Danny Gans

By Leila Navidi · March 22, 2009 · 7:20 p.m.

Danny Gans over the years.

With the Las Vegas skyline as a backdrop, celebrities and professional golfers play on the green during the Danny Gans' Partee Fore Kids Celebrity Pro-Am at DragonRidge Country Club on Monday.

Celebrity Pro-Am a real "Partee": Wednesday, November 5, 2008; By Frances Vanderploeg; What better place for children to learn how to be responsible, business-minded adults than the golf course, said Brian Hurlburt, a board member for the First Tee of Southern Nevada and tournament chairman of the Danny Gans' Partee Fore Kids celebrity Pro-Am.

John Katsilometes recalls the theater expansion at the Rio that helped give Danny Gans' career a lift: Sunday, May 21, 2006; By John Katsilometes; The entertainment publication settled on, "the Cirque du Soleil of voice."

Voice(s) of Vegas: Friday, April 29, 2005; Vocalist-impressionist Danny Gans has extended his contract with the Mirage through April 2008, which is good news for the army of fans who have packed his showroom five nights a week for the past five years.

Gans still on patrol in Las Vegas: Friday, September 17, 2004; By Jerry Fink; Danny Gans is a gifted impressionist who has been sharing his gift with fans in Las Vegas since premiering at the Stratosphere in May 1996.

Danny Gans is finally set to open at the Mirage: Thursday, March 30, 2000; Where: The Danny Gans Theatre at the Mirage.

Cassidy will replace Gans in Rio showroom: Wednesday, July 28, 1999; In his popular performances at the Rio, Danny Gans imitates a multitude of entertainers.

Columnist John Katsilometes: Young Danny Gans awaits new romance: Sunday, July 4, 1999; By John Katsilometes; In the beginning young Danny was wowed by the sexy, flashy Rio Rita. Sure, everyone knew he was on the rebound, ripe for plucking after a meteoric fling with his first flame, the towering Strata Sphere.

Impressionist Danny Gans jumps to the Rio: Friday, January 17, 1997; David Renzi; Blame it on the Rio for Danny Gans' jumping off the Stratosphere, that tower of trouble where he made his Las Vegas debut. Less than a year later, the entertainer has left that off-Strip resort for another.

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Danny Gans

Occupation: Impressionist/singer/comedian
Also known as: The Man of Many Voices
Venue: Encore Theatre in Encore Las Vegas.
Official Web page: www.dannygans.com
Early life: Originally wanted to play baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and did play briefly in the minor leagues. But an injury led him to change careers and become an entertainer. He began performing at corporate functions and by 1995 had his own Broadway show.
Career in Las Vegas: From 1996 to present
Las Vegas venues: Stratosphere Hotel, Rio Las Vegas, The Mirage and Encore Las Vegas. He performed from 2000 to 2009 at the Mirage in his own 1,250-seat theater. He began performing at the Encore Feb. 10, 2009.
Retrospective: Vegas.com.

Audio Clips:

Russ Fons, Las Vegas Broadcast Center Bureau Chief, interviews Danny Gans in 1996
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Gans talks about leaving the Mirage for Encore and working for Steve Wynn. (Jan. 2009)
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Gans talks about how the show's format allows for flexibility. (Jan. 2009)
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Danny Gans on how the economy is affecting the show. (Jan. 2009)
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Danny Gans’ friends and family maintained that the late entertainer had little use personally for prescription drugs, though his death in May was from an overdose of Dilaudid, (the generic is Hydromorphone) a painkiller. The source of the drug that killed Gans has not been identified.

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Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch

Strip celebrities share their fondest memories of the late Danny Gans

Steve Wynn speaks at a memorial for Danny Gans on Thursday, May 21, 2009. Wynn was instrumental in furthering Gans' career and made him the headliner in the theater of his latest project, Encore, shortly before Gans died.

Updated May 26, 2009 (2:44 p.m.)

"I feel lucky to have been old enough to truly appreciate my dad’s talent. He was the best in the world at what he did, and there will never be another like him,” said his son Andrew, 19.

The Kats Report

As Danny Gans is remembered, we're reminded to grasp the moment

Singer, impressionist and comedian Danny Gans, shown performing at the Encore Theater on March 20, died suddenly at his home in Henderson.

Updated May 21, 2009 (11:31 a.m.) 3

A song released long ago by Paul McCartney, "This One," holds special meaning today as friends, family and colleagues recall Danny Gans.

Elsewhere

Danny Gans: Vegas’s man of many voices falls silent

Updated May 20, 2009 (7:00 p.m.) 3

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/21land.html

The Kats Report

Danny Gans was a gifted, unique figure in Las Vegas entertainment history

Danny Gans shown performing on March 20.

Updated May 6, 2009 (3:59 p.m.) 13

Few of his fellow entertainers will claim to know Danny Gans well, but there's no question he made his mark as one of the city's very best entertainers.

Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch

Danny Gans, headliner at the Encore, dies at age 52

Updated May 2, 2009 (12:07 p.m.)

It has been confirmed that entertainer Danny Gans died early this morning here in Las Vegas. The staff at the Wynn and Encore resort hotels is in shock.

The Kats Report

A saga unleashed: Alicia Jacobs defends Star treatment at Danny Gans show

Alicia Jacobs with one of her dogs, Sparkle, on the Channel 3 set.

Updated February 13, 2009 (3:01 p.m.) 5

Did Alicia Jacobs mistreat her new puppy, Star, by bringing it to the Danny Gans show on Friday night? Bonnie Hunt says yes. An animal behavior expert says no.

The Kats Report

No Mirage: Gans makes Strip return at Encore

Danny Gans exhumes the role of Forrest Gump.

Updated February 10, 2009 (1:37 p.m.) 3

Danny Gans' opened his new show at the Encore Theater during a benefit performance last night.

Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch

Danny Gans reveals secrets of his new residency at Encore

Updated February 6, 2009 (12:07 p.m.) 1

When entertainer Danny Gans says “curtain up” tonight for his gala premiere at the new theater in Steve Wynn’s the Encore, it marks the ultimate homecoming.