It's one of the flukier show business tales. On a whim, a Los Angeles housewife brings her
average-looking twin babies to a sitcom audition. They land the part - but the show is lousy.
It gets clobbered by critics and in the ratings.
Mom figures the kids will be at it a couple of months, make a little something, and that'll
be it.
To everyone's surprise, ABC's "Full House" eventually clicks to become a runaway hit. This
pleasant family show even makes middling stars out of Bob Saget, John Stamos and Candace Cameron.
But eight years later, as the series heads toward its final season, none of them can look
forward to the kind of Hollywood future awaiting The Twins.
They are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, household names to the 12-and-under set, and for the
past three years, an expanding show-biz empire.
Since venturing beyond "Full House" in 1991 to create TV movies, specials, records and videos,
the twins have had six attorneys working full time managing their own Dualstar production
company. They also have their own record and video label as part of a multimillion-dollar
deal with BMG Kidz that rivals the powerhouse recording contracts of Janet Jackson,
Aerosmith, ZZ Top and the Rolling Stones.
Then there's a new network contract that guarantees the girls another ABC sitcom the
moment "Full House" concludes.
But unlike so many TV fads, the Olsens refuse to flame out. Proof comes during their
appearances at malls and toy stores where autograph seekers still number 15,000 and up.
Their presence recently on a Miami cruise ship (where they continued filming a Caribbean
video adventure all this week) drew reporters, photographers and the stares of awestruck
tourists thrilled to be sailing with TV royalty.
Executives at BMG (parent company of RCA Records and Arista) say the Olsen twins continue
to represent something unique in the kiddie media market: wholesome entertainment for
children that's "child-driven."
In other words, they're not purple, and they're not animated.
So what's the appeal?
"They have the quintessential children's voices," says their attorney and manager, Robert
Thorne. "They have really big, wide-open eyes, which kids love. They're also hugely photogenic.
"And America's watched them grow up."
The story of these blond, bug-eyed 8-year-olds, who have shared the role of Michelle Tanner on
"Full House" since they were 9 months old, is all the more unique when you consider the way
things work in Hollywood.
Babies who get parts rarely keep them. That's because babies are almost always played by
twins to comply with child-labor laws. If a baby's role turns out to be permanent, the
character is quickly aged and the part recast with one (cost-saving) hammy child actor.
But these twins have aged on TV in real time, going from diapers to training pants, and
then actual kidhood - week in, week out.
"Michelle" was just always so popular, recasting her was never really an option. And while
the character's popularity increased, the Olsen twins developed such a devout following
outside the show that assigning the role to just one twin seemed incredibly heartless.
Even for Hollywood.
So even though Mary-Kate or Ashley alone could have legally assumed the workload long ago,
the change was never made.
That Mary-Kate and Ashley lack any frame of reference other than life on a set would seem
troubling. But their parents, Dave and Jarnette Olsen, are doing everything to ensure that
their children don't end up as casualties.
Their mother has spoken often of her distaste for show business. A former ballet dancer, she
knows the peculiar rigors of a pressurized childhood, and is continually queasy over demands
on her kids.
She intercepts and then counteracts the star trip on every level. Mary-Kate and Ashley receive
a $5 a week allowance. Household chores shared with brother Trent, 10, and sister Elizabeth,
5, are a must. So are activities like Brownies, dance lessons, softball, horseback riding
and playing outside with neighbors. The girls go to a regular school when not on the set
and are rarely seen on the Hollywood circuit.
Their few appearances are lately on behalf of their new video line and are tightly monitored.
After a recent autograph session in New York at F.A.O. Schwartz, the girls were permitted to
choose a single, inexpensive toy.
Only Mary-Kate and Ashley can access their fortunes, and only when they are much older. The
parents and their attorneys also have gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure that the
girls are protected financially - that they alone will receive the greatest share of profits
from their movies, records and tapes.
The girls are mostly oblivious to the chaos they ignite - the gawking tourists, the makeup
people, wardrobe fitters and personal attendants all atitter around them, the tension of
meeting a tight shooting schedule. They only know they like it and feel safe surrounded by
these attention-lavishing adults.
"TV episodic life is a very structured life for children, often very stable," Thorne says.
It's what happens when such structure and attention suddenly disappears that destroys so many
Hollywood kids.
But Thorne says the Olsen parents have prepared diligently for that, by keeping the girls
well-adjusted.
As if to prove it, the twins spout typical kid dreams. During a short conversation,
Mary-Kate says she wants "a horse."
Ashley wants a toy-store shopping spree. "I'd pick out all the toys I want," she says while
applying lipstick for a scene.
And no, they don't play twin pranks, Mary-Kate says, "cause people know us."