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in the spotlight « The British Clint Eastwood takes action in stride Cops and robbers shoot-'em-ups are not his bill of fare, but actor Alan Dobie (pictured) enjoys portraying Sergeant Cribb, a television detective who snares Victorian villains by out-thinking them. And if the lawman sports a bowler hat and arrives at the scene of the crime in a hansom cab, aH the better "Sergeant Cribb," Mr. Dobie observed, "disdains violent methods, enjoys the thrill of the chase, and has quite a wicked sense of humor--I've had great fun with the character." Created by Peter Lovesey and produced by Granada Televi­ sion, the Victorian Scotland Yard detective was introduced to American television audiences in the premiere season of "Mystery!" He continues his investigations in the.current series, with the two final episodes of "Sergeant Cribb" airing on con secutive Tuesdays, May 12 and 19. Made possible by a grant from Mobil, the "Mystery!" series is presented on PBS by WGBH/Boston. The lean, starkly featured actor notes that the Cribb series has afforded him the opportunity to indulge in something he loves--his own stuntwork.-"Most producers," he intoned, "don't see me as I see myself--the British Clint Eastwood!" Butracmg down back alleyways, plunging into the Thames, and setting off cross-country in hot pursuit of whodunit, Mr. Dobie comes into >lhis own as a Victorian man of action" vv A long-standing veteran of the .stage and screen, the 49-year-old actor recalled that he had quite another career in mind when, in 1949, he began his dramatic training at the renowned Old Vic School. "I enrolled to study stage design," he said, "but the course was discontinued." And that, Mr Dobie implies, left him with acting as a profession. In many seasons with both the Bristol and London Old Vic, his roles have ranged from Macbeth to Martin Dysart in Equus. He also starred in suclflondon West End productions as Inad- missable Evidence, Look Back in Anger and The London Cuckolds and made his Broadway debut in Chips with Everything. As a screen actor, Mr. Dobie came to prominence in such films as "The Charge of the Light Brigade," "The Long Day's Dy-' ing," "Alfred the Great" and "The Comedy Man." •CHECK LISTINGS FOR EXACT TIME n Hi WBUk Ml by Joey Sasso CONFIDENTIAL REPORT: Valerie BertineWs marriage to rock star Eddie Van Halen won a reconciliation with her former "One Day At A Time" co-star Mackenzie Phillips. "I invited atl my friends," says Valerie, 20. That included Mackenzie who, insiders say, cried with joy when she got her invitation to the ceremony at Valerie's home in Westwood, California. Mackenzie was eased out of the show last year after producers accused her of often being high on cocaine. The controversial actress now says she's beaten her drug problem. Crew members of the top-rated TV show recall how Valerie and co-star Bon­ nie Franklin, 39, would run to hide when Mackenzie started acting up on the set. "Mackenzie was destroying herself with drugs and we all realized it," says one staffer. "It was tough on all of us, but especially on Valerie and Bonnie. It's great to know she has licked the problem. And it's super to learn that Valerie has forgiven her." Ironically, Mackenzie, 21, was once married to a rock star herself, even if only for seven months. She and Jef­ frey Sessler, 26, were divorced last year. "It was a terri­ ble mistake," Mackenzie recalls. "I kidded myself that I was in love." TV BACKSTAGE: Miller Brewing Company's sports in­ volvement includes four national team sponsorships Under terms of these sponsorships, Miller will provide funding which will assist member clubs by providing team training, as well as transportation and housing costs for the U.S. national teams. In addition, Miller will provide salaries for national team coaches in the sports of boxing and track and field . . . Aside from his duties as Dr. Stephen Jackson on the Emmy-winning serial "Guiding Light," distinguished actor Stefan Schnabel is also ap­ pearing these days in the American premiere of the play "Undiscovered Country" with the Hartford Stage Com­ pany in Connecticut. The play, adapted by British playwright Tom Stoppard. is a huge critical success, but just one more high point in Schnabel's career, which ex­ tends back to Orson Welles' original Mercury Theatre. TV CLOSEUP: Valerie Harper of "Rhoda" fame is willing to do TV commercials-but only if it will help starving children. "The end of hunger around the world is in our hands," she proclaimed. "When the Somalis are starving in body, we, the human family, are starving in spirit." Harper has fought a personal battle against chubbiness all her life. Now the pencil-slim actress wants the com­ panies whose products she plugs to donate food to the starving millions. "I've never done a commercial because I always thought they wouldn't be good for my career," she said. "But I'd do a commercial for this. I certainly would." Harper was in Africa recently with her manager and boyfriend, Tony Cacciotti, to film a documentary on hunger. The No. 1 man in her life feels as strongly about stamping out starvation as she does. "The people in Somalia were beautiful, so dignified," said Cacciotti. "They were dying, but they were not begging. The film we did really shows it like it is."