Livin’ Life

Friday, July 15, 2005 | 3:47 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 16-17, 2005

Who: Clint Holmes.

When: 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Dark Sundays and July 25-27 and Sept. 27.

Where: Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater.

Tickets: $65.95.

Information: 369-5222.

There are a lot words to describe Clint Holmes, all of them positive.

The 55-year-old entertainer is optimistic, upbeat, eternally cheerful, energetic, gregarious and generous with his time.

Not many could bounce back from colon cancer treatment on Dec. 22 and begin performing again barely three weeks later.

Nor weather a storm of rumors, such as the one about Harrah's requiring that he four-wall -- when a producer rents the showroom from the casino -- his showroom when his contract is up in October 2006.

The source of Holmes' power of positive thinking probably can be traced to the obstacles he faced growing up near Buffalo, N.Y.

The son of a white opera singer from England and a black jazz singer from the United States, Holmes experienced racism first-hand as a youth -- not the cross-burning variety, but the more subtle version in which he was largely ignored by his peers.

He could have ended up bitter and disillusioned, but just the opposite happened.

Holmes turned into an outgoing, likable performer determined to make his mark in the entertainment world.

With a natural talent inherited from his parents, he became a recording artist and for years a lounge performer, as well as an opening act for such entertainers as Bill Cosby.

Holmes was a correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight" in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, and was the announcer-sidekick for Joan Rivers on her talk show on Fox in 1989. In 1991 he hosted "New York at Night," an Emmy-winning talk show that aired on WWOR in New York City for a year.

He wrote a musical about his life, "Comfortable Shoes," with hopes of taking it to Broadway. Eventually he and music director Bill Fayne, a close friend from college, joined forces and in 1999 opened at the Golden Nugget, a gig that lasted seven months before he was signed by Harrah's.

Holmes recently discussed with the Sun his trials and tribulations and his thoughts about the future:

Las Vegas Sun: First of all, how is your health?

Clint Holmes: I feel great, better than ever. Everything has been fine. My energy is as good as it's ever been -- I keep my body strong.

Sun: Are you more conscious of health issues these days?

CH: Remember when you were a kid and the adults would say, "As long as you have your health ..."? And you'd think, "Yeah, whatever."

But then something like this happens, and boy, it's so true. It makes you appreciate your health and to refocus your life. It has re-energized me.

Up until this stuff happened, I didn't even think about physicals. Now I go in for periodical screenings.

Sun: Has it altered your lifestyle?

CH: One of the things, I have cut back on fried foods. It's not that there's anything I can't eat -- I just eat less. Less steak. Less fries -- I have quit eating them -- I'm just aware of it and won't eat them again for a few days.

And also, afterwards I realized that I loved to do so many things -- I would always look at things and say to myself, "I'll get to that." But now you won't. I have refocused on the things that are really important to me -- like I'm making my show the very best that I can.

I think I'm more honest with myself, and I'm growing as an artist. I'm trying to do better -- I have so much more to learn.

I love the learning process, which is why I love to hang out with people like Gordie Brown and Frankie Scinta and Penn and Teller -- we talk about that stuff, how it all works.

Sun: How did you discover the cancer?

CH: It was in early December. I was in New York on vacation -- I love New York at Christmas so I go there every year to shop and to see some plays.

While I was there I got a phone call from a family friend and she said she had been thinking of me and my health. She wondered if I had been taking care of myself. I said, "Oh, sure." I get a physical every year and it been about a year ago. And as I was talking to her I recalled that at the physical the doctor had handed me a prescription for a colonoscopy and I never got it filled.

She said if it had been a year, then I needed to get it done. So after I returned to Vegas I got the colonoscopy on Friday, Dec. 17, and they discovered the cancer.

I went into surgery on Dec. 22 and they took out six inches of my colon. I was fortunate that it hadn't spread at all. Now I go in every three or four months.

Sun: What was your reaction when you learned you had cancer?

CH: I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it. I only had about four days to deal with it from the time I learned I had it until I was in surgery.

My first reaction was that I got very angry -- I walked into the doctor's office, looked at him and said, "Get this (expletive deleted) thing out of me. I don't have time for this."

There was fear and anxiety mixed in with the anger -- but I'm one of those eternal optimists. I always look at the positive.

I didn't have a fear of dying, but it made me aware of our fallibility, of the finite side of our life. We procrastinate about doing things important to us -- this brought home the reality that you better get on with it and do it.

And the other thing that struck me just before the surgery -- when they wheel you in -- is that ultimately you're alone in this world. We all go through a lot of experiences, but we are born and we die alone.

That was a very striking realization for me because I'm always around people.

Sun: Besides your show, what are you working on?

CH: I'm working on my theater piece. Before I die I want to take it to Broadway. It won't be "Comfortable Shoes," but there will be elements of that in the show.

Sun: It has been reported that you are being considered as the lead in the Broadway revival of "Golden Boy," which starred your hero Sammy Davis Jr. in the '60s. Any truth to that?

CH: I truly know nothing about it. I do a piece from "Golden Boy" in my show, but I've never heard anything about my being considered for a part in the musical.

Sun: Would you take it if it were offered?

CH: I can's say that I would say no, but on the surface I don't think so. I don't think I would be interested. Now, if somebody approached me about a short run on Broadway and I could schedule it around my engagement at Harrah's -- then maybe.

Actually, "Comfortable Shoes" is still on my dream list. A perfect world for me would be, after my deal is up with Harrah's, I would do it on Broadway and then bring it to Las Vegas.

Sun: What about your deal with Harrah's? Your contract is up in October 2006. There have been rumors that the show will close. Any truth to that?

CH: It's interesting how rumors get started. I've heard Harrah's is going to ask all of us to four-wall -- but believe me, we have not sat down and talked about that issue.

Right now, I'm settled in and I'm doing fine. Probably in the next six months or so we will sit down and discuss the future.

Now that Harrah's has expanded, there are so many other venues. They want to match the talents of the entertainers to the right room.

Sun: Would you be interested in leaving Harrah's?

CH: You never now. I've very comfortable there. But maybe I could fill a bigger room. But I'm very comfortable in my own room, which is a great size for me right now.

But then, I'm all about growing and changing and challenging myself.

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