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Friday, May 1, 2009

LIGHTS DIM IN VEGAS: DANNY GANS DEAD at 52

IMG_1859Image by pamusc93 via Flickr

Sin City showman Danny Gans, 52, an impressionist who sold more tickets on the Strip than the Rat Pack or Elvis Presley, died early Friday, says his his manager.

Gans, best known for his touching impersonation of entertainer George Burns, began a five-year headline gig at tycoon Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas hotel in February. Prior to that, he spent 11 years at the Mirage.

he earned the coveted Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year honors 11 years in a row in the reader poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal but interestingly was not well known beyond Las Vegas.

The cause of death was unknown, although Wikipedia hints that he may have had a heart attack because he had some shortness of breath. Gans's manager Chip Lightman expressed his shock at the impressionist's passing. "The guy was healthy as an ox," he said. "I spoke to Steve Wynn several times this morning and both of us were shocked. I was with Danny the day before yesterday. Healthy as an ox. I mean, all he ate was egg whites and spinach and worked out religiously."

Gans, a great physical specimen, was a former minor league baseball player who turned to performing after a career-ending injury. He appeared as a player in the film "Bull Durham" and found success in his 1995 one-man show in New York before moving the next year to Las Vegas.
He is survived by a wife and three children.




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1 comments:

Nomad said...

i would assume that any Vegas entertainer probably lives a physically unhealthy life; then again, if he really was as healthy as all the reports indicate, then this is mysterious indeed