Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: ‘Gilligan’ reunion recipe lacks Ginger

For some people, old wounds die slowly, if ever.

As we recently reported, Tina Louise has finally agreed to appear on a "Gilligan's Island" slot machine and will appear at next week's G2E Global Gaming Expo to promote the one-armed bandit.

But it turns out Louise will not appear with any of her fellow former castaways -- Bob Denver, Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson. Louise's appearance is scheduled for the late afternoon on Sept. 17; the other three actors are listed to make a Sept. 16 lunch-hour appearance at Las Vegas Convention Center.

Louise, who played bombshell Ginger on the long-running (in syndication) sitcom, has historically shunned her connection to the show, lamenting that it killed her career as a serious actress.

Louise has an unlisted number at her apartment in New York City. Spokeswomen for both the gaming show and slot maker IGT were unable to locate Louise on Monday.

E-mail queries directed to Denver were not immediately answered.

Unlike Louise, the other castaways have good-naturedly embraced the implausibly silly show that raised such questions as: Why did Mr. and Mrs. Howell pack so many trunks of clothes for a three-hour tour? And if the Professor can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he repair a hole in the S.S. Minnow?

Beyond the Gilligan crew, several other celebs have confirmed their appearances to introduce new slot machines based on their TV shows, including Gary Burghoff (Radar from "M*A*S*H"), Barbara Eden ("I Dream of Jeannie"), "Dating Game" and "Newlywed Game" host Jim Lange and Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams ("Laverne & Shirley").

Other celebs scheduled to introduce their own themed slot machines include Jeff Foxworthy, Dick Clark, Kevin Nealon, Rip Torn and "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams .

Lookin' good

The smash Bravo and NBC reality/makeover show, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" -- where five gay men spruce up a heterosexual schlub -- is coming to Las Vegas. Sort of.

Frank Marino, the flamboyant star of "An Evening at La Cage" at Riviera, his partner and two of their friends were scheduled to go on KXMB 94.1-FM (The Mix) this morning to start to give Mark & Mercedes morning show producer Chad Forster the once-over.

"It is radio, so it will be hard to see what we are going to do, but I have also had some calls from local TV stations," Marino said.

Forster said he suggested the sprucing up to "impress a girl" who is about to visit him from out of town.

Marino, his life partner, Shannon Schechter, of Hollywood Video, furniture designer Sal Competelli and Brandon Johnson, the entertainment director of the gay-oriented Gipsy nightclub, will bring Forster to the Canyon Ranch Spa and other Vegas locales for his treatment.

They group is back later in the week with the results.

"For work I dress like a woman, but I can also do men," Marino said."I just have too much fashion sense to limit myself to one sex."

A pricey clock

One of only five James Bond Z28 BMWs in the world is on display and available -- for free -- at the Newport Clock Gallery inside the Forum Shops at Caesars.

Yes, there is a catch. You need to buy a $139,000 analog clock to get the car -- a clock embedded in the dashboard.

The futuristic vehicle, featured in the 1999 film "The World Is Not Enough," has everything from neon taillights to a red-leather interior and all kinds of cool gizmos on its center instrument panel.

VegasBits

Dress up: Most of the cocktail waitresses at the Palms are dressing in original-style Playboy Bunny outfits in honor of the magazine's 50th anniversary weekend, which starts Sept. 19 ...

Bridge over: Sixties favorites Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel are having a news conference today at New York's Bottom Line club to announce a reunion tour. One source says a Las Vegas concert date will "almost certainly" be booked ...

Good kid: Ray Brown Jr. -- son of jazz great Ray Brown and the legendary Ella Fitzgerald -- made his Vegas debut the other night in the Le Bistro Theatre at Riviera. He plays Tuesdays through Saturdays at 10 p.m. ...

Good deed: The Roni Josef Salon on West Craig Road donated its profits Sunday -- more than $1,600 -- to the Red Cross for victims of the recent Vegas floods ...

Campaign: Monday's New York Times had a feature on the makings of an advertising spread on Treasure Island that was created by the editors of FHM magazine, and will appear in the lifestyle magazine's October issue. On Oct. 26, the hotel's 10th anniversary, it officially changes its name to TI ...

Listen up: VegasBeat makes a guest appearance on Alan Stock and Heidi Harris' popular KXNT 840-AM morning show at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The topic is VegasBeat's one-year anniversary, which occurred over the weekend.

From Sun wires

Actor Mark Wahlberg and his longtime girlfriend, model Rhea Durham, became the parents of a baby girl on the same day one of his sisters died at a Boston area hospital.

Ella Rae Wahlberg was born Sept. 2 at 4 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Nadine Johnson, a publicist for Durham. The baby weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Deborah E. Donnelly-Wahlberg of Kingston died the same day, said Tom Murphy of Murphy Funeral Home in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

A death notice didn't specify a cause of death, but Donnelly-Wahlberg apparently went into the hospital for what she thought was a kidney stone and died, possibly of a heart attack, the Boston Herald reported.

Baby step: "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc is going from newlywed to new dad.

LeBlanc, 36, and his wife, Melissa, are expecting a baby in mid-March, publicist Joe Libonati said Monday.

The couple married in May. She has two children from a previous marriage.

The baby would be LeBlanc's first.

Uncharged battery: A Minnesota jury ruled on Monday against a security guard who accused rocker Marilyn Manson of battery at a concert three years ago.

David Diaz' federal civil suit sought more than $75,000 for emotional distress and other injuries. He claimed that Manson stood at the edge of the stage, pulled the guard's head toward his crotch and gyrated.

Manson never contested the accusation, but maintained that it did not constitute battery.

The jury deliberated 11 hours over two days before returning a verdict.

Last year Manson pleaded no contest in Michigan to being a disorderly person and assault and battery after gyrating against a security guard at a 2001 concert. He was ordered to pay fines and costs totaling $4,000. A civil case regarding the matter is pending.

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