County rules fake females not adult show

Thursday, May 9, 2002 | 10:03 a.m.

Female impersonators are not necessarily providing "adult entertainment," the Clark County Commission decided Wednesday.

Men portraying women, or vice versa, was included in the county code in the same class of entertainment as topless performers, strippers and wet T-shirt contests. But the spirits of the late comedians Milton Berle and Flip Wilson helped topple the old rule.

But not before commissioners defined what would be acceptable for nightclub Gipsy and other applicants.

Gipsy sought a zone change to light-manufacturing to allow the impersonators to perform. The change would have allowed other uses, including work as a strip club. Clarifying the rules means the club can offer entertainment that does not include nudity.

"They have to be clothed," Commissioner Myrna Williams emphasized.

"And we're not talking about pasties either," Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates warned.

The commissioners discussed the appropriateness of applying the no-topless rule to men.

"If you have a male impersonating a female, then there would be a concern," Commissioner Chip Maxfield said.

"You would be concerned about the ... anatomical parts?" asked business license Director Ardel Jorgensen for clarification.

Attorney Chris Kaempfer, representing the club, pointed out that total nudity would present a problem for would-be impersonators.

Kaempfer said theatrical presentations of such popular films as "Tootsie," or "Shakespeare in Love" would be banned by the strict imposition of the old county policy.

The performances of television greats Milton Berle and Flip Wilson, who portrayed women, would also break the county's rule, he said.

"It's a silly inclusion if you think about it," Kaempfer said.

The county planning staff and the Paradise Town Board had opposed the light-manufacturing zoning needed for "adult entertainment." With the change in interpretation of the county rules, the nightclub did not need the new zoning, so all went away happy when the application was denied.