Mayor Oscar Goodman has been suitably waxed, celebrating the event this evening during an event at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, and the feature attraction does not disappoint: The suit is suitably dark blue and pinstriped. The cheeks are aglow with a reddish hue; the nose slightly bulbous. The right hand clutches a martini, naturally, the eyes peer out as if scanning the crowd for the next handshake. He gives the thumb's-up sign, and that familiar grin on the face of the self-dubbed happiest mayor in the universe does not move.
Yes, the whole package is very convincing.
The wax figure isn’t bad, either.
It took the 10th anniversary of Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas and the unveiling of a wax-ian but chillingly lifelike Goodman at Tussauds’ new Viva Vegas room to entice the mayor to finally visit The Venetian. He claims not to have set foot inside the resort, which stands at the very spot where Sands was wiped out (speaking of vintage Vegas), because of Sheldon Adelson’s opposition to the Culinary Union. “I respect the invisible picket line,” Goodman said, referring to The Venetian’s non-union status. But with the Strip needing a shot of attention, especially attention directed at Las Vegas, Goodman arrived to welcome his action-figure twin to Tussauds. The wax Oscar will share space with more than two dozen Vegas icons, including Liberace, three members of the Rat Pack (no Joey Bishop or Peter Lawford, who have been hustled off the stage to make room for photo ops), The Wayner, Tom Jones, Elvis, Siegfried & Roy and Tony Sacca.
Wait, that’s the real Tony Sacca. Sorry, Tony.
As you may have heard elsewhere, getting waxed is no walk in the park, or even down Fremont Street. Six months ago, Goodman was measured some 200 times to make the Wax Oscar look like the real thing. As is the case with most of the figures (especially Muhammad Ali, who looks as if he’s about to drop you with an overhand right), the images do seem uncannily realistic. I’ll tell you, when Wax Oscar was first displayed, I was so startled I grabbed one of his showgirls – who luckily was a wax showgirl.
Why honor the mayor at this moment? I asked that of Amy Helton, head of marketing (a real head, not a wax one) for Madame Tussauds, who explained, “It’s our 10th year here, and we wanted to redo the entire Vegas attraction, and who is more Vegas than the mayor?” Well, Tony Sacca might be. And the fake Frank Sinatra comes close. But for today, the happiest mayor in the universe, including the Strip, will suffice . Even in wax, he’s no stiff.
Wax on, wax off
More from the Madame: I kid Sacca. I really do. But he did break some news today – he’s going to let his hair go gray. So keep an eye on the SaccaDome. Also, the Tom Jones figure needs an update, as he’s gone gray in real life (good for him, I say, but I haven’t seen the results yet) but is still jet black in wax. … Snoop Dog is going to be honored on April 20, which is (from what I understand) National Pot Smoking Day, and I’m not kidding. I asked Helton if the wax-ian Snoop would be outfitted with a little grim reefer, and the answer, for now, was, “No.” Tussauds should make a wax figure of Jeff Spicoli, too, and set him next to Snoop. Hey, buds, let’s party! Through the end of July, Nevada residents with valid ID will be charged just $10 to enter Madame Tussauds. … Criss Angel is the next Vegas-linked celeb to be cast in wax, with an event planned for sometime next month. I’m not going to say it. … OK, I will: Pity the person who had to measure him. ... One reason the Goodman statue is particularly realistic is because it’s “fresh.” The wax loses some of its luster over time, similar to some of the entertainers Tussauds has honored, or is about to.
Life is a cabaret
One of the very cool hangs I’ve taken part in recently was Wednesday night’s performance by Erich Bergen at the Liberace Museum. Bergen, who plays Bob Gaudio in “Jersey Boys” at The Palazzo, performed a cabaret-style show at the Liberace Museum, and he killed. Bergen was buoyed by a four-piece band and three backing singers, and was joined onstage by Travis Cloer, who portrays Frankie Valli in the musical and has co-written several songs with Bergen. Tickets were $50 for VIPs (there were six of those sold) and $15 for the remainder of the 100 or so seated in the cozy showroom. Bergen is a great singer, musician and showman, but his humor is what caught me. He’s one funny dude. He pulled off a Richard Cheese-esque duet with Cloer, a jazzy, lounge-styled medley of “Bad” and “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, “Renegade” by Styx and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” At one point, Bergen made sure to have his printed lyrics for a song he had actually written, “Lie to Yourself,” and asked an audience member, “Isn’t it sad to need your own lyrics? Do you ever need lyrics to your own songs?” The guy shot back, “All the time!” It was Marty Panzer, who coincidentally wrote “All the Time,” along with “Through the Years” for Kenny Rogers, and a K-Tel collection of hits with Barry Manilow, including “Even Now,” “It’s a Miracle” and “This One’s For You.” Panzer was sitting at the next table, near Erich’s mom. At the table in front of him was Liberace’s longtime fur designer, friend and Liberace Foundation board member Anna Nateece; and sitting next to me was ... Joe Brown. … As Bergen reminded, money raised goes to the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, which gives scholarships to artists of all types (not just pianists), and he’ll be back April 8. (Plug alert!) If you’re interested in preserving a piece of Vegas history, contribute to the museum. Nothing is immune to this dreadful economy.
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