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SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR CHOSEN CAREERS, THEY DEVOTE MUCH OF THEIR TIME TO CHAMPIONING CAUSES THEY BELIEVE IN.

IF your principal asset happens to be your name . . . why not lend it? Sophia Loren did recently for Coty's new perfume. John Newcombe does for a finance company and shaving razors.

Ali MacGraw does for Lux soap, and Evonne Cawley for fried chicken.

It's big business for the big stars but sometimes even the most hardened cynic cannot find an ulterior motive. That's when the stars throw the weight of their celebrity status behind a cause.

Obviously there is no money involved. Indeed, often they dig into their pockets as well.

And when the cause is political or controversial - Vanessa Redgrave is a prime example - it can even hinder their careers.

Others, like Lynda Carter, mix commercial advertising and personal commitment. Lynda, who lends her name to Maybelline cosmetics, also is a born-again Christian and fervently plugs her cause whenever she gets the chance.

So what is it that makes busy celebrities devote their time to causes?

We asked four of them why they did it...

IT was Paul Cronin's credibility on screen that made him the perfect candidate for drink-driving commercials.

"I felt it was an honor," says Paul. "But it is an ominous task. It's like walking a tightrope. I've virtually put my head in a noose by taking such a stand. Wouldn't it be awful if I was pulled up for .05?

"Not that it's likely, I'm not much of a drinker."

Paul made four commercials which won dozens of awards overseas They showed typical Australian settings such as a party. pub. cricket match or card game.

"Drink-driving is apparently something we have to live with. We drink, we drive, we kill people. I wish everybody had the privilege to learn what I learned first-hand from the facts and figures the government has. I think they would then think twice."

CRICKETER Tony Greig has suffered from epilepsy since he was 12 but kept it private until 1978.

That's when an English journalist revealed the illness in a book.

"I guess the one positive thing after that was that I had to stand up and say I was an epileptic." he says. "I was able to tell people how proud I was and explain what I had done about the illness.

"I'd just worked very hard at it over the years. As a 12-year-old I had flaked out on a tennis court and it was established I was a sufferer.

"I started taking tablets and have taken them ever since."

Tony is happy that since he went public on the issue he has been able to help epileptics throughout Australia.

"I started getting phone calls from young kids, and people began to come up and talk to me about it," he says.

"I've had quite a close, association with the epilepsy associations around Australia and I try to help as much as I can."

Tony says many young epilepsy sufferers are encouraged by his experience.

He stresses that he did not receive any negative responses when his condition became public knowledge, but he admits that "a lot of people don't understand the problem".

BEING the mother of three teenage daughters meant Val Lehman was aware of the growing drug problem.

But it wasn't until a close friend took an overdose, and one of her daughter's friends became heavily involved in drugs. that the consequences really hit home.

"Drug addiction is the most hideous waste of human lives, apart from war. It's just so senseless." says Val.

"The producers of Prisoner approached me and asked my beliefs about drugs. I was lucky they ran fairly parallel with those of my on-screen character, Bea.

"I stand up two hours a week on television and say what I believe. I think it helps. I don't have 400 rehabilitated lives to prove it but I've had letters from kids who have given up hard drugs from watching the show. If just one kid benefits from the stance I've taken publicly, then it's worthwhile.

As well as her hectic Prisoner schedule. Val is involved in creative drama workshops with reformed drug addicts.

"They are apprehensive of me at first." says Val. "They think 'oh, here is another do-gooder'. Then we get to know each other. It's give and take. We talk about drugs. then Prisoner, drugs, then Prisoner.

"I am enormously enthusiastic about what I'm doing. I find it exhilarating."

BERT NEWTON surprised many people when he became chairman of a major fund-raising appeal for the controversial Odyssey House drug rehabilitation centre in Melbourne.

But the popular entertainer is confident he supported a worthy cause.

"I've never regretted it. From the day I got involved, I have witnessed some magnificent success stories there." he says.

Bert was aware when he joined Odyssey that critics had complained the group misused donated funds.

"I had this checked out by some people who were completely divorced from Odyssey. It was all above board."

After visiting the centre, Bert quickly accepted the invitation to be chairman of the Odyssey fund-raising appeal.

He says: "I was happy to go public because I believe drugs are one of Australia's biggest problems - it hits at all levels and doesn't respect class or socio-economic groups."

Bert says he would be reluctant to head another appeal for Odyssey or any other group at the moment.

"Mainly, this is because I think it could work against them," he says. "I am so high-profile in the market-place it might not be as grabby as some believe to have my head for a charity organisation - it could easily read like a promotion for a new TV show or an advertisement."