Columnist Jerry Fink: Krathwohl spreads wings during gig at Tropicana

Friday, June 22, 2001 | 8:37 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.

Note to self: I will resist the urge to use bird puns for this lounge column. I will not say it is "for the birds" or because it is free it is "cheep" or that the Birdman is "hawking" animal training tapes in order to save the endangered condors!

Joe Krathwohl was known as the Birdman of Alcatraz when he performed with his trained birds at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf in the mid-1980s.

Since 1989 he has been the Birdman of Las Vegas, entertaining amazed fans who gather around the Tropicana's small, open Tropics Lounge, adjacent to the Hawaiian Buffet in the nook of a wide hallway.

People don't seem to mind the unpretentious surroundings. Often 50 or more spectators stop to watch one of the three daily shows, except for Thursday when it is dark.

The shows are popular with children, but they are restricted from getting too close to the stage because that is considered the lounge zone (for adults only). If they stand back a few feet they are in the traffic section of the hall, and from there they can watch 45-year-old Coco the cockatoo pose as an eagle, whistle, bark like a dog and laugh.

Tiki, the blue macaw, holds onto Krathwohl's fingers with beaks that apply 1,200 pounds of pressure and is spun around in the air like a Ferris wheel. Boomer, the blue and gold macaw, rides a scooter and allows his trainer to juggle him along with a bowling pin.

A pair of male and female Amazon parrots perform a routine together, and then Krathwohl brings out the Big Bertha of birds -- a 7-year-old Andean condor, one of two he owns. The condors will be bred and their offspring released in the Andes Mountains in Chile.

Krathwohl, who has a degree in behavioral psychology, says his stars almost never flub their lines. When he trains them, he taps into the animals' survival instincts. He explained that in the wild, when animals wake up, their job is to find food and water. When they wake up at Krathwohl's home, their job is to perform.

"They are here to get their sustenance paycheck just like anybody else," he said. "They want food, safety, shelter, security and a chance to breed, in that order. You offer that in trade for a behavior, and you will very consistently get it."

Krathwohl's world revolves around animals. He says he has more at his home in southwest Las Vegas than the Las Vegas zoo, although the zoo has more space.

For $100 a person, groups of 25 or less can visit the animal trainer's home and see his collection of condors (there are only about 750 left in the world), white tigers, eagles, insects, panthers, owls, macaws, vultures, cockatoos, crows and pythons.

The fee goes to the World Center for Exotic Birds Foundation, Krathwhol said.

Krathwhol says he is happy with his arrangement with the Tropicana, but in case the gig doesn't last, he has developed an animal act worthy of almost any large showroom in Las Vegas. So far he hasn't found the right venue for the show, which he calls "Beastmaster."

"Theoretically, it should replace Siegfried and Roy when they quit," Krathwhol, a friend of theirs, said. "But I think Roy is going to sell tickets to his funeral."

The animal trainer said "Beastmaster" takes a different spin on Siegfried and Roy's magic act, which uses white tigers.

"In my show the animals are the stars," he said.

The animals use magic to save the day in a storyline that is a thinly veiled ploy to demonstrate the talents of his cast of animals, which would include not only white tigers but an elephant, condors and dozens of others. The show also would include an evil sorceress (think Cruella de Vil), a scientist and the Beastmaster.

"It's a Siegfried-and-Roy level show," Krathwohl said. "I started writing it when they were going to leave (the Mirage) in February, before they signed (a new contract)."

Krathwohl says people love to watch animals and a show such as the one he has written would be a natural to fill the gap when Siegfried and Roy finally do leave.

"But rather than follow them with a magic show using animals, I switch it around so it is the animals that rely on magic," Krathwohl said.

So, if Siegfried and Roy ever decide to retire, the Birdman of Las Vegas is there, waiting in the wings (sorry).

Lounging Around

The Nils Lofgren Guitar Bar is open at the Reserve in the Wasimba Lounge. Named for the guitarist who played for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, Neil Young and Ringo Starr (among others), a rotating roster of guitar players will perform Wednesdays through Saturdays. Shawn Eiferman, a founder of the popular local band Epstein's Mother, will be a semi-regular. Lofgren played at the bar earlier this month. Local guitarists are invited to jam.

Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers will be at the Railhead on Thursday for Boulder Station's blues night. Piazza is one of the more outstanding harmonica players in the country. The Mighty Flyers includes his wife, Honey, on piano; Rick "L.A. Holmes" Holstrom on guitar, Bill Stuve on bass and Steve Mugalian on drums.

Former Santana bassist Chico Rey will be performing with the Rey-Nichols Band tonight at Legends, the cozy little nightclub out on North Lamb Boulevard. The venue is becoming a popular waystation for jam bands burning up the highways between California and points east. On July 20 Legends goes online with live Internet broadcasts.

Check out twin pianists Mark and Clark (Seymour). They perform Wednesdays through Sundays at the Orleans' Brendan's Irish Pub. They do a great job of mixing humor with their talented piano playing.