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by Joey Sasso CONFIDENTIAL REPORT: As Pamela Ewing in CBS-TV's "Dallas," Victoria Principal is known to all as a sweet southern belle. But in real life, her checkered past made her a natural for the "Dallas" role. The lust, greed, power and passion that made "Dallas" a blockbuster success are nothing new to the sultry 33-year-old. "Victoria's so- called checkered past was a plus," admitted "Dallas" producer Lee Rich. "We felt she had experienced life and could understand the part of Pamela." Principal has made a career out of living in the fast lane. She first joined the jet set at the tender age of 18, when she became the gal pal of billionaire Bernie Cornfeki The ty­ coon treated her like a goddess. When Cornfeld was sent to jail for fraud, Principal moved on to Frank Sinatra, Desi Arnaz, Jr., an Indian Maharajah, and football player Lance Rentzei. "I spent time with men who had it all because I wanted to," admitted Principal. "I've always wanted success very badly." Then came "Dallas," the break which saved her career. Principal has now established herself financially for life. A brief marriage to 22-year-old actor Christopher Skinner started in a blaze of glory. But divorce was inevitable when Skinner grew tired of his footloose and fancy-free wife. TV BACKSTAGE: "Three's Company" heartthrob Jeniiee Harrison may be taking the risk of a lifetime by moonlighting from her role on the hit TV series. It would be an awful blow if she doesn't succeed as a nightclub performer, friends say. The 21-year-old actress has already started rehearsing a country-and-western act with her boyfriend, Jeff Severson, a former football player with the Los Angeles Rams. "I think we're about ready to bring Jeniiee up on stage," Severson, who ad­ mits Jeniiee has absolutely no experience singing or dan­ cing, told me. "I dont think she's ever performed as a singer professionally before," he admitted. "But for a girl her age, she has a lot of composure and handles herself very well." By trying her hand at singing, Harrison is following the footsteps of her illustrious predecessor, Suzanne Somers. Somers has $1led the gap between "Three's Company" and her new show on CBS next year by touring the country with a Vegas-style revue. The leggy blonde has been packing clubs wherever she goes, earn­ ing whopping fees that make her "Three's Company" paychecks look like peanuts. TV CLOSEUP: Italian movie star Orneiia Muti is just 25, but has been in 28 movies including "Flash Gordon" and is unhappy that Americans think "Flash" was her first. She says in an interview with Oui magazine that people who have seen her in the "Flash Gordon" film think, "Now let's see what she can really do." Princess Aura, though, is behind her now and she will have a new per­ sonality in the forthcoming "Love and Money" as the ob­ ject of actor Ray Sharkey's apoplectic passion. An ac­ tress since the age of 14, Muti says, "If a woman thinks that being beautiful is the most important thing then she is just being stupid. As we say in Italy, 'She has the beau: ty of a mule'--not too much. If you base everything on that sort of vanity, you end up with nothing inside. And I don't want that. I just try to keep my life as normal as possible." Ppofile Jan Smithers: How fate and a magazine cover changed her life It's curious how a chance happening can radically alter a person's life. Just ask Jan Smithers. Today, millions of viewers know her as Bailey Quarters, the fledgling news reporter on the intrepid radio staff at "WKRP in Cincinnati," which is broadcast on CBS-TV. But 15 years ago, when she was a shy California teen-ager who found refuge in painting and Beatles music, she never im­ agined that she would become an actress. Then, one chilly afternoon, she was sit­ ting on the deserted Malibu Beach watch­ ing a friend surf when she noticed several men circling her. They introduced themselves as staff members from Newsweek magazine, and they asked to in­ terview her for a rtiajor story about teen-agers in America. "At that stage of my life I was very in­ trospective, thought­ ful, and a little spaced," she said. "I used to think I was ter­ ribly boring. But when Newsweek came a- long, I had the sense that somehow fate was intervening." She gave the interview and posed for photos. When the March 21, 1966 issue of News­ week hit the stands 15 years ago, Jan Smith­ ers--to her amaze­ ment--discovered that she was on the cover. "The notoriety from being on that cover lasted for about a year," Miss Smithers said. "People began to think of me differently. I lost old friends and made new ones. But I never considered myself as the girf on the cover. I was still the same shy teen-ager, going through the growing process of trying to sort out what was real and what wasn't." Suddenly, though, the reclusive teen-ager was being inundated with offers from agents, producers and casting direc­ tors. "Lots of people wanted me to become an actress," Miss Smithers said "At the time, I thought to myself, 'I'm not an ac­ tress. Perhaps I could be one day, because I'm creative. But first I'll have to learn.'" So she weighed her offers carefully. She modeled for a few years. Then, in 1971, she undertook her first professional acting role in the motion ptaure "Where the Lilies Bloom." She acted is some more motion pictures and eventually auditioned for executive producer Hugh Wilson, who was com­ piling a cast for "WKRP in Cincinnati." "The first year on that show was hell for me," Miss Smithers said. "But now I'm having a wonderful time. 'WKRP' has taught me to do comedy and to be confident with my own sense of humor. I now realize that I love to be funny. I love to be caught up in the rhythm and timing of comedy." Jan Smithers