VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Lange dead set on Hard Rock show

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 4:34 a.m.

VegasBeat appears Sunday through Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at tim@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4096.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 24 - 25, 2004

Only in Las Vegas.

"I died the last time I was here," comic Arte Lange was telling us.

He did not die on the stage at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, where he was performing his role as smart-mouth sidekick on Howard Stern's radio show.

Lange was reported dead after a hoaxer convinced a local television station to report the fictitious information.

But a few nights later things really got weird, Lange said.

That was the night he was carried out of the Hard Rock unconscious after drinking, hard, for four straight hours on the show.

"I woke up in the Spearmint Rhino (gentleman's club) talking to Henry Hill about ravioli. I really thought I had died that time."

Hill is the turncoat mobster who is the subject of Nick Pileggi's best seller "Wiseguy," which is the basis for the Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas."

Hill wrote a book called "The Wiseguy Cookbook: My Favorite Recipes from My Life As a Goodfella to Cooking on the Run" (New American Library, $17), and wanted Lange to talk about it on the air.

Lange was scheduled to play a sold-out Saturday night show at The Joint, presented by "Beacher's Madhouse," the hotel's resident comedy show. Those who had made reservations to see the show included David Spade, Ice-T and adult film star Tabitha Stevens.

Several published reports say that the big Maria Shriver interview with Siegfried & Roy will air on Oct. 4, the anniversary of the tiger attack on Roy Horn.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's "Bad Boys of Hockey" was slated to take place at The Orleans Arena Saturday night.

The maker of such films as "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Top Gun" and "Bad Boys," and pals ranging from actor Cuba Gooding Jr. to puck stars Chris Chelios and Marty McSorley, all checked in at the Hard Rock Hotel on Friday for the weekend activities.

Gooding immediately hit the blackjack tables.

Caesars Palace restaurateur Bradley Ogden, who just won the James Beard award as the nation's best chef, had dinner at Diego, the hot new Mexican place at MGM Grand on Thursday night.

With zero fanfare, George Maloof has broken ground on the new tower at the Palms.

In addition to the 300 or so new guest rooms, it'll feature another nightclub and several restaurants, including one called Belly, all part of the N9NE group.

Bally's Race and Sports Book oddsmaker Johnny Avello must have some downtime on his hands.

He and Bally's music director Joel Mann are starting something called "Strip Search," a karaoke contest set over several weeks in which the winner will get to perform his or her own full-length set, most likely in the hotel's 1,000-seat Jubilee Theatre.

The contest will take place Friday and Saturday nights starting Aug. 6 in the bar and lounge area adjacent to the sports book, which is otherwise empty once the games end.

It is going to be hosted by the beautiful and talented Vegas entertainer Kellie Karl and Martin Andrew, a dead-on Rod Stewart impersonator who arrived in Vegas from London just six weeks ago.

And for the guy to have a Strip gig in a major hotel after being in town less than two months, you would have to assume he has got to be pretty good. We've seen him, and he is.

Bill Rancic ("The Apprentice") will be in Vegas on Monday.

He'll be making some appearances as part of the cigar show, or, as it is called formally, the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America Conference, at The Venetian.

Maybe Friday the 13th really is a bad day.

Gloria Estefan, who was scheduled to play at the Thomas & Mack Center on the evening of Friday, Aug. 13, has canceled her concert.

No reason was offered, which usually means that ticket sales were not so good.

Las Vegas resident Joe Jackson -- Michael's dad -- celebrates his 75th birthday this weekend.

A private mansion has been rented out for the bash, and the group B2K has been booked as the entertainment.

Several celebs and family members are flying in to attend, but apparently not Michael.

Well, we hope he at least sends a card.