O'Grady fits housewife role in 'American Dreams' show

LOS ANGELES -- Wearing a scratchy, green wool sweater, a pencil slim skirt, very high heels, a blond bouffant and pale peach lipstick, Gail O'Grady walks into a bedroom where a small boy is saying his prayers.

The decor on the walls includes a paint-by-numbers study of a horse, a picture of Jesus Christ and a photo of President John F. Kennedy.

It's 1963 Philadelphia on the studio set of "American Dreams," the new NBC series airing Sundays at 7 p.m. that explores the shift in culture and conscience as the turbulent '60s unfold.

O'Grady plays Helen Pryor, wife and mother of a conservative Catholic family. Woven into the story line is the music of Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," that seminal, Philadelphia-based dance show on which the Pryors' eldest daughter, Meg (Brittany Snow), becomes a regular dancer.

The series, created by Jonathan Price, also stars Tom Verica as Helen's husband, Jack, owner of an electronics store. The three remaining Pryor kids are played by Will Estes as JJ, Sarah Ramos as Patty and Ethan Dampf as Will. Joseph Lawrence, one-time child star of "Gimme a Break" and "Blossom," has a recurring role as an associate producer of "American Bandstand." (Clark is the series' executive producer.)

O'Grady looks completely convincing as a denizen of 1963 -- when she was only a newborn.

"I should have been (born) 30, 40 years earlier," says the 39-year-old actress, acknowledging that she has the looks and style more popular in mid-20th century Hollywood than today.

"Gail has always impressed me as a woman out of her time. There's something wonderfully anachronistic about her," says Price.