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twitterCoroner: Gans’ death was accidental; health problems a factor
Justin M. Bowen
Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy discusses the cause of death Tuesday afternoon of Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans.
Published Tuesday, June 9, 2009 | 11:25 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 9, 2009 | 6:57 p.m.
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- A press conference was held Tuesday, June 9, 2009 regarding the cause of death of entertainer Danny Gans.
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Sun coverage
The cause and manner of death of Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans was released Tuesday afternoon.
Sun archives
- Encore Theater packed one last time for Gans (5-21-09)
- As Danny Gans is remembered, we’re reminded to grasp the moment (5-21-09)
- Band member: Gans in ‘top form’ at final show Wednesday (5-2-09)
- Danny Gans was a gifted, unique figure in Las Vegas entertainment history (5-1-09)
- Death of headliner Danny Gans creates gap at Encore (5-1-09)
Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans' death was an accident and underlying health problems were a factor, the Clark County coroner said Tuesday.
Chronic pain syndrome treated by a pain medication contributed to the death of Daniel Davies Gans. High blood pressure also was a factor, as well as a red blood cell disorder.
Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy said Gans had a toxic reaction to hydromorphone, which is a common pain medication such as Dilaudid, in addition to other physical causes, he said.
Murphy would not release the amount of the drug found in Gans' blood.
"That's a quality of care issue that this office does not address," he said.
The coroner wouldn’t say whether Gans had a prescription for the painkiller. "This is not an issue of drug abuse," he said.
Murphy wouldn’t release the name of Gans' physician.
The coroner's investigation indicated that Gans had hypertensive cardiovascular disease, which causes high blood pressure, thickens the walls of the heart and can create conditions that cause heart problems.
In addition, Gans had polycythemia, a condition that produces more red blood cells than necessary and thickens the blood. The condition is sometimes known as the opposite of anemia, where there are too few red blood cells.
Murphy released Gans' cause of death during a Tuesday afternoon news conference. He said his office reached the conclusion earlier Tuesday.
"We send heartfelt sympathy to the Gans family," Murphy said. The coroner said he had spoken to the family before the news conference.
Murphy said the coroner's office can rule a death one of five different ways: natural, accidental, homicide, suicide and undetermined.
Dr. Gary Telgenhoff, a medical examiner in the coroner's office, said Gans' underlying health conditions already were serious upon his death. Telgenhoff said he had not spoken to Gans' physician during his examination.
Gans, 52, was the headliner at the Encore resort. The singer, actor and impressionist died in his sleep early in the morning of May 1 at his Henderson home. Although the time of death is listed as 7:35 a.m., Murphy explained that a certified health care professional must pronounce a death before it becomes official.
Gans' wife, Julie, found him about 3:44 a.m. May 1. She called 911 and said he was having trouble breathing. Paramedics arrived seven minutes later. He never was alone from the time his wife found him until he was pronounced dead, Murphy said.
After Gans' death, the coroner sent tissue and microscopic samples for lab testing and it took almost six weeks to receive the results, Murphy said.
Over the years, Gans had been billed as "The Man of Many Voices." Gans was named Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year a dozen times.
Gans wasn't always an entertainer. He played minor league baseball until he suffered an injury. He eventually performed in Las Vegas at the Stratosphere, the Rio and the Mirage before going to the Encore, where he opened Feb. 10 in the 1,500-seat Encore Theater.
After his death the Encore posted Gans’ picture on the resort's marquee with the message: "Our friend forever. Danny Gans. 1952 2009."
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what ever they say it will not be the truth. he died from a accidental overdose of medication.
get off the pills skipper
Danny Gans was a DRUG ADDICT and overdosed on prescription HEROIN!
He was no different than a street junkie, except for the millions in the bank!
DILAUDID (hydromorphone hydrochloride), a hydrogenated ketone of morphine, is an opioid analgesic. This is what RICH people like Danny Gans gets prescribed
Heroin is what the poor street junkies have to settle for.
They both get you messed-up and addicted!
If Danny's death was not an overdose, neither was Anna Nicole Smiths, with all her health problems too.
I thought the ENCORE was a DRUG-FREE work enviroment; it says so right on the application!
