Frank Marino (female impersonator)

Frank Marino
Frank Marino (left) and Larry Edwards (Tina Turner tribute Artist) at RuPaul's Dragcon 2017
Born (1963-11-20) November 20, 1963
Brooklyn, New York
Residence Las Vegas, Nevada
Other names Ms. Las Vegas
Occupation Female impersonator
Years active 1985-2018

Frank Marino (born November 20, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York) is a female impersonator dubbed "Ms. Las Vegas" for his longtime starring role as Joan Rivers in the Las Vegas drag revue Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas, which played at The Linq (formerly known as Imperial Palace and The Quad) on the Las Vegas Strip until June 2018.[1]

Career

Famous for his lavish on-stage wardrobe (much of which was designed by Bob Mackie, who has also done fashions for Rivers), Marino has received two Las Vegas Walk of Fame stars[2] and received another star when Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman honored his hard work and commitment to the Las Vegas performance world with "Frank Marino Day" on February 1, 2005.[3]

Marino has been playing Joan Rivers in Las Vegas drag shows since 1985 and, according to his 2005 appearance on the Discovery Health Channel series Plastic Surgery: Before and After, once held the unofficial record for the longest continuous performance run at a single casino in Las Vegas when he played Rivers for more than 20 years at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in the long-running drag show An Evening at La Cage;[3] according to his website, he now holds the record as the longest-active and longest-running headliner on the Strip.[4]

In 2010, Marino moved his show to the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino, and renamed it "Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas". He has appeared both as his Joan Rivers persona and as himself in several movies and TV shows. Once sued by Rivers for $5,000,000 (US) in the 1980s,[5] the pair later reconciled and even appeared on TV shows together.[5] Frank Marino is the highest paid female impersonator in the world bringing in over $2.5 million a year for his show Divas Las Vegas and is currently worth over $20 million Millionare Matchmaker, retrieved 2017-04-17 . He also currently resides in one of the biggest and most expensive homes in Las Vegas "Star Homes". Retrieved 2017-04-17. . He has earned the title of "Entertainer of the Century" from Las Vegas Today Magazine Best of Las Vegas, retrieved 2017-04-17 .

In 2018 he appeared in ITV's Last Laugh in Vegas.

Charity controversy

At the beginning and end of every Divas Las Vegas show, Marino would sell merchandise with profits supposedly going to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada. In July 2018, it was revealed that donations earmarked for the charity were not handed over to Make-A-Wish. The show, headlined by Marino at The Linq Hotel and Casino, was abruptly shut down by the Caesars Entertainment Corporation after an investigation into the charity non-payment.[6]

Personal life

Marino currently resides in Las Vegas.[7] In late 2004, Marino, his birth mother Mary Mastrangelo, and his then-longtime partner's mother Malka Schechter were filmed for a feature for Plastic Surgery: Before and After, having a family outing at Dr. Goesel Anson's plastic surgery practice; the trio's plastic surgery results were shown for the first time on national TV in May 2005.

References

  1. ↑ "Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas". Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  2. ↑ Weatherford, Mike (26 February 2010). "Interviews: 'Frank Marino: Divas Las Vegas'". LVRJ. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  3. 1 2 As shown in an episode of Plastic Surgery: Before and After, Discovery Health Channel, first aired May 2005.
  4. ↑ "Frank Marino, Superstar Female Impersonator". Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  5. 1 2 "Rivers sues imitator". St. Petersburg Evening Independent. 14 August 1986. p. 4-A. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Divas Ended Over Charity Non Payment". July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  7. ↑ "David Magazine". Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2011-09-23. p. 52
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