|  While
it may be true that time marches on, one longtime Las Vegas
headliner is making sure that it doesn’t leave the ol’
1-2 footprint across his face.
In fact, Frank Marino, the star of “An Evening at La
Cage” at the Riviera who portrays Joan Rivers in the
show is, like his alter-ego, giving aging the boot. He’s
not only facing off with the queen of the red carpet in style
and fashion but with the number of plastic surgeries she has
had as well. After all, being a Las Vegas diva is no easy
task.
“Believe me, my object is not to look like Joan,”
says the female impersonator who also portrays his own Femme
Fatale character in the show. “No one in his 40’s
wants to look like a 75-year-old woman, no matter how big
the paycheck is! To me, plastic surgery is an instant gratification.
It’s the constant maintenance that’s really time-consuming.”
“Every couple of years, I’ve had a procedure performed,”
he continues. “I’ve spent over $150,000 so far.
Being Las Vegas’ longest running headliner on the Strip
– 22 years – I’m constantly fighting the
aging battle. The problem with show business is that people
worship youth – it is our most precious commodity –
and I have to keep up with the 21 and 22-year-old kids who
are now in ‘La Cage.’ At some point, after having
that much done, you’re going to end up looking either
like Joan Rivers or Michael Jackson. I got the lesser of the
two evils.”
Marino, whose surgeries have been well-publicized and whose
latest experience under the knife will air this month on the
Discovery Health series “Before and After Plastic Surgery,”
quips that he’s had more done to his visage than Mt.
Rushmore. Though he has never had a face lift, he has had
several nose jobs (his first at 16), three chin implants,
a cheek implant, eye surgery, liposuction, and a neck lift.
“It was all mostly fine-tuning,” he explains.
“Except for the neck lift, nothing was age-altering.
But I’ve never hidden my surgeries. Over the years,
I’ve done many TV programs on the topic. Some people
get out of a new car with an old face; I’d rather get
out of an old car with a new face.”
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Marino
admits that plastic surgery is addicting and that he is constantly
seeking perfection. Luckily, his doctor in Las Vegas, Dr.
Goesel Anson, doesn’t let him go too far. She also administers
the maintenance that Marino previously referred to –
in the form of Botox, Restylane, Microdermabrasion and Fraxyl.
“I’ve got her on speed dial,” Marino laughs.
“Thank god, she’s very conservative and doesn’t
let me go overboard. That’s very important when you
have an obsessive personality like I do. The plastic surgeries
don’t hurt; there’s just some discomfort. The
maintenance is more painful. But no pain, no gain. The results
are well worth it.”
The maintenance schedule for Marino is a full one. He receives
Botox on a quarterly basis in his forehead and in the crow’s
feet around his eyes. He gets Restylane in his laugh lines
twice a year, Microdermabrasion every four weeks, Photofacials
every two months and he just had Fraxyl used on his hands
for the first time. Every five weeks, he goes to the Sona
Med Spa in Las Vegas and undergoes the most painful treatment
of alL-- laser hair removal over his entire body.
Of course, while saving face is a good thing, neither man
nor woman can survive by that alone – even an entertainer
has to eat. While admittedly, all the painstaking care and
money spent on the upkeep of his appearance doesn’t
seem to go with a Jack-in-the-box diet, Marino reveals that
his guilty pleasure is fast food. He admits to being a hamburger
guy but to look good in his gorgeous gowns on stage, he has
to pull in his belt and eat healthily – salads, fruits
and vegetables and lean chicken and fish.
“I allow one day a week to splurge,” Marino notes.
“Since my day off is Tuesday, I’ll eat what I
crave on that day. Joan Rivers is a fashion icon and a health
nut, so I have to make sure I stay in shape.”
To that avail, Marino has a full exercise regimen. He has
a personal trainer, Alice Incil, who comes to his home and
works with him for an hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
He has a full exercise facility in his house as well but he
also has memberships to two gyms in town. In addition, he
tries everything from Pilates to kickboxing, rollerblading
and tennis.
“I like to mix it up so I don’t get bored,”
Marino explains. “Show business is hard on the body
– you keep odd hours, doing radio shows and the like
early in the morning, the show at night and everything else
in-between.”
Not to mention the amount of exertion it takes to change his
costumes and shoes and jewelry to match 17 times each night
and wigs, too. Again, it’s to keep the show fresh and
fun for audiences and Marino alike. The entertainer enjoys
frequenting fashion shows in New York to see the latest styles.
He then works with each of his designers – Bob Mackie:
Camille from Nurielle, a store in Fashion Show Mall in Las
Vegas, and Coco Vega, a new Las Vegas designer, who actually
has a studio in his garage. Over the years, he has also bought
off the rack from such stores as Versace in the Forum Shops
at Caesars. The end result is that he has over 2,000 gowns
in his closet, ranging from $1,000-$6000 apiece. He has 10-15
new gowns made a year.
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Marino
actually gives each of the above-named three designers his
ideas for a costume. The designers will then sketch them,
then they and Marino will go back and forth from there. Bob
Mackie, who has made 90 percent of Marino’s gowns, made
his very first one for him and they have remained friends
to this day. Having built a mannequin of Marino’s shape
(that can grow in size), Mackie makes the entire dress, then
Marino goes for fittings in LA. For the other two designers
who are in town, he gets fitted throughout the process.
“I design a gown to give an illusion of hips; the breasts
are sown in,” Marino explains. “I don’t
pad although a lot of impersonators do.”
He also notes that there are major differences between Mackie,
Nurielle and Vega. Mackie’s gowns are heavily beaded
while Nurielle’s modern designs cater to the young,
hip stars of today and are one-of-a-kind pieces that consist
of hand-sewn rhinestones and beads on fabrics such as exotic
lace and Italian fabrics. As for Coco Vega, who is also a
female impersonator, Marino maintains that he can turn a feather
boa into a full length coat in the blink of an eye. Vega works
with glittery materials and rhinestone trim and his designs
are the most outrageous, which works very well on stage.
“He’s a drag queen’s dream,” Marino
laughs.
Still, there’s not too much that can be over the top
for someone whose motto in life is, “too much is just
enough.”
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ADDITIONAL
ARTICLES
BY
BOBBIE KATZ
HERE |
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Keeping
Up with the Joanses
