PHYLICIA’S THIRD ACT
Cosby queen’s comeback
She played one of America’s favourite working mums, Clair Huxtable, on the 1984-’92 smash The Cosby Show, and in real life, Phylicia Rashad is equally devoted to her children. When her youngest, daughter Condola, now 31, left for college and Phylicia returned home, “there was silence, and then I lost it for about five minutes,” she reveals to the Weekly.
“Thank heavens I had work to keep me together, because I really was a hands-on mother.”
With time, she’s learned to embrace her new life. “I was used to making sure that the needs of my two children [including son William, 44] were met. I enjoyed it, but
I found all this free time for me. That was different!”
Lately, Phylicia’s thrown herself into many new roles – including a spy operative guiding Jean-Claude Van Damme in the recent Amazon series Jean-Claude Van Johnson and a devious matriarch on
TV2’s Empire – and she’s making her New York stage-directing debut with the comedy Our Lady of 121st Street, running off-Broadway from May 1 to
June 10. Now Phylicia (69), opens up about her exciting third act, her family (including her Tonynominated sister, Debbie Allen, 68) and how, despite three divorces, she feels
“surrounded by love.”
You’ve done many different roles since
The Cosby Show,
but do fans still call you Clair Huxtable?
A number of people do, so it’s very interesting to have people now refer to me as [ Empire’s]
Diana DuBois! The truth is, if I’d never worked past The Cosby Show,
I could say I worked and worked well, so all of this is good for me.
Do you feel you broke a glass ceiling by playing a professional mum in the ’80s?
I was surprised with that.
It was a nice bonus. The main thing was that it helped women laugh at things they normally might have been annoyed with, such as adolescent behaviour.
Was it hard to see your kids leave home?
When my youngest, Condola, left for CalArts, I was in Boston and her father [ex husband Ahmad Rashad] called to say his heart was a little broken and he wanted to give her everything he had in his pockets. It wasn’t until I came home that it hit me.
You’ve wed dentist William Lancelot Bowles Jr, singer Victor Willis and ex–NFL star Ahmad Rashad, but recently said, “I don’t feel I’ve ever been married... Okay then, stop.”
I meant just what I said. Just what I said.
Do you still believe in love?
Absolutely. I am surrounded by love!
Was it tough being a single mum at times?
It was more difficult during my son’s early years, when I was in the chorus of The Wiz. At seven, he could say, “Mommy, you needed more energy in this part here,” and he’d be right! Then when I was in the chorus and an understudy in Dreamgirls, that was the most difficult period − I saw him in the morning and when he was asleep in bed. But we had to eat. When I moved on to my first soap, One Life to Live, I could enjoy evenings at home and Saturdays in the park with him.
What did your kids teach you?
Patience. And that even though you’re the parent and what you say goes, you may not always be right.
How were you and your sister, Debbie Allen, supportive of each other?
When she came to New York from college we took an apartment together and we’d hide money in each other’s pockets − but I didn’t realise she was doing it, too! That way we could still maintain a feeling of independence, like we forgot we put it there.
What are the benefits of this stage of your life?
I wonder about that myself. Time is valued, so I don’t want to waste it. Relationships are greatly appreciated.
Anything left on your to-do list?
I’ve got stuff to do! I have optioned a book, and I will direct that project as well.
I’ve got the world to see, and I’ve gotta see my [engaged] daughter married. Recently
I’ve been invited to be the ambassador of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to help save historic sites.
So no plans to slow down anytime soon?
Oh, no. I am just getting started!