In the 1950s, blues clubs abounded on Chicago`s South Side, where Muddy Waters ruled supreme. That bygone era is revisited Wednesday on a special
”Quantum Leap.”
Scott Bakula, star of the time-travel series (9 p.m., NBC-Ch. 5), leaps into the life of Charlie ”Black Magic” Waters, a black pool hustler in 1954. Actress Shari Headley, best known for her role as Eddie Murphy`s American queen in ”Coming to America,” guest stars as Violet Violet, a Chicago blues singer and owner of the Blue Magic Club.
”In this show, Scott (Bakula) is my grandfather,” Headley said. ”He plays the part of Black Magic, who is based on the real life Robert `Rags`
Woods, a famous pool hustler who beat Minnesota Fats. A gangster has a marker over the club. Scott tries to fix things and help me.”
In the show, which features an almost entirely black cast, a high-stakes pool game between Black Magic and loan shark Eddie Davis decides the club`s fate.
In ”Quantum Leap,” Bakula`s character occupies the personas of other people in history, at times blacks and women. Only holographic wizard Dean Stockwell knows Bakula is a white male from the future fighting injustice and crime.
Headley, a 26-year-old former cover girl and model, took the advice of a producer to ”reach down low” to sing the blues, in particular the classic
”Stormy Weather.”
”It was hard to sing `Stormy Weather.` I listened to some of the versions by Dinah Washington and Lena Horne,” said Headley, who is more accustomed to singing and writing pop tunes.
Most people probably recognize Headley from her role as the strait-laced Lisa McDowell in Murphy`s 1988 blockbuster film.
”I just think it was such a great movie,” said Headley, the youngest of four children and a native of Queens, N.Y., where the movie was filmed. ”I think it was great for Eddie as well. It was the first time you saw a really nice black love story. There was nothing degrading about it; people really liked it.
”Queens, that`s where the posse is,” Headley said, referring to her friends. ”The whole block loves me. Nobody treats me like a star. People on my block say, `Shari, she`s coolin.` ”
Throughout the interview, in which Headley spoke by telephone from her Los Angeles home, she would comfortably and hilariously slide into the vernacular of the streets or do a convincing Caribbean accent.
After the success of her film debut, the offers flowed in, but Headley turned thumbs down to exploitative roles.
”There`s little quality material for things written for women, specifically black women,” she said. ”I feel that I have a responsibility to do quality work. That`s not to say I wouldn`t play a negative character, but there`s got to be a reason. Young people do come up to me and say that I really inspire them.”
It took a leap of faith from a successful career as a regular Ford model appearing in top fashion magazines such as Glamour and Mademoiselle to plunge into the unchartered waters of acting. Small parts on ”Miami Vice” and ”The Cosby Show” eventually led to director John Landis` choosing her for the lead in ”Coming to America.”
”My parents built the foundation from where I`ve grown,” she said. ”I have support from my family. This is a very funny business. I`ve been very fortunate.”
Especially considering a bit part on last-season`s ”Gideon Oliver” that turned into a recurring role as Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr.`s daughter.
”I was not surprised by the show`s cancellation,” she said. ”It was just too cerebral for most people. Here`s a guy, he`s a college professor, an anthropologist. The average person couldn`t understand it.”
Headley has also landed a role as investigative reporter Trish Van Hogan on an upcoming ”Kojak,” part of ”The ABC Saturday Mystery.”
”I play the love interest of Detective Winston Blake,” Headley said.
(Blake is played by Chicago actor Andre Braugher.) ”When I came on the show, they signed me for two episodes.”
Headley`s now playing the waiting game for several TV roles, and for the right man to come along.
”I do want five kids,” she said. ”I love kids. Kids are so honest. And that`s how I am. Adults lose that somewhere along the way.”
