January '08 Notes from Norm — Norm Clarke Column

Saturday 1-05-08

Less means more of Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow has a contract extension through 2009 at the Las Vegas Hilton, but 32 shows this year are being canceled.

Hilton spokesman Ira David Sternberg said Manilow, 64, is "reformatting" his schedule.

Originally signed to 24 shows in 2005, he signed for an additional 150 through 2007.

He was sidelined in August 2006 because of surgery to have torn cartilage in both of his hips repaired.

Worried Manilow fans have been pressing for an explanation for the two shows he canceled during the Christmas holiday.

Asked if Manilow fans should be concerned that the cancellations are health-related, Sternberg said, "Not at all. He's signed for '09. He's revamping the show, which has been very successful for us and for him."

Manilow won an Emmy in August 2006 for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program for his TV special "Barry Manilow: Music and Passion."

A Manilow fan site listed the canceled dates as: March 4, 6, 13; April 1, 3, 10, 29; May 1, 8, 21, 22, 28, 29; June 18, 19, 26; Aug. 26, 28; Sept. 4, 23, 25; Oct. 2, 21, 23, 30; Nov. 11, 13, 20 and Dec. 16, 18, 27, 28.

The Scene And Heard

The Jan. 14 reading at the Little Theatre of the new comedy play written by Rita Rudner and husband/manager Martin Bergman was sold out in three hours Thursday. Rudner and Hooters headliner Bobby Slayton are teaming up for the reading of the play, titled "776." The Little Theatre, with about 150 seats, is the city's oldest community playhouse. ...

Former NBA star Kenny Smith, an analyst for TNT's "Inside the NBA," has partnered with Rick Garson and Rodney Henry to shoot a pilot for a new Vegas-style series on TNT. The pilot will be filmed this weekend at the V Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort. ...

Canon U.S.A. and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are teaming up for another fundraiser Tuesday at Mandalay Bay.

Sunday 01-06-08

Tips might help jazz up pageants

The Miss America pageant is embracing reality.

And the first episode of "Miss America: Reality Check," which aired Friday, surely sent shivers through the old-school pageant establishment.

The four-part reality show puts the 52 contestants under one roof and, at times, under severe scrutiny from non-pageant fashion and beauty experts. The Miss America pageant returns to Planet Hollywood Resort on Jan. 26, for the third year in a row (TLC, 8 p.m., tape delayed on the West Coast).

Some of Friday's more memorable cringe-inducing moments:

When the contestants' suitcases were checked for fashion faux pas, fashion guru Stacy London of TLC's "What Not to Wear," held up a pair of high, gold-jeweled boots and said, "These boots were made for ... streetwalkers!"

A gasp came from Miss South Carolina Crystal Garrett, who brought the boots.

From another suitcase came a white gown belonging to Miss Pennsylvania Rachel Brooks, who planned to wear it for the talent competition later this month.

"Here's just a small tip, maybe," said London. "Stay away from polyester." Her "What Not to Wear" co-host Clinton Kelly chimed in, "Yes, because that's what strippers wear."

One of the show's advisers, British celebrity photographer Mark Liddell, told the contestants to remember "less is more."

The idea behind the reality show, said London, is to "modernize" the pageant's staid image, "put fashion and style back in this icon."

Liddell urged Miss Utah Jill Stevens, who admitted she never wore makeup, to "embrace your beauty and fashion side." Miss Idaho Sadie Quigley took a beating for her big hair.

A somber note was struck during a gun-control discussion when Miss Colorado Maggie Ireland revealed that her brother, Patrick Ireland, was among the seriously wounded in the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Shot in the head twice, he's made a remarkable recovery.

The biggest surprise came at the end of the show when the three top candidates were chosen and the bottom three.

The top three: Stevens, Miss Utah; Brooks, Miss Pennsylvania; and Garrett, Miss South Carolina.

In the bottom three: Rachel Cole, Miss Vermont; Makenna Lee Smith, Miss Oklahoma; and Quigley, Miss Idaho.

Stay tuned. It's beauty pageant TV like you've never seen.

The Scene And Heard

More on Paris Hilton's Las Vegas business plans, mentioned here last week: She met with Pure Management Group to discuss a project on the Strip that does not involve a restaurant or a nightclub. ...

