--Life After Isuzu: Leisure, 40, went straight to a seven-year stint as Richard Mulligan's obnoxious neighbor, Charley, on NBC's Empty Nest. The Los Angeles-based actor, soon to be married for a third time, appears in the upcoming independent films The Outsider and Hollywood Safari and the ABC-TV movie Dogmatic. Joe Isuzu continues to haunt him, however. Says Leisure, "People say, 'Hey, aren't you that a--hole liar?'"
THE NOXZEMA GIRL
GUNILLA KNUTSON steamed it up as Shave Cream's sexy blond (1966-73).
--Signature Shtick: "Take it off. Take it all off."
--Ad Tales: Originally the ad featured a man shaving to bump-and-grind stripper music, sans model. "It wasn't as effective as they had hoped," says the Swedish-born Knutson, now 53. "Someone said, 'Well, we could put a broad in it.' At first it was a joke, but then they tried it."
--Life After Noxzema: Knutson went on to become spokesperson and vice president of sales for Rose Milk skin cream, and later published an exercise book, Beauty and Health the Scandinavian Way. Today she works as a wine taster for Sabrina Wine Importers and also as a gymnastics instructor at the Buckley Elementary School in Manhattan.
THE ALKA-SELTZER WIFE
ALICE PLAYTEN served as a cooking-impaired newlywed whose list of questionable recipes elicits groans from her young husband in one of Alka-Seltzer's most memorable spots (1970).
--Signature Shtick: "Poached oysters!"
--Ad Tales: Playten's squeaky voice and offbeat looks created a new category for women in commercials, previously limited to models or moms. "My agent got calls saying, 'We're looking for an Alice Playten type,' " says Playten, who subsequently starred with Chevy Chase and John Belushi in the 1974 National Lampoon comedy revue Lemmings. "He'd say, 'We represent her.' They'd say, 'We'll look at her type today and if we don't find her, we'll call Alice.'"
--Life After Alka-Seltzer: While Playten and her costar in the ad, Terry Kaiser, were offered a sitcom based on their commercials, she instead continued with theater and voice-over work in New York. The fortysomething actress currently voices Beebe Bluff on ABC's cartoon Doug and will appear in the upcoming musical Schlemiel the First at the Geffen Theater in Los Angeles.
MOTHER NATURE
DENA DIETRICH was all the rage as a very cranky Mother Nature, who sparks lightning and earthquakes when tricked into mistaking Chiffon margarine for butter (1971-79).
--Signature Shtick: "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature."
--Ad Tales: Dietrich thought the role was unlandable, since "they had a sheet describing Mother Nature as heavyset, blond, and motherly," says Dietrich, who was then working in theater. "I was thin and brunet, so I didn't really give a damn. They handed me a bunch of daisies and I got crazy, throwing them around the room and making a fool of myself."
--Life After Chiffon: Dietrich, now in her 60s, went on to appear in several sitcoms (Adam's Rib, The Ropers) and also held the recurring role of Phil's wife, Phyllis, on Murphy Brown. She lives in West Hollywood and continues to do TV, film, theater, and voice-over work.
