TO THIS ELVIS, 'THOU SHALT NOT BE CRUEL'.

Byline: BETTIE RENCORET Senior columnist

LANCASTER - As Monsignor Bob in the popular Nuns for Fun singing troupe, Bob Henn is sort of a priestly Elvis.

To his clerical collar, he adds a red, white and blue cape and bejeweled cummerbund and sings ``How Great Thou Art,'' Elvis-style. Despite his white hair and mustache, he can make the same smoldering eye contact that made Presley so appealing and, with some limitations, he's even pretty good at making the same gyrating body moves.

It's all in fun, of course, so after he's swiveled his hips, he's likely to bend a little, grab his back and emit an exaggerated groan.

``I'm the same age as Elvis would be if he were alive,'' he tells his audience. ``I don't think he'd be as limber today as he used to be either.''

When he finishes his act, Henn whips off his cummerbund and tosses it grandly to a lady in the first few rows - just like Elvis did. One of the ``nuns'' then exhorts the recipient to please give it back because its the only one he has and it would cost a lot to replace it.

Henn's day job is selling real estate. He loves the challenge of selling but he's essentially an entertainer. He's enjoyed a lifetime filled with good music.

His father was his inspiration.

``He studied for the opera, and he loved it, but he also sang pop tunes and other contemporary music,'' said Henn. ``He knew Bing Crosby and Phil Harris very well. Phil Harris judged a contest once in which my father competed. He won it.''

Henn grew up in the beach communities of Santa Monica, Malibu and Hawthorne, and he and his siblings were thrown together with groups like The Beach Boys.

``We got well acquainted with the Dragon family,'' said Henn, referring to Daryl Dragon of the duo The Captain and Tennille. ``My brother married one of the Dragon girls.''

The Nuns for Fun act started back in 1991, after the Whoopi Goldberg movie ``Sister Act'' inspired Antelope Valley residents Dan and Sheryl McMahon, according to Henn.

Dressed as nuns, the group performs doo-wop, rock 'n' roll and '60s girl- group style music with a religious twist, like the songs in the movie.

The Nuns for Fun do shows all over the Valley and beyond, performing for churches and civic groups, at the Antelope Valley Fair, the Palmdale Fall Festival and at St. Andrew's Abbey's Valyermo Fall Festival. Their Palmdale Playhouse shows sell out.

One of their favorite things is performing once a year for youthful inmates at Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster.

``We have a lot of fun with each show but there's still a ministry in every one that we do,'' Henn said. ``We all feel that's important.''

None of the members of Nuns for Fun is really a nun. Most of them are teachers or nurses. Henn, though, actually once studied for the priesthood in Santa Barbara.

``I lived and studied with the Franciscan Order at St. Anthony's,'' he said. ``It was a cloistered seminary.''

At first, the Nuns were accompanied only by Dan McMahon on keyboard. Then they decided to assemble a band to go with the keyboard.

``I didn't sing at first,'' Henn said. ``I was the first drummer, but I wasn't very good at that and they got another drummer. I was out of the group for about six months. Then they called me back and by that time I'd gotten a little better.''

His initiation as a singing star came when an Elvis impersonator was booked for one engagement with Nuns for Fun. Five days before the show was to go on, he informed the group he'd taken another gig and wasn't going to be there, said Henn.

``They knew I could sing so they asked me to be a substitute Elvis,'' he said.

``I didn't know if I could do it, but I practiced a little on 'How Great Thou Art,' and it seemed OK. That was the beginning. Now that's become my signature song.''

Henn said he really enjoys it when people come up to talk to him after a show.

``I've had them come from the age of six all the way up to 90, and I've had some of them tell me that, if they close their eyes, I sound just like Elvis. Now that's a real treat.''

Born and raised in Santa Monica, Henn was a surfer and graduated from high school in Santa Monica in 1960. He studied letters and science at UCLA for two years, and, while there, he touched base with the theater arts department.

A Vietnam veteran, he served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965.

Henn is single now but he has three children from a former marriage. They are Chris, a sheriff's deputy who lives in Palmdale; Teresa Harley, of Eugene, Ore.; and Mike, a paramedic in Northridge.

Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster and Palmdale have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk for a suggested donation of $2.

Monday: Pork chop, au gratin potatoes, corn Niblets, tossed salad, cranberry juice, fruit cocktail.

Tuesday: Braised beef and noodles, spinach, marinated salad, orange juice, cheese cake.

Wednesday: Orange chicken, rice pilaf, Normandy vegetables, lettuce and tomato salad, banana.

Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cooked cabbage, carrot salad, tomato juice, pudding.

Friday: Roast turkey, bread dressing, zucchini squash, garden salad, grape juice, fruit gelatin.

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Photo:

Bob Henn, a real estate salesman, throws on the cape and performs as Monsignor Bob with the Nuns for Fun troupe.

Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News