VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Gans gives ‘Beautiful’ tribute

Friday, June 25, 2004 | 4:28 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

June 26 - 27, 2004

After taking Ray Charles out of his show as a sign of respect for the music legend's passing, Danny Gans put him back in Thursday.

Toward the end of his Mirage show, Gans put on a pair of sunglasses, crossed his arms and sang "America the Beautiful."

"There was an electric feeling in the air that made the hair stand up on the back your neck," a show attendee told us.

Celine Dion's latest release, "A New Day: Live in Las Vegas," sold 58,000 copies in its first week, according to Billboard, making it the No. 10 album on the sales charts.

Last year, in its first week, her album "One Heart" placed at No. 2 with 432,000 copies sold.

Sandy Hackett tells us that the anniversary date of the death of his father, legendary Vegas headliner Buddy Hackett, will not go unnoticed.

Son Sandy, who wrote and produced the Rat Pack tribute show "The Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey & Dean" at Greek Isles, will start Wednesday's show with a 10-minute compilation video of his dad's life and work.

We are curious to see how he boiled the senior Hackett's long and successful career down into a mere 10-minute video.

"You don't," Sandy Hackett told us. "But my sister put together a wonderful tape that gives the viewer a wonderful sense of Buddy and an appreciation for the laughs he provided for so many over the years."

"Entertainment Las Vegas Style," the TV show hosted by entertainer Tony Sacca, has a new time slot.

The show is now airing Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. on KTUD Channel 25 (Cox cable channel 14).

Tonight's show includes Tony Danza, who recently performed at The Orleans, and a look back at Bo Diddley.

Leslie Nielsen will be in Las Vegas this week.

He is the star of "Pirates 4D," a new "multi-sensory experience" that debuts Thursday in the Pharaoh's Theater at Luxor, and he'll be attending the premiere that evening.

It won't help the ratings much, but it is a lot of fun.

Fans of "The Casino," the Fox reality show set at the Golden Nugget, can experience "the excitement of the show in the hotel and casino where it was shot," hotel execs tell us.

For the duration of the series (it runs through Labor Day), free weekly viewer parties will be held at The Lounge every Monday starting at 9 p.m.

Hotel bosses Tom Breitling and Tim Poster are likely to make some drop-in appearances at the parties.

After the viewing party, revelers can stick around to watch Lon Bronson and the All-Star Band from 10 p.m. to midnight.

A cast of Howard Stern sidekicks -- characters who shatter the bounds of taste -- are coming to Las Vegas this week. They are going to live in a house at an undisclosed location for three weeks and star in a "Big Brother"-type Internet reality show.

Among the members of the troubled troupe expected to appear are High Pitched Eric, King of All Blacks, Miss Howard Stern, Zolar, Rev. Bob Levy, Cabbie and Beetlejuice, who is a vertically, hygienically, dentally and altogether socially challenged individual.

They will be live on camera 24/7, either inside the house or on one of their outside excursions.

Several activities are planned for the residents, including performing spoofs of other reality shows such as "American Idol" and "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire," field trips to Studio 54 (MGM Grand) and, on July 4, a trip to Lake Mead.

This being the Internet, they will also judge an amateur striptease contest.

Organizer James Elmore tells us that the broadcast starts Thursday, costs $2 per day and is available at the Web site www.whackpacklive.com.