A parade today and every day

Swathed in a blue and pink shawl, Cloris Leachman waltzed into the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena earlier this week like a madcap fairy godmother. The Oscar-winning actress is the grand marshal of the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade this morning.

“Never in my most un-lucid moments had I imagined it,” she said in between applications of pink lipstick. “I’m a great-grandmother, and I’m shocked they were even aware of me in this regard.”

But after sitting in a room with the 82-year-old, it’s hard to imagine not being aware of her -- as fans of the most recent season of “Dancing With the Stars” already know. The hit ABC show introduced the veteran performer to a vast new audience, whom she won over with her grace, wit and surprising agility.

“Cloris Leachman is perfect for our theme, Hats Off to Entertainment,” Corky Conzonire, president of the Tournament of Roses, said in a statement. “As an actress of stage, screen and television, a comedian and now even a dancer, she is more than representative of the vast world of entertainment. I can’t think of an individual who better personifies the spirit of our theme.”

An Iowa native, Leachman laments that she has always been too busy on New Year’s Day to watch the full parade -- she raised five children while acting full time. This year she is excited to share the experience with her great-grandchildren, and perhaps start a new family tradition.

“I am thrilled, beyond thrilled,” she said. “Well, shocked and thrilled, really.”

2008 was an especially busy year for Leachman, as renewed interest in her career meant nonstop projects. In addition to her appearances on “Dancing With the Stars,” she played alongside Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Candice Bergen and Carrie Fisher in the remake of the 1939 classic “The Women.” And she will star in an upcoming episode of NBC’s “The Office” with Jack Black and Jessica Alba. (The episode is slated to air after the Super Bowl.)

“You have to decide” to be young, she said. And eat well, of course, adding that she’s been a vegetarian for more than 50 years.

Leachman’s career in television and film began shortly after she competed in the Miss America Pageant in 1964; from there she went on to win an Oscar for “The Last Picture Show” (1971) and garner nine Emmys (eight prime-time, one daytime). Her many other notable roles included the nosy neighbor, Phyllis, on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and as Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy “Young Frankenstein.”

Her sparkle was clearly evident during a sit-down interview Tuesday afternoon. The actress could hardly sit still as she prepared for the big event, flitting around the room with the vigor of someone far younger. The actress joked with a sound technician setting up her microphone, admiring the shape of his shaved head. Moments later, she sang to the crew -- or maybe to herself.

Leachman’s energy recalled one memorable episode of “Dancing With the Stars” in which the sprightly great-grandmother of five pranced to the judge’s table and threw her leg high in the air, immediately dismissing rumors that she was too old to compete. (She is the oldest contestant the show has had through seven seasons.)

“My eye just saw this huge expanse on the desk and my leg went up,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

The actress shows little sign of slowing down in the new year. She recently wrapped up shooting Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” with Brad Pitt in Berlin. Other projects include “New York, I Love You” with Natalie Portman, “Love Takes Wing” directed by Lou Diamond Phillips and “American Cowslip” with Val Kilmer.

“I just do it,” Leachman said of her uncanny stamina. “I never know what the other part of me is going to do. I think there’s more than one of me.”

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alicia.lozano@latimes.com

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120th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade

Where: NBC; ABC; KTLA; HGTV

When: 8 a.m. today (rebroadcast on KTLA at 10 a.m.; 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m.)

Rating: TV-G (suitable for all ages)