Columnist Joe Delaney: Off-the-wall Holly has long performance history

Joe Delaney

Friday, May 25, 2001 | 8:43 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears on Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at 259-4066 or joe@lasvegassun.com

The "Michael Holly Off-The-Wall Comedy Hour," performed at 1 and 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, in the Sahara Congo Room, is the newest entry in the afternoon entertainment competition ... Holly is primarily a juggler, but he can also walk a tightwire and perform unusual stunts while garnering his full share of laughs.

Audience interaction is an integral part of his performance, so most of his comedy is impromptu ... Holly developed his comedy by analyzing each audience and saving those incidents that resulted in the biggest and best laughs ... His career as a juggler began while he was studying psychology at the University of California, Irvine.

The comedic spark was present and a friend suggested Holly try his luck as a performer in New York City ... He started out performing on street corners in the Washington Square area ... To support himself, he worked as a gymnastics coach, an assistant buyer and display designer for a national shoe-store chain and as a lifeguard at a spa.

The work of Phillipe Petite, who walked a tight wire a quarter mile off the ground between the World Trade Center towers, was a great influence ... Holly added wire walking to his act and developed his routines by working out daily in Manhattan's Central Park.

Holly returned to school, expanded his studies to include theater, music and dance while finishing his degree in psychology with a minor in theater arts ... Next came the comedy clubs around the country where he was spotted by producers Dick and Lynne Foster and was signed to perform in "Spellbound" for several seasons at Harrah's on the Strip.

He has just returned from performing in another Foster production, "Eclipse," at Caesars in Gauteng in South Africa. Dick Foster Productions are presenting Holly at the Sahara ... Take our word for it, there is no one quite like Michael Holly who is truly "off-the-wall" and very funny in the process.

Weekend wrap-up

Comedian Cork Proctor is just back after spending a month with his wife, Carolyn, still in the Peace Corps in Suriname ... Proctor will perform in the Starbright Theatre in Sun City Summerlin tonight and at the Anthem Theatre in Sun City Anthem on Saturday ... Both shows have a 7 p.m. starting time.

If the guitarist backing Jimmy Hopper in the Bellagio's Fontana Lounge looks familiar, he should ... Jimmy Crespo toured with Aerosmith for five years, spent two more years touring with Rod Stewart, retired, then decided to unretire and work with Hopper ... Hopper has a 10 p.m. show; go early and enjoy brilliant pianist Ariel in the Petrossian Lounge, starting at 8 p.m.

Congratulations, all concerned, at the LV Art Museum ... The recent Dale Chihuly exhibition was visited by more than 22,000 patrons during its eight-week period, making the LV Art Museum's 50th anniversary even more special.

There is a new comedy club in town -- Laugh Trax at Palace Station ... Tap dance fans are reminded that the Tap Dance Day Celebration continues at 3 p.m. Saturday (Winchester Center) ... Lance Burton (Monte Carlo) has added an extra show at 7 p.m., this Sunday only ... Burton goes on hiatus Monday through June 11.

Speaking of hiatuses, we shall be enjoying our annual four-week vacation following this column ... Perhaps this time I will really get to clean out that storeroom ... Our next column, starting year 35 with the Sun, will appear on June 28 ... Enjoy the respite; we hope to.

Our check is in; please add yours, whatever you can afford, and make it out to the Sun Summer Camp Fund, it's tax deductible ... Let's send every deserving youngster to camp this summer ... See you June 29.