Friday, May 23, 2003 | 6:03 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
May 25, 2003
Danny Gans came out of left field to pursue a career in entertainment.
The gifted impressionist had his heart set on becoming a professional baseball player, but fate intervened. Now, almost 25 years later, Gans is midway through a six-year contract at The Mirage, where he performs in a $15 million theater built for him.
At age 46, Gans paused a few minutes recently to reflect on his meteoric career, his critics, his health, his future and his faith.
Las Vegas Sun: An article in the Los Angeles Times last year painted a not particularly flattering picture of you. What is your response?
Danny Gans: Critics can be tough, but it's one guy's opinion. When the reporter was interviewing me for the piece I felt an uncomfortable tie with me and him. He was asking some odd questions about me, trying to dig up stuff that wasn't there. My life is an open book.
I don't take critics all that seriously, the good ones or the bad ones. I try not to read them. My critics are the ones that sit in the seats and buy the tickets. If they're not there, then I'm doing something wrong. But if they're there, I'm doing something right.
Sun: You must be doing something right. Your shows are sold out weeks in advance. To what do you attribute your success?
DG: I'm a smart enough guy to surround myself with really talented people. (Manager) Chip Lightman is gifted in making people aware of where I am, but then it's up to me to appeal to people. I have tried to appeal to everybody. I tell everyone my show is like the weather in Hawaii -- if you don't like it wait five minutes and it will change.
And I am a religious person. All of the people in my group are religious. We put ourselves in the hands of God. We work really hard at this. Thousands of people across the country pray for me and the show. Besides topnotch music, lighting and sound, we have God. We pray as a group and individually, and our success is an awesome testimony. Often 100 people are in the standby line hours before the show starts, hoping to get a ticket.
Sun: Has religion always been part of your life?
DG: I started following the road of Christianity in college, when I met my wife. She was in a lot of campus religious activities. Religion wasn't what I thought it would be, not like the public perception, with someone pushing a Bible in your face. It was really neat. I developed a relationship with God, but it was not a forced issue.
When I got into professional baseball and got hurt and couldn't play ball anymore, that's when I really started honing in on God.
Since I was 7 I had wanted to be a professional player. My plan was to play ball, retire when I was in my early 40s then go on the talk circuit. I had no backup plan, nothing, and that's where the Lord stepped in.
When I hurt my ankle I was placed in a hospital room with another man who was going to have surgery. I was 21 and I told him my life story, and his face was beaming. When I finished the story he looked happy, and I wondered if he was putting me on. But he said I was in the room because he was a messenger, and the message was that God would not have taken me out of baseball if he didn't have something better for me.
Two months later I was at the Comedy Store in L.A. on crutches doing jokes about baseball. Since then, I have been in show business professionally 25 years, and only took three weeks off by choice.
Sun: You have missed a number of performances in the past few weeks because of illness and other reasons. Has that been frustrating for you?
DG: I haven't missed that much. I took some time off when my mom (Alta Gans) died in April. I missed two shows one week because of a shoulder injury. And I had an infection in my shoulder that required emergency surgery.
The other thing is, I have three kids, and when they come home they can bring sickness with them. I can't put myself in isolation. If they are sick, eventually I'm going to get sick.
Sun: Have you ever thought about doing anything besides the show, such as television?
DG: I've been offered a sitcom. Before I came here I wanted that. Back about 10 years there was a show on Fox called "Duet." The network wanted to revamp the shows and the writers came up with a three-part episode about a real estate agency. I got the part of the agent and Ellen DeGeneres was the funny secretary. After the three-parter they gave us a year's contract for another season. So I've had a taste of that.
I have an ongoing verbal agreement with (TV producer) Aaron Spelling. Three years ago I actually signed a contract with him to do a pilot for a sitcom based on my life story in entertainment here in Vegas. The contract expired, but just on a handshake he said he still wanted to do this, and I said I do too.
Norman Lear came around with a similar idea, a sitcom based around me. He said when I'm ready, he wants to know.
I also had an opportunity to get into films. I had a part in "Bull Durham" (1988) with Kevin Costner, but it was left on the cutting-room floor. The same thing happened in "Ocean's Eleven." I had a small part that got cut.
Actor Anthony Hopkins came in awhile back, talking about doing something with him. It always blows me away when these giants come in.
Sun: Have you thought about doing a book?
DG: It's been brought up. It would be an amazing story.
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