Diet, exercise energize show's star

By JOHN FLEMING

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 8, 2000

With eight shows a week, the road can be a grind.

"If I didn't have the health that I have, I probably couldn't do it," says Marilu Henner, starring in the tour of Annie Get Your Gun, which opens Tuesday in Tampa.

Henner, 48, best known for the TV sitcom Taxi, has become something of a diet and fitness celebrity. She's the author of several best-selling books, including Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover and Marilu Henner's 30-Day Total Health Makeover.

Her diet is heavy on soy products, fish, brown rice and fresh fruits and vegetables. She doesn't eat dairy products, red meat or refined sugar.

"The first thing I have to do when we arrive in a town is look in the yellow pages and find out where the nearest health food store is," she says. "I get organic produce. I use soy mayonnaise, rice milk and Bragg Liquid Amino. My kids eat free-range chicken dogs and free-range scrambled eggs if I make them."

Henner and her husband, Robert Lieberman, a producer and director, have two sons, who travel with her. Nicky, 6, and Joey, 4, are tutored along with children in the cast.

While touring, Henner is working on another book, Healthy Kids from Conception to College, which she describes as a health makeover for children, beginning with an eating plan during pregnancy. She conducts a daily class on her Web site, http://www.marilu.com.

To keep in shape, Henner warms up with a Pilates routine and ballet exercises before every performance. But the most important thing is a good night's sleep.

"I've never been much of a sleeper, but if I only get a couple hours of sleep, it affects the voice first," she says. "I have to make sure I get six hours of sleep a night."

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