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...

Danny Gans' ghostwriter: "Norm Clarke got it wrong! I did so complete Danny's autobiography the day before he died!"

The ghostwriter for the upcoming autobiography of the late Las Vegas superstar Danny Gans insists the book was completed the day before Danny Gans died, and that Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke was "wrong" in reporting on September 6th that he had only completed a "rough draft."

R.G. Ryan, the musician, poet and, according to Norm, former minister, who collaborated with Gans on his memoirs before the musical impressionist died suddenly at age 52 after taking the powerful opiate hydromorphone, emailed the Tabloid Baby offices to insist that this Danny Gans legend is true:

"Just read your report regarding my interview with Norm Clarke. Contrary to what he said, and what you subsequently reported, the final draft was, in fact, completed at eleven AM on Thursday, April 30, 2009. It is a well-documented fact that Norm, unfortunately got wrong. I'd appreciate a correction in your report and wished you would've asked me about it. I've been pretty open with you, don't you think?"

Ryan has indeed responded to our questions on more than one occasion, and gave his blessing for us to post the prologue to the Gans book, The Voices In My Head (we used screen grabs of the chapter from Ryan's site, which he has since removed. He also told Tabloid Baby that he finished the book at 11 am the day before Gans died.

Although he's failed to answer several queries we've emailed him in the time since, we're happy to publish anything he's got to say.

The story that Danny Gans had completed his autobiography hours before his shocking death was one of several image-burnishing stories that were circulated by his friends in the days after the tragedy. The book is set for October release. Norm is on vacation in Spain. No word whether he's issued a retraction, as he's done for past Danny Gans myths that he had floated.

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.)

Coroner's office reports great interest in Danny Gans death mystery-- but not from the local Las Vegas news media

There is major interest-- and at least one offer of a bribe-- in finding out what caused the death of beloved Las Vegas Strip headliner Danny Gans-- though most all the interest and activity is from out-of-town journalists.

A charming and lovely spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner told Tabloid Baby minutes ago that the toxicology report that's expected to reveal what caused the supposedly healthy Christian ex-athlete's heart to stop in his sleep at the age of 52, three months into a long-term contract at Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, "is still pending."

Then she added: "Are you the one who offered me money yesterday?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure," said TabloidBaby's reporter, phoning from Los Angeles. "Did someone offer you money for the report?"

"Somebody offered $500. I thought it was you because you said you were from Los Angeles and you spoke to me yesterday."

"Well, $500 is nothing. They should offer you more."

"That's illegal."

"Is there a lot of interest in this case?"

"Of course!" she replied.

"Well, people from Las Vegas tell us that no one cares."

"It's all from you guys. All you guys in Los Angeles. I don't know why."

"Well, Danny Gans is a very important and unique figure in entertainment."

"You guys must have more gossip to report."

The words of the coroner's delightful and helpful spokeswoman were a good reflection of the attitude among the Las Vegas media, which have ignored the story, or in at least one case, started up false rumours in an attempt to questions from being raised. In her moving tribute to her close platonic friend Danny Gans, beauty queen turned entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs also hailed the restraint of the local-- national -- news media-- and for not pursuing any of the down-and-dirty details of the shocking death of the supposedly healthy and vital 52-year-old athletic Christian family man:

"With a few exceptions, I am very proud of the local & national media...they have given Danny’s family & friends some time to try & catch our collective breath. Soon enough, we will have the answers. Until that time, it seems almost tabloid-like to make assumptions & entertain rumors. (believe me, I think I’ve heard just about all of them.) It is my feeling that barring something completely bizarre, the story of Danny Gans has been told. His cause of death will be nothing more than a footnote on his Wikipedia page.

"The story of Danny Gans’ unlikely career & enormous success, against most odds, is far more interesting & inspiring than a coroner's report..."

While a reading of our reportage in the case would show we are not making assumptions nor entertaining rumours, we applaud Alicia Jacobs' grace in acknowledging that in the end it will be impossible to cover up the cause of this untimely death.

We do take issue with her pride in the failure of the Las Vegas news media. We don't expect much from the local news stations like the one she works for, but when it comes to newspapers in their own death throes, we would expect that they'd dedicate their resources to the most important and talked-about story in town.

