Leach says Caliendo is the new Danny Gans

"There was little doubt
that the man of many voices
also had inherited the mantle
of the late Danny Gans
as the newest
comedy impressionist
in the entertainment capital
of the world."

That's tabloid journo Robin Leach's verdict after TV impressionist Frank Caliendo opened his longterm engagement at the Monte Carlo Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip officially on Friday night. Caliendo's big show is al;so being hailed as a Vegas milestone because it featured cameo appearances from fellow Strip headliners and competitors Carrot Top, Terry Fator and Louis Anderson.

ALSO: It took more than a month, but our copy of the Danny Gans autobiography, The Voices In My Head, finally arrived from Amazon.com. We've finished reading it and the book's first review is on the way.

Danny Gans' co-writer responds to Vegas columnist's slam

It was a shock to fans of Danny Gans that the first hometown review of his posthumous autobiography was a detailed rebuttal from an entertainment columnist who claimed that "though I'm not named," he was the target of a chapter in The Voices In My Head that took aim at a jaded, sleazy, dishonest show biz writer.

Mike Weatherford (left) of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (a paper that's owned--extraordinarily-- by the book's publisher) accused Gans of a "grudge," and called his co-author, RG Ryan, "sloppy," in yesterday's Review-Journal column and blog post.

Ryan responds exclusively to Tabloid Baby:

"Not sure what set Mike off, but we had a cordial phone conversation during which I was able to provide a context for the chapter in question. His accusation in print that I was a 'sloppy co-writer' seemed based solely on a mis-spelling of former RJ entertainment reporter Michael Paskevich's name, which, for the record, was also missed by the Stephens Press editorial staff.

"He's entitled to his opinion, as was Danny Gans."

UPDATE: RG Ryan also responded to Weatherford on the Review-Journal blog page:

"Regarding those details that I didn't, "bother to ask you about", it was an autobiography, Mike. Those were Danny's memories, and he didn't plan on dying prior to publication.

"About Mike Paskevich--what can I say, the mis-spelling of his name made it past all my edits, plus the editorial staff of Stephens Press, a situation I find profoundly unfortunate but am powerless to correct.

"By your reaction to this chapter it appears that reviewers have feelings too...just like the celebrities they review, which was kind of the whole point.

"rg"

Vegas columnist blasts Danny Gans book!

In the Las Vegas news media’s first examination of Danny Gans’ posthumous autobiography, a veteran newspaper columnist is challenging the accuracy of the book, blasting it as a "grudge" and the attacking abilities of Gans’ co-author.

Las Vegas Review-Journal entertainment columnist Mike Weatherford's scathing column and supporting blogpost appears today-- on the six-month anniversary of Gans’ death by Dilaudid. Weatherford challenges the facts in Chapter 34 of The Voices In My Head, claiming that he is the unnamed columnist who appears in the chapter, allegedly telling Gans on their first meeting that he was not his friend or fan, that Gans needed topless dancers in his show, and broke a promise not to review Gans' opening-night gala at The Mirage. Writes Weatherford: “The first mostly wasn't true. The second I can only figure was a joke... The third issue is fuzzier. I don't remember what was said about reviewing the gala.”

Weatherford attributes the jab in the chapter to the fact that he had given Gans’ Mirage opening a less-than-perfect rating. “Gans' manager, Chip Lightman, called to raise hell about the letter grade, which was an A-. Apparently that minus sign bothered them. ‘The No. 1 show in town should be an A plus-plus-plus, you should like everything about it,’ Gans later told the Los Angeles Times.” Weatherford gives a detailed blow-by-blow rebuttal of the chapter on the Review-Journal blog page. He also throws in a punch at Gans’ co-author, RG Ryan: "I didn’t have room for the details, which if sloppy co-author R.G. Ryan had bothered to ask me about, might have kept the chapter out of the book to begin with.” Weatherford characterizes the issue as “sad.” His characterization of the chapter as a “grudge” gives promise that the book will be a no-holds-barred response to the local media who disparaged Gans’ talent, much in the style of fellow Strip legend Wayne Newton’s classic autobiography, Once Before I Go. Weatherford’s blast is all the more extraordinary because the Gans book is published by the Review-Journal’s parent company. The publisher made a deal with Gans’ family in the days after his death on May 1st, and perhaps coincidentally, its reporters did not follow up on or investigate the mysterious circumstances of his death at 52. Weatherford, for example, never followed up on his column in which he reported that Gans was “down in the dumps” and “in unusually low spirits” the day before he died. We at Tabloid Baby are still waiting our copy of the book from Amazon.com, which signaled a three-to-five week wait.

