I had a chance in 2015 to speak with a legendary Mont Rock III. He was best known as the colorful DJ in Saturday night fever. He fronted a band called Disco Tex and the Sex O'Lettes during the 70s. He was a famous hairdresser, frequent guest on the Tonight Show, and as he put it in his own words, "Famous for Being Famous".

I'm now sharing the interview because he passed away last week in Las Vegas. He was quite a character, in a town full of characters. And he was a huge fan of Donald Trump! Who knew?

Here's a link to his most famous song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=FdkhViXqnSk&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fduckduckgo.com%2F&themeRefresh=1

"I'm an act that can't do an act. What I lacked in talent I made up in confidence."

That was the voice of Monty Rock III. I'm Heidi Harris. Welcome to the Heidi Harris Show podcast. Normally I do conversations about politics sometimes, a lot of culture, things that I consider important. About 10 years ago, I was doing a project that I ultimately abandoned.

I put some really good interviews in the can as we say in radio. One of them was with a guy named Monty Rock III, a very colorful and well-known Las Vegas character, but he had quite a history and he's best known as the DJ in the movie Saturday Night Fever. We had a great conversation, he had great stories to tell, and believe it or not, he was a huge fan of Donald Trump. Go figure. Monty, how are you doing? Welcome, glad you're here.

Hey, Marnie Rock III, I'm a gossip columnist, and that's what my job is. I don't harm anybody. I don't hurt anybody. It's gossip. It's non-threatening, what I do, you know? And I'm doing this now for almost 15, 14 years. But before that, I was really kind of a vegas disaster area, because I came here, really, in 1968. Sonoff and Dave Vickerson went to New York. I was the hairdresser, number one in the world.

Okay, that's where you started was in New York as a hairdresser

Yeah, number one, had shops and had all the Sinatra's and I had Ali McGraw and I had, Leedy Adams. I to Europe and I was,

You're like the Josey Bear long before he was even caught. I was going to say.

Anyway, so no, no. So I was a kid, they me brother with a comb on Puerto Rican. But one day I had a house in the country with my lover, this guy Eric Lund. I had three Yorkshire Terriers cars and I got up and I gave everyone some LSD and flipped them out and changed my career and went to Europe and became Monte Crespi. So I was 23, 24.

Wow, what were you doing there?

In Europe I'd be inventing myself. I was in Europe working on Corita, I did the collections, met Dorian Lee Parker, became a male model, one of the most expensive. But my life changed. I was in Puerto Rico and I was in the next fella and I wasn't a hooker. I now was Monte Crespi. So I looked at all the singers in Europe and they all sound, hello Gizou. They sound the same, I could do that.

I came back to America and financed my career with Trudy Heller. What happened was that Johnny Carson found me three months later. Wilhelmina was a great model and her husband was Bruce Cooper, entertainment coordinator for The Tonight Show. And Wilhelmina said, well, I'm doing your hair in Paris. I you have to introduce me to John or I'm not going do your hair. he came in.

you find you.

for you smart.

Yeah, yeah, so he came in and Bruce Cooper and Johnny and I was on the I was like singing with a top and come on baby and and they came backstage and I was I had my hand a bun I said man, I'm not too much for TV and I heard him say do he's talk like that. So they had me on tonight show 1962 63 Wow

What year was this?

Way early. And I had a black band and I'd never been on TV. So combed my hair and the camera's on. I'm doing my compact. And the first thing I said, I can't call you John. It has a bad connotation. And his take was 20 minutes later, he said, Mr. Rock, what about marriage? I said, marriage? I got to call you John again. And I closed the signed diamonds. He got perfect timing.

That's so funny. So you did that in 62. How did you go from being on The Tonight Show in 62, you changed your career as a hairdresser, and then you became Disco How did that happen? Ten years. What happened in that ten years?

In the ten years I had maybe five marriages. I even married a woman. I had monkeys. had a, there's a book by Steven Tyler about me that he said I seduced him. My monkey did. Anyway, so, no, I had monkeys. Oh, okay. They used to look like me.

head maids then okay so

So the whole career is going bonkers and I get a call for Vegas. had sawed off and see this power, it was brand new. They had Evil Knievel, do you know who he was? So they hired Evil Knievel to jump the fountains and he missed and 40 Now we have to get a queen that's going to shake it up. So they go and they see the lines around the block of the club I was in. And I'm the biggest attraction in New York.

Sure.

