'Knots' actress not so 'Accidentally' a producer

PASADENA, Calif. — "Accidentally on Purpose" is sort of a homecoming for creator/executive producer Claudia Lonow. She's been on CBS before.

But the last time she was on one of the network's shows, she was an actress. She played rebellious teenager Diana Fairgate on "Knots Landing" from 1979-84 (with a couple of return appearances later in the show's run).

"I was a child," Lonow said. "I really was. I am not making that up."

As a matter of fact, she was only 16 when she started playing the daughter of Karen (Michele Lee) and Sid Fairgate (Don Murray).

Lonow's acting career didn't exactly flourish after "Knots," and she turned to writing. And mostly writing comedies.

Her producing/writing credits include "Rude Awakening," "Less Than Perfect" and "The War at Home."

"Actually, my stepfather is one of the owners of the Improv (comedy club)," Lonow said. "My mother was a comic, and my brother is an actor, Michael Rapaport. He started out as a comic, and I did comedy.

"So 'Knots Landing' was really more of a detour. I grew up with comics in my house 24 hours a day."

And sometimes she had comics with her on the "Knots" set.

"I had to have a guardian when I was doing 'Knots Landing,' " she said. "Sometimes my mom couldn't go. So a comic would drive me to work, and I'd listen to jokes."

"Knots Landing" was certainly not without humor. As a matter of fact, it was one of the few intentionally humorous prime-time soaps of the 1980s, as opposed to the unintentional hilarity on shows like "Dynasty."

With a few exceptions.

Lonow recalled one episode when her character needed a kidney transplant. The only available donor was her Aunt Abby (Donna Mills) — the show's resident evil vixen.

"It was, like, the redemption episode for Donna Mills' character," she said. "And she had to do this line. I believe it's etched into my memory as, 'Kid, anything I have is yours, even my kidney.' "

"You know, we couldn't get through it."

Not all of the humor was in the scripts.

"Well, some of the funnier things happened behind the scenes. 'Knots Landing' was a very makeup-oriented show," Lonow said. "So instead of saying 'Action,' the directors would say, 'Mirrors down, ladies.' "

And some things have become funnier as the years passed. Things that might have been painful when they happened.

"When I was a super-young actress, there were moments where I (was) in the moment," Lonow said. "I (was) thinking, 'Wow, this is going to be so fantastic, and I'm so dramatic.'

"I had this one scene — I can't believe I remember every bit of this — where I get into a fight with a teenage boy and I push the bike toward him, and I run away. And I thought, that is just so great.

"When I saw it on TV, I didn't realize that I run like Napoleon Dynamite. I could not look more ridiculous and klutzy than I did in that moment."

And, as strange as it might seem, Lonow said she thinks that "Knots Landing" put her on the path that led her to producing a sitcom like "Accidentally on Purpose."

"I really grew up in a very comedic world," she said. "So even when I was on 'Knots Landing,' I was finding the funny things about what was happening behind the scenes.

"But, yes, that was a great show. I had a lot of fun."

e-mail: pierce@desnews.com