Society of Seven fights for attention

Friday, May 31, 2002 | 9:17 a.m.

The Society of Seven is not a secret society although members of the popular group of entertainers from Hawaii are beginning to wonder.

SOS (its nickname in the islands) has been performing in Golden Nuggets Theatre Ballroom for five weeks, following a successful five-month run at the Las Vegas Hilton.

"There are people staying in this hotel that dont know we are here," said Bert Sagum, one of the two founding members of the 33-year-old troupe. Most of the publicity for the show has been through word of mouth, according to Tony Ruivivar, the other original member of SOS.

"Were doing pretty good business for word of mouth," said Ruivivar, the unofficial spokesman for the seven-member band. "But we could be doing a lot better if we were promoted more."

Golden Nugget is part of MGM MIRAGE, which also includes The Mirage, Bellagio and Treasure Island properties bought by MGM Grand from Steve Wynn.

"When we signed a three-month contract with the Golden Nugget, on their end they were supposed to do a lot of promotions with all the sister hotels, and everything else," Ruivivar said.

It has only been within the past week that Golden Nugget began advertising the show on its own closed-circuit television broadcast to guest rooms, according to Ruivivar. And there has been no advertising at the other hotels.

SOS members say they believe their problems can be traced to impressionist Danny Gans, who signed a contract with The Mirage when it was owned by Wynn. A clause in the original contract between Gans and Wynn was designed to prevent impressionists from working at any of the Wynn properties.

About 20 minutes of SOS' 75-minute show consists of impressions. The rest of the act is Broadway show tunes, top-40 songs and comedy.

Ruivivar said Gans and/or his manager, Chip Lightman, is pressuring MGM MIRAGE to avoid advertising SOS at the other properties.

Joe Leone, Golden Nugget's entertainment director, said there has been no pressure from Gans.

"I would not put it at the footsteps of Mr. Gans," he said.

Leone said all advertising must be approved at the corporate level of MGM MIRAGE.

Alan Feldman, the corporation's senior vice president of public affairs, said he has heard nothing about a controversy involving Gans and SOS.

"There has been no pressure (from Gans)," Feldman said. "I can't imagine there would be. Danny was a virtual unknown himself not too long ago, and he can appreciate the position of someone being an unknown."

As far as advertising, Feldman said he believes SOS may be responsible for paying for its own publicity.

"I believe to some extent theirs is a four-wall (room rental) deal, so they may be responsible for the promotion of their own show," he said.

Ruivivar said SOS is indeed four-walling the room, meaning they are responsible for outside advertising.

"But when we first came in here and started to promote the show on television and (in) print, (the corporation) made us pull the ads. They said they didn't want it to interfere with Tony Orlando," Ruivivar said.

Orlando performed in the Theatre Ballroom immediately before SOS. Ruivivar said the group was only trying to promote its own show.

Ruivivar said because of the lack of advertising early on in the show's run, SOS has not been doing enough business to justify spending a lot of money on print and broadcast media advertising.

Besides, he said, the issue is with in-house advertising -- signs, videos and other means of getting the word out among MGM MIRAGE properties.

"We were hoping (the corporation) would help us out more," Ruivivar said. "They said they would do a lot of in-house things."

Ruivivar said he believes Gans is behind the problem.

"They (Gans' representatives) didn't want us in the showroom in the first place because they said we are an impersonations act," Ruivivar said. "A portion of what we do is impersonations, but we are really a variety show, not an impersonation show."

Ruivivar said Lightman came to SOS' opening performance and stormed out angrily early in the show, when impressions were performed.

Lightman said that isn't true, nor is it true that he is pressuring anyone about SOS.

"I didn't really see the show," he said. "I was having dinner at the Golden Nugget and I dropped by the theater for 10 minutes and left."

Lightman said it is true that there is a clause in Gans' contract dealing with the hiring of similar acts.

"Just as there is a clause in any contract dealing with acts of like kind," Lightman said. "That's in anyone's contract."

Lightman called allegations by SOS a publicity ploy.

"I think this is a bit of a stretch," he said. "We have a contract with a clause and I think it would automatically be (enforced). It's not like lawsuits are threatened."

Ruivivar said SOS has had the support of Golden Nugget officials, it's that those officials must answer to MGM MIRAGE.

"They (MGM MIRAGE) are hurting us," Ruivivar said. "We thought we were going to have the backing of a big company, even though we are downtown. We know a lot of Hawaiians come downtown.

"We have a big following in California and other places. We figured people would be coming down from the Strip. If the other hotels would advertise us, then we at least would have a good chance of making it here. But from Day One, it's been an uphill battle."

SOS was known as the Fabulous Echoes when the group originated in the early '60s in Hong Kong.

In 1964 the Fabulous Echoes came to Las Vegas for a four-week engagement at the Thunderbird, which turned into a four-year gig performing at properties owned by the Del Webb Corporation.

In 1969 the group was going to return to Hong Kong, but stopped in Honolulu for a gig that has lasted 33 years.

"When we left here for Hawaii, Steve Wynn was just starting the Golden Nugget," Ruivivar recalled. "He wanted us for his showroom. He called me every day for a week, but we didn't want to go downtown."

Later, in Hawaii, Ruivivar said he began reading about Wynn's success, and he called Wynn but Wynn never returned his calls.

Today a second SOS group is holding down the showroom in Hawaii while the old-timers try to establish a base in Las Vegas.

Ruivivar said he doesn't want people to think SOS is trying to cause trouble.

"All we want to do is our show," he said.