A drug overdose is only accidental when it happens to a celebrity, locally or nationally: Danny Gans, Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel, actor Heath Ledger, actor Brad Renfro etc., etc., etc..
It's only "just" a drug overdose without payable life insurance benefits when it happens to the rest of us.
Life is sooo fair. And apparently, the fairness doesn't end with death. How ironic for the majority of us.
If it was not ruled "Accidental" Steve Winn would lose out on his big insurance policy payout he takes out on all his big acts. I'm wondering if a drug addict is insurable because I know for a fact all DILAUDID users are addicted to it if they use it for "chronic pain".
danny did his shows as the lord wanted him too..thats the bottom line....drugs never played a part of his performances and awards....i worked his broadway show in 1995,and saw him as he always was a true professional and loving family man........if he suffered of any thing before he left us...it was only physical exhaustion.....may he rest in peace period!! and may god bless, julie, amy emily and andrew..
len baron.....broadway n.y.c.
A friend of mine died under similar circumstances. His death was also ruled accidental. He didn't headline for Steve Wynn. If fact, he was a salesman.
So, sorry to disappoint other posters. No conspiracy. However it does appear that the coroner went out of his way to point out mitigating factors when the probable cause was prescription abuse.
Bottom line is that there was no foul play and no suicide.
Btw, Dilaudid was Elvis Presley's favorite durg.
Everyone, in the comments section at least, is right...it was an accidental drug overdose. However, the coroner is full of hogwash, he says, "Murphy added that Gans' death is not considered a drug overdose." It may not have been an intentional overdose, in fact knowing Danny Gans and all he had to live for and the fact that he did have a chronic pain syndrome, I would say that definitely it was not an intentional overdose. But if someone takes enough Dilaudid to stop breathing, that, by definition is an overdose!
By the way, that is partially why doctors are taught to NOT prescribe narcotics like Dilaudid for chronic pain syndromes.
The last time we saw Danny it was at the Mirage following a charity-golf outing in which various performers took the stage.
One of performers was singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin who died yesterday at the age of 69 from complications associated with lung cancer.
Appreciating our moments shared, thank you Danny and Kenny we'll all miss your amazing talent and the joy it brought us.
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?...
Binnon, Bobby Hatfield, etc. ..seems like the elite get a pass for their drug use in this town, doesn't Metro have a bunch of cops that go around looking for prescription drug shopping...a bunch of high school grads second guessing doctors? when it comes to pain management? Maybe Rush Limbaugh should move here? When they said Gans had "neck surgery" any thinking person could figure out what was coming...If someone has a bad liver and they drink and take Tylanol, and they die of liver failure, is that an accident?
Just another cover-up. I am beginning to understand just what makes this town function. Lets call and overdose and accident. But only if you are rich. Did the drugs just fall into him? No he took them, it was an overdose and the insurance companies should not have to pay out for and addict. All addicts are on the fast road to death and some would say they chose that road.
I have to assume that those of you calling Danny a junkie and whizzing on his grave must be younger people. If you youngsters have led an active physical life, like Danny, or have been unlucky to have a chronic pain condition, like Danny, the day will come when you too will be begging the doctor for something to ease the unrelenting pain. Like rheumatoid arthritis where your immune system attacks your own joints making the fingers and toes curl up into painfull useless claws, amongst other pain symptoms, without medication. Or any of the many other painfull conditions that come with age, or a medical screwup. Laugh it up now, but unless you die young and leave a good looking corpse your not going to be laughing when mother nature takes her revenge when your body gets old. Then your grandkids can call you a junkie too.
Billy the street addict didn't get a full medical examiner news media announcement, and he was in pain for decades when he was found dead on the street.
harley; Hadn't heard about Kenny Rankin. Thanks for the link.
Twice in one night I've appreciated one of your posts. Your tale of youthful exhuberance gave me quite a minds-eye picture.
odeman,
What is it about the truth that you can't handle? No one is whizzing on DG's grave by stating the obvious that DG was a junkie. There was a medical screw up in this case and that was the doctors giving Danny Gans Dilaudid for a chronic pain syndrome. There are lots of approved drugs used for treatment of chronic pain syndromes like rheumatoid arthritis, but Dilaudid, or other opiates, is NEVER appropriate.
