The Other Side of the Camera

The Rob Reiner Strategem continues: Two veteran actors--Bud Cort and Dennis Dugan--are quietly forging new, second careers behind the camera.

Dugan has his first feature, “Problem Child,” coming out Friday from Imagine Entertainment and Universal. A dark comedy, it stars John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck as an orderly couple who adopt a 7-year-old (Michael Oliver) who turns out to be a little devil, wreaking havoc on their lives.

The eternally youthful-looking Dugan was a hot property in 1978, the year he starred in NBC’s short-lived “Richie Brockelman, Private Eye.” After that, he says, “I meandered along with a pretty decent (acting) career,” mostly TV.

Three years ago, itching to direct, he began hanging out at the offices of longtime pal and TV writer-producer Stephen J. Cannell, at Cannell’s suggestion. Four months later, Cannell hired Dugan to direct his first TV episode--”Hunter”--which Dugan followed with episodes of “Wiseguy” and “Moonlighting,” quickly amassing a dozen TV credits. (As an actor, Dugan also “married” Cybill Shepherd’s character on “Moonlighting,” but was killed off after three episodes because of viewer protests.)

Last year, Imagine’s Brian Grazer asked Dugan to helm “Problem Child.” Dugan is now casting his next feature, “Lame Duck,” for the Zucker brothers (“Airplane!”) and Paramount Pictures.

“It was nice to have done it this fast,” Dugan says, of his swift ascent as a director. “My wife (Sharon, a psychologist) and I sometimes sit there and laugh, because we’re both amazed by it.”

Still acting--he was Steve Martin’s boss-on-a-treadmill in Imagine’s “Parenthood”--he’s not giving up his SAG card.

“One thing about Hollywood: if you get hot, you will get cool. So I’m just keeping all my options open, and enjoying this.”