Notables Wax Poetic at Hollywood Museum

Lia Di Leo figures that over the last 20 years she has sculpted more than 600 figures for wax museums from Hollywood to Nashville to Singapore. Some 500 to 600 people a day pay $5 each to view her poetry frozen in the shape of 180 wax figures at the Hollywood Wax Museum at 6767 Hollywood Blvd., a tourists’ favorite. Behind the scenes, off-limits to visitors, is the sawdust-strewn and wax-covered workshop where the minor sets are built and costuming and animation is done. Some parts are recycled--arms, legs, torsos, heads. For instance, Al Jolson’s wax head was done over for the Bill Cosby display. And in the storeroom are waxen heads of personalities ranging from dead actors, actresses and Presidents to many living but out-of-vogue individuals whose stars have waxed and now are waning. When sculptures are removed from the exhibits, body parts down to hands and fingers are removed and stored until needed again.