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By F.J. SCHEUERMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 1, 2001
WE JUST LOVE HIS MUSIC: Just when you thought Times Square had cleaned up its image and lost its wacky edge, the Naked Cowboy is back after a two-year hiatus.
John Robert Burck II -- wearing nothing but cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and white briefs reading "Naked Cowboy" in bold letters on the rear -- has taken up residence in the heart of Times Square, playing a guitar, singing songs like I'm the Naked Cowboy and making up to $600 a day.
Burck, 30, a muscular man with flowing blond hair and a tidily unshaven look, created the persona 21/2 years ago while performing in Venice Beach, Calif. "I went out there -- fully clothed, mind you -- and I was virtually ignored," he said. "A friend suggested I play in nothing but my underwear, and I made about $150 the first day. It's just taken off from there."
He said he has been arrested 44 times but has never been charged with a crime or fined. "Mostly, they take me in, and I have my photo taken with the police chief," he said, "and then they let me go."
Want to "dress" like Burck? Check out his merchandise at www.nakedcowboy.com.
FEAR AND ACTING IN ORLANDO: Some people dream of being on Jeopardy, some even dream of being on Survivor. NBC believes some Floridians dream of challenging their innermost fears and exposing them on national television.
The network will hold open casting on Aug. 16 in Orlando for Fear Factor, its new "reality" show, from noon to 8 p.m. at XS Orlando on International Drive.
"Energetic, enthusiastic and outgoing contestants" are needed to do things that range from "free-falling from a 12-story building to escaping from submerged cars to facing the challenge of having to lie still while covered in live snakes or rats."
And what does one bring to such an event? "A pen, recent photo and proper ID," the network says.
MAKEUP!: You'd expect to see lots of skin in a movie called Original Sin, and co-stars Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas oblige in the steamy flick that opens Friday. The question is, how much of that flesh is fake?
Word is that the movie's makeup artists tried and tried to cover up Jolie's infamous tattoos (at last count she had 10), but there wasn't that much pancake on the lot. So they went digital, giving her a virtual scrub-down. So remember, when you see Jolie's picture-perfect derriere on the big screen, it's just a pigment of your imagination.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.