The fact that they did not is made obvious on the Danny Gans "Hot Topics" page on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website, which shows just what the paper has not investigated or told its readers, and how it has deliberately stifled interest in story that holds far more national appeal than they'd admit. The page lists the stories it's printed about Danny Gans since his death:

May 01: Las Vegas entertainer, 52, dies at home;
foul play not suspected
May 01: Entertainers, celebrities offer memories of Gans
May 02: 'HE CAN'T BE REPLACED'
May 02: DANNY GANS: CELEBRITY MEMORIES
May 02: NORM: Gans' final act leaves mystery
May 03: NORM: Gans has final word in life story
May 04: NORM: Gans friends share feelings, memories
May 06: NORM: Mourners gather for Gans' funeral
May 08: NORM: Gans service to be invitation only
(contains retraction of May 02 story)
May 08: EDITORIAL: Danny Gans
May 10: NORM: Heart problems in Gans' family
May 14: NORM: Insurance issue
May 14: MIKE WEATHERFORD: Gans was 'down in the dumps'
before death
May 14: Coroner awaits facts to reveal cause of Gans' death

"Norm" is show biz gossip columnist Norm Clarke. Pointedly, the paper did not list the May 8th Norm report that the Review-Journal's publisher made a deal to publish Gans' autobiography. It also fails to mention, nor did editors assign a news reporter to investigate, Norm's explosive May 14 report (we added it) that "No one's willing to discuss it, but there's an insurance issue involving Danny Gans and his deal with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas that suggests Gans had concerns about his health."

The Hot Topic also links to a blog from the Review-Journal editor Thomas Mithcell, posted on May 2nd, the day after Gans' death. Mitchell praises his newsteam for its handling of the breaking Gans story:

"...On Friday, I felt like a kid peeping through a knothole in a fence watching a well-oiled construction team go about its job of building an excellent newspaper.

"By the time I got online that morning there was already a message from business reporter Howard Stutz saying he had heard Danny Gans had died. By the time I called the breaking news desk, reporters had already been dispatched, photographers alerted, entertainment writer Mike Weatherford was driving in, columnist Norm Clarke had been notified, people were pulling files of stories, old photos and video clips...

"...On Saturday morning, even I was amazed. Laid out on broadsheet newsprint — sometimes called emphera — was a story about the death of one man, but also a glimpse of the spirit of humanity.

"Both the main story and Norm’s column used a story technique I call bookending. Each picked up a small element that spoke volumes about the occasion. The lede the story by Mike and Doug told about the Gans crew gathering for its traditional pre-show prayer, but without the star. The story ended: 'And they prayed. And they mourned.'

"Norm wrote about Gans, 52, ending his last show... with Bobby Darin’s favorite closer "The Curtain Falls."

"Darin died of heart failure at the age of 37...

"...I defy you to read either the story or the column without getting a bit misty.

"The whole package was impressive..."

Unfortunately, Norm's story about The Curtain Falls was untrue. He retracted it a week later. And though the editor was proud of his news team, a cursory look shows that they may be good at color, but didn't cover the story at all.

As for the Las Vegas Sun, the paper who got a Pulitzer from Sig Gissler? Forget about it.

Meanwhile, the coroner's perky spokeswoman says the Gans report will be released without fanfare or news conference, and will not be held up by the invitation-only memorial service on Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE: Las Vegas Review-Journal won't publish what it knows about the death of Danny Gans

LAS VEGAS -- Call it "The Danny Gans death coverup."

Sources close to the newsroom of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tell TabloidBaby.com tonight that editors and reporters at the newspaper have information that leads them to believe they know what killed the superstar headliner at 52, but they refuse to report or investigate the case-- or even address the speculation and rumors that have spread through this city like bad luck since Gans's manager acknowledged them over the weekend.

"The scuttlebutt in the Review-Journal newsroom is that Danny Gans was addicted to painkillers. The editors and writers all know about it," says one source who has impeccable credentials in the Las Vegas media. "Why aren't they reporting it or investigating it? You know this town."


Gans, a former athlete who once seemed headed to a Major League Baseball career before injury cut it short, underwent shoulder surgery in 2006 and again in November 2008 after he closed his show at the Mirage Hotel and before he opened across the Strip at Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino three months ago.

"He had the shoulder operation and they gave him painkillers," says the source. "That's what they're talking about in the Review-Journal newsroom. Did that kill him? Who knows? His heart stopped. He could have had a heart condition he didn't know about."

"PRESCRIPTION BOTTLES"

A separate source tells TabloidBaby.com that paramedics who arrived to find Gans dead in his bedroom in the early hours of May 1st also "found numerous prescription bottles around the bed."

