ent001222-043

TIMES* UNION ALBANY, N-Y. D. 69,614 SUN, 119*446 NOV 2 5 1965 the spangled cowgirl regalia to ostrich plumes, silk and satin are worn by the famed Copa Girls of the SandsJHotel, Las Vegas, Nev. The pretty dancers appear twice nightly in elaborate stage number's. upi TeiepWo landt lucer Tells Aspirants iow: Just Be Beautif ul LAS VEGAS (UPI)?╟÷?╟úAll you need to be is beautiful.?╟╓' That?╟╓s Las Vegas producer; Jack I1 nil 11111 ||h iii ill 1 ITT" gan nlli n il I'lllm In selecting ladies for his ?╟úCopa girl?╟Ñ chorus line at the Sands [Hotel. ?╟ Any girl who is truly beauti- Iful*?╟Ñ he explains, ?╟úbas a $10,000 la year job awaiting her here, land it entails just twelve mi- I notes of work six nights a I week.?╟Ñ The twelve minutes is a mat- Iter of wearing lovely clothes land appearing in the big pro- duction number that opens each [Show at the Sands, where the ] headliners include Frank Sina- Itra, Dean Martin, Red Skelton, ?√ßAlan King, Joey Bishop, Danny [Thomas and Sammy Davis. Being a ?╟úCopa gii|?╟Ñ has been I called a dream job* but finding l a ?╟úCopa girl?╟Ñ is beginning to I become a nighthiire, : ?╟úIMortun ately,? ?╟╓ m nt r a t er Isays ?╟úthe American girl is a I vanishing breed. ?╟úThere don?╟╓t seem to be [many beautiful girls with a [burning desire to work in InightcluSb anymore. Once, it I was comparatively easy to find [dozens of girls who were not | only gorgeous but who felt that la chorus job was a wonderful ?√ßway to get started in show busi- lness. ?╟  1 Await Big Break . ?╟úToday, the girls are waiting [for a break in TV or movies, land the sad thing is that the Imajority wait their lives away |for something that isn?╟╓t going I to 5isqpB^eii.,v The term, ?╟úCopa girl,?╟Ñ was [originated by Entratter in 1940 [at the Copaeabana in New [York. In 1952, he decided to [have a ?╟úCopa girl?╟Ñ chorus line at the Sands, since the term with had become synonymous beauty. ?√ß ?╜-^6opa girls?╟Ñ are no Sere chorus cuties. A producer at one of the other Las Vegas hotels admits they?╟╓re probably the most gorgeous group of showgirls in the desert city. ?╟úThey?╟╓re not just beautiful,?╟Ñ he says, ?√ß ?╟úbut they look like la- dies.?╟Ñ Entratter insists on that. He?╟╓s against two ingredients that are very much a part of many of the other nightclub shows. 'Copa girls?╟Ñ are never un- derdressed in a Sands show. ?╟úI don?╟╓t think nudity would add anything to our production numbers,?╟Ñ he says. ?╟úWe keep the girls in beautiful gowns?╟÷ sometimes long, sometimes short. They feel pretty in their costumes, and the audience ap- preciates the total effect.?╟Ñ The second thing Entratter won?╟╓t sanction is too much make-up. ?╟úAIL that eye stuff,?╟Ñ he commented, with a look of distaste, ?╟úis terrible. I' just won?╟╓t tolerate, this kind of exag- geration. ?╟úIt takes away, rather than adds to true beauty. When Entratter holds audi- tions for new ?╟úCop-a girls,1 usually every eight weeks, he doesn?╟╓t particularly care if the girls are expert dancers. ?╟úThe audition is actually a very sim- ple thing,?╟╓- he observed. ?╟úI ask that the girls wear leotards and keep their hair up off their face, so that I can see the con- tours of their face and body. They just have to stand there and then do a few turns so I can see if they are graceful. Many Audition ?╟úI don?╟╓t ask for their names or background. Not until after a | girl has been chosen, do we find out who she is.?╟Ñ In the most recent audition involving 182 girls, Entratte could find seven that he thought might possibly be right to join the ?╟úCopa* girls.?╟Ñ After another audition, in which the girls were put through a series of dance turns and combina- tions to see how well they moved, the number was re- duced again. ?╟úIf we?╟╓re lucky/?╟╓ the veteran producer said, ?╟úwe?╟╓ll be able to use two of these girls.?╟Ñ r ?╟úThe best way to find beauti- ful girls today,?╟Ñ Entratter con- tinued, ?╟úis to go out on the road, cover the entire country, but that?╟╓s too time-consuming. At present, we usually limit the search to Las Vegas, Los An- geles and New York since most of the beautiful girls who are trying to get into show business gravitate to these cities.?╟Ñ The chorus girls of tweqty five years ago were almost al- ways single, but today Entrat- ter findsi that many of the girls are married and have a family or are divorcees with several children to support. ?╟úSome of our girls are mainly interested in the money which they need for their families. The glamour, to them, is secondary. Other of I the girls want to progress from the chorus line and are study-! ing acting or saving their- mo- ney to try'their luck in movies television or "on the stage.?╟Ñ In the twenty five years, thel ?╟úCopa girls?╟Ñ have been a sym- bol of loveliness, Entratter has' signed thousands of paychecks Never before; has it been so dif- ficult for him to find girls who are right for the well-paying job. And yet, the one basic re- quirement of the job is so very simple r-- ?╟ú AM you need to be is beautiful.?╟Ñ