Entertainer Danny Gans dies
- Thread starter Senor Capper
- Start date
Wow - I hadn't seen him, but always had wanted to......
I guess that teaches us all a lesson to enjoy life while you can....
RIP Danny - 50 is wayyy to young to go...
I guess that teaches us all a lesson to enjoy life while you can....
RIP Danny - 50 is wayyy to young to go...
yeah, he was good!
yeah, he was good!
news is hitting the web now:
May. 01, 2009
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Las Vegas entertainer Gans dies at home at age 52
Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans died at his home this morning. He was 52.
The cause of death is unknown.
Henderson Police spokesman Officer Todd Rasmussen said this morning they received a call about 3:45 a.m. from a woman inside the home at 761 Ricota Court in Henderson. The woman said that a 52-year-old male was having breathing problems. When officers and paramedics arrived they found the man unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rasmussen said, as per department procedure, police are conducting a death investigation at the home. The Clark County coroner's office said this morning that they had not yet received Gans' body.
Gans has been a Las Vegas entertainer for more than 12 years performing as a self-described "musical impressionist." He was scheduled to perform his show tonight at the Encore Theater at the Encore Las Vegas Resort.
In an official statement from Gans' manager Chip Lightman, he said Gans died in his sleep around 3 a.m.
"Danny Gans will not only be remembered as a Las Vegas entertainer, but as a man who loved his family, loved God, and loved the City of Las Vegas.
"Danny Gans has been my partner and dear friends for over 18 years, I will truly miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife of 28 years, Julie Gans, and 3 children, Amy, Andrew and Emily."
Casino developer Steve Wynn also released a statement about the entertainer.
"Elaine and I and all of us in the company are 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. A profoundly tragic event that leaves us all sad and speechless. The loss of Danny to his wife Julie, his children Amy, Andrew and Emily is at this moment impossible to comprehend. We will all try to go on with our lives without our dear friend. At this moment it seems almost impossible."
Gans' show at The Mirage earned him title of "Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year" for 11 years in a row.
In February, Gans changed venues and had been performing his show at the new Encore Theater.
......................
Las Vegas will mourn Danny Gans
Posted by Sherman Frederick
When I first saw Danny Gans perform he was at the old Rio in a tiny showroom. Tickets were dirt cheap/free.
He instantly became a favorite of mine. I saw him several times over the years. And, The Complete Las Vegan did what all good Las Vegans do -- I recommended his act to any visitor who asked. I'll bet I recommended a couple of thousand patrons to his show over the years.
His impersonations were spot on, the show was funny and amazing at the same time. When he engaged the audience about the love of his family it transcended the usual entertainer schtick. Most of all, his show was absolutely clean. I felt I could recommend it to anyone and always get a big "thank you" later.
The news this morning that Danny died in his sleep is shocking to say the least.
Danny many not have been the biggest and most legendary of Las Vegas performers, but he was important as he moved to headline major casinos. He was also a giver to the Las Vegas community outside the Strip, not a taker.
Las Vegas will mourn and miss Danny Gans.
...............................
Remembering Danny Gans ? "Unforgettable"
Posted by Thomas Mitchell
As I post this, the Review-Journal has a dozen reporters and editors and photographers scrambling to gather and report information on the untimely death this morning of Stip singer, comedian, actor, impressionist Danny Gans, 52.
Like everyone else, I pause and think about the shows I attended and reflect on all the charity efforts he made over the years.
Steve and Elaine Wynn released a statement calling Gans "one of the most unique human beings and entertainers in the world ... The loss of Danny, to his wife Julie, his children Amy, Andrew and Emily, is at this moment impossible to comprehend. We will all try to go on with our lives without our dear friend. At this moment it seems almost impossible."
He performed for years at the Mirage but recently moved to the Wynn's Encore.
Please contribute your recollections and favorite performances as comments to various news and commentary posting on our Web site today.
My favorite was his "duet" impression of Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole ? "Unforgettable."
yeah, he was good!
news is hitting the web now:
May. 01, 2009
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Las Vegas entertainer Gans dies at home at age 52
Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans died at his home this morning. He was 52.
The cause of death is unknown.
Henderson Police spokesman Officer Todd Rasmussen said this morning they received a call about 3:45 a.m. from a woman inside the home at 761 Ricota Court in Henderson. The woman said that a 52-year-old male was having breathing problems. When officers and paramedics arrived they found the man unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rasmussen said, as per department procedure, police are conducting a death investigation at the home. The Clark County coroner's office said this morning that they had not yet received Gans' body.
