A BLYTH SPIRIT FROM AN EARLIER ERA

A waiter led the way--skirting the edge of the busy dining room and on through an iron-grate opening to a secluded nook, where a single VIP table had been reserved.

Ann Blyth had insisted on the Brown Derby for lunch because, she said, she yearned for a Cobb salad, a specialty created by former owner Bob Cobb half a century ago.

But it was more than the salad that appealed to the actress. It was the atmosphere of an earlier era--the caricatures of former Hollywood greats on the wall, the soft music and special attention--a nostalgic, familiar setting for a brief rendezvous with yesteryear.

Like a scene out of the “Twilight Zone,” Blyth suddenly appeared at the table, her star image of the ‘40s and ‘50s untarnished by age.

At 57, she verily glowed--hair meticulously styled atop her head, long, polished nails, fluttering lashes, makeup tastefully applied, pearls, a few diamonds, a blue jacket, a brightly colored size-4 dress and white hose and heels.

A wispy 104 pounds, Blyth works out with weights and does aerobics daily, she said, and the results are impressive. But for the last month much of her energy has been directed toward rehearsals for her role as the Countess opposite Bill Hayes in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera production of “Song of Norway” (previewing tonight and Friday and continuing through March 17 at the Terrace Theater, Long Beach Convention Center).

“I haven’t done theater in Los Angeles in more than 20 years,” she said. “Unless you have worked in L.A., it’s as if you haven’t worked at all.”

Actually, since 1960 she has been quite active in the theater, performing in musicals throughout the country--”Show Boat,” “Carnival,” “The King and I,” “Sound of Music,” “The Desert Song,” “South Pacific” and, last year, “Kiss Me, Kate.”

Having launched her career 52 years ago on a New York City radio station at age 5, Blyth has been successful in virtually every phase of show business.

Under contract at Universal for seven years and later at MGM, she appeared in more than 30 movies--comedy, drama and musicals. At 17, she earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress in “Mildred Pierce” and in 1957 was featured in “The Helen Morgan Story”--perhaps her most memorable films.

But it’s the theater that truly excites her.

“Most actors who have done theater dearly love getting back to it,” she said. “It’s exciting. . . . Once you start, that’s it. Nobody’s going to say, ‘Cut; let’s try it again.’ You must continue, but that’s part of the excitement. I love it a lot.”

More than 10 years ago, a Times article focused on Blyth’s family life. The story was headlined: “A Marriage That Endures.” Then, she and Dr. James McNulty--brother of singer Dennis Day--had been married 21 years, had five children and lived in Toluca Lake.

Except for an increase in their marriage longevity record and the addition of a couple of grandchildren, not much has changed for them in the last decade.

“He still takes night calls, goes to the hospital,” the actress said of her husband, a 67-year-old obstetrician and gynecologist who takes an active interest in his wife’s career.

She attributes their successful marriage to the fact “that we care so much about one another, that it’s not something we take for granted. If anything, our feelings are deeper now and have much more meaning.

“Today, there’s a casualness that I think causes people not to stay together. I’ve always found it hard to say goodby. Friendships and love relationships aren’t taken as seriously as they should be.”

Her Catholic faith also has proved profoundly meaningful through the years, she said, adding, “I can’t imagine my life without it.”

Admitting she has been “blessed many ways,” the actress, however, acknowledged that life hasn’t been perfect.

She spoke reluctantly about an osteomyelitis operation as an infant, about being abandoned by her father at age 10, a broken back suffered in a tobogganing mishap at 17, studio suspensions, the deaths of her mother and, more recently, an aunt who helped raise her, the serious illness of her husband about four years ago, difficulties raising her own family and a current hypothyroid problem involving “my grandbaby.”

Eyes moist, Blyth preferred to change the subject. She finished her salad and stepped outside, leaving the memories behind. Once again, it was Hollywood, 1985.

But just then a young fan approached the actress, extended a pen and asked, “May I have your autograph?”

Smiling, she graciously obliged. The timing, it seemed, was perfect.