Celebrity narrations dot Las Vegas attractions

Melissa Schorr

Tuesday, June 29, 1999 | 9:52 a.m.

No, those voices aren't just in your head. Celebrity voices speaking to you from above can be found at various attractions around town -- from Siegfried & Roy on their tour of the Secret Garden to Patrick Stewart (as Capt. Jean Luc Picard) at the Star Trek: The Experience tour. Here, some insider info on some of the audio cameos in Las Vegas.

* John O'Hurley: The man who played J. Peterman on "Seinfeld" voices the audio tour for the Treasures of Mandalay Bay Museum, a collection of rare coins valued at $42 million.

Fun Fact: "We contacted (O'Hurley) because he's a friend of one of the partners involved in the museum," Museum Director Irma Kane explains. "He was very funny, but recording it was an ordeal. It was very long, because of the intricateness of discussing the coins' value, and the history behind the coins. He came by and took a tour through a little after it opened. He was quite impressed. He was expecting it to look like a coin store or a pawn shop, old and dingy."

Highlight: O'Hurley's Peterman-esque description of the King of Siam collection, a coin set valued at $8 million, which was presented to Siam by the U.S. Department of State in 1836 to commemorate the establishment of a trade treaty. In his deep baritone, O'Hurley tells of the trip the American envoy made across the Indian Ocean in a ship of war called the Peacock, "a voyage that would take him halfway around the world." Tragedy stuck at 2 in the morning. The ship "ran aground," then was looted by pirates, but luckily, the coins were safely hidden and arrived at their destination. "If history had been different, there would be no King of Siam set," he gravely intones. If the set were for sale -- and Peterman's catalogue hadn't gone bankrupt -- it might have made the perfect item.

* Charlton Heston: The actor recorded the voice for the Treasures of Russia exhibit, formerly at the Rio.

Fun Fact: Heston recorded the script in Los Angeles before the exhibit was even completed, and never made it to Las Vegas to see the display -- which closed in April.

Highlight: Although the casino was concerned that choosing the president of the National Rifle Association might be seen as a controversial or politicized choice, one Rio publicist lauded Heston's "dramatic" portrayal of how Nicholas II and his family were arrested -- and executed at gunpoint -- in the middle of the night.

* Tommy Tune: As David Cassidy did before him, the "EFX" star answers the phones at the MGM Grand.

Fun fact: Tune confessed that he loves it that when his friends from home call the hotel, he personally "answers" the phone.

Highlight: Tune brings humor to frustrated callers on hold, joking with them in his gentle Texan drawl that when he's not starring in "EFX," he answers the phones at the MGM Grand switchboard as part of his "day job."

* Steve Wynn: The hotel mogul does the voice-over for the walking tour of the Art Gallery at the Bellagio.

Highlight: Listen to Wynn's unique pronunciation of "Van Gogh" and his interpretation of Jackson Pollock's splatter-paint artwork.

* Celebs Galore: At McCarran International Airport, more than 50 celebrities, including Rich Little, Gladys Knight, Cook E. Jarr, Bobby Vinton and the late Mel Torme, remind travelers using the moving walkway to hold onto the handrail and stand to the right.

Fun Facts: The practice began July 1975. The recordings are not advertisements -- they never mention the hotels where performers are appearing. The celebrities accept no payment for their contribution.

Highlight: The latest vocal addition is celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, according to airport publicist Debbie Millett. Next up, she is awaiting a tape from Dick Smothers of the Smothers Brothers. And her dream "get": Barbra Streisand. "But no," she says with a sigh, "I haven't asked her yet."