 Queen
of the Strip -
Frank Marino of La Cage
Frank
Marino is the Strip’s longest-running headliner, starring
in La Cage at the Riviera since 1985. Between phone calls from dress
designers and fans, he answered a lightning round of questions posed
by TODAY IN LAS VEGAS centered around the premise: questions never
posed by the media in the past 20 years.
TILV:
With make-up, you could be a dead ringer for many celebrities, even
Angelina Jolie. What celebrities do you think you could “become”
and put them into La Cage?
FM: I get told every
night I could be Fran Drescher. I guess my demeanor on stage is
like her character in “The Nanny.”
TILV:
Excluding the question just asked, what is the dumbest question
you’ve been asked by the news media in the last 20 years?
FM: “Is this
your only full-time job?” I looked at them and said, “If
your husband made $1,000,000 a year, would you make him go out and
get a part time, too?”
 TILV:
What would you do surgically that would enhance your career?
FM: I want butt implants
but my doctor won’t let me do them. I’ve had a lot of
plastic surgery but NEVER a face lift.
TILV:
What would you do surgically that would enhance your love life?
FM: Well, the butt
implants would help. Then they could move around the corner and
work on that. I mean, two inches less would be so much easier to
handle!
TILV:
Which celebrities would you like to come visit you backstage?
FM: Diana Ross. On
February 19, I’m flying to Texas where she’ll be lecturing
and for the first time, I’m actually going to be able to sit
down an talk with her!
TILV:
Which celebrity was at the show that most intimidated you?
FM: When VIPs like
Cher or Dolly Parton come by, they usually sit in a booth but Whitney
Houston came in she sat right in the front row with her hands resting
on the stage. Every second I’d look down and there she was,
watching my every move. The show went off without hitch, though,
and she loved it.
 TILV:
Okay, then who is the most overpaid headliner playing Las Vegas?
FM: Celine Dion! She
was reportedly paid $1 million a week for five days of work. It
takes some of us six days to pick up that kind of money.
TILV:
What is the one thing you wish you’d have accomplished by
this time in your life that you haven’t?
FM: I want a #!*ng
wax figure in Madame Tussauds! I mean, what do I have to do? Dame
Edna’s in London. Ru Paul is in New York. What are they waiting
for? I’ll be embalmed by the time they get around to it. Actually,
I’ve had so much Botox I’m already waxed and ready.
TILV:
Which product would you like to endorse and be their spokesmodel?
FM: Paxil! In this
business, it’s almost a necessity.
TILV:
What would your concept be if you were to produce another show on
the Strip?
FM: I have 22 years
as an employee of La Cage and during that time I have come up with
a lot of ideas. I might do drag again but take it in a different
direction. Maybe like a ‘70’s disco number, something
I call “production drag.”
TILV:
If you could add a ‘claim to fame,’ equal to being ‘the
Strip’s longest running headliner,’ what would it be?
FM: Queen of the Strip,
and I don’t mean Las Vegas Boulevard.
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