John Daly’s Las Vegas

Sad Day in Las Vegas: The Loss of Danny Gans

Posted on 01. May, 2009 by John Daly in Charity Event

This is a posting about the loss of Danny Gans, not only for the entertainment industry, but the Las Vegas Community and junior golfers.

LAS VEGAS, NV (May 1, 2009) – The lights should be dimmed on The Strip for a long time to honor Danny Gans.

Danny died today at his home. He was only 53. The cause of death is not known yet.

Danny was just beginning his new gig at Steve Wynn’s Encore. But it was Danny’s rise to stardom during the 1990s that was one of the symbols of Las Vegas’ Golden Age.

For those of you who never attended a Danny Gans performance, I feel worse for you than I do for the folks who at least got a chance to see his magic.

Christmas won’t be the same without Danny doing The Twelve Days of Christmas with 12 different voices.

Lest you think Danny was all comedy; one moment I’ll always remember was a quartet of guys in heaven that Danny channeled for his audience. Among them were Frank Sinatra and George Burns. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house since Frank and George had just passed away at the time of that performance.

In many respects, it feels like three or four generations of great entertainers just left us.

Most of today, I – like most Las Vegans – felt his absence from Las Vegas. You just couldn’t stop thinking of him. Just the other day, some friends came into town and asked, “What shows should we go to?” The list, as always, included Danny Gans.

Besides the crowds who came to see him perform, I wonder who will take care of the young golfers in Las Vegas. Danny was the biggest contributor to the First Tee of Southern Nevada. He put his name underwrote a junior golf clinic that was named after him. He will be sorely missed.

I have been honored over the past few years to emcee Danny’s celebrity golf event – an event I always look forward to. I can’t imagine how sad this year’s will be.

I didn’t know Danny well. Still, I will miss him. He is one of the main reasons this town is as good as it is.

The times I had a chance to chat with him he was quiet: he was saving his voice for performances. That’s how rigorous his performance was on his voice.

Unfortunately, that voice and all that talent have been silenced way too early.

Tags: Danny Gans, Encore Las Vegas, First Tee of Southern Nevada, Mirage, Wynn Las Vegas