Only three channels then. So I used to be on once every other week. I also had, I was like the jet set darling. had, you know, Yorkshire terriers. had, I just had a life that it was like Paris Hilton on steroids.

That's right. So if you're on the Tonight Show, that was you.

were you doing? What was your act? You were singing, you were doing comedy.

I never had an act. My act is what you see. I sing a little good, but my act is about I'm brilliant because I do it off the top. I'm an act, you know, but I'm an act that can't do an act. I don't want to do an act. This is the act. Okay, so the story goes that they bring me here and the queens cannot stand, because I was getting at the time maybe 14 to 15 thousand a week for doing Monty Rock.

For doing what? so you're working at Cesar for Jay Sarno?

They opened Nero's Nook with the Chetmakes and Woody Woodberry and I am

about 130 pounds, gold paint, never try to buy me, never let me know, take me as you find me, love and let me go. so that was, I couldn't stand being here because I missed my house in New York, I didn't want to do an act twice a night. Quickly I get fired, think 13 weeks later, and they throw me out of town, they're gonna beat me up and... Why? Because I did some terrible things.

What'd you do? You want to tell us? Come on, Monty Rock, tell us what you did. Who did it back then in the 60s?

I did a lot of drugs anyway. who? I did good drugs. Anyway so

So you're doing drugs and you got fired.

I couldn't wait to leave here and I didn't want to be an act. I don't know why but I went back to New York City and everyone said my career was destroyed and I had all this publicity about how can I do this. So the Tonight Show three months later calls me, Wood was my talent coordinator and says, Monty I'm saying I'm drinking rum and coke. Shirley, my career's over. said what career?

Well, Johnny wants you back on the show. want you to be back. And they had Jackie Landon, Paul Anker, they had all these stars. That Faggola, who's no talent, goes to blah, blah, blah, And I come on, and my career takes off again. by that time on The Tonight Show, I have products, I have a horse named after me. I fell in love with one of the richest men in the world, but he took my money. He was a con job. And I tried to strangle him. I didn't get away with it.

This is about nineteen seventy sixty nine.

You've literally tried to strangle him?

Please come? Seriously. Seriously. You tried to kill him.

Alright.

The Bob Crews saga. There's a musical now on Broadway, maybe in five, six months, about Bob Crew. Bob Crew was the greatest genius in the world. He, him up, he did Frankie Valli, he was a brilliant man, but I met him when I was 18 or 19.

Okay, back up a second. Bob Crew is a producer.

producer, director, gorgeous, understood me. But I never wanted to, I was like Osamorado, a Puerto Rican hairdresser. I didn't want to really basically make records, though I've been with everybody, but Bob had this idea and...

Since I can't legally use it in this podcast, I have linked it in the description. What year was that? Okay, so about 73, the Dick Skisco Tex record.

1973.

Creating a disco is market and I was already a singer. I already had been in Hollywood I've been the bad boy. I was homeless again. I had crashed my car probably got arrested a few times I love being arrested because I just love the home drama of it. Anyway bail me out. You know me so Everything Hollywood everything was Hollywood. Yeah, California had a house and Bob gave me the house

So where did you make the disco techs record?

At the time that Bob Crew talked to you about this record, it's important because it's a big record, people remember forever.

I already had become kind of a has-been, a drug addict. People didn't want to use me any longer. I was, uh...

contemplating suicide at one point and I had a suicide party in my house where I invited 50 people to wear black. I rented a coffin and I heard how to die beautifully. In the middle of the party, I decided I didn't want to die. So they rushed me to Roosevelt Hospital. They had me on the, you know, my... And when you come in those days of coma, they had my brothers talk to me. I hadn't seen my brothers in years. And I come on, I see my brothers and ah, my brothers are not in my... Ah, I thought I went to hell. Okay, so I'm out of the coma.

would be like going to hell, right? Coming out of a coma, seeing family members you don't want to see. I made it. I made it to hell.

So the story basically goes that Bob heard I was broke and took me in the house, but he was being sued by all the companies. I was a, I'm an entrepreneur, not entrepreneur, entrepreneur. I can raise money. I can raise the debt, okay? I like it. Great.

He

I love that word. I know if your radio host like that, but we'll skip that.

Alright, anyway. So it was a point of my life where I was already, I was already 20, no, I was 31 or 32. That's old by show business.

So this is like 72, 70.

