‘THE WIZARD’S’ TOUCH : RAPPAPORT DELIGHTS CHILDREN, FANS

David Rappaport is feeling the heat.

His starring role in the CBS series “The Wizard” has catapulted the diminutive British actor into a dizzying schedule that includes 12-hour work days, regular interviews (one day, he did nine satellite hookups and Joan Rivers’ show)--and on weekends, a merry-go-round of charity functions.

Last weekend, “Facts of Life” star Kim Fields and Angels’ center fielder Gary Pettis joined emcee Rappaport at the Starlight Foundation’s third annual Christmas party. The national organization grants wishes to children who are critically, terminally and chronically ill.

Martin Luther King Hospital played host to the event, at which 75 invited children (in- and outpatients of the facility) were treated to a two-hour show featuring Marineland characters, puppetry, card tricks and magic, clowns P.T. Hacker and Staccato, the Cub Scouts of Newbury Park, the rock band Fluid Drive--and, of course, Santa Claus.

Rappaport, who arrived with his publicist, manager and photographer in tow, acknowledged that one reason for participating was to promote his three-month-old series, which has just made its second move of the season, back to Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

“Once the show’s established,” he said, “I won’t have to do so many of these (appearances). But I don’t mind doing them now, because I know you’ve got to have a good profile, tell people who you are--and it’s also important at Christmas-time to do these charity things. It takes a couple of hours and gives people a lot of fun.”

Not surprisingly, the 3-foot-11 actor feels that “The Wizard” (in which he plays Simon, a genius inventor and toymaker) is equally affecting: “It’s really become a cult show. I get letters from all kinds of people around the country: the Mensa society--who said how nice it was to have a program that treats science in a celebrating manner--and both adults and children.

“I got one letter from a kid with leukemia, whose wish was to talk to the Wizard. So I called him. But what do you say? You don’t know what he looks like, who he is. All you know is that he’s going to die in a few weeks. Afterwards I got a letter from his parents saying he was over the moon for days.”

His ability to touch so many people and his success on American TV are a constant surprise to Rappaport.

“There was no way that I ever wanted to come to Hollywood,” he said. “Number one, I was working just fine in Europe. (Last year, he acted in three BBC productions, hosted his own talk show, appeared in a stage play and wrote a couple of newspaper articles.)

“Number two, American television is usually considered of lesser artistic quality, compared to English TV. And also, being locked into a series for several years is like a nightmare to most actors. So they had to persuade me a lot. It wasn’t money--that’s big whatever it is. It was the work conditions: artistic control, script approval.”

Although his rise has been fast (he only quit his schoolteacher’s job and began acting full time in 1978), Rappaport, 35, appears to have adjusted to his celebrity status.

“I was popular in England, but not like this ,” he stressed. “It all came about because the (“Wizard”) producers were fans of (his work in the 1981 film) ‘Time Bandits’--and when I came over last year to do publicity for ‘The Bride,’ they liked me. The reviews liked me. Literally in one week, I breakfasted with Paramount, Universal and Warner Brothers (Studios). I was like the talk of the town.”

He wound up signing with 20th Century Fox, where “The Wizard” was created for him.

The irony that the disastrous “Bride” (an update of “The Bride of Frankenstein” with Jennifer Beals and Sting) was responsible for his success has not escaped him.

“The first time I saw the film, I was amazed,” he said with a shrug. “Our scenes (between him and the monster Victor, played by Clancy Brown) had been done well, and we just assumed the rest of the film was too. Of course, normally, even if you give a good performance in a bad movie, everyone forgets it. But they picked me out. I was grateful--not guilty at all. I was pleased with the performance, disappointed that the others weren’t up to that.”

Rappaport carries that standard of excellence like a banner.

“There were many times in England when I chose not to work. I lived below my means and allowed myself the luxury of not having to do everything that came up. I knew I could do all the puppet parts in the world. There are a lot of small people who make a good income playing woks and wombles, being inside faces (of other characters) and in ice shows and pantomimes. I didn’t want to do that.” For that reason, he turned down the role of “ ‘Star Wars’ ” R2D2--”sitting in a tin can in the desert of Tunisia.”

“I’ve always been selective,” Rappaport said matter-of-factly. “I want to do strange, original parts. If you’ve got a puppet (costume) on, you’re not an actor; you’re just an object inside a puppet. I want to do a lot more than that.”