Acts of Violet(43)

BENJAMIN MARTINEZ: It was a quality product, but Violet’s pretension around it drove me crazy. That flask was too much. After she started taking those shady business trips, there were a couple of times I checked her purses, pockets, drawers, for any sign of drugs. I didn’t find a thing, but of course I had to get to that flask. I wasn’t even slick about it, I just snatched it out of her hand at some club one night and took a swig. It was goddamn water. She tried to brush it off, saying she ran out and refilled it in the bathroom, but I did the same thing to her a couple of nights later on our way to dinner—so the flask should’ve been full of vodka—and again, it was water. Turns out, Violet didn’t even drink. We got into a huge fight about it. She was pissed because I’d invaded her privacy. I was pissed because it was yet another thing she’d hid from me … [sighs]

I used to wonder if you can get temporary insanity from a person. That’s the effect Violet had on me—she made me go out of my head. In the beginning, it was exciting, she was exciting. Even I got dazzled by her tricks. But it was like being in a flashy sports car with your foot on the gas. You get so caught up in the thrill of the ride, you forget to keep your eyes on the road … and it’s only a matter of time before you crash.

CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: Let’s fast-forward to 1999. Las Vegas is about to experience a turning point. Where it was dominated by the gaming industry, the city is undergoing a transformation to broaden its appeal beyond a hedonistic mecca for partiers and gamblers. The plethora of live shows, nightclubs, and pool parties, along with an already thriving restaurant scene, are drawing a broader tourist crowd. In fact, 1999 will mark the first year nongaming entertainment brings in more revenue to the city than gaming. Some attribute this to the enduring success of Ultra-Violet; after two years, Volk’s show continues to draw steady patrons to the Kintana. But there are several noteworthy resort hotels brightening up the Strip, including the highly anticipated Bellagio, the Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and the Paris.

BENJAMIN MARTINEZ: It made her crazy, watching how much attention the shows at these new hotels were getting. She checked in with the box office every day to see if we were sold out, and I could tell if we weren’t by glancing at her face. On those days, rehearsals would be miserable. Even if we had a clean run, she’d find things to criticize. She’d make constant minor changes, then freak out if we were off on the timing. Suddenly, everything about the show felt stale. She wanted the effects updated, the music, the costumes, the choreography—everything. Her contract allowed for some modifications, but she started asking for bigger things. A new lighting rig. More background performers. The Kintana bigwigs gave in to some of her demands when it was justified—like when she had to replace some effects after Ace Morgan’s TV special—but they didn’t want to risk a dip in profits by changing things up too much. And they drew the line at some of her more outrageous demands, like half a million dollars for Nesting Dolls, this custom illusion she wanted constructed.

CAMERON FRANK: The way you talk about it almost makes it sound like a hostage negotiation.

BENJAMIN MARTINEZ: That’s exactly how it felt, like she was taking the show hostage. She may have been the star, but over fifty people were involved in putting on Ultra-Violet. So when she went AWOL for two days after her revised costume budget was rejected, that’s two days those people didn’t get paid.

It was a dangerous game, because if the Kintana execs weren’t happy, they could’ve used behavior like that to void her contract. Which could’ve been what Violet was hoping for, since her manager was pushing her to do more TV and film. Maybe that’s why the accidents started happening.

CAMERON FRANK: Let’s talk about those incidents. When I spoke with Ace Morgan, he claimed they were coordinated efforts to draw publicity.

BENJAMIN MARTINEZ: Ace was a purist who valued sleight of hand above all else. He didn’t see the artistry in feats of endurance or big showy gimmicks—you know, the stuff that usually gets magicians attention. No matter how good you are at what you do, you always gotta do newer and bigger things or you’ll lose that attention. But to imply that Violet would willingly and methodically hurt people for her fame … she’s narcissistic and shrewd as fuck, but no way would she be capable of something like that.

CAMERON FRANK: So you’re saying all those accidents were what? A series of careless events?

BENJAMIN MARTINEZ: You know, even after all these years, however I look at it, I still don’t know what to believe.

When it came to Violet offstage, she was a mess. Living with her was like living with a small tornado. She left disaster areas wherever she went—clothes, makeup, playing cards, hair clips … She couldn’t resist buying every trick she could find—even the cheap ones for kids—to tinker with them, and she left those all over the place. There was always glitter and confetti in the carpet. When it got really bad, I was too embarrassed to let housekeeping in and cleaned the place myself, but it didn’t matter. As soon as Violet was home, within an hour, it looked like a kid’s birthday party had exploded in our suite. Calling her a slob would be an insult to slobs.

But in the theater, she was a different person.

I’ve worked with hundreds of performers during my career, many of them driven and hardworking, but none as … meticulous as Violet. She kept track of every last detail of the show. If a lightbulb went out, a costume was torn, a music cue slightly off, she noticed it before anyone else. One small misstep could send us into hours of extra rehearsals. That level of perfectionism could be annoying, but she held herself to those same high standards.