If the drug is so dangerous, so addictive, why would any reputable, caring physician prescribe it? And why would any reputable, caring pharmacy continue to refill it? Aren't there others who need to be called to task for aiding and abetting this death?
No mention of Steroids...directly that is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycythemi...
"People whose testosterone levels are high because of the use anabolic steroids, including athletes who abuse steroids and people whose doctors put them on doses that are too high, as well as people who take erythropoietin may develop secondary polycythemia."
I wonder with his high blood pressure and other illness that his doctor would prescribe medicine that could kill him. I think they need to charge the doctor. Isn't that doctor as bad as the Henderson doctor who was taken to court I think his name Burkhalter or something like that.
I'm old, have pain, but every drug ad I see has a whole page of disclaimers and warnings. That's why I watch using anything I use over the counter or prescription.
That medication he was taking is for someone in a hospital or busted up in a accident for short periods. I don't think people would prescribe it for long periods without blood work and maybe an ekg or a heart scan.
The doctor is being protected, does he or she make politcal contributions like the "jammer" colonscope doctor did? If someone is doing faulty work, whether mechanic, home builder or doctor, pharmacist, etc. it is the public's right to know..it's not private because the next person they effect may be you or me. I hope the Sun, which has done investigations on perscription drug abuse in Nevada investigates this story further.
I knew it all along, anytime a physically fit person with no known health problems turns up dead in bed it almost has to be a drug overdose!
Fame and fortune is no immunity to this problem.
I am old(baby boomer) I have lots of bad joints and I can't get medicine's that have narcotics in them. I can't even get Ambien for my insommia. I fell and cut my leg really bad and I got 14 days worth of pain killer (low dose) and that was it. Doctors, at least the ones I deal with don't hand that kind of medicine out. Somebody enabled him. So, sad he would still be here for his family.
To the paranoid re: a "cover-up". Please check your own meds. All that's needed is to see through the BS and read between the lines. It's all there.
Ding! Ding! We have a winner, Unk.
Polycythemia is what can happen to steroid users, and Danny had many of the telltale outward signs of steroid or HGH use.
And let's not forget what Dilaudid is: synthetic heroin. It's what they give end-stage cancer patients to 1) soothe their pain and 2) ease them into death by shallowing out their breathing. Many terminal cancer patients finally die not "because" of the cancer, but because they almost painlessly suffocate due to the high dosage of painkillers. It is a merciful death in many cases.
Also, don't count on the Sun or RJ doing an investigation on who prescribed the Dilaudid, because chances are he/she was a very prominent doctor with some very famous clients in this town.
When Dr. Elias Ghanem died several years ago, the obits didn't mention how many times he gave Elvis Presley injections to help him sleep. When Elvis would arrive at his suite at the International, the first two words out of his mouth would be, "Where's Elias?" according to biographies.
But Elias was never brought to task in the newspapers, and we can safely assume that Gans' doctors will not be, either.
From the SCCJA Controlled Substances web site:
"Hydromorphone is widely known by the brand name Dilaudid. Dilaudid is one of the most powerful narcotics known to man. Dilaudid is probably the most powerful pharmaceutical narcotic in existence. Dilaudid is the pharmaceutical drug that is very similar to heroin in terms of the way it affects the body. These are the reasons it is often called "drug store heroin" on the streets. In some ways Dilaudid is preferable to heroin. This is true because with Dilaudid there are no harmful cutting agents. Heroin can contain cutting agents unknown to the user. Additionally, unlike heroin, with Dilaudid the exact dosage amount is known."
http://www.sccja.org/csid%20pharmaceutic...
Judge, I agree with you about the local media brushing this under the rug like everything else. But it seems like your frustration is misplaced.
It is not the local media's job to investigate (possible) criminal activity. That is up to the DA. And we all know that our current DA, Mr. Roger, is perhaps the most corrupt politician this city has ever seen. Which is saying a lot. Money talks. Connections talk. And if you don't have either of those, rest assured Mr. Roger will be pursuing your case.
At the very least, It would be nice to see the local media stop looking the other way, and hence enabling the local politician and Law Enforcement cover-ups...as it makes them complicit in their actions.
Further, it would be nice to see Las Vegas actually have a DA that sticks to the oath he took - to seek and apply justice fairly and evenly in every (potential) case...not just the ones that can't afford to 'pay to play'.
An anonymous physician said today in Norm Clarke's column that he was shocked that DG would be prescribed Dilaudid for long term usage. He repeated what I have said here, that prescribing Dilaudid for longterm treatment of a chronic pain syndrome is inappropriate.
Yes, the doctor should be investigated and probably disciplined, but no he probably will not be!
I love how we spin stuff in america...Anyone who has ever taken that drug knows its way too powerful for chronic pain you can do with much less.... but the other drugs are not as fun...to bad... the thing is is stuff like this just erodes the public confidence more and more pretty soon we just dont even care what our officials say becuase we know it all lies lies lies lies more lies .......
I'd like to see Danny's wife's take a drug test; if there's one junkie in the house there's a good chance there's another one in there to.
Comment removed by staff.
Hey all. On Thursday's Face to Face, we are discussing the conditions Danny Gans suffered from, the drug that eventually killed him, and whether doctors are doing enough research on the medical histories of their patients before prescribing powerful medications. That's this Thursday, June 11 at 5:30pm, 6:30pm, and 8:00pm on Las Vegas ONE, Cox Cable Channel 19.
Guy-
This has nothing to do with not doing enough of a medical history or a responsible practice of medicine. It was an accidental death facilitated by a willing patient and a doctor who wanted to please a celebrity.
Sure it may have been accidental, but the drug use was intentional. If he was in that much pain, why didn't he quit working so he could live in peace? He certainly had enough money to do so.
S711
Yes Sinatra711, to be clear, accidental but with a drug that powerful, drug abuse.
It's sure sad, a man's good name has to be subjected to the morons posting here. Sound's like a bunch of high school geeks, justifying their existence. REALLY SAD!!!!
agree rick........who ever has posted the negatives of such a great performer, should not judge, severe daily pain has been with jerry lewis, for many more years, he has an implanted pain relief device in his back, with a remote control to send a electrode to the spot ..i wish i could have told danny of that miracle, never got the chance....he well could have afforded it.
and it keeps jerry alive!
For your information, Jerry Lewis admitted that he was addicted to the pain pills which were Percocte. Millions of people take Percocte daily for pain.
For your further information Percocet is like candy compared to Diludid which, because it's so powerful and dangerous is very,very, rarely prescribed,and then almost exclusively for terminal cancer patients.
I think that Danny Gans was a great guy who did much for charity but that's no reason for me to ignore the obvious facts regarding his tragic death.
i don't want to be judgemental in this case, we all have our weaknesses. mine's smoking, used to use perscription valium when doctors were handing them out like candy. never tried any hard drugs as i realized how weak i am on smoking let alone anything else. may danny rest in peace, look at ourselves in the mirror before passing judgement.
"This has nothing to do with not doing enough of a medical history or a responsible practice of medicine. It was an accidental death facilitated by a willing patient and a doctor who wanted to please a celebrity."
...logic_should_rule;
Actually, by your own words, "a doctor who wanted to please a celebrity", you prove that this was indeed a case of irresponsible medical practice.
I'll watch the Face to Face show today and hope that they go after the doctor who inappropriately prescribed Dilaudid to DG for chronic pain syndrome(but I seriously doubt that they will).
Of course we all have weaknesses. Gans was only human. I agree that the doctor should be punished but I too doubt that anything will come of it.
My friend who died under similar circumstances, died of a methadone overdose. And no, he wasn't a heroin addict, he got a doctor to prescribe it for pain! In that case, the doctor wasn't punished.
A friend of mine is a retired Physician who managed well known hospitals and taught at a prominent medical school on the East Coast. In more than 40 yrs of medical practice and management, he said he has never had the occasion to prescribe this drug.....it is that powerful and dangerous. His words, not mine.
Like I said earlier, if he was in that much pain why didn't he retire and take care of himself? We will never know the answer of course.
S711
And now today, one of DG's doctors says that he only wrote one Rx of Dilaudid for DG and that was about 5 years ago. So DG was either doctor shopping and got the Dilaudid from another doctor or he obtained it illegally on the street.
Did anyone see the Face to Face show about this? I missed it!