts and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island). "She's really me as 'the landlady,' and she's wonderful," said Fran. "This is going to revive her career," Along with that famous whiny voice, Fran is celebrated for her trim, sexy bod. Is she really that tiny--a size 2? "Depending on the designer, I'm a size 2, a size 4, even on rare occasions a size 6," Fran said. How does she stay fit? "I have a kayak, and I love to go see the dolphins," she said. "I also work out several times a week with my Pilates instructor. And I do isometrics all the time. I can't sit still in a theatre without doing my isometrics."
