Senior Reporter-Researcher Elaine Dutka, who interviewed Shirley MacLaine for this week's cover story, did not originally envision herself in the role of a chronicler of show business. With a master's degree from the Columbia School of Journalism, a background in writing on social issues and 1 1/2 years working in TIME's NATION section, she felt a bit chary when first assigned to the entertainment world. As she recalls, "The thought of getting paid to go to plays and movies was attractive, but I had little grasp of the field. I soon discovered that show business is a business like any other; I learned, among other things, about grosses, film rentals and calculating break-even points. Covering rehearsals for Cats and La Cage aux Folles gave me other insights and an insider's appreciation for the sweat and hopes channeled into every Broadway opening. I also learned the price tag for attending film screenings: no matter how bad the film, everyone must stay till the bitter end."

Dutka has collected some show business memories: "Cats Director Trevor Nunn giving me a mesmerizing reading of T.S. Eliot's 'Grizabella, the Glamour Cat'; Paul Newman letting me take a rare close look at his souped-up Volkswagen; South African Playwright Athol Fugard sitting in the Algonquin Hotel lobby and analyzing the tragedy of apartheid; Robert Redford asking for my opinions on President Reagan, the press and living in New York City before launching into a discussion of directing in Hollywood."

Dutka interviewed MacLaine at the actress's rambling duplex apartment on Manhattan's East Side. "Because she is so committed to self-knowledge, a talk with her is almost like participating in a therapy session," says Dutka.

Los Angeles Correspondent Denise Worrell interviewed many of those who worked with MacLaine on Terms of Endearment, including Director James Brooks and Co-Stars Jack Nicholson and Debra Winger. Associate Editor William A. Henry III, who wrote the cover story and talked with both MacLaine and her brother, Warren Beatty, was particularly struck by MacLaine's earnestness. Says he: "She never sloughs off a question. She really takes the process of communication very seriously." After attending a cover photo session, Henry was even more impressed by MacLaine's discipline. Says he: "She was to do a high kick, sometimes while turning and flipping a hat off her head. I counted, and she did it perfectly--47 times." One of the 47, happily, graces TIME'S cover this week.