RIP Danny Gans ...

I've always thought it was kind of amazing that someone could be such a huge entertainment figure in one city while being virtually unknown outside that city's borders.

Sad story.

 

Vegas is full of 'em: Amazing Jonathan, Steve Wyrick, Melinda before she went to Branson. Then again, most towns have their local entertainment figures. Do you remember Duke Jupiter? Not unless you're from Rochester, N.Y., probably.

 

Four Jacks and A Jill, I think they played a Ramada in Kansas City.

 

Heard one of our local radio guys who is in Vegas today hyping the fight. He pretty accurately summed up Danny Gans as a guy who is HUGE in Vegas, and unknown everywhere else. He said Gans is as big as Wayne Newton in Vegas.
But today, when my wife heard of this, she said, "Who's Danny Gans." And she has seen all the billboards on I-15.

 

I have never seen his show, but I saw him interviewed on Larry King a few weeks ago. Seemed like a nice dude. They showed a clip of him in Bull Durham, on the bus with Kevin Costner when he was taking about how great The Show was.
RIP

 

I'm more familiar with his alter-ego, Danny Glands, from MXC. RIP.

 

One of the most enjoyable shows I've ever seen. Damn shame.

 

Good eye.

You can take the editor out of the newsroom, but you can never take the... uh, editor out of the person who was once in the newsroom.

Clean that shit up, editor. Make me sound smart.

 

I saw him four times when I was living in Vegas, he was great and, from what a buddy of mine who interviewed him a couple times said, a really good guy

 

My wife and I had tickets to see him during our first trip to Vegas in 2000. The show was cancelled b/c he had food poisoning, so we got our money back and went to see Richard Lewis. I imagine the equivalent is having tickets to the Super Bowl but giving them away b/c you can't go and paying to see one of those AFL knockoff games instead.

The next time we went, four years later, Gans' prices were at least three times what they were in 2000, so we never saw him. Always wanted to, though. RIP.

 

Here's an interesting profile of Gans from his alma mater, Cal Poly SLO. Tells more about his early baseball career and his decision to become a comedian:

http://calpolynews.calpoly.edu/magazine/Fall-08/Gans.html

And here's more about Gans as a ballplayer (he was drafted by the White Sox in the 6th round in 1975 and played a year in A-ball):

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Danny_Gans

Gans' son, Andrew, incidentally, was drafted in the 39th round by the Devil Rays in 2008.