Friday, June 17, 2005 | 8:25 a.m.
You may not recognize the name Norbert Aleman.
But you probably are familiar with two long-running shows he produces at the Riviera: "Crazy Girls" (18 years) and "An Evening at La Cage" (20 years).
And, unless you are blind, you certainly have seen his famous "No Ifs, Ands or ..." ad that adorns a fleet of taxicabs, showing off the shapely derrieres of seven showgirls.
The photo was Aleman's brainchild. When it first appeared on the marketing scene it raised a lot of eyebrows in a town that takes pride in its jaded approach to the sexual side of show business especially the backside.
In 1994 a "No Ifs, Ands or ..." sign was placed on a billboard facing city hall, which drew a lot of futile protests and threats of legal action. And in 1997 a bronze statue of the seven women was unveiled at the Riviera, drawing more protests.
But the protests only succeeded in garnering widespread publicity for the adult revue.
"I'm not trying to offend anybody," Aleman said. "I don't think my poster offends anybody."
He was speaking from his office in a marbled mansion on a landscaped estate near Russell Road and Mountain Vista.
The home has the feel of an elegant French manor, which is understandable the 64-year-old Las Vegan was born in Morocco during World War II and eventually migrated to France.
Aleman's life is the stuff of which dreams (and movies) are made: He was a veteran of the French Foreign Legion, a mercenary, in the early '60s a bodyguard to French singing sensation, Johnny Hallyday, (billed as "the French Elvis"), an actor (25 films in Europe), a stuntman, a record producer and a producer of revues.
While living in Paris in the '70s politics changed Aleman's life.
"There were elections in France," Aleman said, his French accent still strong. "The opposite side won."
So Aleman left in 1976, intending to move to Brazil to produce records. En route he stopped in Los Angeles and ended up staying, becoming a manager of a dancer and finding work in films.
One of the films was "Inchon," a 1981 movie shot in Korea and directed by his friend Terrence Young ("Dr. No"). While Aleman was in Korea, a fire destroyed his Los Angeles home.
Homeless, he moved to Las Vegas and became a cook and maitre d' at Pamplemousse Restaurant at 400 E. Sahara Ave. While in Vegas he produced a black beauty pageant, "Miss Galaxy," along with fashion shows.
Aleman was invited to Atlantic City to create a show for the Tropicana, even though "I had never done a revue before."
He came up with "Can Can," starring Yvonne DeCarlo. It ran for three years and was so successful that Aleman became a much-sought-after producer, creating such shows as "Concert on the Beach," "Hooked on Classics" and "Big Band."
In 1984, Aleman produced "An Evening at La Cage" at Bally's Park Place in Atlantic City. It ran for 11 years.
Initially, the executives were worried that the female impersonator revue might not go over well in Atlantic City, so they gave Aleman a three-month run, with shows beginning at midnight.
" 'La Cage' opened on June 15, and on July 20 it went from midnight to 8 p.m., and they canceled every other show at the hotel," Aleman said. "By September, they redid my contract -- they wanted a piece of the action."
Eventually, Aleman would produce 10 major shows for Trump Castle, and at one time had four shows running simultaneously in Atlantic City.
Meshulam Riklis, head of the Riviera in Las Vegas at the time, went to Atlantic City to see his then-wife, Pia Zadora, perform. He saw "La Cage" and invited Aleman to bring the show to Vegas.
It opened in 1985, featuring Frank Marino as Joan Rivers, and has been one of the most popular shows in town ever since.
Two years later, Aleman created "Crazy Girls."
"Riklis is like me -- we love beautiful women, we love statues of beautiful women, art of beautiful women," he said. "It is not sexual, it is just love of beautiful women."
Riklis suggested a show featuring beautiful women, and Aleman produced "Crazy Girls."
"Girls" is undergoing a renovation that will be revealed in the near future.
"We are transforming the show," Aleman said. "It's been running 18 years -- the girls get bored with the same music after a while."
Meanwhile, Aleman is working on other projects.
One of the most unusual is "The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant."
The first one was held last year at the Riviera, and the pageant made Howard Stern's radio show.
The event was filmed as "Trantasia" and will debut at the Venice Film Festival this year. The second annual "World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant" will be held at the Riviera on July 23-24.
Aleman also plans to re-create the revue "Lido de Paris," the French import that was at the Stardust for more than 20 years.
The youthful producer still has lots of energy, and most of it is applied to his productions. He never checks out the competition.
"I never go to see shows," Aleman said. "I concentrate on my own."
And when he finally decides to to drop the curtain on his brilliant career?
"I will leave on top," he says without hesitation.
No ifs, ands or ...
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