
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994                   TAG: 9402210026
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Short

`YOU LOOK LIKE THE GUY ON THE DOLLAR BILL'

Jim Aguirre is always busy around Presidents Day. No, not hitting the sales. He's a George Washington look-alike, and every February he makes the rounds of classrooms dressed as the first president.

"You know, the cherry tree fable was a myth," the 70-something Aguirre offered. "Kids ask me about that all the time."

"I just tell youngsters that he never did cut down a cherry tree or throw a coin across the Potomac. I tell them that a dollar doesn't go very far today, either."

Aguirre also has appeared as Washington at conventions, parades and other events.

And he recently filmed a television commercial with Bob Newhart. "That was exciting. I made a pile of money," Aguirre said.

Aguirre assumed his role as Washington late in life: "As I got older, my nose got longer," he said. People kept telling him: "You look like the guy on the dollar bill."

"I decided to let the look work for me," Aguirre said. "I've been on a roll ever since."

by CNB