Debbie Allen on power, pain, passion and prime time

Ebony, March, 1991 by Laura B. Randolph

Which is why, says Nixon, no one should be fooled by the glitter and flash of Debbie's professional life. With her, he says, family's always first. A few years ago when she danced at the Academy Awards, the curtain was barely down before she jumped into a limo and flew through the L.A. freeways to watch Nixon play in an across-town game. "I made it in time for the fourth quarter," she boasts.

Not only is Allen supportive, she is fiercely protective of Nixon. She is, for example, still upset about the Lakers' unceremonious trade of Nixon to the L.A. Clippers. "It was all done so badly," she says of Nixon's 1983 trade and subsequent retirement in 1987. "It's one thing for somebody to go out. It's another thing when somebody is trying to put you down. I always felt [Lakers general manager] Jerry West had it in for Norman. He just never felt Norman gave him proper respect. Well, Norman came to play ball. He didn't come to grin and joke and kiss ass. He's a man and that's the reason they had to move him."

With support like that, it's no wonder Nixon calls Debbie "an incredible wife and mother." "She's the best cook I've ever been with," he boasts of Allen who, though she has live-in help, cooks dinner for her family most nights herself. And though they've been married more than six years now, watching them together you can still feel the heat. "When I saw Norman I saw my children," says Debbie explaining the intensity of her feelings for Nixon.

And what about the future? At 40, Debbie says she hasn't foreclosed the possibility of more children. "I really wish I'd started having them earlier because I've always wanted a big family," she confides.

Professionally, she's planning to add feature films to her already bursting list of credits and is currently working on a script, based on the death of her father. Entitled Good-bye Papa, the film will be produced by Eddie Murphy Productions. And, fueled by her phenomenal success on A Different World, she'll soon begin production of her own series. "It's about a woman trying to hold her family together," she says of her upcoming as-yet-to-be titled show for NBC. No title for a show starring Debbie Allen? No problem. If it's anything like her real life, just call it "Superwife, Supermom, Superwoman".

PHOTO : Behind the camera and in front the camera, singer/ dancer/actor/director Debbie Allen creates excitement. As director of the hit TV series, A Different World, she walks through a scene with members of the cast. Some episodes on the program are made-for-TV versions of her real life.

PHOTO : Directing her sister, Phylicia Rashad and Keshia Knight Pulliam in NBC/Disney movie, Polly, multitalented star choreographs movement of technicians and actors. Her husband is Norman Nixon, former star of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.

PHOTO : With her children, Norman Jr., 3, and Vivian Nichole, 6, she shares quality time in dance studio in her home.

PHOTO : Renaissance woman, who can do just about everything, is hard at work on several projects which will utilize her unique talents as a dancer, director and charismatic actress.