The Danny Gans daisy chain: Steve and Chip and Alicia and Norm and Miles and--

To quote Aretha: Who's zoomin' who? With those closest to the late Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans amending their stories of what they knew about the state of his health when he died in bed on May 1st at the age of 52, and with the relationships among the major media players-- the ones who are parceling out the "official" information, reporting it, and protecting it -- coming into a more clear focus, we're not sure what to to believe.

We've been called conspiracy theorists, and much worse, as we look for answers to what killed this supposedly healthy entertainer, but now, who knows? As the Las Vegas media waits patiently for the "official" report from the Clark County Coroner, did Gans manager Chip Lightman and Gans friend Alicia Jacobs toss up the "high blood pressure" story as a way to explain away drugs they know the toxicology report will list in Gans' system? Why is Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review-Journal transcribing whatever they say, only to retract it days later when they tell him something else? Are they and supposed freelancer Steve Friess hiding something more sinister? Are they hiding anything? Was Danny Gans just a good guy with a bad ticker?

We're not saying. We're still trying to keep track of the players, and their connections:


Steve Friess is the Las Vegas freelance reporter and writer (for publications including The New York Times and USA) who went ballistic and began posting obscene insults about us after we asked him why local reporters weren't investigating the events leading to, and speculation regarding the possible cause of Gans' death.


Chip Lightman was Danny Gans' manager for most all of 18 years. He phoned a local TV reporter with news of Gans' death in the early morning hours of May 1st. He's been working the media, while working with hotel-casino magnate Steve Wynn to book acts into Gans' showroom, ever since.


Alicia Jacobs is the woman who got the 4 a.m. phone call from Lightman. She's a beauty queen-turned-television entertainment reporter who boasted a close, 13-year friendship with Danny Gans. She broke the Gans death story on KVBC-TV News.


Norm Clarke is the Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist who often quotes Steve Friess and has run several stories about Alicia Jacobs and Chip Lightman since Gans' death, including their claims that they had no idea what caused the former athlete and "health nut" to pass away prematurely.

On Thursday, Norm Clarke wrote that his paper had entered into a deal with Chip Lightman to publish Gans' autobiography. Today, one day after we interviewed Alicia Jacobs about Danny Gans (and the day after Steve Friess increased his attacks on this news organization), Norm Clarke went online with the exclusive story that Chip Lightman and Alicia Jacobs both knew all along that Danny Gans was a ticking time bomb, with high blood pressure and a family history of "heart problems."

Miles Smith is the executive producer of KVBC-TV News. He is Alicia Jacobs' boss. And he brings us full circle to Steve Friess.

How?


Miles Smith, Alicia Jacobs' boss, is Steve Friess' "husband" (in quotes because Smith and Friess were wed by a rabbi at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas-- same sex marriage is not legal in Nevada).

(UPDATE: We originally ran a great punchline photo of Steve Friess and Miles Smith in bed together. But Steve Friess has claimed ownership of many photos we've run and demanded we remove them. Mr. Friess, a journalist, has also taken action to have TabloidBaby.com shut down... )

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO OF STEVE FRIESS LITERALLY IN BED-- UNDER THE COVERS-- WITH KVBC TV NEWS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MILES SMITH.

Developing...

The curtain falls on an instant myth: Danny Gans didn't really close his last show with eerie, prescient Bobby Darin number

In the week since the untimely death of Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans, not a question has been raised by the Las Vegas news media about the exact circumstances of his death, or the factors in his life that may have led to it, Yet while the news pros, from Pulitzer Prize winners to Gay Guide writers, have sat obediently to wait the next press release, much has been done from that first (and last) news to burnish Gans’ myth.

As it turns out, the first has turned out to be untrue.