An autopsy did not nail down the cause of Gans' death. Results of toxicology testing by the Clark County Coroner's Office are expected as early as this week.


The speculation and rumors about why the apparently healthy, vital and clean-living musical impressionist died so young and unexpectedly began within hours of the announcement of his death. The Las Vegas news media, however, did not go beyond tributes and spiritual anecdotes about the Born Again Christian entertainer. There was no effort to interview paramedics or go beyond the "official" statements of Gans' boss Steve Wynn, his manager Chip Lightman and longtime friend, KVBC-TV gossip reporter Alicia Jacobs.

None offered any clue as to what could have led to Gans' death.

"ALL THE RUMORS"

It was only after Tabloid Baby interviewed Jacobs on Friday about the speculation that she and Lightman went to Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke to tell him that they knew Gans had been dealing for years with high blood pressure and a family history of heart disease.

It was another line in Saturday's Internet exclusive that resonated most through Las Vegas:

"Lightman acknowledged he has heard 'all the rumors,' but said he is not concerned about what might surface in toxicology tests that could take several weeks before the Clark County Coroner's office releases the results..."

Norm Clarke did not identify "all the rumors."

"It was the dumbest thing," says the source. "No one in this town mentioned the rumors about Danny's death, and it would have stayed quiet if it wasn't for Chip Lightman. He told Norm Clarke he'd 'heard all the rumors.' Next thing the whole town is talking and looking at Danny in a different way."

CLICK HERE TO READ RAY RICHMOND'S COLUMN
ON TABLOIDBABY.COM'S COVERAGE OF THE
DANNY GANS DEATH MYSTERY

Danny Gans and doctor shopping: Gossip columnist blows the lid off Las Vegas news media's cone of silence

How widespread has the practice
of doctor-shopping become in Las Vegas?
Will the investigation into
Jackson's prescription drug abuse
lead back to the Las Vegas medical community,
given Jackson spent a good deal
of time here in recent years?
Will the intense scrutiny uncover more leads
in Danny Gans' drug-related death?

--Norm Clarke, Las Vegas Review Journal

Norm Clarke of The Las Vegas Review-Journal has brought up the subject of "doctor shopping" in the Danny Gans death case. The gossip columnist and compulsive Twitterer buries the reference in story about Michael Jackson, but his column reveals once again that Las Vegas journalists are covering up a huge story bubbling under the drug overdose ten weeks ago of the biggest star on the Strip and the most unique entertainer in the country.

Norm's column, in which he interviews an anonymous doctor who claims Jackson's handlers once tried to intimidate him into prescribing painkillers under someone else's name," directly connects Jackson's apparent overdose death to Gans'.

Norm also extends the accusation of "doctor shopping" (requesting care from multiple physicians, often simultaneously, without making efforts to coordinate care, usually due to a patient's addiction to prescription drugs) in Las Vegas to at least one "high profile casino executive."


The column is all the more extraordinary for several reasons:

* The exact cause of Jackson's death won't be known for weeks, until toxicology reports are completed;

* The Las Vegas news media had refused to speculate about or investigate Gans' untimely death, claiming they could do nothing until toxcicology reports were completed;

* The talk of the town in Vegas was and is Gans' alleged use of steroids and prescription drugs;

* No one in the mainstream Las Vegas news media opened the floodgates of revelations about Gans once it was revealed that the supposedly Born Again Christian former athlete had died from a dose of hydromorphone, otherwise known as Dilaudid or "drug store heroin."

Leave it to the gossip columnist.

Just as his jaunty eyepatch is key to his image, Norm's candid reporting is a hallmark of his work. As a gossip columnist, he is known to plant unconfirmed items from publicists-- or, in the Danny Gans case, from Gans' manager and close female friend who were on a campaign to mislead the public about the musical impressionist's lifestyle-- but his job also frees him to write whatever he wants to fill the space (after the coroner's report on Gans was released, he was the only one to copy our report that Gans was now linked to Vegas legend Elvis Presley though Dilaudud).

This morning he writes about a doctor who claims he was called to Jackson's suite at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in 2003 (owned at the time by Steve Wynn, and the home of Danny Gans' show ):

"The doctor's experience with Jackson raises several questions: How widespread has the practice of doctor-shopping become in Las Vegas? Will the investigation into Jackson's prescription drug abuse lead back to the Las Vegas medical community, given Jackson spent a good deal of time here in recent years? Will the intense scrutiny uncover more leads in Danny Gans' drug-related death?

