Profile : A Sitcom’s Best-Kept Secret : WILL SERIES NO. 13 BE LIZ TORRES’ LUCKY NUMBER?

Even Liz Torres, a co-star on “The John Larroquette Show,” looks surprised when she’s reminded that the NBC sitcom is her 13th series.

“Oh, my God,” she says laughing. “Has it really been that many ?”

Torres certainly hopes “The John Larroquette Show” will be a lucky No. 13. She bursts into her distinctive, deep, throaty laugh. “Jesus Christ,” swears the woman who was raised Catholic. “And I’m almost a semi-name! Almost!”

The actress was nominated for an Emmy this year in the category of best suporting actress in a comedy series, but lost to repeat winner Laurie Metcalf (“Roseanne”). Before the Emmy nod, she was a series regular on “All in The Family,” “Phyllis,” “Mama’s Family,” “The Famous Teddy Z,” “The New Odd Couple” and “The Ben Vereen Show.”

On “Larroquette”--which has another tough slot against ABC’s “Grace Under Fire” following last year’s no-win placement against “Roseanne”--Torres plays the feisty, streetwise, sarcastic Mahalia Sanchez. Mahalia assists Larroquette’s alcoholic-turned-bus-manager John Hemingway at the Crossroads Bus Terminal, an urban stop in St. Louis where most of the regulars are at a crossroads in their own lives.

Although Torres’ resume includes numerous television guest spots, work in film, theater and nightclubs as well as a stint as a recording artist, she still says, “I never thought I had a career. I think Meryl Streep has a career. I have jobs that I am lucky to get.”

“I have an impressive bio,” she acknowledges. “But it’s not money in the bank. I’ve never had a hit record, never been in a film that’s been nominated for an Oscar, and I’ve never gotten an Emmy. I’ve never had financial success. I’m just somebody who works.”

Then the good-humored Torres says, with a conspiratorial wink, “I’m like an industry secret.”

“I’m one of those actresses who never turns down a part, no matter how small,” she says. “I don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing. I take everything.”

Those who recognize Torres from her roles “as the maid to nearly everyone in Hollywood,” as she puts it, may be surprised to find that the Latina actress doesn’t have a trace of an accent. Even more surprising is that the New York native says she couldn’t really speak English until she was in her teens.

“Everyone around me spoke Spanish,” says Torres, who is half-Puerto Rican and a quarter each Moroccan and Venezuelan. “We had a rule in the house--only Spanish.” Which is why, she points out, it’s strange to play Latina women who speak so much--albeit heavily accented--English. “There are a lot of things they would be saying in Spanish.” Even Mahalia would habla mas espanol.

Torres was certain she wouldn’t get the role of Mahalia. “The producers were seeing thousands of actors for that part. Every Hispanic actress, it seemed, was up for it. They did casting calls in New York, Miami and L.A. They even flew someone in from Spain. I didn’t think I had a hope in hell. I lusted for it in my heart, though.”

When Torres first read the script, she says Mahalia “jumped out of the page at me. She’s intriguing. I’ve never played anyone like her before. She stands up for herself and no-nonsense. She’s really becoming a hero to me in some ways.”

Torres loves Mahalia and has been pleasantly surprised by the way the character handles situations. She cites the show where Mahalia demands a raise equivalent to Hemingway’s. “It was so unlike me,” she says. “Whatever that aggressive gene is, I don’t have it. I’m kind of floored by her, how certain she is.”

The actress draws Mahalia from the many Latina women she encountered growing up. “I laugh at myself--where I find things for Mahalia. Women like Mahalia do exist,” she points out and adds, laughing, “Yes, there is stereotyping and I am she !”

Switching to a more serious tone, she adds, “There’s always that possibility of stereotyping. But I’m never afraid of work. I’m only afraid of not working.

“I’ve grown gracefully into this role,” she says of her move from bombshell to character actress. “I look at this,” she says, pointing at a photo from her nightclub days, “and I see Marie Dressler. I don’t see myself as pretty or sexy. And when people say that about me, it’s always so shocking. I’m so much happier now.”

Torres believes that Latins are slowly making their mark on television. “I see all these Hispanic faces on TV and I remember when I was the only one. That makes me feel real hopeful.”

She’s also got high hopes for “The John Larroquette Show.” “The cast’s a very interesting group of people. I thought that midway, when the honeymoon was over, the actors would show their colors. But there aren’t any flaws, aren’t any flies. We have such a ball. I can’t believe how I wake up and the first thing I do is thank God. I’m not religious, but I thank him anyway for giving me a job that I love.”

The show, which now precedes the very strong “Frasier,” may get an audience boost from its impressive four Emmy nominations. Could this 13th series be the charm for Torres? She’s sure got her fingers crossed.

“The John Larroquette Show” airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on NBC.