THEY `BELIEVE' ADMIRERS THRONG TO CHER-FEST.

Byline: CAROL ROCK and CONNIE LLANOS Staff Writers

WOODLAND HILLS -- John Hostetler and Mike Leech paid $1,500 Saturday for a pink and silver dress designed by Bob Mackie and worn in 1979 by singer Cher.

The dress will join some 4,000 8-by-10 photos, posters and other Cher memorabilia in a joint collection maintained by the pair, who knew they had found true love when they realized both were Cher fans.

``It was like, `Hey, I love Cher.' `Oh, yeah, me, too,''' Hostetler said.

Hostetler and Leech were among the fans at this weekend's Cher Convention, which filled the Warner Center Marriott grand ballroom with Cher dresses, Cher jewelry, Cher dolls, Cher mannequins, and Cher impersonators, who challenged fans to answer questions about the entertainer's various movies, looks and boyfriends.

This is the fourth such gathering of an unofficial group of Cher aficionados, originally organized to celebrate Cher fans' success in 1999 in convincing radio stations to play her song ``Believe.''

Convention organizers Judy Didelot and Linda Alamprese don't consider themselves fanatics, but declare their respect and admiration for the metamorphoses of the entertainer, who had her first hit song as a teenager with then-husband Sonny Bono in 1965, had No. 1 songs in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, and meanwhile had a popular TV show and earned a Best Actress Oscar.

``Her ability to keep going is really admirable,'' Alamprese said, admitting to attending concerts dating back to the Sonny and Cher days. ``Her music makes me feel good. I never get tired of the production. She pulls you in.''

Mannequins displayed costumes being sold to help defray convention costs and raise money for one of Cher's favorite charities, the Children's Craniofacial Association, with which Cher became involved after acting in the movie ``Mask,'' about a boy with a craniofacial deformity.

Javier Ozuna, a 35-year Cher fan, brought to the convention dozens of Cher dolls. The dolls were produced in the entertainer's likeness in the 1970s and Ozuna has dressed them in tiny copies of Bob Mackie dresses originally made for Barbie dolls.

Ozuna said a recent Cher dress purchase shook him out of a bout of depression that followed the death of his mother.

``Cher has been my choice of drug,'' Ozuna said.

Cher albums taught Chihuahua, Mexico, native Jesus Medina to speak English.

Cher's attraction, Medina said, is ``a combination of personality and talent.''

``She is not the best singer, but she is very unique and that sets her apart,'' Medina said.

Chad Michaels, a 35-year-old former MAC makeup artist, for seven years has made a living impersonating Cher.

``I've worked with `Dream Girls' here in Los Angeles and have done `La Cage Aux Folles' in Vegas, traveled to London in 1999 and South America in 2001,'' he said.

Michaels grew up watching Cher on television at home, but what attracted him was her lifestyle. ``It is her reckless abandon and her ability to do whatever she wants,'' Michaels said.

Scott Clark drove from Sonoma in Northern California to gather more items for what his partner refers to as ``the Cher room'' in their home. ``I just love her way of reinventing herself,'' Clark said. ``She tells people to `Accept me as I am' when she doesn't fit the part, and I don't think we have that kind of determination.''

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3 photos

Photo:

(1) Cher impersonator Chad Michaels poses with a fan at the Cher Convention at the Woodland Hills Marriott hotel Saturday afternoon.

(2 -- 3) Joyce Bertrem, left, tries on a studded leather bra from Cher's personal wardrobe. Memorabilia, including coffee cups and flying discs (that also showed Sonny), was on display.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer