Sunday 7-20-08

Jason Scott was magical to end

Minutes into Friday's memorial for mentalist Jason Scott on the deck at the Palms' ghostbar, a shooting star blazed over the Strip.

For the 50 to 100 friends who had gathered, it was an eerie farewell for a rising star in show business.

Scott died of unknown causes on Tuesday at his home in Summerlin. He was 33.

Autopsy results were inconclusive and the coroner's office could need another 12 weeks to determine the cause of death, said Scott's manager, Clinton Billups Jr.

Scott, whose full name was Jason Scott Ogilvie, was remembered for his love of magic and psychic phenomena.

Billups, who had produced The Amazing Kreskin show for years before looking for another star, searched through more than 100 videotapes without success.

"Everybody seemed to be doing mind-reading acts from the 20th Century, not the 21st," Billups said. "I was looking for the person who would do for mentalism what David Blaine had done for magic."

About five years ago, Billups found Scott on the Internet, after doing a Google search under "mind readers." Scott, who was making $100 a night performing magic at adult entertainment clubs when he arrived in Las Vegas in the mid-1990s, was commanding $10,000 a night for special engagements at the end, Billups said.

Scott left the House of Blues Foundation Room two years ago for a gig at The Playboy Club, where he was to appear Tuesday, the day he died.

Scott got his first magic kit at age 7 in Redding, Calif. Later, when asked how he got into magic, Scott often told interviewers or fans he really enjoyed freaking people out.

"I verified this with his mother," Billups said. "Jason's kindergarten teacher called his parents one day and said he was freaking out the kids, because he was making crayons move around on his desk. That was the first time his parents realized his interest in magic and psychic phenomena."

Last summer after Scott was hired for filmmaker Steven Spielberg's birthday party at a secret site near Los Angeles, Billups asked how it went. For starters, a limo with blacked-out windows transported him from the airport to an airplane hangar, Scott told Billups.

Everything went OK, Scott said, except for "one little problem," a guy who kept hovering around him while he was performing. "He was on top of me," trying to figure out the magic tricks.

Scott finally said, "Sir, can you back off."

The man who was dying of curiosity was Clint Eastwood.

"So Jason told 'Dirty Harry' to back off," Billups said.

A year ago, Scott was cast as one of the original 10 contestants for NBC's "Phenomena." But he parted company less than 24 hours before the show aired live, because "the producers wanted something much more mainstream," Billups said.

"His craft was too important for him to be something that he wasn't. He remained true to himself."

Media Update

KXNT-AM, 840 is adding syndicated financial talk-show host Dave Ramsey to its lineup. Ramsey, syndicated on more than 350 stations, moves into the 7-10 p.m. slot and will focus on "life, love and relationships, and how they happen to revolve around money." He and KXNT program director Jack Landreth worked in Nashville together. ...

Over at KDWN-AM, 720, "The Heidi Harris Show" is starting 90 minutes earlier. Harris' new hours are 6-10 a.m.

Sightings

Shayne Lamas, winner of the latest "The Bachelor," was in Las Vegas again this weekend after making headlines for her hookup two weeks ago with local magazine executive Justin Weniger. Her relationship with Weniger, who co-owns 944 Magazine publisher Wendoh Media, is raising questions about her relationship with "bachelor" Matt Grant. ... Actress Michelle Pfeiffer, at Crazy Horse Paris (MGM Grand) on Friday with her husband, TV producer David E. Kelley, and sister, actress Dee Dee Pfeiffer. ... NBA great Patrick Ewing, with his wife and son, Georgetown University star Patrick Ewing Jr., among the opening night diners Friday at Yellowtail Sushi (Bellagio). ... Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and Detroit Pistons assistant coach Darrell Walker, at Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday. ... Boxer Zab Judah and a friend, bowling at Lucky Strike (Rio) while Mike Tyson sat with them, but chose to read a book.

Tuesday  7-22-08

Norm is taking Tuesdays off

Singer cruising on recovery road

Sarah Todora had it all two years ago only to take a hard fall.

After battling a year of meth hell, she's emerged more determined than ever to reclaim a singing career.

Doors were flying open for the then-18-year-old in 2006. The community had embraced her. The Sahara gave her a headlining gig. A Good Samaritan gave her and her father a rent-free condo in the Turnberry luxury towers. That August she was booked to open for soul legend Al Green at the Las Vegas House of Blues when she got hooked on crystal methamphetamine.

"You have all these things, and within two months they were gone," Todora said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I was just totally unplugged from everything and everyone."