"'Doctor-shopping 'has become very common,' he said.

"The meeting with Jackson wasn't the first time the physician felt pressured to accommodate a VIP.

"He treated a high profile casino executive who wanted sleeping pills. A week later, the executive wanted a refill and a week after that he requested another refill 'and I said no -- and my services are no longer required.'

"The sad thing, he said, is that someone else filled the void.

"'It's Elvis Presley all over again.'

Though we've criticized Norm for the recent Gans factoids he spread, the joy with which he covers his beat and his excitement over getting a scoop-- see his constant, compulsive Twitter posts-- sets him apart from the corrupt editors and scaredy-cat reporters who are content to keep their heads down so they don't join the ranks of the laid-off.

The speculation in Las Vegas-- and knowledge among many reporters and editors-- is that Danny Gans got his prescription drugs from more than one doctor, as well as from members of his entourage.

Norm's single sentence in the nineteenth paragraph of a gossip column, could be the spark that sets off the explosive coverage that will blow this lid off off a scandal that goes far beyond the hypocrisy of Danny Gans.

The realization of what slipped through on the weekend will surely cause editor Tom Mitchell to tear off his three-beaver Resistol, toss it on the floor and jump up and down on it, yelling, "Dag nab it! Dad burn it!"

Norm's column could also convince a reporter to interview a doctor or musician under the cover of anonymity.

It could even lead to some real independent journalism in a city where journalism isn't merely dying, but slowly killing itself with painkillers.

Did we force their hand? Las Vegas Review-Journal goes with two Danny Gans items

Hours after we reported exclusively that The Las Vegas Review-Journal is holding back from publishing what its reporters and editors know about the mysterious death of Strip headliner Danny Gans, the paper has run items in two columns addressing at least some of the speculation:

Columnist Mike Weatherford writes that "Gans was 'down in the dumps' before his death";

and

Columnist Norm Clarke writes: "No one's willing to discuss it, but there's an insurance issue involving Danny Gans and his deal with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas that suggests Gans had concerns about his health."

At least one observer finds it intriguing that paper, which has done no reporting on the Gans story, would publish one column, and add a newsy item in another column, two weeks after Gans' death. The observer? Us.

Weatherford's column, which appears to have been sitting in some editor's "in" basket waiting to be plugged into an edition, takes direct aim at the speculation that Gans' death may have been connected in some way to his boss Steve Wynn's decision to book new acts into Gans' theatre only three months into a long term contract.

In fact, it seems to be trying to refute the notion-- in print for the first time-- that Gans committed suicide:

"...David Graham, a personal pastor and golf buddy to the late impressionist, said his friend was 'unusually low in spirits' when they golfed on the day he died.

"But Graham said 'heavens no' to the idea that it had anything to do with the coincidental on-sale announcement for Beyoncé doing four shows at Encore in late July.

"'Gans liked Steve (Wynn) a lot' and Wynn was 'very happy with him,' Graham said.

"Besides, Gans had plenty of time to get used to the notion of big names crowding in. The impressionist's move from The Mirage to Encore was announced on April 17 of last year, and the story in the next day's Review-Journal included this quote from the Wynn Resorts chairman:

"'I'm going to have another four shows at least in that theater,' Wynn said. 'It will take me a while to get up to speed booking them, but that's the goal.'

"Graham, a former golf pro who founded Christian City Church on Las Vegas Boulevard, said he 'doesn't have a clue' about why his friend was so 'down in the dumps.'

But he dismissed published reports of Gans having premonitions about his death, saying the two parted with the usual reminder of their next tee time and that Gans asked his friend to pray for guidance'"about what he wanted to do in the future' beyond the live show...

"'Hotel spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne said... Gans manager Chip Lightman might continue to be involved with the theater..."

Clarke, the main outlet for the Gans camp as it has spun and controlled the story since the the Las Vegas superstar was fond dead in his bed at the age of 52, slipped his item toward the end of this morning's column.


We reported exclusively yesterday that editors and reporters at the Review-Journal believe painkillers may have been involved in Gans' untimely passing, but have held back on reporting or investigating the story.

The autopsy was "inconclusive" and the Las Vegas news media has been content to wait patiently for the weeksit takes for the official toxicology report from the Clark County Coroner.

Until now.

Developing...

