Susan In Tune

By Jerry Fink

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 8:44 a.m.

Susan Anton's long legs make for great stocking stuffers this (or any) holiday season.

The tall, slender performer, a shade under 6 feet tall, will be showing of her legs and talents during "Susan Anton Celebrates Christmas" this weeken at the Suncoast.

"I love the holidays," Anton said. "They have been an important part o my growth, of my journey. I always look forward to them."

Anton says her's is not a traditional holiday show, "but there are a lo of traditional tunes."

She will sing a lot of songs by everyone from the Beatles to Mariah Care.

"I like to take the audience on an emotional journey," Anton, who live in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, said. "I want them to get connecte to why we take this time to slow down and count our blessing, and what really matters."

The 54-year-old native of Oak Glen, Calif., has numerous blessing to be thankful for, among them her natural beauty, intellec and talent.

One of five children, Anton was Miss California 1969 and secon runner-up to Miss America in 1970. Soon after that she becam a spokesman for Muriel Cigar (replacing Edie Adams), whic launched her entertainment career.

Much of that career has been spent in Las Vegas, including 5,000 performances as special guest with the "Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular," which was at the Flamingo Hilton from 1994 until 2000. Prior to debuting in Vegas, Anton was on the road with the show for 18 months.

She said having a steady job as a cast member of the revue was a mixed blessing.

"The good news was that I had a steady job," Anton said. "And the bad news was that I had a steady job, and therefore not available for other projects. I was out of the rotation."

Her first appearance in Vegas was in the early '70s at the Hacienda (where Mandalay Bay now stands).

"I was in a revue called TTurn it On,' which came out on the heels of TLaugh-In,' "Anton said. "It was an irreverent look at the world."

When the production closed she became the headliner of Donn Arden's "Fantasy on Ice."

"I had about 20 minutes of material," Anton said. "It was my first headlining experience in Las Vegas. "The prime-rib special got bigger billing."

In addition to her commercials, she has appeared on Broadway ("Hurlyburly"), in numerous films (including "Making Mr. Right" with John Malkovich) and dozens of television shows.

In recent years she has expanded her resume to include motion picture production with her husband, Jeff Lester. Together they own Big Picture Studios, a Las Vegas-based company.

Their film "The Last Real Cowboy" (2000), starring Billy Bob Thornton, won the best short film award at the International Film Festival. Anton produced the movie, and Lester directed.

The next Big Picture project is "Angel Arthur," a story about an angel who returns to earth to help a 12-year-old boy cope with his father's death.

Anton doesn't spend as much time in front of the camera as she once did.

"I love it in front of the camera," Anton said. "But there is not as much demand for us vintage actresses. We live in a youth-oriented society. It seems as if 99 percent of those in front of the camera today are 20 and younger."

But Anton isn't one to accept defeat.

"I'm developing a TV series for myself," she said. "You have to take matters into your own hands."

Anton says TV and motion picture executives are more into protecting their own positions than in being creative and innovative.

"Everyone is answering to a higher-up," she said. "To be bold takes a lot of courage."

When she isn't working on her other projects, Anton is developing Susan Anton's Homegrown -- a line of products for the home. And she is writing a book about the subject.

"It's a new phase for me," she said.

Anton said the title of the company comes from the fact that "You don't build a home, you grow a home based on traditions and values."

She said her line of products, which includes such things as pottery and linen, aren't so much unique as simplified.

"I'm from a small town where I went to a one-room schoolhouse," Anton said.

She said some basic traditional values were instilled in her by her parents and grandparents.

"I'm tapping into that and I will share it with others," Anton said.

She says a real home isn't what you see in magazine photographs.

"Those are just images," Anton said. "A home isn't just a building, it is being with your family. It's a comfortable chair. It's a comforter you pull over you to keep warm."

She says she has often taken her own advice.

"My life has become very simple, and I love that."

And she loves performing in front of an audience.

"That truly is my favorite thing," Anton said. "That's what God gave me the ability to do."

But Vegas has changed and she doesn't have the opportunity to perform here as often as she would like.

"It has all of these palatial production shows," she said. "Tickets are very expensive. The casinos are bringing in performers, like Celine Dion or Elton John, who have a million top songs.

"The competition is tough."

She's happy to be at the Suncoast.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to do my show in Vegas," Anton said. "We work about 60 percent of the year on the road."

She says performing and traveling keep her young -- and so does rock 'n' roll.

"If you were a kid in the '60s, during the roots of rock 'n' roll, I defy you to listen to that music and not stay young.

"In the twilight of my years I'm going to be in a nursing home, playing music by the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and wheeling around singing, 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction.' "