Glenda Jackson:

By Don Short

Plain Dealer special

Glenda Jackson can look attractive, even pretty, but most of the time she is interesting, arresting, intriguing or any other adjective neutral enough to shy away from sexy, glamorous, gorgeous and the typical epithets gracing internationally renowned women stars.

People don't even recognize her on the street. Yet despite these seemingly debilitating debits, Glenda Jackson can easily command a million dollars for a movie. She can, but won't.

"I wouldn't ask that for any movie," the actress exclaims, "not even the glamorous Hollywood epics. If I believe in a product that much and the screenplay appeals to me then I will do it. Money is not the primary consideration.

"Besides," she chuckles, "when you think that a third of your earnings go in taxation, it does seem ridiculous to seek higher fees, doesn't it?"

The Jackson bargain sale may not last indefinitely. Although she has won two Oscars, was most recently seen in the successful "House Calls" with Walter Matthau, and will soon be in "Lost and Found," which reunites her with her "Touch of Class" co-star George Segal, and is only 42, the actress is seriously considering leaving show business.

"There are so few good parts for women these days," she says with a touch of bitterness. "Personally I have been lucky and have had more than my share of them. But from recent screenplays I've seen, I don't know why they bother to put female parts in. I think most of the time they put a woman in to prove that the hero isn't homosexual.

"Frankly, I don't intend to hang. around waiting for parts to come along. I daresay films will give me up much quicker than I will give

Plain, sexy

Associated Press

Glenda Jackson looks like a boy with short hair and no makeup for her role as Walter Matthau's patient in "House Calls."

them up, because the camera comes very close and a woman's face starts to crack. I could turn to the theater, of course, but when you hit the mid40s, you run into a stream of character parts, and I can't see myself getting immersed in. them.

"I haven't planned what I am going to do yet, specifically, when I do get out. But I won't sit at home and polish the furniture."

It's ironic that she should consider terminating her career at this stage when, 20 years ago, after being graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, she was told not to expect to work as an actress until she was 40.

"In those days," she explains, “you had to be glamorous and blonde, and my face never my fortune simply did not fit. The popular image was the sex symbol, and there was never any danger of me becoming one, and I knew I didn't have the remotest chance of being employed for the way I looked.

But attitudes changed with John Osborne's 'Look Back in Anger' and some other contemporary works, and parts began to be written for people as opposed to symbols. People thought again about what was considered 'sexy.' Today, there is a whole new sex movement.”

Miss Jackson, however, never

purposely intends to be seductive.

"I don't have a switch I turn on and say, 'OK, let's have it sexy now.' I don't know what I do, but if it's there, it's there without me realizing it."

Sometimes, something is there enough so that the actress stands out in a crowd, whether on screen or off. She views this as a necessary component of her work and flatly rejects the nonsense that often comes with being a superstar.

"I cannot believe that stardom is such a burden as other people make out," she says.

"Certainly there are a few artists who must find it terrible difficult. The late Elvis Presley was surely among them. Imagine not being able to step outside your own home. But I think you can manage to avoid those trappings.

"So many stars bring it all on themselves. I mean you don't have. to be seen out. You don't have to go to jet-set parties. Personally I have never found them enticing at all. Why create so many pressures that don't exist. After my day's work is over, I can't wait to get home. And that's the only place I want to be."

Home is a modest dwelling in a London suburb which she shares with her son, Daniel, 9, and her sister Lyn, who looks after things while she is away.

Three years ago, Miss Jackson's 18-year marriage to theatrical director Roy Hodges ended in divorce. She now dismisses the union as "a sham," vowing, "I won't ever marry again. Once is more than enough."

The actress is quick to add, "But:: I'm not cutting men out of my life altogether. I hope I'm not past that kind of challenge. In fact, I am happier when I'm in love. It's simply Continued on Page 3