Reality show star Kristin Cavallari celebrated her 21st birthday in the company of former flame NFL quarterback Matt Leinart early Saturday at Pure Nightclub at Caesars Palace. When Cavallari, in town to serve as Pure's celebrity host on Saturday, and her friends showed up at Pure about 1 a.m., Leinart was waiting in the VIP section with a group of friends, including former USC teammate Chauncey Washington. The former Heisman Trophy winner and former star of "Laguna Beach" were seen leaving together about 3:30 a.m., when both groups left together.

Monday 01-07-08

The scoop: Spears in Palm Desert

In my crazy world, you never know where the next bizarre story is coming from.

Sunday it came from the most improbable source imaginable.

My friends Denny and Melanie Dressman of Denver will not mind me saying they are not hipsters. Their favorite celebrities would be their adorably cute granddaughters.

So when my cell phone rang about 11:15 a.m., and a Colorado area code popped up, I figured it was an old friend calling with a post-mortem on the Broncos season.

Denny was calling with a celebrity sighting, certainly a first for as long as I've known him, which goes back to the Cincinnati Enquirer newsroom in 1973.

"Is it news that Britney Spears is in Palm Desert without any paparazzi?" he asked.

If it's really Britney, it certainly was big news, I said, since no one had seen her leave Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, when she was taken by police after her latest meltdown.

She was walking down El Paseo, the main street in Palm Desert, holding hands with a guy who was later identified as Adnan Ghalib, a paparazzo she has been seeing. They had just had breakfast in the Daily Grill in Palm Desert.

Melanie Dressman will have plenty to tell her friends when she gets home: she was in the ladies room when Spears walked in holding a mimosa champagne flute.

After some checking with the restaurant I had an international exclusive, by several hours, thanks to my newest Eye Spies.

The Scene And Heard

"Mamma Mia!" has been extended through Jan. 4, 2009, at Mandalay Bay, the cast was told late Saturday. The show was scheduled to close this summer. Already the longest playing Broadway show on the Strip, "Mamma Mia!" marks its fifth anniversary on Feb. 13. The feature film adaptation will be released this summer, with Meryl Streep leading an all-star cast featuring Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper. ...

I hear Phoenix Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart had table reservations next to Kristin Cavallari at Luxor's Company American Bistro and LAX Nightclub, where she was hosting on her 21st birthday, but he never showed. He was spotted at Blush (Wynn) with teammate/punter Mitch Berger. ...

Artie Lange had planned to be in Las Vegas over the weekend for the wedding of his comic sidekick Bob Levy at the Luxor chapel. But it got called off. Lange, a member of the Howard Stern show, has two shows planned at Luxor for Feb. 1, Super Bowl weekend.

Tuesday 01-08-08

Las Vegas lets its Elvis show

From time to time, I hear criticism that Las Vegas doesn't celebrate it's Elvis-ness enough, believe it or not.

Three years ago a group of Elvis-loving guys from Chicago came to town for what would have been Elvis' 70th birthday and claimed they had to search high and low for a party honoring The King.

They sent a letter to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce saying that just wasn't right.

That won't be a problem in a few years, when former Wall Street operator Robert F.X. Sillerman opens his 18-acre Elvis site at what is now the Harley Davidson Cafe, on the corner of Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard. The venue is across from the nearly $8 billion City Center project.

While there's little information out there on Sillerman's project, there's word that he's named it Park Central and plans to have "multiple elements incorporating Elvis assets and theming."

Meantime, there are a number of parties in Elvis' honor tonight, on what would have been his 73rd birthday.

Sapphire, the triple D-sized adult entertainment complex at 3025 S. Industrial Road, is offering one free Blue Hawaiian drink for anyone who shows up in Elvis attire.

Elvis impersonator George Thomas will host the evening, which includes a best-Elvis contest from 7-11 p.m., with $1,000 going to the winner.

Dick's Last Resort at Excalibur will unveil the winner of its best-Elvis contest, plus a jelly donut-eating contest and live Elvis karaoke. That's from 8-11 p.m.

Elvis fan club Viva Las Vegas! gathers at 6:30 p.m. at the bronze statue of Presley at the Las Vegas Hilton, where he performed from 1969 to 1977.

AND THE WINNER IS ...

VegasTripping.Com, a Vegas travel Web site, has named freelancer Steve Friess (thestrippodcast.com) Person of the Year and best blogger. The site's readers voted Steve Wynn as Person of the Year.

Caesars Palace headliner Elton John was the readers' choice for best entertainer, while the Web site selected comedian Dom Irrera, a regular at the Riviera.

