The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 275

Queen of the mimics By Percy Shain Globe Staff ALTHOUGH fame and a big name have eluded her, Marilyn Michaels may be the best lady impressionist in the land. Certainly she has been a revelation on ABC's "The Kopykats," where her uncanny impersonations of such stars as Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Patti Page, Eartha Kitt, Connie Francis, Eydie Gorme, Teresa Brewer, Zsa Zsa Gabor and others have won her acclaim and recognition as a major factor in the impact of the all-star show. Marilyn's gallery is no overnight concoction. It has been slowly building for many years. "In fact, the first two people I ever imitated, as just a child around the house, were Patti and Te resa," she remembered.

"It's been something I've been doing all my life. "I started by listening to the radio and mimicking the sounds I heard. It was a talent no one taught me. It was just instinctive. I could also sing and do comedy.

Impressions were just part of my act. I was considered something of a wonder child. "In fact, I got my first big shot when I was 8 years old. I did a concert with my mother just the two of us for an evening in Toronto. Three thousand people were there.

"For years after that I toured with my mom in vaudeville, working mainly during vacations and holidays because of school. Our act was called 'Fraydele Oysher and her daughter, THE COVER The nation's and perhaps the world's best impressionists are gathered in the talentloaded cast of "The Kopykats," who appear every other Wednesday on ABC (Ch. 7 at Here Marilyn Michaels, the queen bee, has at her side dozens of celebrities all bottled up in three men (top to bottom), Frank Gorshin, Rich Little, George Kirby. The teeth have "At 14 I auditioned for the Roxy Theater as a singerdancer. Mr.

Rochthafel asked me if I could do impressions, too, and I said, 'Of and proceeded to do them. got the job, but then I found I couldn't take it because of my age. I was heartbroken. soon as I finished school (the High School of Music and Art in New York) at 17, I went to work. That was 11 years ago and I've been working ever since.

First I did a solo act, with Judy Garland as my mainstay, then came club dates, an RCA recording contract, and finally TV exposure, starting with 'On Broadway "Ed Sullivan gave me a shot, as did 'Hollywood I guested on all the top variety programs, and also on Johnny Carson's latenighter, a couple of times. One spot that went particularly well was a bit with Sammy Davis Jr. on "The 'Kopykat' producers tell me that was the performance they remembered, five years later, when they were casting about for somebody to replace Sheila MacRae in the second edition of the 'Music Hall' version of the 'Kopykats' on NBC. "I came into that 'Music Hall' cast cold. I had never worked with any of those very talented people Frank Gorshin, Rich Little, George Kirby and the rest.

But they welcomed me with open arms. I got along famously with them. They're all wonderful, and they've. been wonderful to me." Part of Marilyn's versatility is due to her remarkable voice range, which encompasses both the alto and the coloratura soprano registers. "I can sing in eight languages," she said, "French, Italian, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, as well as English." Her styles George Kirby as Louis Armstrong, Frank Gorshin as Burt Lancaster.

range from Grand Opera to. folk and rock. Perhaps that's as a result of her musical heritage. Her father is Michael Sternberg, a noted basso, who has sung with the Metropolitan Opera for 30 years. Her uncle, the late Moishe Oysher, was a famous cantor and star of the Yiddish stage.

Her mother was a singer and actress. "I learned liturgical music listening to my mother and uncle," she pointed out. Another member of this remarkable musical family, her uncle Ralph Sternberg, has been a cantor for the last two years in Framingham. She has a brother, Michael, 21, who is musically inclined and plays the bass guitar. He attends CCNY.

"I borrowed his name for professional purposes," she said. "Marilyn Sternberg sounded funny to me, SO changed it to Marilyn She has played night clubs all over the country, including Caesar's Monticello in Framingham several times, and the Sahara and the Riviera in Las Vegas. She also toured as Barbra Streisand's replacement in "Funny Girl." She also did a dramatic stint on "Name of the Game" with Sammy Davis Jr. Everything has come up roses for Marilyn except in marriage. Three years ago she married an immigrant from Israel, an interior decorator named Isaac Ribatzky.

It lasted only two years. She doesn't like to talk about it or the divorce, except to say "he's still in this country." She gets her pleasures these days in writing, playing the piano and painting. Her West Side apartment in New York is crammed with pieces of art, both things she did herself and others that she purchased. Marilyn and the rest of the cast had to go to London for their "Kopykat" stint, making the season's quota of seven shows in two bursts of activity three the first time and then a return to do the other four. As the only lady comic in the gifted company that make up the "Kopykats," Marilyn holds an exalted and unique position.

But she is surrounded by so much finely honed talent that she has all she can do to keep afloat with her brothers. The male mainstays are, of course, Frank Gorshin, George Kirby and Rich Little, all preeminent in the field of mimicry and excellent actors as well. Gorshin, in fact, started in drama in his native Pittsburgh, and is an accomplished singer and comedian, as well as an impressionist. He began developing his facility at the age of 12 and was taking lessons in technique at Carnegie Tech's famed drama school before being snagged by the Army. His first night club appearance was at the Purple Onion, in Hollywood, where Steve Allen spotted him and put him in his show.

That gave him entry into the nation's top clubs and he rapidly developed in several directions. In the movies, his roles ranged from a psychotic killer in "Ring of Fire" to a comedic convict in "Skidoo." In television, he guested on every major variety and dramatic show. In musical comedy, he was singled out for his acting in "What Makes Sammy Run?" in Los Angeles and he hit Broadway in "Jimmy." A quiet man who prefers his home, family and friends to public life, Frank lives with his wife and son in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Kirby displayed his knack of imitating people at an early age, "which put me into some very hot water at BOSTON school." Living in Chicago, he first worked as a porter in a night club, then as a bartender, and finally, after pre vailing on the owner to give him an audition, as a performer. He was an immediate hit.

After time out for World War II, "where I saw plenty of action," he hooked on with Duke Ellington and then Sophie Tucker, with whom he traveled to London. He had stints with some of the biggest names on the entertainment scene, toured Australia with Nat King Cole, and gradually established himself as a headliner on his own in the smartest clubs. His repertoire of impressions numbers almost 200. His classic, one that is de manded of him at all performances, is that of Pearl Bailey. Outside of camera range, he is an avid golf fan.

Rich Little said, "I was born to perform," and was in his first movie by the time he was 11. There has been no holding him back since. Born in Ottawa, he scored in Canadian drama, in summer stock, as a disc jockey, as a talk-show host, and as a recording artist, putting out a platter that was the biggest selling LP in Canadian history. He developed an act with partner Geoff Scott that won a network TV competition, and he was rated as the hottest performer in Canada when Judy Garland picked him up for her show and launched his US career. In this country he has guested on many variety and dramatic shows, spent a season as a regular on "Love on a Rooftop" and a summer with the "John Davidson Show." The "Kopykats" make their fourth of seven appearances on the ABC "Comedy Hour" this Wednesday (Ch.

7 at SUNDAY GLOBE, FEBRUARY 20, 1972 TV 5.