Columnist John Katsilometes: Crooner grateful to Allen

Monday, Nov. 6, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

John Katsilometes is the Sun features editor. His column appears Mondays. Reach him at kats@lasvegassun.com or 259-2327.

One night five years ago George Bugatti, a singer/pianist with a knack for unearthing and refurbishing obscure old tunes, was performing in the posh Club Room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel.

It was common for some of the heaviest hitters in popular music -- Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra among them -- to drop into the room to check in on the promising young crooners booked at the Club Room. The next Bennett or Sinatra could very well be on stage, after all.

On this night the unmistakable figures of Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows dropped in. They stayed a while, took in Bugatti's performance, and left without fanfare.

That was the first contact Bugatti ever had with Allen. It wasn't the last.

"A week after that I got a letter in the mail," Bugatti said during a break Wednesday night at the Bellagio's Allegro Lounge, where he has been stationed for the past two years. "Steve said he enjoyed the show. He said, 'I've been thinking about doing a project with a young singer and I'd like to produce a CD with you.' That letter is my greatest source of pride."

Allen, who died Tuesday at age 78, had no reason to take interest in Bugatti. His legacy would hardly be affected by the success or failure of this unknown, thirtysomething singer.

"He had nothing to gain. There wasn't any overriding reason for it, other than he thought I had talent," Bugatti said. "That's just how he was."

Perhaps weeding out new talent is a characteristic shared by entertainers of a bygone era. It's difficult to fathom, say, Eddie Van Halen scouring L.A. clubs in search of young guitar heroes to groom.

"Steve was devoted to keeping this style of music alive," Bugatti said. "He was known for his comedy, his influence on television, so nobody went to him for his songs ... his songwriting never got its due."

A famously prolific songwriter who claimed to have crafted nearly 8,000 songs, Allen began sending tunes to Bugatti by the dozen. The collaboration resulted in a warm, smooth CD, "Oh, What a Night for Love: The Steve Allen Songbook." Soon after, Bugatti set up at the Bellagio, and his act is peppered with references to Allen.

"He didn't invent the Internet," Bugatti likes to say, "but he invented almost everything else."

Bugatti's career has not yet reached its peak, however. His run at the Bellagio ends in January, a casualty of the changeover in the resort's ownership. He's taking his act on the road with headlining gigs lined up at the Sands in Atlantic City and plans for his own show -- "Bugatti and Friends" -- to begin in February in L.A. The latter concept, where Bugatti would be joined by a rotating collection of musicians and singers, was one Allen inspired and supported.

Bugatti's voice -- powerful and resonant on stage -- turned to a whisper when he discussed Allen's passing.

"I've only now realized what Steve meant to me," he said. "I was in his office just a week ago, talking about ideas for different things, but I never did let him know how much of an influence he's been on my life."

Perhaps the best tribute would be for Bugatti to make it big. That would've made Allen proud, and in Bugatti's universe there is no greater feat.