The 52-year-old impressionist died at his Henderson home early Friday. The cause of death is unknown.
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 spokesperson 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.
In a statement, Lightman said: "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 friend for over 18 years. I
will truly miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife of 28
years, Julie Gans, and three children, Amy, Andrew and Emily."
Wynn Resorts Chairman 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."
"It's the equivalent of a Sammy Davis Jr. Somebody who's
multitalented. He can't be replaced," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman
said Friday. "There are some people whose memory and reputations will
live on, and Danny was one of those people.
"He lived the life he preached. It was always a clean show. It was
always a wholesome show. That's the way he really lived. That's unusual
in and of itself. Most people are a little bit phony about that, but
Danny Gans was not a phony," Goodman said.
Gans was the rare entertainer who, in the fashion of Wayne Newton or
Siegfried & Roy, enjoyed a fame nearly unique to Las Vegas, rather
than coming to the Strip as an established star.
Instead, the impressionist launched his first headline residency, at
the Stratosphere in May 1996, after years of lucrative work on the
corporate and convention circuit.
"It was really a fairy tale," he told the Review-Journal in 2000,
when he was preparing to open a dedicated new theater at The Mirage.
Gans was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 25, 1956, and raised in
Torrance, Calif. His father, Sid, had been a Catskills musician and
comedian (before he died in 2003, he was quick to stand up and sing a
little when his son would introduce him in the audience at The Mirage).
Gans often related to interviewers and audiences that he turned to
his knack for mimicry -- "a fun guy to have on a long bus ride," as he
once put it -- after a severed Achilles tendon ended his one-season
career in British Columbia, with the Class A Victoria Mussels of the
Northwest League in 1978.
He scored a few minor acting roles, including a brief appearance in
the movie "Bull Durham," but found more success on the circuit of
corporate entertainment. By the time he briefly performed on Broadway
in late 1995, he already was fielding interest from Las Vegas.
Gans opened at the Stratosphere in May 1996, and word quickly spread
about the impressionist who reinvented a dusty old genre by imitating
then-contemporary stars along with the more traditional voices. Some of
them were even female: A showstopper was his re-creation of the
"Unforgettable" duet with the voices of both Nat and Natalie Cole.
Gans quickly moved to the Rio, where clashes with management
resulted in an offer from Wynn to convert a Mirage ballroom into a
dedicated theater. He opened in April 2000 and became a fixture there
for more than eight years.
The impressionist reunited with Wynn -- who had agreed to sell his
properties to the company that became MGM Mirage just as Gans opened --
to take over the Wynn Las Vegas theater vacated by "Monty Python's
Spamalot," branding the venue with the new sister property Encore.
Gans launched his new show there Feb. 6. He had performed four times weekly for nearly 12 weeks.
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.
Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign also released statements reacting to the entertainer's death.
"Danny Gans brought joy to the lives of the millions of Nevadans and
tourists who came to Las Vegas to see his show. He was a talented
performer who used his celebrity to give back to our community and
those in need. Las Vegas is a better place because of Danny Gans. He
will truly be missed," Reid said.
"Danny Gans was a talented entertainer and a valuable member of our
community whose contributions to help those in need will be greatly
missed. Darlene and I will keep his family in our thoughts and prayers
as they mourn such a sudden loss," Ensign said.
Gans hosted charity golf tournaments and the Danny Gans Champions
Run for Life to benefit children's charities. He started the Danny Gans
Junior Golf Academy to introduce youngsters to the game. During his
Mirage run, he had "locals appreciation" shows with discounted ticket
prices and the proceeds donated to charity. In February 2008, he
donated money from one performance to Opportunity Village.
Encore officials said any current tickets purchased on credit cards
automatically will be refunded without the need to visit the box
office. Services for the entertainer are pending.
"There is a hope of reunion when every one of us is reunited with
Danny," the Rev. Gary Morefield of Green Valley Christian Center told
the band and crew during Friday's prayer meeting, reading them part of
Psalm 119. "It's the hope that will sustain us."
Then Gans' pastor appealed to God. "We need you in this hour more than ever."
And they prayed. And they mourned.
Review-Journal writers Maggie Lillis and Alan Choate contributed to
this report. Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at
mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.
