Oscar Goodman and ‘CSI’ combine for a mob hit

By John Katsilometes

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011 | 7:02 p.m.

Time to play psychic:

In mid-October, millions of network TV viewers will watch in astonishment as Oscar Goodman is shot at The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas.

I’m talking of Oscar Goodman the thespian, though, not the real-life former Las Vegas mayor and mob attorney. This is the Oscar who would one day love to win an Oscar. Or at least an Emmy, as he portrays himself on the episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” airing on CBS (KLAS Channel 8) on Oct. 12.

“I get shot at the beginning,” Goodman says. “And I can tell you, when I am shot, I am Oscar Goodman, and it is scary.”

Goodman is revealing little more about the plot of the episode, which stars new cast member Ted Danson along with holdovers Marg Helgenberger and Carol Mendelsohn. The onetime, self-dubbed Happiest Mayor in the Universe is gunned down at the beginning of the show, and the “where” is vital -- and that is not meaning his shoulder, which is the body part affected. Goodman is fired upon at The Mob Museum in an episode centered on the still-under-construction attraction officials hope will be open by Valentine’s Day 2012.

Goodman acts in four scenes, matching his most extensive onscreen performance since he was featured in that many scenes in the 1995 film “Casino.” He played himself then, too, and in one scene is seated at the Center Stage Restaurant at the Plaza, the very spot where his new eatery, Oscar’s Steak and Lounge, will open over the next several months.

Pouncing on a delicious cross-promotional opportunity, the Plaza is planning to host a viewing party for the “CSI” episode featuring Goodman on the night of Oct. 12. Specifically where and at what time is not yet determined, said Jonathan Jossel, an executive with Tamares Las Vegas Properties, which owns the Plaza.

Jossell has been practically overrun with press inquiries about Goodman and his restaurant and adjoining speakeasy.

“Everyone wants to ask me about Oscar Goodman. It’s been incredible,” Jossell says. “If we have a crowd of 400, we want to have this viewing party in our showroom, which I think is the nicest in the city now. But if there are 600, we’ll have to move it to a bigger space, maybe out at the pool or in our convention space. … But I’d rather keep it at 400 and have it in the showroom.”

Jossell, too, is investigating a way to air the show earlier than its 10 p.m. West Coast broadcast slot. He’d like to record the East Coast feed and have the show air at about 8:30 p.m. Whatever happens, we will keep you posted, as the party should be quite the downtown Vegas affair.

“It is a great way to promote the city and The Mob Museum, that’s for certain,” Goodman says. “I got a phone call a while back from (Las Vegas-born actor and screenwriter) Dustin Lee Abraham, who wrote an episode about The Mob Museum and said he wanted me to play myself.

“I said, ‘That’s phenomenal!’ ”

Abraham wanted to shoot the episode at The Mob Museum, set up inside the famed U.S. Post Office and Federal Courthouse on 300 Stewart Ave., where the Kefauver Committee hearings on organized crime were held in 1950-’51. That would be impossible with the building several months from opening to the public, so Mob Museum officials sent the “CSI” team a set of plans for the exhibit, and a replica set was constructed for the episode featuring Goodman.

Goodman has already appeared in the series twice, in cameo roles. He met series creator Anthony Zuiker, a UNLV film school grad, several years ago, and Zuiker could not resist putting the then-active Las Vegas mayor in his highly rated crime drama. But Goodman has never been asked to do as much actual acting as he will display on Oct. 12.

“You’ll see me and Ted Danson together, and he is a great guy,” Goodman says. “Acting is not easy. This was extensive, and it was work.”

Goodman spent four days working with the cast and production team, ending Sept. 6. Director Martha Coolidge worked closely with Goodman, warding (we expect) against any overly aggressive ad-libbing.

Also guest starring in the episode is Frances Fisher (known mostly for her roles in “Titanic” and “The Shield”), who plays the wife of a demonic mafia hitman. This role might or might not figure into the Goodman shooting at the start of the show. I’d guess that it does.

“We became very good friends,” Goodman says of Fisher. “She’s a wonderful person.”

Hoping for high ratings and expecting significant publicity for one of his favorite projects, Goodman says he is prepped for a return to network television.

“There is some chatter about that,” he says. “I loved it, and they all sort of liked me. We’ll see what happens, but I’m certainly game.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.