Peggy’s Mod, Mod World

As hip undercover cop Julie Barnes on “The Mod Squad” from 1968 to 1973, Peggy Lipton was the style icon of her age. Now the show has spawned a movie that opened last friday featuring Claire Danes in the role lipton originated. So What has Peggy Lipton been up to for the last 25 years?

After “Mod Squad,” Lipton, married to record producer Quincy Jones, raised their two daughters--Kidada, 24, and Rashida, 22. She and Jones divorced and Lipton returned to tv in two early ‘9os series, “Twin Peaks” and “angel falls.” At 52, Lipton is acting and modeling. But she is indelibly tied to her “Mod Squad” role that--refreshingly--causes her no psychic torture.

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Q: How do you feel about “The Mod Squad”

being made into a movie?

A: I think it’s time. Why not? It will be interesting to see how they do it though, because it’s not a period piece. It’s set in the ‘90s.

Q: I rented a couple of episodes to refresh my memory about your clothes. What struck me was that you wore hip huggers more than jeans.

A: I wore a lot of bell-bottoms. They were polyester. [She laughs.] I wore a lot of orange and pink. And miniskirts and tights and boots.

Q: Do you have all the old episodes?

A: I have none--because the producer has never offered. My daughters have a couple. My older daughter cannot believe what I looked like. She says to me all the time, “Mommy, if you looked like this now, you’d be the bomb.”

Q: What do your daughters do?

A: Kidada models. She also acts. And Rashida acts. She’s been in a couple of films.

Q: Do you stay in touch with Clarence Williams III and Michael Cole?

A: Oh, yeah! And we like to do things based on “The Mod Squad” as a threesome.

Q: Were you officially asked to do anything on the movie?

A: I was approached by the producers to come and meet with them and talk to them, come to a barbecue. I needed to have something more official.

Q: You met Claire Danes several years ago when you were both in Vancouver working on acting projects. When was the last time you saw her?

A: I saw her a month before she was going to start “The Mod Squad.” That’s when I offered to help with anything. She said “I’m really nervous.” I don’t know why she didn’t follow up. I even called her agent and said, “If she wants to talk . . .” She must have made a decision to do it how she wanted to do it. Which I totally respect. Why should she be a character from 30 years ago?