I've made a lot of bad movies and my Broadway show, I made the worst movies in the world but I found out why I the movies. They want to get plugged in a tonight show so everybody who had these movies would hire me because I would plug them on a tonight show. So I did Comeback Trail, Tennis with Berk, I did a lot of movies.

that's

So 73, you're almost suicidal, your career's over, Bob Caru knows you're broke, you take sh-

And my husband, my other husband left me and I tried to burn the house down but I wasn't successful.

Now these guys are not, obviously legally at the time you were not allowed to be married but you called them your husbands. were people you were involved

Who's that rock star? Some famous rock star. Some girl screams up from the audience. I want to marry you. He just let me buy you a house.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's even that. really, 32, 33, it was kind of over for me. by Hollywood standards, I was a very good host. Bob took me in. The record business, I had been with Atlantic, Mercury, Kamasutra. I'd with 18.

Just doing that to see if I'm paying attention or not.

I've been all these labels. really had. And Seymour Stein, who signed Madonna. But there was a point in my life that I knew Bob was a genius. It might sound very strange, but I kind of knew. But I met him when I was a kid. He was an incredible man with a—I was a little male hooker with a little apartment on 50th Street. I don't call it prostitution. I call it an institution of the comma.

Seriously, doing prostitution at that age?

That's what you were doing.

By the time I got you to bed you were tired, trust me, okay?

Hey, well, you know what? Some of the most famous people have done that over the course of their careers.

But it's not that. So I made every trick of John, every John a potential producer. So Bob would see me. Five years later, see my name is now Mr. Monty. I'm a hairdresser at Saks Fifth Avenue. He says, you're that guy. no, that's my brother, that little queen, that mean thing. So he was always fascinated how I reinvented myself. Always wanted to be his friend. And it's just that I live a different life. I live this life. My life is by my rules and I'm so self-exorbed that I have a career about it. I love myself. And I don't mind saying it.

Someone's got to do it. You know, someone's got to do it. So, to me, someone who had a bigger ego than mine, and someone who was possessed by genius,

We're speaking with Monty Rock III.

total genius devoted to my life.

I did the song in one take.

That was the Disco Tex song. Now at the time that had to be really interesting because Disco really wasn't around yet. You really, that was like one of the first Disco.

We high press people, we went around the country and it took 11 months, it was really horrible. But the story basically behind this Broadway show I'm doing is that there's nothing in this life that it's not meant to be. You're meant to be to meet me now. You're meant to have this journey. We're meant to have a journey. We're meant to, everything bad that happens, something good's gonna happen.

So let's back up again. After the disco text, how did that song get picked to be in Saturday Night Fever? You took it out. But you're in Saturday Night Fever.

No, it wasn't pit. I took it out. No, no, No, okay. Yeah, I'm the DJ. play myself. made it, yeah. But I didn't want the song of a suing Bob. just...

you didn't let them use the song. You're right, you're right. I see. She wouldn't let them

One of my lovers had died mysteriously. Actually two of them died mysteriously and I didn't do anything about it but I love when they accuse me because when you're invited you're invited. so... They kept going to that pool. Anyway so...

So seriously they died? How did they die?

So how many people did you kill over the course of your life?

kill anybody. They call me the Mary weirdo. So make a little story short. The record business changes your life. You go from $200 to $10,000 to $25,000. I met a great lady called Ruth Bowen. I'm dedicating the show to her. Ruth Bowen was a black agent, the most beautiful woman in the world, handled Sammy Davis, handled...

And what year is this? Okay, so this is before Saturday Night Fever. Okay.

I don't think of that way, I guess they may have had them.

was our black agency. for an hour I told her my life story. I told her who I was, what I'd been through. She said at the end of the meeting, she said, boy, you're good. I know I'm going to be in trouble by signing you, but I'm going to make you a minstrel act. Now, Bob always wanted to make me white and had the clink. And she made my act the minstrel. Everybody in my show was black. Everybody was black. First time it's ever done. So I worked with a black act, black singers, black band, and worked at Chiglin's circuit.

that, you know, went against the rules. The tonight show couldn't use me because I now was a success. So now the joke is over. Now I'm a success. I'm a big hit. I have a bad problem. I'm in Mexico, heading out at the Vera Vera. There's Hetty Lamar, incredible lady. There's all these Hollywood has-beens, Mel O'Brien. And I feel like I'm already 30.

I see. Interesting.

35, 36 and you know I now have a suntan and I'm wearing all my jewels because in Mexico they rob you so you gotta wear everything. I love Trump by the way. I'm gonna vote for him. I'm gonna be in the cabinet. Okay. I love him. I don't care. He's a character. He says things that people think about. I'm sorry.

