Thrill of acting still beckons for Eugene real estate agent.

Byline: PROFILE By The Register-Guard

Name: Maida Belove, 55, Eugene

Claim to fame: Real estate agent, local actor in community theater group, but perhaps best known for swiping the beanie pledge hat off the head of Flounder, a character in the movie "Animal House," after he walked through the doors of the infamous Delta House for the first time.

Lights, camera, action: At age 5, Belove knew she wanted to be an actress. Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, N.Y., Belove worked as a cabdriver, telephone operator and production assistant for ABC Sports in New York. When she was looking to escape New York after a divorce, a girlfriend suggested that she move to Eugene where the men still had long hair and wore tie-dye.

Belove's work with a Eugene comedy troupe along with her television production background came in handy during the casting call for extras for "Animal House," the film about a group of relentless partiers who sacrifice their dignity, grade-point averages and countless brain cells on an altar dedicated to women, booze and bad taste.

In the mid-1970s, Belove worked at the Improv, a comedy club in Los Angeles for up-and-coming comedians such as Jay Leno and Robin Williams.

`(Robin Williams) was a nut. He was exactly the way you would later see him on Johnny Carson. ... He liked being the center of attention," she said.

Toga toga, toga: Besides knocking the beanie off Flounder's head, Belove also appeared slow dancing at the end of the toga party scene, dancing with Mothball, and as an extra during the food fight scene in the University of Oregon's Erb Memorial Union building.

Belove also pitched in behind the camera working in wardrobe and as a gofer. The closing scene with people catapulting in the air after the Deathmobile plows through the parade's grandstand was the result of some of Belove's handiwork.

"I knew where to get a trampoline in Yoncalla," she said.

Location, location, location: After a brief stint in Los Angeles appearing in two lesser-known movies, "Hometown USA" and "Mistress of the Apes" (`I was running through the jungle in a loincloth in that one'), Belove returned to Eugene to pursue a career as a real estate agent. She continues to act, performing with Actors Cabaret of Eugene.

Named for a soap opera actress, Belove yearns for a shot at the Great White Way.

"Even though I'm 55, I still have the dream of being on Broadway," she said.

- Jim Feehan

CAPTION(S):

Maida Belove had small parts in "Animal House" and two other movies, and worked in a comedy club alongside Robin Williams. Now a Eugene resident, she acts in local productions.