Showroom: ‘La Cage’ to Titanic

Friday, Nov. 4, 2005 | 8:22 a.m.

As of this writing, Frank Marino is still the star of "An Evening at La Cage" at the Riviera.

"I'm still there," said Marino, who for the past 20 years has adapted the persona of Joan Rivers to host a revue featuring a troupe of female impersonators.

In October a private feud between Marino and the show's creator/producer, Norbert Aleman, became public and is in the hands of their respective attorneys.

A recent published report said Marino had been fired and Monday would be his last performance.

"I have not seen the producer of the show in two weeks," Marino said. "The report that feathers were flying (last Friday) and that Monday night was possibly going to be the last night of my working with 'La Cage' was utterly ridiculous."

He said when the story ran the response was immediate.

"I had 100 phone calls from concerned fans and friends," he said. "The Scintas called; producer Dick Feeney called me wishing me well. You just don't realize how many friends you have until something like this happens."

Wednesday morning he received a bouquet of flowers from Siegfried & Roy.

"I was having a bad morning, and that certainly picked me up," Marino said. "The card said, 'Thinking of you during this disruptive time.'

"Between them and the Scintas and those kinds of people, the moral support has been wonderful."

Marino declined to discuss the conflict.

"Our lawyers are working out the problems," he said.

Looking for Sinatra

The BBC is making a new four-part radio series about Frank Sinatra with an unusual slant -- a Sinatra travelogue.

Spokesperson Barbra Paskin in Los Angeles said the British Broadcasting Co. film crew will travel across the country and "tell Sinatra's story through the key landmark towns in his life and explore his deep connection with those areas."

The series begins in Hoboken, N.J., where he was born.

"And we talk to residents in New York, Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs and Las Vegas whose paths crossed Sinatra's in some way," she said. "We've talked to restaurateurs and waiters who remember Frank frequenting their diners.

"We've spoken with barbers and hoteliers -- individuals who remember the local dime store and candy store run by their parents and where Frank used to hang out with his mates. And even a few former bobby-soxers, now in their 80s, who followed him wherever he was performing."

Paskin said a crew will be in Las Vegas this weekend looking for similar stories.

"Is there someone out there who hosted the gambling tables where Frank used to play?" she asked. "A former waiter or other employee at Sands and Caesars Palace? Or a retired reporter who covered Frank's visits?"

Anyone with a good tale to tell about Sinatra should contact Paskin at (760) 416-4251 or (310) 497-7270.

Titanic extended

The hugely popular "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" has been extended by the Tropicana through Jan. 31.

More than 100,000 visitors have seen the 25,000-square-foot exhibit.

The exhibition showcases hundreds of artifacts recovered from the wreck site, including a suitcase, a felt bowler hat, the ship's whistles and glassware etched with the logo of the elite White Star Line.

Also included is the massive piece of the ship's hull known as the "Big Piece," the largest piece of the Titanic recovered -- it measures approximately 23 feet by 12 feet and weighs 15 tons.

The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Ticket are $16.95 for adults (age 12 to 61); $15.95 (62 and older); $9.95 for children (4 to 11); and $13.95 for Nevada residents.

For information, call 739-2411.

Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.