Doing it all - her way!! Versatility reaps multiple successes for this exciting entertainer

Ebony, Nov, 1989

Doing It All--Her Way!!

"HER career can be best described as a one-way sign pointing up. There's only one way she can go."

That's what a fellow actor said about Debbie Allen after working with her in the mid-'70s at the beginning of her career. Today, at age 38, Allen ranks among the most versatile and multitalented entertainers in Hollywood and New York. She commands respect on both the stage and screen, as performer and director.

While she is best known for her sassy dancing and choreography, she also acts, sings, directs, produces and writes. To her proven media vehicles of television, film and theater, she now has added the recording industry with the release of her debut solo album Special Look.

But neither of these roles gives Allen the pride and pleasure she enjoys as wife of former basketball star guard Norman Nixon and mother of their two children, Vivan Nichole, 5, and Norm Jr., 2. She often leaves the set of A Different World, for which she is producer and director, and rushes home to cook dinner for her family.

How can this highly celebrated entertainer successfully juggle so many roles and still radiate such beauty and vitality? This 5'2", 110-pound performancer who was voted "Miss Versatile" by her 1968 high school class says, "I've never put any limitations on myself."

She concedes, however, that her particular lifestyle is not easy to handle. "I don't recommend that everyone try it," she cautions. "You have to have a great deal of spirit to be able to manipulate all these different things at once. I liken myself to an octopus, having hands on so many things."

Topping the list of "things" is her work with A Different World, the highrated NBC sitcom that originated as a Cosby Show spinoff. during its stormy 1987-88 debut season, the show was panned by critics, even though it consistently ranked second to the No. 1 Cosby Show. Allen had already won great admiration and respect for her work as director, choreographer and actress on the long-running, popular Fame television series, and she enthusiastically accepted the challenge from executive producer Bill Cosby and presented a greatly improved Different World last season. Allen incorporated more realistic topics, bedazzling dance numbers and interesting plots, such as an appearance by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

The sitcom is just one of Allen's projects. She co-wrote, directed, produced, choreographed and starred in The Debbie Allen Special on ABC last spring. She also has directed episodes for a number of television shows, in addition to starring in the revival of Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity on Broadway. "Not many ladies can play that part because it requires singing, dancing and acting," Fosse said. "The thing that she has that I thought would be good in the part is a kind of feistiness, street toughness."

Yes, Debbie Allen is tough, but in a most feminine way, and she's not afriad to take on the fancy-stepping pop divas of the new generation. With the release of her first LP and music video, Special Look, she aims to show Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson a few new moves. "Visuals are so important now in the music industry, especially in videos," she says, adding that many young singers will not succeed because they don't make a good impression on camera or they simply can't dance. Neither is a problem for Allen, who says, "I am visual!"

"Honey, I am ready to go on the road now and open for Guy or Bobby Brown," she says in her characteristic animated manner. "Watch and see if these children don't come out and see me." Allen, who admits to being highly motivated and confident, says she has an advantage over most new recording artists because her name and face are already familiar to music fans.

"For me, recording is another way of performing live, another way of keeping in touch with what's going on in music today," she says. "And it is also a way to keep alive as a performing artist, which I am."

It is too early to determine whether Allen will be as big a singing sensation as she is a director and dancer, but she definitely is committed to proving that she can do it all. "I was so happy with the artistic freedom that I had," she says, adding that all was not bliss in the recording studio. She tells of going home in tears after more than one recording session.

Allen's husband Norman Nixon provides the balance that makes all the frustrations worthwhile, says Allen. She credits him with getting the deal with MCA Records, and he is listed as the album's executive producer. That's a long way from basketball star. After a stellar career with the Los Angeles Lakers and a few injury-plagued years with the Los Angeles Clippers, the two-time NBA All-Star guard retired last spring. Nixon now heads Professional Financial Services, which represents athletes and entertainers.

The two high-profile jet-setters met in 1978, but it wasn't until 1982 that Nixon saw Allen perform on stage for the first time. "She was the most beautiful performer I had ever seen," he recalls. Soon after, she saw him work his basketball magic for the first time and instantly became a fan. They were married in 1983 and successfully meshed their two highly stressful careers. "I think that one of the things that make us compatible," says Nixon, "is that we understand the pressures of each other's careers....If I had to write a script for myself, I couldn't have done better."