Las Vegas may have forgotten Danny Gans, and its journalists may have shied away from the striking, disturbing parallels between his overdose death and that of Michael Jackson-- but Salt Lake City, Utah remembers.
Don Osmond, PR man, bobsledder and blogger, is a son of show business legend Donny Osmond, whose show with his sister Marie at the Flamingo Hilton on the Vegas strip was produced by Danny Gans (and the type of anti-sin family-friendly shows that jibed well with his Born Again Christian image and following). Donny and his brothers saw their squeaky clean act soar in the the Seventies as a "White Jackson 5." In his weekly column in the Mormon Times, Don the son acknowledges that the "untimely deaths... hit my family pretty hard during the past couple months."
Don Osmond, PR man, bobsledder and blogger, is a son of show business legend Donny Osmond, whose show with his sister Marie at the Flamingo Hilton on the Vegas strip was produced by Danny Gans (and the type of anti-sin family-friendly shows that jibed well with his Born Again Christian image and following). Donny and his brothers saw their squeaky clean act soar in the the Seventies as a "White Jackson 5." In his weekly column in the Mormon Times, Don the son acknowledges that the "untimely deaths... hit my family pretty hard during the past couple months."
And he writes:
"Interestingly, when our time is up, it's the kind and simple things we are remembered by.
"During Danny Gans' memorial service, personal stories were shared of how he always looked for ways to give back to a community that gave him so much.
"One such story described his daily trip to the theater. He would travel the same route every day, and would regularly visit with a man who had been left homeless.
"Often, Danny would take a couple minutes to stop and chat. During these visits, it became apparent to him that this man had difficulties walking. Danny decided to purchase a wheelchair the following day, and give it to him.
"No one ever heard that story until Danny's memorial service. Why? Because those stories don't sell magazines and newspapers. Those stories are not what the media thinks the public wants to hear.
"...Now I'm not here to vindicate or condemn a celebrity for the way the media portrayed them. And, thankfully, I'm not the judge of salvation -- I leave that job for God.
"However, I don't think any of us realize the private lives of a celebrity until we hear a young girl say, as Paris Jackson said of her father, 'Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine, and I just want to say I love him so much'..."
Read Don Osmond's entire column here. Amid allegations of doctor shopping and questions about what other drugs Danny Gans had been supplied with, it is yet another compelling argument for the Las Vegas news media to do its job and find justice for him.
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