Gans has been a Las Vegas entertainer for more than 12 years performing as a self-described "musical impressionist." He was scheduled to perform his show tonight at the Encore Theater at the Encore Las Vegas Resort.
In an official statement from Gans' manager Chip Lightman, he said Gans died in his sleep around 3 a.m.
"Danny Gans will not only be remembered as a Las Vegas entertainer, but as a man who loved his family, loved God, and loved the City of Las Vegas.
"Danny Gans has been my partner and dear friends for over 18 years, I will truly miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife of 28 years, Julie Gans, and 3 children, Amy, Andrew and Emily."
Casino developer Steve Wynn also released a statement about the entertainer.
"Elaine and I and all of us in the company are 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. A profoundly tragic event that leaves us all sad and speechless. The loss of Danny to his wife Julie, his children Amy, Andrew and Emily is at this moment impossible to comprehend. We will all try to go on with our lives without our dear friend. At this moment it seems almost impossible."
Gans' show at The Mirage earned him title of "Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year" for 11 years in a row.
In February, Gans changed venues and had been performing his show at the new Encore Theater.
......................
Las Vegas will mourn Danny Gans
Posted by Sherman Frederick
When I first saw Danny Gans perform he was at the old Rio in a tiny showroom. Tickets were dirt cheap/free.
He instantly became a favorite of mine. I saw him several times over the years. And, The Complete Las Vegan did what all good Las Vegans do -- I recommended his act to any visitor who asked. I'll bet I recommended a couple of thousand patrons to his show over the years.
His impersonations were spot on, the show was funny and amazing at the same time. When he engaged the audience about the love of his family it transcended the usual entertainer schtick. Most of all, his show was absolutely clean. I felt I could recommend it to anyone and always get a big "thank you" later.
The news this morning that Danny died in his sleep is shocking to say the least.
Danny many not have been the biggest and most legendary of Las Vegas performers, but he was important as he moved to headline major casinos. He was also a giver to the Las Vegas community outside the Strip, not a taker.
Las Vegas will mourn and miss Danny Gans.
...............................
Remembering Danny Gans ? "Unforgettable"
Posted by Thomas Mitchell
As I post this, the Review-Journal has a dozen reporters and editors and photographers scrambling to gather and report information on the untimely death this morning of Stip singer, comedian, actor, impressionist Danny Gans, 52.
Like everyone else, I pause and think about the shows I attended and reflect on all the charity efforts he made over the years.
Steve and Elaine Wynn released a statement calling Gans "one of the most unique human beings and entertainers in the world ... The loss of Danny, to his wife Julie, his children Amy, Andrew and Emily, is at this moment impossible to comprehend. We will all try to go on with our lives without our dear friend. At this moment it seems almost impossible."
He performed for years at the Mirage but recently moved to the Wynn's Encore.
Please contribute your recollections and favorite performances as comments to various news and commentary posting on our Web site today.
My favorite was his "duet" impression of Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole ? "Unforgettable."
had never heard of him....:shrug:
/at least it`s good to know bunker security is functioning at a high level...
/at least it`s good to know bunker security is functioning at a high level...
vegas entertainer (singer impersonations) and good one too. i just happened to fall asleep, but not his fault.
too young.
i did have a nice nap at one of his shows though
RIP
................:00x32
very shocking....i saw gans a few years ago & was a great show....
haven't seen anything about the cause of death...does anybody know ?
haven't seen anything about the cause of death...does anybody know ?
lol- yeah, ok Vinnie. I know what you're 'thinking.' I was sitting next to Jack at the Gans show where he fell asleep. It's not always me! In fact, this one time, at the Alladin sports bar named Blondies....
Somehow MY sleeping adventures from years ago end up on your hard drive(favorites?). Come around a gathering once in a while. My antics are childs play.
no cause of death determined yet
no cause of death determined yet
not much speculation either.
Some info on his health from LVRJ article:
Police conducted a death investigation at the home Friday morning following department procedure, and Henderson police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said investigators don't believe foul play was a factor in Gans' death.
Rasmussen said police received a call about 3:45 a.m. from a woman inside the home in the exclusive Roma Hills gated community off of Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson. The woman said that a 52-year-old male was having breathing problems. When officers and paramedics arrived they found the man unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Clark County coroner's office official said an autopsy was performed on Gans' body Friday. The cause of death is unknown pending toxicology studies, which could take between two to four weeks.
Gans' manager Chip Lightman texted with Gans on Thursday.
"Everything seemed fine. The only difference was, on his day off, he would usually run errands and stuff, and he was exhausted. He hadn't slept well the night before. He laid down in the late afternoon."
Gans' wife woke up in the middle of the night, rolled over and touched Gans.
"She didn't feel him breathing," Lightman said.
She called paramedics. They tried resuscitating him to no avail.
Gans was an athletic and animated performer, an avid golfer who had turned to show business only after a career-ending injury in minor-league baseball.
But he also had undergone surgeries on his neck, shoulder and wrist over the years. The most recent was in November, almost immediately after he ended his long run at The Mirage.
Physical problems occasionally interrupted Gans' eight-year run at The Mirage, as did the stress of losing both his parents in the same year, 2003. An auto accident injured his neck and left hand that same year, requiring neck surgery. In late 2005, he took a three-month break from The Mirage for surgeries on his right rotator cuff and left hand.
Lightman said Gans seemed as healthy as could be. He worked out every day. Every night after a show, he would eat egg whites, spinach and apples. He never ate fried foods. He rarely drank.
"Danny might have drunk two bottles of red wine in a year," Lightman said.
"He was really very health conscious" ? largely to stay in show shape.
"These people paid their hard earned money to see the show, and he would say, 'I'm gonna give them everything I've got,' " Lightman said.
...................
Pic above of him playing at Cal Poly. The alumni magazine (Cal Poly Magazine, Fall 2008) reports:
Gans had just been drafted by the Chicago White Sox when he fielded a routine ground ball and the runner?s cleats ended up completely severing his Achilles tendon. ?It was like taking a hatchet to it,? said Gans, grimacing.
Months in a walking cast and rehabilitation followed. It was a dark time to say the least.
?I moved back in with my parents in San Diego,? Gans said. ?My career in baseball was over. I didn?t know what I was going to do.?
One night Gans, in his walking cast, and a few friends went to the Comedy Store in San Diego, watching comics and not being very impressed.
?My buddies were nudging me during this comic?s act, saying ?you?re better than this guy,?? Gans recalled. The comic caught wind of the conversation and dared Gans to come up to the mic. As the old clich? goes, the rest was history.
?I got up there and started doing my voices,? Gans said. ?It went over big.? Gans, whose father was a stand-up comedian and mother was a big-band singer, always had a gift for impersonations.
?In high school, it was ?Danny do the voices? ? it was a party trick,? said Gans. ?I never thought it would be any more than a way to entertain my fellow teammates in the locker room. That was it.?
In the San Diego audience that night was the daughter of Mitzi Shore, the owner of the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Before long, still in his walking cast, Gans was doing his voices at comedy clubs in Los Angeles. He refers to the performances as a diversion at the time and was not taking them seriously. One thing lead to another. Gans ended up in Reno, working at a club for $400 a week.
It was 1979. ?My faith really kept me going ? God had a plan for me,? said Gans. ?Julie?s support was also vital.?
Gans met Julie, his wife of 27 years, while at Cal Poly prior to the injury. Both were active in an organization called ?Campus Crusade for Christ.? Gans played baseball and lived on campus at Jespersen Hall during that time.
Gans came to Cal Poly on a full athletic scholarship, after seeing what he thought was the ideal baseball field. ?I visited Cal Poly with my father on an invitation from the baseball program,? he said. ?I saw this field on campus and thought what a great, small field! I could really improve my home-run stats with this place.?
Little did he know that field was only the on-campus practice field. The game field was at nearby Sinsheimer Park, a much larger field that had a constant breeze blowing toward home plate. Gans didn?t realize this until after he signed on with Cal Poly.
?It?s actually funny now,? he said. Gans credits the post-Cal Poly injury for making him stronger for the cutthroat world of show business. His act has constantly been at the top of the Las Vegas entertainment scene, playing the Mirage for the last eight years. In November he will relocate to a new casino, Encore.
no cause of death determined yet
not much speculation either.
Some info on his health from LVRJ article:
Police conducted a death investigation at the home Friday morning following department procedure, and Henderson police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said investigators don't believe foul play was a factor in Gans' death.
Rasmussen said police received a call about 3:45 a.m. from a woman inside the home in the exclusive Roma Hills gated community off of Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson. The woman said that a 52-year-old male was having breathing problems. When officers and paramedics arrived they found the man unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Clark County coroner's office official said an autopsy was performed on Gans' body Friday. The cause of death is unknown pending toxicology studies, which could take between two to four weeks.
Gans' manager Chip Lightman texted with Gans on Thursday.
"Everything seemed fine. The only difference was, on his day off, he would usually run errands and stuff, and he was exhausted. He hadn't slept well the night before. He laid down in the late afternoon."
Gans' wife woke up in the middle of the night, rolled over and touched Gans.
"She didn't feel him breathing," Lightman said.
She called paramedics. They tried resuscitating him to no avail.
Gans was an athletic and animated performer, an avid golfer who had turned to show business only after a career-ending injury in minor-league baseball.
But he also had undergone surgeries on his neck, shoulder and wrist over the years. The most recent was in November, almost immediately after he ended his long run at The Mirage.
Physical problems occasionally interrupted Gans' eight-year run at The Mirage, as did the stress of losing both his parents in the same year, 2003. An auto accident injured his neck and left hand that same year, requiring neck surgery. In late 2005, he took a three-month break from The Mirage for surgeries on his right rotator cuff and left hand.
Lightman said Gans seemed as healthy as could be. He worked out every day. Every night after a show, he would eat egg whites, spinach and apples. He never ate fried foods. He rarely drank.
"Danny might have drunk two bottles of red wine in a year," Lightman said.
"He was really very health conscious" ? largely to stay in show shape.
"These people paid their hard earned money to see the show, and he would say, 'I'm gonna give them everything I've got,' " Lightman said.
...................
Pic above of him playing at Cal Poly. The alumni magazine (Cal Poly Magazine, Fall 2008) reports:
Gans had just been drafted by the Chicago White Sox when he fielded a routine ground ball and the runner?s cleats ended up completely severing his Achilles tendon. ?It was like taking a hatchet to it,? said Gans, grimacing.
Months in a walking cast and rehabilitation followed. It was a dark time to say the least.
?I moved back in with my parents in San Diego,? Gans said. ?My career in baseball was over. I didn?t know what I was going to do.?
One night Gans, in his walking cast, and a few friends went to the Comedy Store in San Diego, watching comics and not being very impressed.
?My buddies were nudging me during this comic?s act, saying ?you?re better than this guy,?? Gans recalled. The comic caught wind of the conversation and dared Gans to come up to the mic. As the old clich? goes, the rest was history.
?I got up there and started doing my voices,? Gans said. ?It went over big.? Gans, whose father was a stand-up comedian and mother was a big-band singer, always had a gift for impersonations.
?In high school, it was ?Danny do the voices? ? it was a party trick,? said Gans. ?I never thought it would be any more than a way to entertain my fellow teammates in the locker room. That was it.?
In the San Diego audience that night was the daughter of Mitzi Shore, the owner of the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Before long, still in his walking cast, Gans was doing his voices at comedy clubs in Los Angeles. He refers to the performances as a diversion at the time and was not taking them seriously. One thing lead to another. Gans ended up in Reno, working at a club for $400 a week.
It was 1979. ?My faith really kept me going ? God had a plan for me,? said Gans. ?Julie?s support was also vital.?
Gans met Julie, his wife of 27 years, while at Cal Poly prior to the injury. Both were active in an organization called ?Campus Crusade for Christ.? Gans played baseball and lived on campus at Jespersen Hall during that time.
Gans came to Cal Poly on a full athletic scholarship, after seeing what he thought was the ideal baseball field. ?I visited Cal Poly with my father on an invitation from the baseball program,? he said. ?I saw this field on campus and thought what a great, small field! I could really improve my home-run stats with this place.?
Little did he know that field was only the on-campus practice field. The game field was at nearby Sinsheimer Park, a much larger field that had a constant breeze blowing toward home plate. Gans didn?t realize this until after he signed on with Cal Poly.
?It?s actually funny now,? he said. Gans credits the post-Cal Poly injury for making him stronger for the cutthroat world of show business. His act has constantly been at the top of the Las Vegas entertainment scene, playing the Mirage for the last eight years. In November he will relocate to a new casino, Encore.
wow, what a sad story, I still wonder if he was taking pain pills and had an overdose, my wife saw him in Vegas with the girls and thought his show was funny and he did great impressions
