Actors, professional storytellers that they are, have no small stash of creative excuses to justify their tardiness: "Traffic on the 405," "The relentless paparazzi," "I had this thing that went late." Brooke Shields, however, had a very legitimate excuse for arriving late to lunch at Il Sogno, an outdoor cafe in the Palisades.
That particular January morning, her 2-year-old American bulldog had collapsed at the dog park. More than an ordinary pet, Shields' beloved Darla exists as a link to her best friend and former "Suddenly Susan" co-star, David Strickland, who hung himself in a Las Vegas motel room in March 1999. Shields had adopted Darla just weeks before Strickland's death, and initially, Strickland didn't much care for the dog. But soon it was Strickland who was reassuring Shields that Darla would eventually stop pooping on the kitchen floor. He'd even get down--eye-level with Darla--to encourage her to use the doggy door. Then, the very day Strickland died, Darla suddenly leaped through the doggy door for the first time.
"It was almost like David was on the other side saying, 'C'mon, Darla. You can do it,' " recalls Shields, a sad quiver in her voice. On this day, unsure of Darla's health, Shields manages to find a friend to rush her ailing pet to the vet while she races to an interview.
Say what you will about Shields--obsess stubbornly on her early blue period (as in the jeans and the "Lagoon"), take pot shots at her much-maligned 1996-2000 sitcom, "Suddenly Susan," gossip about her laundry list of famous beaus--this 35-year-old is a professional who desires more than anything to be taken seriously as an actress--evidenced by her current choice of projects.
Through Sunday, Shields delivers a very grown-up dissertation on female genitalia alongside Swoosie Kurtz (who played Shields' mom in "Suddenly Susan") and Jenifer Lewis (of Lifetime's "Strong Medicine") in the Canon Theater's ongoing production of "The Vagina Monologues." (Shields appeared in the off-Broadway production last fall.) And Monday night, Shields forgoes lip gloss and mascara, playing a lesbian mom in the original Lifetime movie, "What Makes A Family"--the latest in a growing filmography of Shields projects involving gay themes and characters.