On Saturday, May 2nd Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke write a column, Gans’ final act leaves mystery, which included quotes from Gans' manager Chip Lightman and focused on an almost spiritual moment in Gans’ last show:

"Something didn't feel right to Lightman.

"Looking back, 'that was the scariest thing,' Lightman said Friday, still in shock hours after the death of Gans at age 52.

"A creature of habit, Gans rarely ended with 'The Curtain Falls,' Bobby Darin's favorite closer.

"Through most of his thousands of shows as a 13-year Las Vegas headliner, Gans preferred ending with 'Apollo,' which featured snippets of songs by Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles and others.

"No one will ever know for certain, but just maybe Gans knew something was amiss and sent a message through Darin's curtain closer at the Encore theater.

"… Near the end of Friday's walk-through to capture photo snippets of Gans' backstage life, Lightman brought up the mystery of 'The Curtain Falls.'

"It was one of many why's that didn't make sense to Gans' longtime friend and manager.

"I offered a theory.

"Maybe Gans' switch to 'The Final Curtain' was hinting about his health by channeling Darin for the finale.

"Darin had a meteoric run before dying of heart-related problems at the age of 37 in 1973."

This morning, Norm Clarke retracted the story:

“Allow me to correct something here: On Saturday in this space, I misstated that Gans closed his final show on April 29 with 'The Curtain Falls,' the signature close of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, who died in 1973 at age 37.

“Gans closed with 'Apollo,' the medley he had ended his show with for years…

“During our interview May 1, the day Gans died, Lightman had noted a delay occurred in the curtain closing, which I mistakenly wrote down as a reference to Darin's ‘Curtain’ closing.

“Gans had performed ‘Curtain’ during his 12 weeks at Wynn Las Vegas' Encore hotel, Lightman said.

“And he said Gans, in his upcoming book that he finished April 29, ended the manuscript with the final words to 'Curtain.'"

Norm Clarke revealed yesterday the publisher of his own newspaper had entered into a deal with Lightman and the Gans family to publish that Danny Gans autobiography. The fact that we at Tabloid Baby have received readers complaints this week that the Darin story was untrue has led others to suspect Clarke and Lightman are in fact writing or completing that “autobiography” as we speak.

Interesting that The Encore website used a clip of Danny Gans singing The Curtain Falls as a tribute after his death.

In any case, add that bit of misinformation that's been spreading around the world for the past week to the Danny Gans mystery, and place your bets on how long the Danny Gans posters, billboards and taxi cab placards will remain in and around Las Vegas.

(The May 21 memorial to Danny Gans is by invitation only. The Gans family asks that cards be sent to Danny Gans Family, c/o Encore Hotel, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, NV 89109. Instead of flowers, the family prefers donations be made to Danny Gans' favorite charities, the Junior Golf Academy and the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation.)

Las Vegas newspaper makes book deal with Danny Gans' manager and family

This morning brings another clue in the mysterious death of Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans-- a clue to why we should not expect the Las Vegas news media to investigate, or even report accurately the facts about how the 52-year-old Born Again Christian, former athlete and "health nut" died suddenly in his bed last Friday morning:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal, the city's leading daily newspaper (and the one that did not win a 2009 Pulitzer Prize) has entered into a deal with Gan's manager and family to publish his autobiography.

The deal is reported by the Review-Journal's gossip reporter, Norm Clarke:

"The family of Danny Gans is moving ahead with plans to have his autobiography published next month. "Gans' manager, Chip Lightman, and Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick met on Monday, and 'we're crossing the T's as we move forward on a handshake,' Frederick said. "The R-J is planning a mid-May ad campaign to allow people to reserve copies. "'We are proceeding at a fast pace to have the book printed and available in June,' Frederick said. "Lightman said the book will also be printed as a hard-cover collectors item and hopefully will be available in June. "The book, tentatively titled 'Voices In My Head,' will be published by Stephens Press, a division of Stephens Media, the parent company of the Review-Journal."

The Review-Journal's actions seem to indicate that the Gans moneymaking machine is still running strong, and as in the case of Elvis Presley, the city and its related businesses plan to reap money from him for years to come. The deal also explains why this particular news organization is ignoring the Gans story.

Sig Gissler, take note: The "watchdog" has economic incentive to ignore the truth and "print the legend."

Photo: Beverly Poppe