Lasting Impression of Danny Gans

Danny Gans

Lasting impression of Danny Gans

Danny Gans, singing impressionist known as the "man of many voices" death has left a void in the entertainment community that will be felt for years to come. During his career he attained the highest acclaim any performer can hope for. He achieved more than most people in his 52 years on earth. He excelled at everything he tried, first as a student, next as a baseball player, lastly as a world class entertainer. He performed a one man show on Broadway, which led to an offer to move to Las Vegas. His move to Las Vegas proved to be a good one when Gans was voted Las Vegas “Entertainer of the year” 11 years in a row. He made history by signing one of largest monetary contracts of any impressionist,this winning combination earned him the respect of his fellow performers world wide.

After hearing about his sudden death this week, I felt I had to find out how some of my fellow entertainers felt about Danny Gans passing, and his legacy . The first to respond to my request for a statement and interview was Sharon Daniels, who I met many years on the red carpet doing interviews as Joan Rivers. Daniels is one of the top impressionist women in the USA, and has been featured on “Oprah”, as a finalist on “30 Seconds To Fame”, and a recent spot on the Tonight Show.

She had a lot to to say about Danny Gans.

Daniels:“What can I say about Danny Gans? As a fellow impressionist, he did not disappoint!
As soon as you got off the plane and arrived at the Vegas airport, what did you see? Billboards of Danny Gans as the entertainer of the year over and over again. Every year for at least a decade it has been Danny!

“And so, having been in this business for so many years and only seeing Danny perform on a short spot on Regis many years ago...as Danny did not promote himself on television...I could not wait to catch his act. At that time he was at the Mirage. Danny, who was blessed to be in that tremendous theater, entered with a hair raising bang! His singing impressions were astounding, with his impeccable dance moves to go along with them. His voices and comedic timing were right on, pleasing his audience to the nth degree. Not to mention his drama...Phantom of the Opera and a stunning Al Pacino from Scent of a woman come to mind. And to top it off, a band to beat the bands, enhancing his precious gifts to thrill his audience to no end!”

“Danny, a handsome, gifted performer and family man was taken from us so quickly I could not believe the words I heard Friday, May 1st, 2009. What strikes me most about Danny? His striving to push the envelope to please audiences of all ages by doing the gamut of entertainers from George Burns to Michael Jackson, to Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie. His classic Tony Bennett or his cool Smokey Robinson, along with Kermit the Frog to bring out the kid in all of us.

Another performer who agreed to share this thoughts was Las Vegas impressionist and motivational speaker Larry G Jones. Last year I had the chance see Jones do his award winning act while attending the Reel Awards in Las Vegas.The Reel Awards is produced by Janna Joos and the “Oscars” for impersonators,impressionists and the people who produce their shows. Jones had this to say about Danny Gans.

Larry G. Jones: “Danny Gans was a fantastic performer and will be missed by me and millions of other fans. My heartfelt prayers go out to his family and friends who, along with his faith were the core of his life. I can honestly say that if it were not for Danny’s success, I would probably not be working today as a singing impressionist in Las Vegas (or in the corporate world). The first time I visited Las Vegas in 1996 to research the venues, the city and shows, I saw Danny Gans at the Stratosphere and was amazed by his variety of voices and his show.”

“As a fellow 'Singing' impressionist, I have always been glad to see the model of his one-man
show go through the roof and while our material is quite different, my show's format is influenced by Danny's model of 'hit and run' using a large multitude of short musical segments
and lots of song parodies packed into every show in order to get more voices in.”

“As an Impressionist and Las Vegas entertainer, I can only hope to touch the surface of creating
a legacy like his. In the meantime, like Danny, I'll just keep doing what I love. Especially for
the reason I have survived terminal cancer, drowning, and kidney failure. I am shocked and
deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Las Vegas' all-time top performers.”

Q & A with Larry G Jones

Larry did you ever have the chance to meet Danny Gans in person ?

Jones: “While I was never able to meet Danny, I have many friends who knew him and worked with him personally for many years.”I never worked with him, but many agents and musical directors I know did, they always spoke highly of his great work ethic and professionalism on and off the stage. Just like onstage, he was a perfectionist and a very hard worker.”

How do you feel Danny impacted you as a performer, and the entertainment community as a whole?

Jones: “As a 13 year major headliner, Danny Gans was truly a legend in Las Vegas entertainment. With so many casinos unwilling to try something new, Danny set the stage for people like me to make it as a one-man show and for making musical impressions a new kind of Las Vegas show. While many try to shun comparisons with other performers by the press, I always thought it a blessing when my show was to compared to a show that re-invented the impressionist.”

“The negotiations his manager made with his deal at the Mirage raised the bar on how much a single performer could get paid ( $160 million over 10 years) which may have set the stage for other huge money contracts for Cher, Barry Manilow and others. Rich Little put impressionists in the national spotlight in the 1970’s, and though Danny Gans was more of a local celebrity than a national household name, he changed the way many performers think about combining impersonations with music and comedy.”

Sharon Daniels and Larry Jones shared these final thoughts about Danny Gans with me.

They are wonderful sentiments I think many people will share.

Sharon Daniels: There are few famous celebrities that Danny did not do, male And female, leaving each audience touched, full and electrified!“Danny was a religious man who put family first. May his spirit shine eternally. Danny, you have been an inspiration to me to strive to be the very best, as your memory will bring out the best in all of us in this business. You will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Danny.”

Larry G. Jones “I hope to meet him in heaven one day to say "Thank you Danny Gans, for bringing so much joy to so many people!"

Below is a interview with Danny Gans from the Bonnie Hunt Show