Columnist Dean Juipe: Looking like Tyson wears on Couser

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 | 9:40 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Cliff Couser isn't a chameleon, able to alter his appearance upon necessity, whim or command.

He is and has always been a ringer for Mike Tyson, his supposed half-brother. In fact, the similarities between the two are so astounding that Couser has not only played Tyson in a movie role but could pose as a double for the ex-champ at a family reunion.

There was a time when these and their other shared characteristics seemed hysterically funny, as if Couser was forever in the enviable position of taking advantage of the perks of celebrity that Tyson so obviously enjoys.

Toward that, Couser added a gold front tooth and practiced the menacing scowl that once distinguished Tyson. Factor in their shared profession, their similar body types and Couser's ability to mimic Tyson's high-pitched voice and it's a blend that routinely takes the unsuspecting by surprise.

Couser, who, like Tyson, lives in Las Vegas, could not and cannot go anywhere without being mistaken for his more famous look-alike. Being with Couser on the street or in a mall was and is a lesson on the trappings of infamy.

But what once was a calling card is now an unbearable burden, Couser said this week. And I know him well enough to know he isn't kidding.

"I'm going crazy," he said. "It's so stressful that it's sickening. I feel like screaming."

Couser is spending a few days at home under doctors' orders, in part to collect his thoughts but also as a way of regaining his desire to even go outside. A decade of being mistaken for Tyson has taken a horrific toll.

"Maybe if I had more fights in the United States people would be able to tell us apart," said Couser, who is scheduled for a bout in Kiev, Ukraine, May 31, and who has been fighting in that part of the world for almost a year. "I want people to see me, but they look and see Mike instead."

Couser said he approached Tyson at a 24 Hour Fitness health club in Las Vegas recently and asked for suggestions on this dilemma, yet he came away with little in the way of advice.

Part of the problem for Couser, of course, is that Tyson is forever getting into trouble -- as was the case at a Phoenix strip club last weekend -- and that his reputation has soured. As a result, not everyone who approaches has something kind to say.

"It's one thing when someone thinks I'm Mike and asks me to sign an autograph, but it's another when someone yells 'Hey, a------' and wants to pick a fight," Couser said. "It disturbs my whole day."

Airports are habitually problematic for Couser, as "people constantly gather around." But it's the inability to escape to a pizza joint or a coffee shop that really tests his patience.

"People not only come up to our table, they'll stand outside and just look in at me," he said. "I can't even go anywhere that seems low key."

He mentioned an incident at a restaurant as he and his lovely wife, Charina, attempted to dine in peace on their anniversary, only to be interrupted ad nauseam by a parade of curiosity seekers. It's clear that Couser is no longer amused by the attention.

While he has struggled with these identity issues before, he now says it's at an extreme. The man wants to be himself, if only the public would let him.