[Deathwatch] Danny Gans, Vegas entertainer, 52

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Vegas entertainer Danny Gans dies at 52
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/05/01/obit.gans/index.html

(CNN) -- Singer-impressionist-comedian Danny Gans died early Friday at
his Las Vegas, Nevada, home, according to the hotel where he was based.


 Gans, 52, was voted Las Vegas "Entertainer of the Year" for 11 of the
13 years he was based there.

There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

"Everybody knew that when they came to Vegas, the one show they had to
see was Danny Gans," said Robin Leach, who covers the Vegas
entertainment scene on his Web site.

Hotel mogul Steve Wynn, who signed Gans to star in his Encore Theatre
in February, said he was "devastated at the loss of our brilliant,
talented and loving friend."

"One of the most unique human beings and entertainers in the world has
been taken from us in an unexpected moment," Wynn said. "A profoundly
tragic event that leaves us all sad and speechless."

Gans is survived by his wife, Julie, two daughters and a son.

"When he landed the residencies here in Vegas, he was thrilled that he
would be able to go home every night to Julie and the three kids,"
Leach said.
Gans' last interview on CNN
Watch the last interview Danny Gans gave to CNN?s Larry King.
Tonight, 9 ET
see full schedule »

His long Vegas run began in 1996, when he gave up his one-man Broadway
show and a tour schedule of 200 shows a year for a three-month gig at
the Stratosphere Hotel.

He signed a nine-year deal to play in his own 1,250-seat theater at the
Mirage Hotel starting in 2000. Some reports put the contract at $200
million.

When that expired early this year, Gans moved to the Encore Theatre,
which sits between the Encore Hotel and the Wynn Las Vegas hotel.

"He was an absolute genius with the art of impersonation," Leach said.
"There was nobody that he couldn't imitate, and he was uncanny."

Gans was working on an impersonation of President Obama, which he
considered a tough assignment, Leach said.

 The easiest voice to imitate, Gans told Leach, was TV host Regis
Philbin.

"When Regis came to see the show, Regis said, 'I thought I was talking
out loud,' " Leach said.

Being great at being other people can limit your own fame, Leach said.

"Impersonating other stars doesn't give you too many opportunities out
there in mainstream show business, to be honest," he said. "But what he
did was the best there was in the business, and Vegas was the ultimate
place to perform that act."

Gans released an album of his musical impersonations this year, but his
records have not sold well outside Las Vegas, Leach said.

Gans, however, never aspired to be a global household name, he said.

"There was no lust for fame outside the fame he had here in this
valley," Leach said. "I think he would have been very successful if he
jumped on that treadmill of insanity."
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The biography on his personal Web site says that out of college, Gans
played minor league baseball for two years, until a career-ending
injury.

He then turned to entertainment, traveling for 15 years before landing
in Vegas.

Many thanks to TheLenGuy for posting this obituary