Norm Clarke with his girlfriend Cara Roberts, public relations director for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

Danny Gans autobiography contains chapter touching on his drug use; coauthor admits book wasn't really completed the day before Gans died

Danny Gans' ghostwriter turned co-author admits today that the musical impressionist's autobiography was not really completed the day before he died. Although the legend began on the day of the Las Vegas superstar's untimely death and has been repeated often in the months since, RG Ryan now admits that he had only finished a "rough draft" of the book-- which is now said to contain a chapter that at least touches on an explanation for Gans' secret use of painkilling drugs.

Ryan's revelation-- and the effort to address the details of Gans' untimely death in a suitable fashion-- could help explain the delay in publishing The Voices In My Head, which was snatched up within days of Gans' shocking passing on May 1st by the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and promised for a rush-release in June (publication is now set for October).

Ryan, a local writer, poet and musician who is also billed today in Norm Clarke's Review-Journal column as a "former minister," had intimated that the delays were due to negotiations with Gans' family over his writing credit.


Ryan tells Norm that the book will include a chapter called "The Glory and The Pain," detailing Gans' "incredible struggles to overcome pain."

Writes Norm:

"The pain came not just from sports injuries, but two car accidents. One involved being rear-ended by a garbage truck about eight years ago. The other happened about five years ago when his car hit a water puddle and hydroplaned into a light pole.

"On some nights, when his pain was unbearable, Gans signaled his band leader to play a song, 'because Danny would have to run off stage and throw up,' Ryan said."

Norm reports that Ryan and Gans' estate do not go into the details of how managed that pain, or what led to the overdose of hydromorphone (described my Norm as "a powerful opiate also known as Dilaudid, the highly addictive drug... nicknamed 'drugstore heroin.'")


Ryan claims, "It never came up in our conversations (12 to 15 hours of interviews). The only thing he ever said about that to me was that he stuck to ibuprofen, because all that other stuff-- he said he had doctors prescribe heavy-duty stuff-- it dried out his voice."

"When Gans died, 'I was just as shocked as anyone else. Obviously he was taking something stronger than Motrin,' Ryan said."

Ryan tells Norm that Gans was "pushing very hard to get a number of things wrapped up. But I didn't pick up any sign that he had a premonition that he was going to die."

"Ryan described the book as a 'comprehensive, intimate look into the heart and soul of a man who, from the time he was 7 years old, was targeted to the goal of being a professional baseball player.'"

Norm also reports that Ryan "finished a rough draft the day Gans died."


A "rough draft" is usually the first version of a work that requires correcting, rewriting, revising and polishing. In the case of a book, it is far from the final, finished version.

Ryan had told us via email that the entire book "was finished at eleven AM on Thursday. We were supposed to get together at four Friday afternoon, May 1."

The autobiography myth was one of several that were spread in the hours after Gans death. Another, later retracted by Norm, was that Gans switched the final song in what was his final show from his usual medley of African American singing impressions to Bobby Darin's "The Curtain Falls."

Locals play catch-up: Las Vegas newspaper slams Alicia Jacobs for her "reverse bias" in reporting the Danny Gans death case

"I've proven I have ethics,
that I'm a solid reporter
and have never misled viewers.
And I have integrity, which is everything.”

--Danny Gans' close friend, TV reporter Alicia Jacobs

Maybe we’re not crazy for covering the Danny Gans death mystery, after all. The day after the New York Times features the story at the top of its National section, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is starting to catch up. Eighteen days after we brought up the questionable relationship and conflicts of interest involving beauty queen-turned-reporter Alicia Jacobs, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper has sicced a reporter to take a hard look at her questionable actions over the past few weeks.

In the column "Jacobs’ visibility triggers questions of perception," reporter Steve Bornfeld writes that “KVBC-TV, Channel 3 entertainment correspondent Alicia Jacobs has leapt from mere reporter to marquee attraction recently:

“In February, she toted a puppy to Danny Gans' Encore opening, a controversy climaxing when Bonnie Hunt dissed her on her daytime show. Then the Holly Madison Hoo-Ha… L'Affair Prejean… (and) finally, her closeness to Gans drew her into the story of his tragic death as family friend and source speculating on his health.”

Bornfeld quotes an ivory-tower Sig Gissler ethics type who criticize Jacobs’ spotlight-seeking tendencies, and himself mentions her “frequent bold-face mentions in Norm Clarke's R-J column.


