"SANTA BARBARA" Da Laughs It Up Offstage

July 9, 1990|By Nancy M. Reichardt, Orlando Sentinel

NEW YORK — If you're a fan of Santa Barbara in general and of the straight-as-an-arrow district attorney Ethan Asher in particular, you would be very pleasantly surprised to meet Leigh McCloskey, who plays Asher. Why? Because, off-screen, McCloskey displays a humor and wit that he rarely gets to interject into his on-screen performances.

''A lot of humor goes on behind-the-scenes at Santa Barbara,'' says McCloskey. ''People do take a lot of the work with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. We laugh a lot and have great fun.''

McCloskey, who does his share of making his fellow cast members laugh, is known as the resident punster. ''I like word play,'' says McCloskey. ''Puns are my specialty.''

Considering what the actor has been through during his nearly two-year run on Santa Barbara, it's a miracle the guy can laugh at all. McCloskey started out as a nice doctor named Zack Kelton who turned out to be a rapist/murderer. Ultimately, Zack met his demise falling off a cliff, and McCloskey came back with a new look and a new character - district attorney Ethan Asher.

''They gave me glasses, then they cut and dyed my hair,'' he says. ''It was a horrible color that I used to call 'interesting orange.' My wife hated it, and so did I.''

When enough time lapsed for the audience to forget the crazy Zack, McCloskey was allowed to revert back to a longer style, his original hair color and shed his glasses. ''I'm back to my natural look,'' says the actor. ''Thank God!''

Despite the changes, things haven't gotten any easier for his character. Asher is wed to the wacky Laura Asher (Christopher Norris), and their marriage may very well go down as the most tumultuous in daytime history.

McCloskey reveals that he has thoroughly enjoyed working with Norris over the past year.

''She's a delightful lady and a marvelous actress,'' says McCloskey. ''We've had a great time taping all our fight scenes. Every now and then after we've finished one of them, we've actually walked away from the scene angry.''

Fortunately, the actor is blessed with a much more peaceful and happier marriage (and life) off-screen. McCloskey and his wife, Carla, have two daughters, Caytlyn, 7, and Brighton, 2. And McCloskey readily admits that he is devoted to his family.

''My priority is my family,'' McCloskey says, proudly. ''They are and always will be the most important part of my life. When I have time off, I like to spend it with them.''

The actor also spends much of his free time indulging in his favorite hobby - painting. ''That's my other obsession,'' he says.