The Lainie Season

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 5:52 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION November 17, 2002

Lainie Kazan is a bundle of contradictions.

When the sultry singer was focusing on a career as a serious musician she appeared in Playboy magazine, and on a giant poster on the side of the Sahara wearing a wet T-shirt. The poster drew protests from angry mothers.

When she was focusing on her career as an actress she appeared not only in such films as Francis Ford Coppola's "One from the Heart" (1982) and Garry Marshall's "Beaches" (1988), but also Paul Bartel's "Lust in the Dust" (1985).

Her first film was the stinker "Dayton's Devils" (1968), featuring Leslie Nielsen and Rory Calhoun. Her latest is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which cost $5 million to make and has grossed almost $200 million since its April release.

Kazan, who will perform at the Suncoast Friday through Nov. 24, recently discussed her contradictory life with the Las Vegas Sun by phone from her New York apartment.

Las Vegas Sun: How did you get involved with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?"

Lainie Kazan: Three years ago I was called by my agent. He said (producer) Tom Hanks' wife (Rita Wilson) was putting together a table reading at a breakfast and would I be interested in coming. I thought, "Great, I'll go have breakfast and meet Tom Hanks."

I fell in love with the script. When I left, Tom Hanks said, "If we ever do this as a movie, we will call you." I thought to myself, "Yeah, sure." But a year and a half later I got a phone call that they were making the film in Toronto and would I like to be involved. I never thought it would be this kind of phenomenon.

Sun: Why is it so successful?

LK: I think the humanity of it. I think that it appeals to everyone. If you're ethnic, you identify with the ethnic family. If you're white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, you identify with the very uptight family. It's very funny. People roar. They belly laugh. It's smart and funny.

Sun: Your choices in films are interesting. Why did you do "Lust in the Dust?"

LK: The script was hysterical. I got this call one night. My daughter said, "Tab Hunter is on the phone." I said. "Ah, come on." She said, "No, really. Tab Hunter is on the phone." So I get on the phone and he tells me he has this script and he'd like me to play this part. He says he's going to be in this movie and he's going to produce it and Paul Bartel is going to direct. So he sends me the script and I laughed out loud.

Sun: Which of your films is your favorite?

LK: "One From the Heart." That was an extraordinary experience. It was a big flop, but it's still a great movie to this day. It's shown in film schools. I'm very proud of that movie.

Sun: Francis Ford Coppola directed it. How did he happen to choose you for the movie?

LK: We went to Hofstra University (in New York) together. I hadn't seen him in years. I was performing at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and he came to see me. At that time I was taking myself very seriously as a singer. I was like a chanteuse. He came backstage and invited me to his house in Napa (Calif.), and at dinner he gave me this script and said he would like me to play this part. She was a great character. He helped me find myself as an actress. I owe him a lot.

Sun: Is that when you decided to divide your career between singing and acting?

LK: I always knew in my heart of hearts I wanted to act. When I first started out singing after college I did a really bad movie called "Dayton's Devils" just so I would know what a camera was like, never thinking it would be shown all over the world.

Sun: How did you get into show business?

LK: My mother was a frustrated dancer. It was at a time when Jewish girls from nice families didn't go into show business. It was like being a hooker. When I came along and showed some promise, she was like my character in "Beaches." She knew every song-and-dance routine and went to every class with me and learned everything with me. I was dancing and singing professionally by 4. I gave a concert when I was 4 1/2 years old at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Sun: What was it like when you first came to Vegas?

LK: It was intense. I started out at the Fremont downtown. I worked with Sid Caesar and a guy who was billed as the fastest tap dancer in the world. George Burns came to see me and he had me join him at the Riviera. I worked with George for quite a while after that.

Sun: Did you develop a reputation for being difficult?

LK: I did, but I was very sick and didn't tell anybody. I tripped over my dog and fell and broke my leg while taping a special on the beach. Blood clots coagulated in my leg under the cast and they went up to my lungs. I couldn't get the leg set because they had to take the cast off to treat the clots. I was so violently ill. But I wanted to fulfill my commitments. I wouldn't tell anybody I was sick, and it was like the kiss of death. I developed a bad reputation. Nobody knew how sick I was. I was just a mess. Things didn't pan out that well for me in Vegas after that. They thought I had an attitude.

I've performed a couple of times in Vegas since then, at the Golden Nugget and at the Sands. But I haven't been there in about 10 years. My singing career took a back seat to my acting.

Sun: Besides your concerts, are you working on any other projects?

LK: I'm in the movie "Gigli " which is coming out in June. It's also starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Al Pacino and Christopher Walken. I play Ben Affleck's mother. She's a real tough woman.

And I'm doing a TV series of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" that starts in January on CBS.

Sun: What is most important in your life?

LK: My family. My family is very important to me, but working is a joy. I'm so lucky.