Drug-free for almost a year now, she made the call three weeks ago that her father, Phil Todora, has been waiting for.

"I told him I wanted to sing again and that I needed him. It wasn't something I could do on my own," she said.

A month ago, she was hired by the M&M's World to greet visitors in the M&M costume.

"This go-around I'll appreciate what I have more after being in that suit in 115 degrees," she said.

Her father, who battled his own drug demons but has been clean and sober for 13 years, entered her into an addiction recovery program in Louisiana in August 2006.

"I was just waiting to die," she said.

When she got out, she went to a halfway house. She's been back in Las Vegas for 21 months, mostly working odd jobs. Her father, who now works in the halfway house where Sarah stayed, arrived last week, with her first car. She has wheels to go along with her dreams of a comeback.

"It's so good to be Sarah again," she said.

The Scene And Heard

The pieces are falling into place for Clint Holmes. After his Aug. 1-3 engagement at the Suncoast, he's doing a mid-August preview/benefit at UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre for the School of Performing Arts and the UNLV theater department. Then it's on to the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for a Sept. 4-6 engagement "and then hopefully on to London. We hope it will be the springboard to take us the rest of the way," said Holmes. The show will be called "The Clint Holmes' Broadway Project" and it will be an evening of theater music featuring some of the songs from "Just Another Man," the musical he's been refining for several years.

Sightings

Las Vegan Steven Jackson, the NFL All-Pro running back for the St. Louis Rams, celebrating his 25th birthday Tuesday at the Vinter Grill. ... Mel Gibson, with his wife and seven children, attended the 10 p.m. performance of "Love" (Mirage) Monday night in celebration of their son Louis' 21st birthday. Gibson held his young grandson throughout the show. ... Kobe Bryant, his wife, Vanessa, and their children at Red 8 (Wynn) on Saturday. ... Self-help author and professional speaker Tony Robbins, checking out "Bodies ... the Exhibition" (Tropicana) on Monday. ... At Morton's on Saturday: NBA analyst Scot Pollard and entertainer Brian McKnight, at different tables. ... Usher, in the locker room Saturday congratulating his friend Anderson Silva on his first-round knockout of James Irvin at the Palms. It was Usher's first UFC event live. Also at the fight: Jamie Foxx, Paul Pierce, Mandy Moore and Everlast.

At 83, Tony Curtis is one for books

Film legend Tony Curtis is coming out with his memoirs in October. Curtis, 83, let the cat out of the bag during a telephone conversation Wednesday.

The book, in the works for two years, is titled "American Prince: a Memoir" and will be released Oct. 14.

It is a collaboration with best-selling Peter Golenbock, one of the nation's best-known sports authors.

A book signing tour will include stops in London, Paris, San Francisco, New York and possibly Budapest, Hungary, where Curtis' parents grew up.

"I'm so happy. I'm 83 years old, and things are popping left and right," said Curtis, who has lived in Henderson since 2001.

The London book signing will take place at Harrods, the department store owned by Mohammed Al Fayad. His son, Dodi Al Fayed, who died with Princess Diana in a 1997 car crash in Paris, "was one of my best friends," Curtis said.

Curtis appeared in more than 100 films and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1959 for his portrayal of an escaped convict in "The Defiant Ones."

He said he will tie in some art shows with the book tour.

He hopes to make an appearance at the 30-year reunion of the ABC series "Vega$" on Oct. 4-5 at the Luxor. The 68-episode series, which featured the late Robert Urich as detective Dan Tanna, debuted April 25, 1978, and ended May 27, 1981.

For his role as casino boss Philip Roth, Curtis consulted with Burton Cohen, who was running the Desert Inn at the time.

"If I can make it, I'll be there," Curtis said.

He will be honored Aug. 27 by Turner Classic Movies with 24 hours of his movies.

MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY

Slash, lead guitarist for the rock supergroup Velvet Revolver, recalled a memorable 21st birthday during an interview Wednesday with Mark & Mercedes, the morning team at KMXB-FM, 94.1.

Slash said he celebrated his 21st "getting plowed with Dean Martin."

Slash said he was at a Hamburger Hamlet franchise in Los Angeles with his manager and Martin, the laid-back crooner who was a member of the Rat Pack.

Slash celebrated his 43rd birthday Wednesday at Jet nightclub. Asked about the search for a new Velvet Revolver frontman after the split with Scott Weiland, Slash responded, "They don't want somebody to emulate Scott Weiland. They want to go above and beyond that."

