Las Vegas Weekly

August 13, 2008 · 9 AM

From Drags to Riches

By Frank Marino

For the last 23 years, I have come out of –- and gone back into -- the closet more times than any entertainer in Las Vegas history.

Of course, changing costumes 17 times every night and being the longest running headliner on the Las Vegas Strip, starring as Joan Rivers in the hit show La Cage at the Riviera, I definitely have a handle on what it really means to be a quick-change artist. In fact, the only performer who goes through “the change” as much as I do is Cher -- and we even use the same primary designer, Bob Mackie. But as much as this may give me a leg up when it comes to melding fashion with entertainment, the ladder of success was definitely harder to climb wearing high heels.

Actually, I was a natural in them from the moment I took my first steps as a female impersonator -- it’s sneakers that I have trouble walking in. I always knew I’d be successful in whatever I chose to do; I just didn’t know I’d be wearing designer stilettos to do it.

In reality, female impersonation has always been part of my makeup -- literally. I started out wanting to be a doctor and while I was in college, I worked at a large pharmacy on weekends. Apparently, I spent more time upfront at the cosmetics counter than at the back dispensing pills. Makeup fascinated me for some reason and through trial and error, I learned to apply it. One Halloween, I dressed up like Diana Ross and went to a party. There was a booking agent there who told me that I looked so good that he could send me out to different events impersonating famous divas and offered me $150 a night. That’s when I kissed the idea of medical school goodbye (little did I know I’d end up curing people with laughter instead of medication). And even more to my surprise I’d parlay that $150 an hour into a multi-million dollar 25-year contract in Las Vegas.

Then, one night, I went to Atlantic City to see Joan Rivers perform. She invited me backstage, where I met the producers of An Evening at La Cage, which was playing at Bally’s Park Place and where the headlining host of that show was a female impersonator who portrayed Joan. Since I couldn’t sing, Joan seemed like a good character for me as well. She was the most glamorous of all the female comedians and subsequently became my alter ego.

After finishing my four years of college, I ended up in Florida, headlining the La Cage show as Joan Rivers. Meschulam Riklis, who owned the Riviera at the time, and his wife, Pia Zadora, came to see the show and brought the show to the Riviera on a six-month contract. More than two decades later, I’m still here.

Of course, the thing people are most curious about where female impersonation is concerned and the first question they ask is, “Where do you put IT?” I always respond with, “Where do you like IT?” The second thing they want to know is how long it takes me to perfect Joan each night. When I first started, the makeup process took over two hours. Today, it takes me less than an hour but it takes an hour and a half to get the makeup off because of all the putty and wax and theater makeup I use.

When I’m putting on my makeup, I look at Joan’s picture. I try to recreate her facial structure, much like an artist who takes a blank canvas and turns it into a painting. It’s been a lot easier to do over the years because I’ve had over $150,000 of plastic surgery -- I have my surgeon, Dr. Giselle Anson, on speed dial. The more I have done, the more I end up looking like Joan Rivers. I’ve had a nose job, cheek implants, a neck lift and liposuction and I’m a big fan of Restylane and Rejuvederm. And I’m never more than six months away from a shot of Botox. At this point, I’ve had so much Botox even my clothes don’t wrinkle.

Again, I didn’t do the surgeries to look like Joan but because it softens my features, and when I apply the makeup, it helps me create the illusion. She’s had so much surgery herself that she’s changing every day, which makes it difficult to get her physical appearance down. By the way, early on, she ended up suing me for $5 million for using some of her material. It’s a good thing we settled since I was 80 bucks short at the time. But now we’re friends again and have worked on many projects together.

The hardest part about impersonating Joan for me has always been her hairstyles. In the 80s, she had the teased-up bouffant, then she went to the straight pageboy -- what I call her talk show look -- and now she’s got the Meg Ryan spiky cut. Luckily, I have a great wig stylist in Las Vegas, Leslie Arce, who can perfect all my Joan Rivers looks.

Around 15 years ago, because Joan was getting up in years and I was concerned that I wouldn’t have a character if her career didn’t stay stable, I invented a Femme Fatale character that I also portray in the show. Of course, little did I know that Joan would end up being the Chief of the Fashion Police on the red carpet and also the top seller of costume jewelry on QVC. So now I just portray Joan for the first 20 minutes of the show, doing a monologue to warm up the audience, then I introduce the other acts as the “Femme Fatale” Frank Marino character.

To that avail, I have more than 2,000 gowns in my wardrobe, most of them designed by Bob Mackie and others created by Nurielle and a local designer, Coco Vega. I also have trunks full of jewelry bought by my personal shopper, Caryle Daniels, who travels all over the world picking up exotic pieces for me.

For my Femme Fatale look, Kenneth Blake, who portrays Madonna and Dolly Parton in La Cage, does all my wigs. Many of the kids in the show have outside talents. For example, Steven Wayne, who portrays Cher and Celine Dion, is a high school principal by day.

I feel La Cage has had the staying power it has because it appeals to everyone from prom kids to senior citizens. It brings people’s most favorite female performers and their music to life when they are unable to see the real star. We have characters in the show from Britney Spears to Diana Ross to Bette Midler. There are 15 superstars for the audience to enjoy on any given night. You never know who you are going to see. The show is constantly changing. Audience members come back time and time again and never see the same show twice.

While the show has provided a lot of wonderful things for me personally -- I received a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame; I have a street named after me, Frank Marino Drive (which also goes both ways); I was in “Miss Congeniality 2”; I’ve received the key to the city and Mayor Oscar Goodman has proclaimed every Feb. 1 “Frank Marino Day,” and starting this September, I’ll be a special event weekend correspondent on EXTRA TV – it’s still a blast for the audience, being one of the most fun shows a person can see in Las Vegas. Along with my costume and monologue changes, every night, the cast does things to keep the show fresh for us so that we are all continually excited about performing.

After all, An Evening at La Cage has survived four presidents, two wars and the turn of the century. So if life continues to be a drag, it’s fine with me.

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