Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

The Rodman World Tour - Help!

Dennis Rodman, power forward-publicity hound of the champion Chicago Bulls, sported blond hair, a white wedding gown and multicolored tattoos at a Manhattan book signing, where he coyly deflected questions about his marital status.

One thing's for certain: Married or single, the 35-year-old basketball star is a bridal party unto himself.

"Oh, yes. I'm so thrilled," Rodman teased between autographs when asked if he was tying the knot Wednesday. While appearing with David Letterman the night before, Rodman promised he was getting hitched in Rockefeller Center.

But there was no bride (or even his current squeeze, a Manhattan stripper) at Dennis' side when he arrived inside a horse-drawn carriage - just four tuxedo-clad women. Rodman lifted his lace veil to greet the howling crowd, revealing a blond wig reminiscent of ex-flame Madonna, twin nose piercings and lips painted bright red.

Rodman, best-selling author of the autobiography "Bad As I Wanna Be," signed copies of his $22.95 book beneath a mural with the 20th century's other great writers: Hemingway, Orwell, Nabokov, Joyce. His pen was clasped in a hand delicately sheathed in silk, arm-length gloves.

This was a sideshow so appalling - yet lucrative - that it could have convinced P.T. Barnum to dump the circus and buy an NBA franchise.

Fifth Avenue was packed with hundreds of Dennis wannabes. Free Rodman temporary tattoos were distributed. The crowd, which stretched for two blocks, began assembling at 6 a.m. for a peek at their head-butting hero.

As he does on the court, Rodman was creating chaos.

"Our sound guy got arrested in the stupidity and hysteria coming over here," complained Patrick Byrnes, an MTV producer working on the new fall program, "The Rodman World Tour."

The sound man was briefly held in a police car and then released - just in time to record the latest fix for publicity junkie Rodman since the Bulls' title.

Remember these previous stops?

Hey! There's Dennis with luscious supermodel Helena Christensen in a racy Victoria's Secret ad! (No, she didn't show on Wednesday either.)

Whoa! Dennis is gonna be the bad guy in a new movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme!! (He was leaving for Rome later Wednesday to start filming.)

What? Bob Dole picked Dennis as his running mate???? (Sorry - that was a skit from Rodman's "Saturday Night Live" appearance.)

The buzz about Rodman's wedding drew some folks who left disappointed by the lack of a ceremony. One United Parcel Service worker, after watching Rodman sashay inside Barnes & Noble, dismissed the wedding tale as "a lie to get Knicks fans here."

Rhonda Fusaro of Manhattan was there to get a signed copy of the book for her 11-year-old son. Wait - did she consider Rodman a good role model?

"Weeellll ..." she said, her teeth gritted and eyes rolling skyward. "Let's just say ..."

"Could be worse," interrupted Eddie Cochrane of the Bronx. "He could like Michael Irvin."

In the middle of the mess, a pair of publicists from Radio City Music Hall plugged their "Christmas in August" promotion, going on simultaneously just three blocks away.

Nobody seemed interested. To sell Santa these days, ol' St. Nick needs a green beard and a few good piercings.

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