Robert Crane had lunch with the effervescent Shelley Long at Michael's in Los Angeles. He reports, "Shelley is so cute, so sweet that I figured it must be a façade, that there was a dark side to her waiting to get out. Her collegiate good looks and enthusiasm about everything make me long for the Fifties--when lunch was a lot cheaper."

Q 1

PLAYBOY: What do you think of women who go all the way on the first date?

Shelley Long: Well, I love to travel, so far be it from me to judge anyone's traveling choices. Live in the moment. That allows you to make a decision based on how you feel. Having a passport doesn't hurt, either.

Q 2

PLAYBOY: Do nice girls finish last?

Shelley Long: Are there any nice girls left? If nice means you're always worried about the other person more than yourself, you're going to be in big trouble. If it means that you have compassion and some sense of priorities, you're going to do fine.

Q 3

PLAYBOY: People do crazy things in college. What is something crazy you did that, perhaps, your parents never knew about?

Shelley Long: I was artistically spontaneous, in the sense that I would talk to mailboxes. That came out of being in love. I once serenaded the people who were sitting in the lobby of the Palmer House hotel in Chicago. It came out of a real free spirit. I stood on the balcony of the mezzanine of the Palmer House, and the man that I was with at that time was sitting in the lobby and he was trying to hide under a newspaper, pretending not to know who I was. Somebody tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around and it was Dick Shawn, and he said, "Are you a singer?" I said, "Sometimes." He said, "I'm doing a show here at the Empire Room. Would you like to come and see my show?" I said, "You see that guy who's hiding under the newspapers down there? I'm with him." He said, "Great. Bring him along. Come to my show." We did, and he came over to our table, afterward and gave me some advice. I've always respected him.

Q 4

PLAYBOY: Since you've moved to Los Angeles, do you tell the truth as much as you did before?

Shelley Long: More than ever, because people find it so hard to believe. I enjoy shocking people. When your life is very rich, there's no need to avoid the truth. It's as though I have this basket of goodies and it's all truth. I don't necessarily show the whole basket, but it's all there and it's real to me.

Q 5

PLAYBOY: What is the dirtiest thought you can conjure up?

Shelley Long: That everyone sitting in this restaurant is really nude. The dirtiest thought that I can think of is the stack of laundry sitting at home. "Dirty" doesn't apply anymore. Isn't it nice that it's OK for a man and a woman to enjoy each other physically and emotionally? It doesn't have to be dirty anymore. It's just good lovin'.