Do love Donald Trump?

You know what, you just never know.

I've been in trouble my whole life. You're meeting me this way. You never interviewed me. This is who I...

I've known you for years, but we've never sat down like this.

So I'm in Mexico, and the most wonderful man in world. I need 11 times how much I need to because they want to throw me out of the country because now I'm in trouble. I'm making love to the president's son. And I got the jewelry. they want me. They want this queen out. I mean, I've been thrown out of better places, but they wanted me thrown me out of Mexico. No, this is 75, 76. And I have money because I have the today. I'm just hiding out from being in court.

So this is 74 maybe.

Okay, so I get a call from Fede Gershon. Robert Stigler didn't like me and he says, you know, there's a movie. I said, I'll do anything. I'm gonna send you the script. They send the script by plane.

Saturday Night Fever, by the way. I never opened a script. I think I got something like $11, and I don't know how much it was. And I come to Brooklyn, because I got thrown up with three station wagons of all my stuff, including toilet paper that I took from the toilets. I mean, I'm really Puerto Rican. I take everything. Take the drain. OK, so I said to the guy at the AD, where's my trailer? Trailer? Pay the cars. And they call for it. Give them whatever she wants.

I never dreamed that that film would change my life. I paid myself. I got special billing. It changed my life and paid me for 20 years, a lot of money.

I had a piece called the back end, but it isn't even that. It's not even that. The film gave me the credibility because if you think of Monty Rock III, number one hairdresser, number one in the world.

The end is good.

The Tonight Show for 17, 18 years, Griffin, Mike Douglas, all those talk shows. Two disco techs, seven million records, three albums and all they say about me.

and then Saturday Night Fever, it kind of gives it all like, you know, people in the business who are actors can't believe that this putz, this Puerto Rican no talent Lady Gaga's mother can do this, right? They say Lady Gaga, we hate her, right? But I'm a fair good singer. You survive. I survive, but it's about survival. It's about survival, but.

and reinventing yourself.

The movie changed my life in one way. My partner and I were able to travel to promote the film. John Travolta is one of the nicest people I ever met in this business. You know, we don't care. We care about his wigs. Get those wigs off. Please.

I don't care if is, but tell the truth,

Ha ha!

So John liked me and and and helped me with the looping and he couldn't do the personal appearances He gave them all to me, which is an incredible fee great. There was a clothing line. The guy dies in the plane This all in the blade but through it all I was able to live with my partner because the movie in the money I was able to have a business called renter star. So we moved to Florida and I'm working for high good tell who all the El Morocco and owned

He's just a great old man. He sees me, my Rolls Royce that I can't even pay for. He said, I'm gonna hire you as my host and give you $100 a night and we'll get you a band. But I see there's a spa next door with all these rich women. So I give flies out, meet Monty Rock III. And for $100, I'll tell you my life story, but I had a little clock and I had a stuffed cat that I used to carry and all my makeup and tell you this. And I met one woman called Selma who was worth $52 million.

and i went shopping for five years i became a gay gigolo and that's story of my life it's about what you do with

This right you take what you've got and you make something with it. So now you're actually you've been doing weddings. Talk to me a little bit about.

The weddings have been for nobody knew what to do me in the weddings I've been doing weddings for 12 years, but they want to make me normal like we're a car I can't do I'm Monty Rock you'll be married by a celebrity a few people buy it So finally I decided to do gay be married by the Queen the Queen the Queen who's been gay before gay was gay

Yeah, now in light of the Supreme Court decision, mean, who knows how many people are to get married? Well, now you can in Nevada anyway already,

Yeah, but it's not that. I haven't been the same partner for 39 years. Bruce is my manager, my partner, my best friend. I take relationship. I'm a very loyal friend. I'm also a great enemy. If I don't like you, I send you voodoo dolls. I send you sympathy cards. do terrible— I'm incorrigible, darling. We lost so many people. You know, I Liberace. I knew a lot of people when I got here in 1968.

Red Fox helped me. Red Fox took a liking to me and Shecky Green and Tony Fields. And I'm sitting there one day in the show and I'm bombing because they never saw a queen. The queens hated me. They were going to try to get me fired because I didn't have an act. By the time they fired me, I was quite good. But I knew, I always knew that it's about the courage. What I lacked in talent, I made up in confidence.

That's.

