Friday, Sept. 5, 1997 | 10:45 a.m.
Engelbert Humperdinck has been hounded by the press, stalked by photographers in trees, photographers wearing disguises.
He has had fans shower him with unmentionable tokens of their adoration, and even had a fan jump on stage and grip him in an over-affectionate leg lock.
Big difference.
"When it is a paparazzi selling a picture, it's a different thing than when it is a fan looking for an autograph," says the British singer, commenting on the "tragic accident" of Princess Diana's death this week while being pursued by photographers. "When it's a fan, you can almost forgive that."
If so, Humperdinck must has a lot to forgive -- his fan base is said to be the largest in the world, the number quoted is 8 million in 250 countries -- which would average 30,000 members per club, a number stunning for the fact that, well, have you ever met one?
Have you ever met anyone who has met one?
Even a search on his website (engelbert.com) under "Fans" brings up a mysteriously empty page labeled "Under Construction."
Still, these fans undoubtedly exist, many showing up during a recent call-in pledge drive on PBS of his taped special of a concert, "Love Unchained."
The callers -- three-quarters female, and mostly over age 50 -- raised $20,000 for KLVX Channel 10, according to Barbie Chadwick, membership director for the Las Vegas PBS affiliate.
"They do so much," Humperdinck says. "The fans get behind the charities I have, like 'Reach Out' in Las Vegas, that deals with pediatric AIDS."
Humperdinck, known to the world for his trademark lengthy moniker, has in recent years been progressively shortening it, going by just Englebert now, and "Enge" to his pals.
But originally, you will recall, he went out of his way to choose the outrageous tongue-twisting stage name.
Humperdinck, born Arnold George Dorsey, began his career as Gerry Dorsey, an impersonator and signer. After he was treated for a case of tuberculosis, he emerged from the hospital to find his old persona was considered in the fickle show biz world as a "has-been."
The solution? His manager, Gordon Mills, convinced him to reemerge as "Engelbert Humperdinck," a 19th-century German composer known for writing the opera "Hansel and Gretel."
"All the TV hosts, Johnny Carson, would make fun of my name," he admits. "But at the same time, they were still talking about it. It has served me very well."
As one of the true Vegas troubadours who returns to Bally's this weekend, Humperdinck was labeled as a singer who made the ladies swoon from the very start.
"That first hit stamps your style," reflects the sex symbol, now pushing 60. "I was the British guy in a tuxedo singing love songs."
That 1967 hit, "Release Me," as legend has it, even knocked the Beatles' "Penny Lane" off the top of the charts, and was followed by sales of 130 million records and the devotion of female fans that almost approaches parody of itself.
Humperdinck has cultivated this image, with a line of perfume, "Release me," sold on the Home Shopping Network, and his Beverly Hills mansion -- the "Pink Palace," former home of Jayne Mansfield with the famous heart shaped pool in the back -- which is now rumored for sale to the Sultan of Brunei.
But the dirty little secret is that Engelbert is still married to his wife of more than 30 years, Patricia, who holds down the fort as his other home in his native Leicester, a town about 100 miles north of England, where his nine siblings still reside.
"She was supportive of me through the hard times and struggles, and now we can enjoy the fruits of success together," he says. "So many people find it difficult to do -- especially in this business."
The key to a good relationship, straight from the Humpster's pouty lips?
"Communication."
That's why Humperdinck makes a point of boning up on the language of his international audiences.
One could argue that a true king of romance should be able to make the ladies swoon without speaking a word of their native tongue, but Engelbert isn't taking any chances.
"I like to be able to converse in the language," he says. "I think the audience appreciates the effort."
So for his upcoming albums, one in French, one in Spanish, he is brushing up on his foreign language skills.
No studying is necessary for the third upcoming album, a U.S. release of '70s rock and roll songs.
"You tend to Americanize your phrasing when you sing, although (the accent) is still in my speaking," he says.
The album, which will feature rock tunes from Rod Stewart and Paul McCartney, was conceived by his son, Scott, now his manager, who has also engineered appearances to appeal to a younger generation -- MTV specials and a song for the credits of the "Beavis and Butthead" movie: "Lesbian Seagull."
Is Humperdinck attempting a comeback for a new generation, a la Tony Bennett?
"I try to focus on myself, rather than look to other people," he says, brushing aside the idea of emulating anyone else. "I'm happy with the way my career is going."
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