Danny Gans, the ultimate Las Vegas performer, died unexpectedly of natural causes in his sleep at his home in Henderson, NV, on May 1, at age 52. Most recently, he had been performing at the new Encore theater, which is part of Wynn Resorts. The Encore boasted a 70-by-70 foot marquee for him.
Gans had been performing in Las Vegas since 1996, starting at the Stratosphere. He changed venues a few times, first with the Rio Hotel and then with his own theater in the Mirage from 2000-2008.
He moved to the Encore on February 10, 2009, where tickets were generally $90 to $120. Gans earned between $15 million to $20 million a year by performing on The Strip with a family oriented show, staying away from risque material.
Interestingly, Gans was more famous in Vegas than the rest of the country. He generally played five nights a week, 46 weeks a year in Vegas. His shtick was comedy and song with as many as 60 impersonations of singers, including Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart and even Anita Baker.
In 1995, he appeared in New York in “Danny Gans on Broadway,” which lasted for just six showings. He was then hired by the Stratosphere in Las Vegas and basically stayed put. Perhaps Gans is the epitome of the saying “What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.”
Gans is survived by his wife and three children.
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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. I hope to meet
him in heaven one day to say “Thank you Danny Gans, for bringing so much joy to so many
people!”
All my best,
Larry G Jones
i would assume that any mainstream Vegas entertainer would probably live a physically unhealthy life