Alicia Jacobs, we pointed out on May 3rd, was the first media figure to be informed of Gans’ death. Gans’ manager Chip Lightman phoned her at four a.m. (according to her and Lightman’s accounts), minutes after paramedics pronounced Gans dead in his home in a Las Vegas suburb. Jacobs spoke openly about her long friendship with Gans, but in the days and weeks to follow, began to orchestrate the coverage, generate the mythmaking. And in the case of her executive producer’s “husband,” was connected with an effort to stop this news organization’s investigation.

"There's a difference between
professional relationships
and personal friendships,
especially one as strongly and
publicly evident as Jacobs and Gans.
...It creates an appearance
of potential bias --
viewers/readers wondering if
a reporter-friend would conceal
unflattering or damaging information."

-- Las Vegas Review-Journal

Most disturbing was the fact that hours after she told Tabloid Baby in an exclusive interview that she had no idea what could have caused Gans' untimely death, she and Lightman went to columnist Norm Clarke to claim they knew he had high blood pressure and a family history of heart trouble.

Writes Bornfeld:

“Bias-in-reverse issues do likewise with Gans stories.

“'Don't I have a chance to do that story before I'm judged?’ Jacobs asks about any post-autopsy follow-ups. ‘Don't I deserve that opportunity?’

“Absolutely. But that misses the point. This isn't necessarily about the reality of the coverage by the end, but the skepticism viewers could bring going in.

“Reporters cultivate connections with sources that require a casual cordiality, but there's a difference between professional relationships and personal friendships, especially one as strongly and publicly evident as Jacobs and Gans. Many news outlets discourage it not because it's a guarantee of biased coverage, but because it creates an appearance of potential bias -- viewers/readers wondering if a reporter-friend would conceal unflattering or damaging information. What a shame to sow doubts over reporting that turns out perfectly balanced.

"'I've proven I have ethics, that I'm a solid reporter and have never misled viewers,’ Jacobs says. ‘And I have integrity, which is everything.’

“Jacobs' journalistic ethics and integrity are not questioned here. Her judgment is.”

Perhaps those among the Las Vegas media who called us “insane” or “crazy” for covering the Gans mystery while everyone else waits patiently—for weeks now— for a coroner’s toxicology report that will pass through many hands before reaching the public—will admit that maybe the Tabloid Baby team isn’t insane after all, but perhaps just quicker. Less lazy. With less concern for politesse. And fewer conflicts of interest.

Review-Journal editor Tom Mitchell blogged of his pride in the LVRJ coverage in the 48 hours following Gans’ death. He must have had second thoughts after seeing a comparison of his paper’s own scant bordering-on-coverup coverage with the work of hungry tabloid journos who know a great story when they see one.

Danny Gans & Las Vegas media update: Photos of Gans' children at the memorial, twitterings and talk of a curse

Las Vegas Review-Journal entertainment columnist Norm Clarke has posted a collection of photos of Danny Gans' children, taken by a school friend of Gans at the entertainer's memorial service on Thursday. The photo gallery include quotes from their eulogies at the event held at the Encore Theatre at the Wynn Las Vegas complex on the Strip. Son Andrew Gans, who plays college baseball, referred to his father as his "angel in the outfield"; daughter Amy, 14, said her daddy "is now performing in the heavenly Danny Gans Theatre... on the biggest stage of all."

(Click here to see the slideshow)

The Memorial Day weekend would have been an opportune time for the Review-Journal (or the Las Vegas Sun, for that matter) to use all the material it has not printed since Gan's untimely, mysterious death on May 1st, and lay out an extensive feature on Gans' death, its repercussions, implications and its unanswered questions. The only material to make the paper has been Norm's report that Whoopi Goldberg walked off stage during an audience medical emergency during the first show in Gans' theatre since his passing.

Norm followed up with a column on Sunday that made reference to a "curse of the Encore Theatre," which was first noted in this site on May 1st and referred to here on Saturday morning. The story got some legs on at least one Vegas forum:

"Is the Danny Gans former theater cursed?

"Gamblers are very superstitious people. So are Thespians and theatrical patrons, for the most part. If there weren’t a 'curse”' on that theatre before, there probably is now. That sort of story circulates like wildfire and now any and every excuse to claim support for the 'curse' will be used to do just that. It’s kind of unfortunate really. Ganz was a real professional, the kind of guy who would have insisted that 'the show must go on' without him. But who can combat the sensationalism inherent in a story like this one?..."

