Cousin says Cyndi Lauper still an absolute original
Only in Las Vegas would Cyndi Lauper be mistaken for a Cyndi Lauper wannabe.
Anywhere else in the world, the wild hair colors and the fashion style would leave little doubt.
Here, it could be another knockoff in a city of celebrity knockoffs and fake skylines.
“About 10 years ago, I took her to my favorite restaurant over by Summerlin, Mama Joe’s,” recalled Lauper’s cousin, Johnny Edwards, a longtime local tribute artist known for his Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Roy Orbison impressions.
“The chef told me, ‘That girl you brought with you would make a great Cyndi Lauper in “Legends in Concert.” ’ ”
In the late 1990s, when Edwards was performing as Elvis in “Heroes of Rock and Roll” at the Dome lounge at the MGM Grand, Lauper was opening for Tina Turner at the MGM Grand Garden.
“The stage manager said, ‘There’s a Cyndi Lauper impersonator here who says she knows you.’ I poke my head out,” Edwards said, “and there she was in blue dreadlocks.”
Lauper and Edwards were reunited again Thursday when Lauper came to Las Vegas for the opening of the national tour of “Kinky Boots” at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. She wrote the music for the Broadway hit that scored six Tony Awards.
Over sushi at Mandalay Bay, they shared laughs over a photo collection Edwards brought to dinner.
“Cyndi was the flower girl at my mother and father’s wedding,” Edwards said. “We were talking the other night and she said, ‘I didn’t want to do it because I thought I had to marry the ringbearer.’ She was 5 at the time.
“Her mother and my mother are sisters,” Edwards said. “She grew up in Queens and I grew up in Brooklyn. At the family get-togethers, she and her sister, Ellen, would entertain us. Young teens putting on a show. Cyndi automatically became my hero. She stood out. She was her own person, somebody I always looked up to and admired.
“She marched to her own beat. She was retro before retro was in fashion,” he added. “Not everybody can pull off red, yellow and orange hair, but she does.”
Edwards was 21 when Lauper’s singing career exploded.
How hot was she? Her debut solo album, “She’s So Unusual,” had four top-five hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 — a first for a debut female album. The songs were “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop” and “All Through the Night.” She was named the Best New Artist at the 1985 Grammy Awards.
Last week Edwards showed her a photo of the two of them together at The Ritz in 1984 “the night she became Cyndi Lauper,” he said. They laughed when he showed her another of them together in May when she was in town. Thirty years later and she’s still the same Cyndi.
He admits to be very protective of his cousin when she comes to town. Big crowds press in, and Edwards worries.
“She will walk through the casino like it’s nothing,” he said.
About 10 years ago, Lauper decided she wanted to walk from the MGM Grand to Circus Circus with her son, Declyn, Edwards and his wife, Linda.
Edwards and Declyn went on ahead. After arriving at Circus Circus, they waited and waited, for almost two hours, before Cyndi and Linda got there.
“My wife told me (Cyndi) didn’t turn down one person who wanted a picture or an autograph. She has a real love and devotion to her fans.”
ROLE REVERSAL
Early in his career, Kerry Simon got nicknamed the “rock ‘n’ roll chef” because of his A-list clientele, including David Bowie, Iman, INXS, Ivana Trump and Diane Keaton.
These days, as the incurable multiple system atrophy continues to take its toll, Simon is the one receiving the rock star treatment throughout the chef community.
Friday I watched many of his peers and admirers gather around Simon and his wheelchair at the jammed Las Vegas Wine &Food Festival at Red Rock Resort. They offered support and well wishes, and politely asked to be in photographs with him.
It happened again Saturday during dinner at Nobu at the Hard Rock Hotel. Simon accommodated every request from Nobu chefs, service staff and fans.
At one point, the maître ‘d at Nobu came to Simon’s table and handed him a cellphone. It was super chef Nobu Matsuhisu, calling from out of state.
“He told Kerry, ‘This is your house. We are honored to have you,’ ” said executive chef Frank Gorriceta, who was among those gathered around Simon.
“He is a true rock star,” Gorriceta said. “It was great to see him laugh.”
MSA is slowing him down. He has difficulty communicating, but he continues to make public appearances and still shows up for work at Simon Restaurant at Palms Place.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
At the intermission of “Kinky Boots” on Saturday, I made a beeline for the show’s merchandise booth. I was curious if they were selling “Kinky Boots” drink containers, like the variety of plastic souvenirs you see dotting the Strip. They weren’t among the merchandise items. They should be. They’d be a hit, not just in Las Vegas but at every stop of the national tour.
THE PUNCH LINE
“The NFL is back in season. A guy who plays for the Broncos, Wes Welker, has been suspended for four games for taking drugs at the Kentucky Derby. He finished sixth.” — David Letterman
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or email him at norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke. “Norm Clarke’s Vegas,” airs Thursdays on the “Morning Blend” on KTNV-TV, Channel 13.
