Friday, May 16, 2003 | 5:13 a.m.
VegasBeat appears Sunday through Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Timothy McDarrah can be reached at [email protected] or at (702) 259-4096.
WEEKEND EDITION: May 18, 2003
Guggenheim director Thomas Krens was in Las Vegas less than 24 hours last week for the opening of "American Pop Icons" at the museum's remaining space inside The Venetian.
But he did drop more than a few bon mots while here.
First, he said that a previously unknown feasibility study taking place in China to open a Guggenheim Beijing had been canceled because of SARS.
"We are very interested in expanding there, but no one much wanted to be there right now," Krens, who was standing in front of Roy Lichtenstein's 1968 painting, "Preparedness," told VegasBeat.
Then Krens said the next Guggenheim Hermitage show in Vegas would either feature surrealists (such as Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Max Ernst) or something called "Pursuit of Pleasure," which would feature paintings of people eating, drinking and having a good time -- "a perfect Las Vegas theme," Krens said.
Finally, Krens mused that he did not know why the media is so "obsessed" with the Guggenheim franchise.
"I often feel like I am walking around with a target on my back -- or my front," Krens said.
Stevie Wonder has been added to the lineup of Thursday's VH1 "Divas Duets" show at MGM Grand Garden Arena, joining Queen Latifah, Celine, Lisa Marie Presley and several other performers.
Our advanced sleuthing skills have unearthed the fact that he is not a diva in the traditional sense of the word.
No one connected with the show could immediately say Friday how Wonder got on the usually single-gender bill.
Las Vegas resident Joe Sugarman is going to be in his native Chicago on Memorial Day.
The renowned direct-response innovator and creator of the famous BluBlocker sunglasses will be at Wrigley Field for BluBlocker Day on May 26.
Last year Sugarman threw out the first ball at a Cubs game.
This time he is bringing along his friends the Oak Ridge Boys, who will sing the national anthem.
Sugarman recently distributed thousands of pairs of BluBlockers to active U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq.
Liberace's house will not be changing hands after all.
The 17,000-square-foot palace where the flamboyant entertainer threw some of this city's most fabulous parties was to be sold via a sealed-bid auction.
But Las Vegas Sun real estate reporter Jennifer Shubinksi tells us the people selling it didn't get any bids, so they withdrew the property.
Joe North of Colliers International, which represents owner Vance Turner, said he will now try to pitch the property for rental as a special-events facility.
The ballroom of the Shirley Street home can hold an estimated 600 guests.
Entertainer Steve Rossi is hosting and headlining a show called "Tribute to the Great Doo-Wop Groups" on Thursday night at Greek Isles.
The casino is considering the show for a regular slot.
Mirage headliner Danny Gans was a professional baseball player -- as was his father -- when an injury to his Achilles tendon ended his athletic career. He had been drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals.
But he retains a keen interest in sports and sports injuries.
On Monday evening Gans will be at the opening of the Nevada Sports Academy, a new state-of-the-art training facility, on Seven Hills Drive in Henderson.
The orthopedic surgeon who performed Gans' recent shoulder operation, Dr. Mike Crovetti, will also be there.
Feeling blue -- as in Blue Man Group? The Las Vegas entertainment trade paper Call Back reports the popular Luxor show is looking for performers for its Vegas production, as well as for its Boston, Chicago and touring versions.
Go to website blueman.com/casting for info.
"Chippendale's" dancer Bryan Cheatham won a Jeep during his appearance on Blondes Week on "Hollywood Squares" with center square Pamela Anderson Thursday night. Earlier in the week, a "Thunder From Down Under" performer was on the show, but he didn't win anything.
Now we know which show has smarter hunks, I guess.
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