A Man Who Wears Many Hats Finds Himself Sitting on Top of the World

It’s difficult to miss Michael Des Barres on TV these days.

On the syndicated series “WKRP in Cincinnati,” he’s the flamboyant Jack Allen of the deejay team Burns & Allen. On “MacGyver,” he’s the villainous master of disguise Murdoc (so named because he mur ders folks, then doc uments the deed with a photo). And on “Roseanne,” he plays Steven Reilly, boyfriend of Martin Mull.

“I love Rosie and Tom (Arnold) madly--they’re the Sid and Nancy of network television,” he says. “That show is the best fun. Hard work? No. People who work in factories, people who’re on their feet all day, work hard. I get 1 1/2 packets of Sweet ‘n Low brought to me every 20 minutes, a parking spot with my name on it. It’s the greatest thing in the world.”

Born in England to a jazz singer and an “aristocratic wastrel” (actually, the Marquis Des Barres of France), the actor made his debut at 8 on British television; at 16 he ditched Britain’s “ridiculous educative system” for drama school. His big break came with the 1971 play “The Dirtiest Show in Town,” in which he played a rock star: “I thought, ‘I can do this.’ ”

In the ‘70s and most of the ‘80s, he did just that. “I had more record deals than most people have haircuts,” says Des Barres, 43, who penned the “9 1/2 Weeks” soundtrack and was a member of the bands Silverhead and Detective. “Rock ‘n’ roll will always run through my veins. But I felt it was time for me to express myself as an individual, not be part of a band.”

Perhaps the most famous remnant of Des Barres’ rock past is his ex-wife Pamela’s groupie tell-all “I’m With the Band.” The actor (who has a 13-year-old son with “Miss Pamela”) says that the many hats he’s worn probably confuse his public image. “Some people think of me as the character in ‘Band,’ some think of me as a serious thespian. Some know me as a dilettante famous for being famous. It’s all true, darling!”