Paris Hilton was the people's choice for most annoying while illusionist Criss Angel was Vegas Tripping's pick.

Angel "ensnares starlets, porn babes and actresses for self-promotion purposes via tabloid headlines and talk show hot air. If only his disappearing act was real," wrote the site's editors.

The site: http://www.vegastripping.com

The Scene And Heard

Durango High's Cerina Vincent is scheduled to be on "Today" this morning to pitch her new book ,"How to Eat Like a Hot Chick," with co-author Jodi Lipper. ...

During the Bow Wow-Chris Brown concert at Mandalay Bay on Friday, Bow Wow said, "Las Vegas, I got a confession to make. ... You'll probably stalk me and all. ... but I just bought a condo in Vegas." ...

Correction: Artie Lange's two shows are at the Mandalay Bay Theatre Feb. 1.

Wednesday 01-09-08

Norm took the day off

Thursday 01-10-08

He's no Neighborly Mr. Rogers of TV

Clean-freak Jim Rogers has gone ballistic again.

The mercurial owner of KVBC-TV, Channel 3, and university system chancellor sent a former Employee of the Year executive packing this week after he found clutter in an attic closet.

Creative services assistant Sharon Phalon-Smith, a 10-year employee and former assistant to the news director for five years, was terminated Tuesday without severance pay, she confirmed. Health insurance for her family ends in two weeks.

Rogers had recently sent down an edict saying he wanted the station cleaned up and ordered a mandatory newsroom meeting to make it clear he meant business.

That meeting was at 1 p.m. Dec. 27, a busy news day because of the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Rogers came through the building Monday, and an e-mail was sent out that "he was very happy with the building," Phalon-Smith said.

Then came word that there was an issue with the back attic, where accounting records were kept, along with some of Phalon-Smith's promotional items, she acknowledged.

Phalon-Smith and a co-worker went back and "cleaned it up spic and span," she said.

She was dismissed without explanation a day later. "I've been in tears for days," she said. "I had to tell my kids I was fired."

She broke down during the interview and specifically requested I write that I had called her for comment, not the other way around

I was a loyal, loyal employee," she said.

The irony, she added, was that "I gave tours talking about what a great and generous man he was. I was his No. 1 cheerleader."

Rogers was "not available, and he's not going to talk about personnel issues," said KVBC general manager Lisa Poe-Howfield.

The Scene And Heard

With headliner Danny Gans' 10-year contract with The Mirage expiring next year, I hear he's being courted for an extension. ...

Tip of the Week to the Consumer Electronics Show crowd: If you want to see a really impressive TV, check out the ginormous 160-square-foot screen at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club at the Palazzo. It's the ultimate sports bar, with bleacher seating for 200 in front of the screen and dancing areas on the lower level of the 1,800-capacity club.

Friday 01-11-08

Johnson looks great in 'Purple'

UNLV's Zonya Johnson had a big-name cheering section on hand for her Broadway debut in "Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Color Purple."

Oprah, one of the show's producers, was there Wednesday night. So were film stars Robert De Niro and Cicely Tyson.

Also making their debuts in the smash musical: recording-stars Chaka Khan as Sofia and BeBe Winans as Harpo.

Johnson, who has adopted the stage name Zonya Love, landed the lead last fall, after attending three years of grad school at UNLV.

She plays Celie, the role originated by Whoopi Goldberg in the film version directed by Steven Spielberg.

Also in the crowd were Johnson's UNLV associate professors of theater, Nate Bynum and Glenn Casale.

Johnson, who grew up in Durham, N.C., "brought down the house with the encore, 'I'm Here,' " said Bynum. "Talk about a great night. I'm still beaming.

"She was on stage with people who were there during the inception of the show and people who make their living acting on stage, and she fit right in and excelled," he added. "She didn't miss a cue."

The Scene And Heard

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's security detail had one request after a ceremony honoring the cast of NBC-TV's "Las Vegas" on Thursday at the Palms ghostbar.

A photo with the sultry Molly Sims? Nope.

An introduction to leading man Josh Duhamel? No.

"They requested lapel pins to the Playboy Club," said Julie Cane, media director for N9NE Group, operators of ghostbar and other venues at the Palms.

Also at the Palms for the "Las Vegas" get-together: James Lesure and Camille Guaty and NBC-Universal execs Ben Silverman, Katherine Pope and Teri Weinberg.

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