AT HOME IN OJAI; `ONE LIFE TO LIVE' STAR ROBIN STRASSER FINDS PERFECT HIDEAWAY.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Staff Writer

On a fall afternoon, Robin Strasser seems at peace with life.

The petite, auburn-haired actress is where she most loves to be: sitting in the waning autumn sun, her dog Scooter snoozing on her lap, looking out over the grape arbor, rose garden and dry creek bed that runs behind her second home on the outskirts of this quiet Ventura County town.

``Isn't this place wonderful?'' she asks no one in particular. ``I just fell in love with it the first time I saw it. Within a year, I hope to be fully bicoastal - you know, the show tapes in New York. And I plan to retire here when the time comes.''

For Strasser, 54, who's been tearing up the screen as the vicious Dorian Lord Hayes, the role she's played on the ABC-TV soap ``One Life to Life'' for 16 of the show's 31 years, that probably won't be for a long time. She's got too much to do first.

There's the show, of course.

And she's spent the past five years - and most of the proceeds from the sale of the New York home she owned for three decades - producing videotaped interviews with top medical authorities about menopause for a project born when she reached that milestone in her own life and hadn't a clue about how to deal with it.

Eventually, she wants to go back to college to study art and music, and to get involved in volunteer work for causes she feels passionately about, including research for AIDS, osteoporosis and menopause.

``To me, to be an `old lady' is to be an inactive person,'' Strasser says. ``There's nothing that makes me feel less scared about aging than thinking I might do some good.''

But for now, her mind is on her Ojai house, which she bought about a year ago.

She'd already bought a small home in nearby Oak View for her mom and real-estate agent Larry Wilde was showing her around Ojai when they came to the stone pillars at the end of a driveway.

``She about hit my brakes for me,'' Wilde said with a laugh. ``She's a very intuitive woman, and she knew she'd like this house. And she's got a fabulous business sense, which helped her get it.''

Strasser remembers that moment vividly.

``I see these stone walls and these sweet little paths, and I'm beginning to get a little lightheaded, a little wobbly,'' she describes, acting the part of a dazed buyer. ``Then this woman comes down the path ... and says, `This is an open house, and we've just reduced the price.' By this time we're at the house, and my knees are about to give way, my breathing is becoming rapid and shallow - and I know I'm about to write a check.''

She had her offer accepted on the spot.

Strasser's secluded English country cottage is a perfect spot for someone who values her privacy, as do other stars who live in the area, among them Larry Hagman, Scott Bakula and fellow castmate Wortham Krimmer.

``They can be part of the community or not,'' Wilde said. ``People recognize them and say hello, but otherwise they leave them alone. This is a great hideaway.''

And so is the house, built in 1928 and passed down through three generations of the same family.

Strasser loves old homes and has renovated 14 houses and apartments in 30 years, through marriage, divorce, motherhood (she has two grown sons) and singlehood. She says the family vibes may be why she loves this house so.

``I like the fact that others have lived there before me,'' she said. ``There's a kind of a connection.''

But a love of privacy doesn't mean she doesn't like company.

``Welcome Friends'' says a handmade needlepoint sampler hung in the tiny foyer that leads to the living room, which is anchored by a sturdy stone fireplace built from rocks found on the land over 70 years ago. There's a wide, welcoming rocking chair by the hearth, as well as a cushy sofa upholstered in blue and white stripes.

A long, narrow, mission-style farm table runs down the center of the dining room, flanked by backless benches and a mirrored breakfront.

The blue and white kitchen, bathed in light streaming in from the back yard, is centered with a round oak farmhouse table.

In the three bedrooms, quilts cover the beds, and fresh flowers appear here and there, adding homey touches.

The house is set back from the road on an acre that includes two dry stream beds, giant stands of cactus, a rock bridge, generations-old oak trees and - why, nobody knows - a full-size teepee left by the previous owner.

``I'm a city girl,'' Strasser says, strolling across the lawn. ``I've never had a garden, never planted anything. I want to plant fruit trees and a Mediterranean garden. I want to get up in the morning and go out and pick my own lemons and oranges.''

When she's working, home is a New York apartment. But her West Coast spread provides the welcome permanence she's lacked in her life.

As an infant, Strasser's mother left her for her grandmother to raise, and when mom returned three years later to claim her, there was a five-year court battle over which woman should have custody. When Strasser was 8, the New York Supreme Court gave custody to her grandmother, but she and her mother have since become close.

``When I was young, we moved around a lot,'' Strasser says. ``So for me, a home is so important. It's so significant for me to have my own space. New York is where I work; here is where I relax.''

On the soap opera, Dorian Lord Hayes is wind and fire and hurricanes all rolled into one as she barrels ahead with vendettas, vengeance and just plain nastiness, all in the name of love and righteousness.

But all Strasser shares with her on-screen persona is a face and a dress size. In person, she's warm and welcoming.

But Dorian does put in an appearance now and then, Strasser admits with a laugh.

Like the recent screaming match she had with her insurance representative. Seems her homeowners insurance didn't spell out coverage for her refrigerator, but did cover a pool and spa, neither of which she owns. She tried to explain the situation but wasn't getting anywhere.

``I threw a Dorian hissy fit,'' she recalled with a grin. ``I finally said to the girl on the other end (of the phone line), `I'm turning into the character I play on television.' I do sometimes turn into Dorian when situations run amok.''

Strasser thought she was about to be fired recently when it was revealed that Dorian was the hit-and-run driver who had mowed down the pregnant daughter of her lifelong rival.

But after an under-the-table payoff to a shifty judge, Dorian was set free to wreak havoc once more. And for that, Strasser is very happy.

After all, she's got a new house to enjoy.

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5 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Lord of her Manor

Robin Strasser - `One Life to Live's' Dorian Lord Hayes - treasures downtime at her Ojai hideaway

(2--Color) Quirky garden amenities include a teepee set among the trees.

(3--Color) The centerpiece of the dining room is an impressively solid mission-style wood table.

(4--5--Color) The rustic simplicity of Robin Strasser's 1928 Ojai home creates a classic elegance. Light streams in to the blue-and-white kitchen, below, while the living room, right, is anchored by a stone fireplace built of rocks found on the property. ``When I was young, we moved around a lot,'' Strasser says. ``So for me, a home is so important. It's so significant for me to have my own space. New York is where I work; here is where I relax.''

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer