Danny Gans Dies

[Royal Oak Rog]

Source: TMZ

Posted May 1st 2009 12:20PM by TMZ Staff

Danny Gans died early this morning, after a family member called 911 to say Danny was having trouble breathing. By the time paramedics arrived, he was dead.

A ticket rep at Steve Wynn's Encore hotel tells us they just got the call and the entire staff is "shocked and upset."



Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/05/01/danny-gans-dies/

[liberalmuse]

1. I'm trying to remember who he was.

I lived in Vegas for a few years. Was he a famous female impersonator? And young, too. Very sad. :(

[jobycom]

2. Says he was a "Musical Impressionist," and Entertainer of the Year eleven times.

I also saw that he played "Deke" in "Bull Durham," but I can't remember who that was. Maybe the young preacher kid who was engaged to the groupie?

[joeybee12]

4. No, that wasn't him...

...although I can't picture him in the movie, that part (the young preacher) was a redhead.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. I just checked the Bull Durham script. Deke was in some key scenes.

His character was married and he cheated a lot.
Here's a scene that leads up to one of my all time favorite lines ("Oh my goodness... it's a natural disaster!")

DEKE
We need a night off just to stop our
losing streak. We need a rainout.

CRASH
I can get us a rainout.

MICKEY
It's 90 degrees, there ain't been a
cloud in the sky in weeks.

CRASH
Hundred bucks says I can get us a
rainout tomorrow.

TONY
You're on.

Deke was also the first player to catch Nuke putting on the garter belt.

[Royal Oak Rog]

3. Danny Gans was Etertainer of the year 11 times

Gans was a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip and the surrounding area for many years, where he was billed as "The Man of Many Voices". He had been named Entertainer of the Year, and his production had also been awarded Show of the Year.

In 1992 he played Dean Martin in the CBS miniseries Sinatra.

[Donnachaidh]

15. we have old taped Comic Strip Live shows of Danny

He was pretty good with impressions. Sad to hear this.

[liberal N proud]

14. BIO here...

http://www.dannygans.com/biography.htm

[Bluebear]

5. wow...

so young :(

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. Never heard of him,

but watching a video of his show at tmz.com suggests he was a very talented impressionist. Cute, too, but a bad Al Pacino eye job in those photos.

And not old, at all....................

[Alcibiades]

8. You probably don't go to Vegas much

Ads for his show are pretty ubiquitous there.

[joeybee12]

9. If you've been to Vegas...you know who he is...

...like you said, ubiquitous...very sad, RIP.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. You're right .......

I'm not the Vegas type, not at all, so no wonder I had no idea who he was.

But, even without going to Vegas, I should at least have recognized his name. But I didn't. Which surprised me .........

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

18. It's because unlike other big Vegas acts, his was never really shown on TV much at all.

His show was HUGE in Vegas and his billboards all over town. I always assumed he couldn't have been very good because he'd have HBO specials etc. if he was really talented but for whatever reason they just marketed him as a live act.

Never saw his show but friends who did say he was great. As far as I understand his act centered around impersonations, and supposedly he was really good.

[kskiska]

19. TV programs where he might have appeared don't exist anymore.

Vegas impressionists like Rich Little, Frank Gorshin, etc., used to become household names because they appeared on Ed Sullivan and other variety shows, as well as Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Johnny Carson, and other talk shows.Today, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Steve and Eydie are still stars out there.

I never heard of Danny Gans, either.

[Alcibiades]

7. Tragic

He was only 57.

[Bluebear]

11. 52!

[Alcibiades]

13. strange

the google results for wikipedia shows him being born in 1951, but his actual entry says '56. I didn't think he was that old.

[glinda]

16. My bet is he was 57 the reason being that it seems many "stars" are older than

they say they are. This helps with getting jobs and staying popular possibly. I know Prince kept changing his age as well as others.

[XXXMADAM]

17. Vegas entertainer Danny Gans dies at 52

Source: CNN.com

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



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/05/01/obit.gans/index.html?section=cnn_latest

---

Cause of death unknown at this time per this article.

[mackerel]

20. Cause of death? Heart attack?