Monday, July 06, 2009

Danny Gans' manager spreads Jacksons rumour with help of New York Times stringer and death coverup blogger


Another connection between overdose victims Michael Jackson and Danny Gans is being floated this evening in the form of unsubstantiated gossip from Gans' former manager Chip Lightman on the Las Vegas blog of New York Times freelancer and comp queen Steve Friess:

"Chip Lightman, the late Danny Gans' manager, informed me today that he's been contacted by an envoy for Michael Jackson's surviving brothers about the prospect of a permanent Jackson Brothers show in the vacant Encore showroom at Wynn Las Vegas."

Is Chip Lightman to be believed?

In the days following Gans' untimely death on May 1st, Lightman and Gans' close personal friend, beauty queen turned TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs clouded the truth about Gans' drug use and worked overtime to mythologize him as a heroic, religious figure with stories that were either shrugged off as exaggeration or retracted. Meanwhile, Friess began a smear and harassment campaign aimed at stopping TabloidBaby.com from investigating or reporting on the mysterious circumstances of Gans death.

It was later revealed that Jacobs works for Friess' unofficial same-sex marriage partner at the local NBC affiliate and was the "celebrity guest" at their nonbinding gay wedding at the Palms. (The group's curiously close and ethically questionable relationship was explored here in a post subtitled The Danny Gans daisy chain.)

Oddly, while floating Lightman's latest Barnumesque blather without any confirmation, Friess (above left) dismisses it in the same posting:

"Lightman noted that the call was extremely preliminary and that it's unclear exactly what the Jacksons have in mind... Lightman also noted that there's no telling how Wynn management might react, but I suspect the answer would be a 'HELL NO.'"

While it's understandable that Lightman would be looking to be involved with the act that ultimately takes over Gans' spot at the Encore Theatre, and should be given a pass for trying to float an idea in front of his boss, Steve Wynn, Friess' role in spreading the rumour brings to mind his involvement in spreading false rumours about Gans' death in order throw journalistic investigators off the scent of painkillers and steroids.

Let's see how long it takes this one to make The New York Times.

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