SENIORS : Back in the Act : Marilyn Davis’ stage and TV career is in full swing again after a break to raise her children.

The great thing about being an actor, a writer or a director is you never have to retire. In fact, it’s possible to go without a gig for a decade and then crank up your career at 50.

At 62, actress Marilyn Davis is enjoying success a second time. After putting her career in television, film and theater on hold to raise two children, Davis re-entered the profession with a bang. She is currently appearing in the Xanadu Repertory Company’s production of “Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” a spoof of murder mysteries, that runs July 20-21 and 27-28 at California Lutheran University.

In 1985, Davis won a Clio for the best female performance in a television commercial, a 30-second spot titled “The More I See You,” which promoted marriage and family. Her 1986 film, “Thunder Run,” aired last month on Showtime. She recently starred with her daughter, Maripat, a country and Western singer, in a Hollywood musical revue “Mama/Me,” written by her husband, Charles. Only three weeks ago Davis filmed a commercial for Japanese television.

“It’s for a Japanese gossip magazine. They made me up so pale, I look like a blonde Kabuki dancer, but I play a wicked Beverly Hills shopper.”

Whoa, slow this woman down. What’s next?

Stand-up comedy, she said. “I’m urging Charles to write a comedy act for an older couple that we could perform together.”

You can’t deny it--the woman’s got energy.

Charles, Davis’ husband of 40 years, is no slouch either. An actor turned writer-director, he has made films all over the world. He’s currently rewriting a screenplay for a feature film based upon Kent Harrington’s terrorist-thriller novel “Gift of a Falcon.”

Like his wife, Charles Davis also set out to do other things. In 1984, he ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 21st District. “I gave up everything for a year to run for office,” he said. “I tell people if you feel strongly about something, you must speak up or write letters to the newspaper. If you don’t run for office yourself, at least go out and support people and groups that agree with your opinion.”

This dynamic duo moved to Thousand Oaks 25 years ago.

“In 1965, there were only 20,000 people here and it had a wonderful small-town feeling,” Davis said. A small-town, rural feeling still greets visitors to the Davis house, thanks to the dog, cats and ducks that share their abode. Numerous awards and mementos garnered over the years highlight the story of this show business couple.

Charles Davis is a native of Ireland, but both he and Davis speak with the resonant, mid-Atlantic accents of the New York stage.

Davis is a trim and glamorous woman who fringes her large blue eyes with mascara. She stays in shape by attending exercise classes twice a week.

Her husband was a stage and radio repertory actor in Dublin before joining the Broadway production of the musical “Finian’s Rainbow” in 1948. Davis, a voice major at the University of Denver, did a short stint in opera and then at Billy Rose’s New York night club, the Diamond Horse Shoe. After appearing in Irving Berlin’s Broadway musical “Miss Liberty” Davis joined “Finian’s Rainbow” on tour.

“We were in the show together for months across the country before we talked to each other,” Davis said. That must have been some conversation because they got married, moved to Van Nuys and never returned professionally to New York.

Charles Davis acted full time until 1960, when he directed a feature film, “Get Out of Town,” in which his wife starred. Davis played Las Vegas with Sammy Davis Jr. during the ‘50s, and the couple appeared in many television shows, including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “The Donna Reed Show” and “Playhouse 90.” “I did my first TV commercial for $15, “ Davis said.

She also worked in stock productions and performed with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. “It was Mary Martin’s idea to blond my hair,” said Davis, who was starring with her at the time. Charles Davis added, “When Marilyn came home that night with her hair changed, our daughter cried because she didn’t know her.”

Davis dropped out of the profession in 1966 to raise Maripat and son Blaine, while her husband continued to make films.

“The key to staying young is challenge,” Charles Davis said. “You must avoid seeking security and try new things. I think it was Gen. Eisenhower who said, ‘Man was not meant for safe harbors.’ ”

Later that evening after the opening of “Musical Comedy Murders,” Davis stood backstage as people congratulated her on her performance. Broadway was 42 years ago, but she still approaches her craft with fresh enthusiasm.

“Yes, I was ready to go back,” she said. “And I’m glad I did!”