As the light is to the moth, so seems “The Planet of the Apes” to Roddy McDowall. After appearing in four of the five 20th Century-Fox box-office smash “Apes” movies, Roddy has been attracted once again to star, this time as Galen, the chimpanzee friendly to astronauts Ron Harper and James Naughton.   “I would have been in all five of the ‘Apes’ pictures if I hadn't been directing a movie in London at the time the second (‘Beneath the Planet of the Apes’) was in production,” said McDowall.   * * *   London-born on September 17, McDowall was first educated at St. Joseph’s school. He became a child’s clothing model at five and made his film debut in “Murder in the Family” when he was eight. Until age 12, he appeared in other British films including “You Will Remember,” “The Outsider” and “This England.”   Impressed by his acting facility, Darryl F. Zanuck brought the lad to the United States and 20th Century-Fox where he first appeared in “Man Hunt.” Then, when he played the crippled Welsh boy in 20th-Fox’s Academy Award-winning feature, “How Green Was My Valley,” Roddy McDowall became a star. Since, he has appeared in 80 motion pictures.   “When I was a child actor,” said McDowall, “I worked in as many as three pictures at one time.” Among his earlier pictures then were “Confirm or Deny,” “Son of Fury,” “On The Sunny Side of the Street,” “The Pied Piper,” “My Friend Flicka,” “Lassie, Come Home” and “The White Cliffs of Dover.”   McDowall insists there was no specific transition time when he discontinued being a child star and began his roles as a young man “because when I was young, I often played older parts, just as I portrayed younger men when I grew older,” he said.   Still a young man, he stepped behind the camera to become an associate producer of such films as “Rocky,” “Kidnapped” and “Steel Fist.”   In 1953, McDowall forsook Hollywood for the East Coast and the stage. Following his first appearance in “Young Woodley” at the Westport Playhouse (Connecticut) he was signed for the New York City Center Theatre revival of Shaw’s “Misalliance.” His role as the spoiled upstart opened a new career for McDowall and many plum play assignments followed.   Then came an invitation from the American Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Connecticut, to portray Octavius in “Julius Caesar” (the same role played by McDowall with Elizabeth Taylor in the film, “Cleopatra”).   After another score of motion pictures, he went into television and guest-starred in most of its major series and in a great number of specials including “Billy Budd,” “Suspicion” and “Chrysler Theatre.” McDowall won an Emmy Award as best supporting actor for his portrayal of Alexander Hamilton’s son in “Not Without Honor.” He was also nominated as Best Actor for his performance on ABC’s “Arrest and Trial” series.   “During the nadir of my checkered career,” said McDowall, “I even played in vaudeville in Boston during the late 1940s. I performed five shows a day with Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm boys.”   On stage in later years, McDowall starred in Jean Anouilh’s “The Fighting Cock.” He even vocalized in Lerner and Loewe’s musical, “Camelot.” Among his many later films, Roddy starred in “Midnight Lace,” “The Longest Day,” “Shock Treatment,” “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “The Loved Ones” and “Subterraneans.”   Earlier, McDowall had taken up still photography and became so proficient with his photographic layouts -- including those of the stars - - that he appeared in leading magazines throughout the United States and Europe. He was even a contributing editor for Harper’s Bazaar. “When death came to so many fine magazines such as Life and Look,” McDowall said, “the market became ridiculously small and I’m no longer as active as I was in this field.”   Roddy did publish a successful photo-illustrated book titled “Double Exposure,” which went through two editions.   Asked what it feels like to be type-cast as an ape, the actor adroitly answered: “Lassie and Flicka were proud of me, too.”   In the “Planet of the Apes” series, McDowall plays a young dilettante chimpanzee who becomes a renegade to his own society because he is aware that humans had been leaders of the Earth before the apes took over.   This is the first series McDowall has starred in as a regular character.   Today, he continues to maintain an apartment near near Central Park in New York, dividing his time among television, pictures and the stage. He is often found mingling with the leaders of New York and London society.   * * * * Birthplace  London, England.     Birthdate  Sept. 17   Height  5' 10"     Weight  150 lbs.   Hair  Brown     Eyes  Brown   #   June, 1974