Celebrities look good enough to eat
PUSSSYKATT
NY POST/By BILLY HELLER
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Have you ever wanted to get so close to, say, Michael Jordan, that you could
practically touch him? How about Madonna - or Oprah? There's one spot, right
here in New York, where you can - sort of. It's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum on
42nd Street, home to scores of lifelike models of the stars of today and
yesterday.
They include George Washington and George Steinbrenner, Picasso and Pitt, Rosa
Parks and Ringo Star. And you're free to walk among them, taking as many
pictures as you want.
The "portraits" - please don't call them dummies, Tussaud's staff begs - have
heads made of wax atop fiberglass-coated wax bodies. They weigh between 50 and
75 pounds each.
Some - including a self-portrait of Marie Tussaud, from whom the place gets -
come from previously made plaster casts, its name. Created in 1842, the
self-portrait was the last work of art the Frenchwoman ever made.
But visitors today will more likely be interested in the people on display from
the 21st and 20th centuries.
How is a person chosen to be cloned in wax form? "We have a central portraits
committee that meets monthly," explains Janine Scarpello, general manager of
Madame Tussaud's New York.
There is one member from each of the Tussaud attractions (in London, Amsterdam,
Hong Kong and New York) and a chairman. The meetings are in England, with New
York and Las Vegas on conference call.
"We each make a wish list. We look for who would be good for more than one
attraction, who has staying ower and who represents the face of the place.
"New York, for example, has New Yorker types - the Trumps, Liz Smith, Al Roker,
Regis Philbin - whereas Las Vegas has Wayne Newton."
Right now at the top of Scarpello's list is Sen. Hillary Clinton. "She had
never been done before - the only first lady that we have is Jackie Kennedy. We
do have one of Bill Clinton in London.
"Hillary was never even considered until she became senator from New York."
Once the museum decides to make someone a wax star, it sends an "approach
letter" along with a video showing footage from different sittings of different
celebrities.
The videos, Scarpello says, are often tailored to the person. An athlete might
be shown images of Babe Ruth and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; musicians might like to
see portraits of Elton John, Bob Marley and John Lennon.
If the person agrees to be portrayed in wax - and no one gets paid, by the way
- Tussaud's will schedule a 90-minute to two-hour sitting and fly a sculptor
over from London, where the artists and art studios are.
They'll work anywhere. Don King's sitting took place in a Las Vegas restaurant.
Tussaud's also has a corporate apartment in New York, where locals such as CBS
newsman Dan Rather - who's due on display March 19 - can pose.
In addition to the sculptor, a photographer and a colorist are also on the
scene.
"We take 150 photographs and 250 measurements of the celebrity during the
sitting," says Scarpello. The colorist has a kit complete with acrylic eyeballs
of all colors, as well as an abundance of hair samples. Their job is to match
what they have to the celebrity.
"So the colorist would stand right next to Hillary Clinton and hold up as many
eyeballs as it takes to get the right one. And photographs are taken to look at
later, in the studio."
Back in London, the artist will make plaster cast molds of the celebrity and a
wax model from that. When the model's ready, the oil paint "makeup" is put on
the head and other exposed parts of the body. Under the clothes, the portrait
looks like a store mannequin. It even has underwear!
Visitors to New York's new wax works may be amazed to find out who actually
posed for a Tussaud portrait. Fidel Castro, for one - and the Dalai Lama. Many
celebrities donate their clothes: Castro gave the museum a set of his notorious
army fatigues to dress his portrait in.
People generally find sitting for a portrait is a lot of fun, says Scarpella,
adding, "It's a bit creepy, because you're getting measured everywhere. Most
people are flattered." She says four to six new portraits are added every year,
at $50,000 to $70,000 a head.
But not everyone wants to be immortalized in wax. "Mother Teresa said no,"
Scarpello reveals. "She said that it was her work that should be modeled, not
her."
If the museum is interested in an historical figure who's no longer living, it
takes longer than the usual six months to make a portrait - with a research
department in London getting its hands on photos and films, and talking to
family, friends and foundations.
Visitors to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum are greeted in the lobby by a
dreadlocked, velvet-robed Whoopi Goldberg. But it's the "Opening Night Party"
on the ninth floor that really screams "New York."
It's designed as a bash for a Broadway opening in the party room of an
exclusive hot spot, and we see clusters of actors, singers, politicians,
journalists and others engaged in conversation. All of them are willing to pose
- so bring your camera!
There's Oprah, deep in conversation with Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki.
Yoko Ono is off to one side. Woody Allen sits alone. The "Today" gang, Katie
Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker, are up late. Donald Trump, in a red power tie,
is with Ted Turner. Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Jodie Foster are together.
Even Christopher Reeve is here, in his wheelchair.
After exiting by Brad Pitt, you'll go through a hall of mirrors toward Madame
Tussaud, Ben Franklin and on to a graphic and gory history lesson of the French
Revolution.
A sign warns that this part may be unsuitable for young children. It is!
Parents should consider this part of the museum rated R, and decide
accordingly. (Scarpello says kids under 3 tend to be confused or scared by the
lifelike figures on display throughout.)
Elsewhere in the museum, there's an educational, behind-the-scenes peek at how
models are made. A wax artist works on Roker; molds, fake eyeballs and more
props sit nearby.
Also educational is the Gallery of World Leaders, Artists, Scientists and
Social Pioneers, where you'll see the likenesses of Malcolm X, Billy Graham,
Albert Einstein, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, Helen Keller, Louis
Armstrong, Maya Angelou, JFK, FDR, Lincoln, George Washington, Ronald Reagan
and President George W. Bush, who's wearing black loafers. Tussaud's artists
were working on portraits of both Bush and Al Gore and put Gore in storage when
the election was finally decided.
Finally, there's a hall of popular culture, arranged by decades, starting with
the 1920s and Babe Ruth and winding its way up to the 1990s and the Spice
Girls, with many memorable people in between. And who knows, maybe someday
you'll be asked to pose
Madame Tussaud's, 234 W. 42nd St, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, is open
Sundays to Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10-8. Admission ranges
from $12.95 for ages 4-12 to $15.95 for adults (for $3 more, you can see a
movie). For further information, phone (212) 512-9600.
* * *
NY POST/By BILLY HELLER
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* Brad Pitt gets lipstick marks on him all the time, so he needs more
maintenance than the others.
* Princess Diana - the museum's most popular figure - is the only one behind
velvet ropes.
* Larry King asked that his likeness be placed near New York Post columnist Liz
Smith.
* Regis Philbin and George Steinbrenner posed for Tussaud's artists one right
after the other in the same office. Regis, who was first, left the Boss a
tongue-in-cheek note that said, "George, run as fast as you can. - Regis."
* Ivana Trump sent the museum a new dress to use. She thought the dress that
initially clothed her likeness was "looking old."
* You can buy an arm and a leg in the gift shop at $10 each (but they're made
by a toy company, not Tussaud's artists).
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