The Scene And Heard

Siegfried & Roy announced the names of two 3-month-old tiger cubs on Wednesday: The snow-white cubs, born April 29, are Star and Celestial. The surprise announcement was made during a party for Clark County students at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. A first-grade class from Moore Elementary and a third-grade class from Charlotte Hill Elementary both submitted Star's name. Celestial's name was submitted by Jackie Topacio of Cerritos, Calif., and Lori Diaz from Ocoee, Fla.

Sightings

Tennis star Serena Williams, getting a red carpet welcome and tour Wednesday at the corporate headquarters of Zappos.com in Henderson. Runner-up to sister Venus at Wimbledon earlier this month, Serena met with Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh. She leaves for the Olympics in Beijing next week. ... MTV host LaLa Vazquez bought one pair of shoes and a handbag Wednesday at the Giuseppe Zanotti Design boutique for a total of $1,700. ... Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, back for the second week in a row at the Addicted to Quack pool party Tuesday night at Palms Place. ... Female impersonators Frank Marino and Larry Edwards, signing the cookbook, "Cooking Doesn't Have to be a Drag," on Tuesday at the Get Booked bookstore. Joining them was the author, Stephen Bieniek.

Friday 7-25-08

Members of Team USA are keeping an age-old tradition of celebrity aliases alive.

Spies tell me that one of the star players goes by the alias "Bruce Wayne," the alter ego of "Batman," and another has taken the name "SpongeBob SquarePants," the animated cartoon character from the hit TV show of the same name.

Several Team USA players have been using their favorite aliases during their stay at Wynn Las Vegas this week.

In the stands, when the U.S. Olympic squad faces Canada's Olympic men's basketball team tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center, could be Michael Jordan, who has been known to use the name "Clark Kent" and "Mr. Sterling" at Las Vegas hotels and restaurants.

Kid Rock has for years, I'm told, checked in under the name Dick Grayson, the given name of Batman's crime-fighting sidekick, Robin.

A top chef in town tells me rocker Sammy Hagar has often called in reservations under the name "Joe Money."

A casino executive with deep ties to entertainment -- he's used "Art Deco" and "Marc Chagall" as code names -- said Michael Jackson went by "Dr. Doolittle."

Many of Sir Elton John's names are too blue to mention in a family newspaper, but he's clearly in the Hall of Fame for creative and colorful aliases. Among the cleaner ones: "Sir Humphrey Handbag" and "Lord Elpus."

When Madonna's tour stopped at the MGM Grand in 2001, a spy told me she changed her alias from Caresse Norman to Caresse Henry. Why? Because Caresse Norman, her manager, had gotten married and changed her name to Caresse Henry.

GORDIE BROWN JOINING CELINE

Singing impressionist Gordie Brown has landed a five-month gig as the opening act for Celine Dion's North American leg of her "Taking Chances" tour.

He's closing Aug. 9 at the V Theatre (Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood Resort) and joins her a week later in Montreal, the starting point.

The tours ends in Sunrise, Fla., on Jan. 30.

When Brown returns to Las Vegas, he has a long-term deal waiting, said his manager, Bernie Yuman.

Meanwhile, there's buzz in the dance community that Dion has signed several of her former dancers from her "A New Day" show, which ended a 41/2-year run at Caesars Palace in December. That would fit with the rumors of her return to Caesars for a long-term show starting in 2010.

The Scene And Heard

So what's the story behind actress/singer Mandy Moore's frequent presence at UFC events? There have been rumblings that she was involved with one of the top fighters, but her people are shooting that down. "She's a massive UFC fan," said one of her reps.

May I recommend

KBAD-AM 1100 is holding its third annual 24-hour radiothon benefit for The Caring Place today and Saturday. It begins at 6 a.m. today with longtime boxing analyst and radio personality Al Bernstein, a co-creator of the cancer support center with his wife, Connie, hosting the first hour. Other celebrity hosts include UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger (8 a.m.), Lance Burton and Clint Holmes (2 p.m.), NBC sports analyst Jim Gray (3 p.m.), HBO boxing commentator Jim Lampley (5 p.m.) and former UNLV basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour (7 p.m.). The phone bank number for donations: 953-7650. For more information: www.thecaring placenv.org.

Sightings

Eva Longoria of "Desperate Housewives," having lunch at Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Thursday. ... Denzel Washington, at Blush (Wynn) on Tuesday. ... Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, among a large turnout of musicians at Slash's all-star birthday party at Bare pool lounge at The Mirage on Wednesday night. They included Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Royston Langdon (Spacehog), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Sen Dog (Cypress Hill), will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and ventriloquist Terry Fator.

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