VITAL STATISTICS

WILLIAM PETERSEN

Chicago Tribune, By Cheryl Lavin, Feb. 12, 1989

Birthday: Feb. 21, 1953

Birthplace: Evanston, Ill.

Current Home: Chicago

Marital status: Happily divorced; my ex-wife and I are best friends

Child: A daughter, Maite, 14.

Car: A black 1987 Buick Grand National, the last of the muscle cars. There were very few of them made, and the FBI bought most of them.

Working on: I'm costarring in the movie "Cousins," with Ted Danson, and the play "Speed-the-Plow" in Chicago.

I stay in to watch: The Bears, the Bulls, the Cubs and the Black Hawks. I'll stay in hotels that have cable or find a bar with satellite dish and bribe the owner to find the games for me.

Favorite pigout food: Double cheeseburgers at the Gaslight on Halsted Street in Chicago. They're the best in the Midwest.

Nickname: In high school, I was Wild Man.

Favorite performers: Bob Hope. I grew up with the "Road" movies. He and Bing Crosby are probably the two greatest guys to hit show biz. But John Barrymore is my favorite actor because of the way he lived and the way he was way out there as a actor-way beyond where I'll ever get. Marlon Brando used to be my favorite actor, but I think he's eaten too many cheeseburgers himself.

Every New Year's I resolved: To continue to live in Chicago.

I'd give anything to have met: Mayor Richard J. Daley. I would have loved to spend serious time with him. I'd love to play him in a play.

I want to teach my daughter: That pain and loneliness are okay.

The worst advice my mother ever gave me was: "Patience is a virtue."

If I could change on thing about myself, I would: Have better knees. Mine are shot because of injuries. You're only as good as your legs, whether you're an athlete or an actor.

People who knew me in high school thought I was: One the road. I was in and out of five different high schools. I kept getting kicked out or quitting.

I knew I was a grownup when I: Said no to a very pretty girl in a bar one night.

Behind my back my friends say: "He's got a great butt."

The one thing everybody has tried but me is: Moderation.