In a strange twist, Norm's story on Whoopi Goldberg's walkoff was based on a "twitter" from Alicia Jacobs, the controversial beauty queen-turned-local TV entertainment reporter who was a longtime close friend of Gans.

Jacobs twittered that Whoopi walked off without leaving the audience "blindsighted" (corrected by Norm to "blindsided') Norm later mentioned that at least one other audience claimed Whoopi did indeed say goodnight when she left the stage about an hour into her act.


Twenty-three hours later, in what seems to be an attempt to mend fences after what could have been inaccurate reportage, Jacobs twittered, again apparently from the audience, that Whoopi was a "class act" for walking onstage Saturday night and saying, "I love you, D.G."


With talk of "curses" and spirituality and a lack of any other coverage-- economic, medical or otherwise-- the Las Vegas news media continues to avoid covering the facts surrounding the mysterious death of Danny Gans while clouding them with distractions-- and once again, Alicia Jacobs is in the middle of it all.

photos Laurie Pollock-Smith/ Las Vegas Review-Journal

Danny Gans' son says family knew of no health problems

Danny Gans' wife and kids say they have no idea what killed the beloved Las Vegas entertainer at 52, and insist he had no serious health problems.

In what he billed as "the first interview granted by a family member since Danny Gans' death," (although a New York Times reporter interviewed Gans' children and even got their photo earlier this week), Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke spoke to Gan's widow Julie and son Andrew after the memorial service at the Encore Theatre.

Said Andrew: "We knew he had high blood pressure but was taking something to control that, and he had to watch what he ate."

"So what about the reports that his father wasn't feeling well prior to his death and seemed to be sending signals to close friends that he was aware something was seriously wrong?

"'There are some bad...' he said, searching for the right word, 'rumors out there.'"

Thank the Las Vegas news media and its overly-respectful, hands-off approach. Gans' manager Chip Lightman and his close personal friend beauty queen-turned-TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs told Norm last week that the musical impressionist had high blood pressure and family history of heart problems. On May 14th, in a teasing item that has not been followed up on or retracted, Norm wrote: "No one's willing to discuss it, but there's an insurance issue involving Danny Gans and his deal with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas that suggests Gans had concerns about his health."

Norm teased his upcoming interview yesterday afternoon in Twitter postings:

"Coming up: the first interview with Danny Gans family. I just left the reception in the Margaux room at Wynn Las Vegas..."

"In my exclusive interview with Danny Gans' son, Andrew, he's adamant: The family had no inkling of medical problems. Not once? 'Never!'"

"The story will be posted in a few minutes on http://www/normclarke.com. I saw him walking by himself & we chatted for more than 10 min."

"His sister, Amy, 21, was unbelievable during the memorial. She got her dad's humor genes. The family wore red and black, Danny's colors."

Norm also twittered that bronchitis kept Andre Agassi from speaking at the memorial and added in his column:

"At Gans' memorial: entertainers Donny and Marie Osmond, Siegfried Fischbacher, Rita Rudner, Criss Angel, Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton, Earl Turner, Carrot Top, George Wallace, and The Scintas. Spotted at the reception held by the family in the Margaux room at Wynn: KVBC-TV, Channel 13 entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, former Gov. Bob Miller (Andrew Gans attended Bob Miller Middle School), entertainer Gerry McCambridge, and Mitch Fox, host and producer of Nevada Week in Review."

NY Times photo

"Anonymous plagiarizing gnats!" Las Vegas Review-Journal editor takes potshot at Tabloid Baby after we clean his paper's clock in Danny Gans coverage

The editor of The Las Vegas Review-Journal has lashed out at TabloidBaby.com after this site exposed his newspaper's lax and cowardly coverage of the Danny Gans death mystery.

Thomas Mitchell (above left), the mustachioed, hard-blogging boss at the Las Vegas paper that did not win a Pulitzer Prize this year, wrote on his blog forum in response to a query from our own publicist and occasional contributor Sam Peters (above right):

"Mr. Mitchell...
have you seen the Danny Gans coverage
on the site TabloidBaby.com?
They compared their coverage to the RJ.
Think they're going too far? Not far enough?"

Mitchell replied:

"Sam: Anonymous plagiarizing gnats.
Never saw it before. Stole our photos
and text without the courtesy
of proper linking."

Whoa! Hold on there, pardner! Them's fightin' words!