It's a likable thing you have to have. That's right. And most people in life who have talent don't have a likability. That's true. That's why I don't like those talent shows. Enough. American idiot. America has no talent. Right. What is Heidi doing as a judge and how is Stern, who did a show, it's really insulting.

You have understand that I know what makes show business work. You either have it or you don't. Right. And it's not about talent. It's about that thing called the it factor. Yeah. I like to do show the it factor. about how you sing. It's how you make me, you have to impress me.

That's so you gotta get people to watch. You gotta have people look and notice you pay attention to what you're doing. By the way, we're speaking with Monty Rock III. That's so true, because you can have somebody who can be beautiful or handsome, sing their butts off, and everybody goes, we don't care.

Listen, I'm doing a column about Vegas, about what, when I came here, all these people were gonna be great stars. All these people, they, they, Tell, everybody. I saw most shows and, uh, clothes and, and, and, and one of the people that helped me was David Cassie. Always helped me because I was with him with Wes Farrell. Wes Farrell. I loved him, you know. He helped me. Let me explain about him. I was with Wes Farrell. Wes Farrell was owner of Chelsea, married to Tina Sinatra.

loyal to me to the very end. died about 15 years ago, but he was always loyal to me. Loyalty means everything to me. It's—if you think about Vegas, there's little loyalty here. You can't connect here. It's hard to connect. is. I have a little circle of friends that I deal with, and they know that I'm the queen. You're not allowed to talk about yourself, because it's about me, Don't you laugh.

You know what? I love it. That's who you are. That's the good thing. You've always been very true to yourself.

So.

Now, myself. My partner's birthday is the A-Field B-83 and I'm doing something for him. Something's happened with this show that we're doing and this young kid comes to town. I may cry now. This guy comes to town a year ago. First person to put gas in my car and take me to lunch and we saw everybody for lunch here. He said to me, 32 years old, producer, nobody gets who you are here. It's very sad. They all want a job and I'm trying to make you

career happen and he took it upon to get the rights to the music of my music. I'm gonna recite some for you now. I wrote a song with Richard Gottorah. It pertains what's gonna happen for you. I'm very psychic about people. You're gonna be very successful. I'm gonna help you. You know that. But I'm gonna recite this for you. I wrote this song with Richard Gottorah. Seymour Stein signed me to a deal. I could have been a big star in 19 whatever it was. So I'm bringing the song back.

And I wrote it way before, I just called the writers of the song Basimo's Night, so it's called Don't Compromise. It's all right to go against the grain, because we're strong and we can stand the pain.

It's okay to be different in time. Ignore the rules. Just follow that mind. Don't compromise. You'll be surprised. The world is changing. Isn't it amazing? Everyone is going insane. I've seen the worth of your rainbow eyes with colored glasses, those bright red lies. I know for sure not just what is true. I live for me. You live for you. Don't compromise. You'll be surprised. The world is changing. Isn't it amazing? Everyone is going insane. I know where you're going. I know where you've been.

Once you cross to the other side, there's no coming back again. Hey you, you live in Spain too long. Your head's full of music, that same old song. Don't tell me how hard you tried. I know you're kind, you always lied. That's my show.

Sounds interesting. Monty Rock, the third. Thanks for being here. Where can people find you?

And you'd be able to see me on Broadway in six months and a movie being done in my life. And the life is called, you know, The Life and Times of Marnie Rock III. It really is about being Lady Gaga's grandmother.

As I mentioned, Monty Rock III recently passed away in Las Vegas. What a character he was. In listening to this again after recording it in 2015 and not listening to it for many, many years, because I wound up not using it, it wasn't because I didn't think he was interesting. It was because the project I was working on I kind of abandoned because I got busy with something else. So I just kind of put it on the back shelf. But listening to it again, I wish I'd had more time to get to know him, to take him out to lunch, to talk to him about some deeper

things, spiritual issues, things like that. I didn't get that chance. I didn't know him well. This was the only time I got to sit down with him and he was quite the character, wasn't he? Yes, he was. You were one of a kind, Monty. Rest in peace. I'm Heidi Harris. Join me again on this podcast, The Heidi Harris Show, and also join me on my new podcast, Vegas Crime Files, which I'm very excited about. I just launched this a couple of weeks ago, so please catch up. Vegas Crime Files. You can find it on any podcast app.

First-person accounts of very, very infamous crimes that have occurred in Vegas. It's not Google scripts, it's first-person accounts of things that happened, the people who actually live these stories. So don't miss it, Vegas crime files. Tell everybody, I appreciate it. See you next time. Here's Tony Scottwell.