On Assignment with the “best Bond”…
It is the time of year to cosplay at ComicCon and masquerade at all those Halloween parties. But I happen to do this professionally as a Grace Jones impersonator! It is fun to be hired to appear at functions as the alter ego of the brilliant Jamaican pop singer and star of the James Bond film A View to a Kill.
I have often been mistaken for her when my hair is short or covered, even though I am a good five inches taller. I’ve even been stopped in the subway train, on the streets of New York City, and actually had to sign autographs a couple of times for people who didn’t believe me!
She has always presented a strong, confident personality. And she still wows a crowd with her creative stage performances. I enjoy portraying her.
Me with a more “recent Bond”…
Back in 1997, Devon Cass, a photographer, makeup artist and master celebrity impersonator, wanted to share his makeup tips with the average woman. Devon can transform the most ordinary-looking opera singer’s headshot into a portrait of the high class ultra-diva that they are. He thought that if regular women could see people transformed into celebrity look-alikes, it would be a way to inspire them and teach them how to use makeup. So he published the book Double Take: The Art of the Celebrity Makeover with John Filimon, making over people to look like Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, Judy Garland, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Howard Stern — and, of course, I am Grace Jones!
As I say in so many words in the interview published in Double Take, everyone has a curiosity of what it’s like to be or look like somebody else. Getting into costume doesn’t take away the other person’s soul or identity and you don’t lose yours. So October is a time to have fun and use your imagination.
Do you look like a famous person? Well, (cos)play-it-up!
Look who I found at the Brooklyn Expo during FashionWeek Brooklyn October 2016!
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