Lance Burton loses his show and his mother

Tough week for Las Vegas magician Lance Burton. First he lost his show at the Monte Carlo after 13 years over budget cuts. Now comes word from Tabloid Baby pal and top Vegas publicicist Wayne Bernath that he's lost his mother. Hilma Burton died in her sleep in Columbia, Kentucky yesterday at 73. Burton (center, with mom and Criss Angel) will cancel his show next Tuesday so he can be in Kentucky for the funeral, he'll be back onstage at the Lance Burton Theatre on Wednesday. The sleight-of-hand master and illusionist will be at the Monte Carlo through the end of the summer, leaving five years earlier than planned.

New Danny Gans promises "show on steroids"

MADtv and NFL pregame impressionist Frank Caliendo arrives on the Las Vegas Strip tonight to launch a new show that's meant to fill the comic impressionist void left by the untimely death of Danny Gans in May.

Ironically, in light of the speculation regarding Gans' drug use, Caliendo tells the Las Vegas Sun that his act at the Monte Carlo "will be my stand-up show on steroids."

Photo: STEVE MARCUS/ Las Vegas Sun

Frank Caliendo may be the new Danny Gans

Frank Caliendo is the latest talent to be hired as a resident headliner on the Las Vegas Strip. The impressionist will debut at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino on October 10th. He'll share a theatre with Lance Burton and supposedly signed a 10-year contract.


You might know Frank from the NFL Sunday show on Fox where he impersonates John Madden. We know him as the fat guy from MADtv who does Al Pacino, Jay Leno and Bill Clinton and who unfortunately always looks like a fat guy doing Al Pacino, Jay Leno and Bill Clinton. But we're certain he has a fast-paced, entertaining show, and if he adds some musical impressions, he could be the new... well, who knows?

(Coincidentally, Caliendo insists he'd been negotiating a Vegas show even before Danny Gans died on May 1st. His chances got better when Gans moved from the Mirage to the Wynn in February, because, like the Mirage, the Monte Carlo is owned by MGM, and Gans' contract with the MGM Mirage contained a clause that prohibited MGM from hiring another impressionist for any of its nine Las Vegas properties.)