While we hand it to Tom Mitchell for responding to the question, we've got to take issue with the "plagiarizing gnats" dig, and not only because referring to this site as "gnats" indicates that the flailing Review-Journal is a journalistic giant being nettled by a tiny insect, when in fact it's being beaten to the punch by a topnotch competitor.

But let's get one thing straight, buckaroo: TabloidBaby.com has not "plagiarized" a word. We've got a multifaceted role here of critiquing the news media coverage of the story, satirizing the buffoons and breaking news on our own. In doing so, we've quoted from papers and news sites including the Review-Journal-- but in every case have linked to the original story, cited the source and even included photos of the authors. "Linking" to other sites and stories has been a hallmark of TabloidBaby.com since its inception a decade ago.



Says Sam Peters:

"On the point of plagiarism, Tom Mitchell is full of... beans. Malarkey! He oughta be a real cowboy and apologize for that one!"

As to the photos we allegedly "stole," TabloidBaby.com has indeed attributed many photos, with the exception of standard publicity shots of Gans onstage (and in the case of Las Vegas comp queen-blogger Steve Friess, even removed photos at his request).

Although we do have the right to post any news-related photos (including one showing Steve Friess in bed with the executive producer of KVBC-TV News, colleague of the controversial beauty queen-turned-TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs) under the fair use sections of copyright law, we've also gone out of our way to accommodate anyone who's complained, and we'll begin attributing all photos when possible.

Responds Sam Peters: "Stealing? Every story has links to the sources. The mainstream media steals from TabloidBaby! Tom Mitchell ought to temper his words."

Thomas Mitchell & Sam Peters, without hats

Inaccurate though his words may be, we understand Tom Mitchell's motivation. Newspapers across the country are in dire straits because of "gnats" like us, beating the lazy, entrenched old school journos at what was their own game. Tom Mitchell knows that TabloidBaby.com has been cleaning the Review-Journal's clock on the Danny Gans story.

Heck, yesterday we cited the Review-Journal's Norm Clarke for the Whoopi Goldberg story. This morning, he copied our "Curse of The Encore Theatre" angle (which we first reported the day of Danny Gans' death)-- with nary a whit of attribution.

On May 19, we posted a "Tale of The Tape," comparing the number of Danny Gans stories posted here and published in the Review-Journal in the days since his mysterious death at the age of 52 on May 1st.

Here is an update:

Las Vegas Review Journal:
May 21: Jacobs' visibility triggers questions of perception
May 21: Mike Weatherford column on free memorial invites to fans
May 21: NORM: Fans to pay tribute at Gans memorial
May 22: Memorial service reveals real Danny Gans
May 22: NORM: Family never knew of any health woe
May 23: NORM: Emergency halts Whoopi's show

TabloidBaby.com:
May 20: Danny Gans memorial plans revealed
May 20: The New York Times runs a condescending feature
on Danny Gans and gets it wrong about "hyperventilating bloggers"
May 20: Twelve weeks? Still no word on the cause
of Danny Gans' death; If the Coroner takes a year,
will the Las Vegas news media simply wait?
May 20: Question for the New York Times: What bloggers

"are swapping dark speculations about depression"

in Danny Gans case?
May 20: Las Vegas writer Steve Friess finds it "strange"
that ordinary folk are being invited to Danny Gans' memorial
May 21: Danny Gans memorial at 3 pm today
May 21: Locals play catch-up: Las Vegas newspaper

slams Alicia Jacobs for her"reverse bias"

in reporting the Danny Gans death case
May 21: Gans memorial will go on with no answers
about what caused his untimely death at 52;
Vegas journos waste column inches questioning public invites
May 21: 3 pm: The curtain falls for Danny Gans
May 21: Tears & smiles at memorial for Danny Gans
May 22: Danny Gans' son says family knew of no health problems
May 22: The program for Danny Gans' memorial
May 22: The show goes on: Whoopi Goldberg moves into
Danny Gans' theatre tonight
May 22: Who will be the new Danny Gans?
May 22: Coroner still has no word on what killed Danny Gans
as the Las Vegas death mystery enters its fourth week
May 23: The curse of the Encore? Whoopi Goldberg walks off
during first show in the theatre since the death of Danny Gans
May 24: "Anonymous plagiarizing gnats!"
Las Vegas Review-Journal editor takes potshot
at Tabloid Baby after we clean his paper's clock
in Danny Gans coverage

Tom Mitchell photos: Las Vegas Review-Journal