May '08 Notes from Norm — Norm Clarke Column

Saturday 5-24-08

	'Indiana' villain got start in Vegas If Igor Jijikine's improbable American adventure becomes a book, the perfect title might be: "From Russia With Luck." Eighteen years after arriving in Las Vegas as a trapeze artist with the Moscow Circus, Jijikine, 44, has landed the role of a lifetime as a villain out to whip Indiana Jones. Not long ago, Jijikine was relying on income from his appearance in 40-some commercials and a popular PC game. The younger generation will recognize him as the face of the "Command and Conquer Red Alert" series in which he plays a Russian soldier. Now he's an an overnight star as Red Army Colonel Dovchenko, the ruthless leader of a commando team in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which figures to be another blockbuster for director Steven Spielberg. Just back from the Cannes Film Festival, Jijikine has experienced firsthand the iconic appeal of one of America's most beloved action heros. No one called out Jijikine's name when he walked into the Cannes theater with Harrison Ford and the cast for the premiere this week. He could have been mistaken for a bodyguard. "People didn't pay any attention to me," said Jijikine, who played Samson for five years in "Jubilee!" at Bally's and worked on stilts, among other duties, with Cirque du Soleil's "Mystere" at Treasure Island. That all changed after the premiere, he said in a telephone interview. "Thousands of people wanted my autograph or a photograph with me," he said. He survived a number of auditions more than a year ago before he got the call. "When Spielberg called me to his office, I figured out I had the biggest chance of my life." Jijikine, who grew up in Moscow, credited Nate Bynum, associate professor of theater at UNLV, for prepping him for the role. Bynum said he helped Jijikine with "nuances of the character, camera angles and how to use his eyes. The main thing was to get him to trust himself." IDOL' CHATTER Alicia Jacobs, entertainment reporter for KVBC-TV, Channel 3, picked up some nuggets at the "American Idol" after-party at Skybar atop the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles. She spotted Carly Smithson, the talented Irish contestant who first caught the eyes of the "Idol" judges during the audition at the Renaissance Hotel on Paradise Road, "in a big conversation" with Larry Rudolph, longtime manager of Britney Spears. Smithson told Jacobs that she got married four years ago at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas and plans to renew her vows there with her husband, Todd, when the "Idol" tour stops at Thomas & Mack on July 5. Jerry Springer, the host of NBC's "America's Got Talent," told Jacobs that Terry Fator's megacontract at The Mirage has taken the NBC show to "the next level. People really want to win this now," after seeing Fator land a reported $100 million deal. "When I saw that, I went home and started playing with my sock puppets," Springer told her. "Idol" winner David Cook told Jacobs that "playing Las Vegas has always been one of my dreams." The Scene And Heard Palms owner George Maloof says his recent meetings with Spears are about their friendship. "We haven't spoken about business," Maloof told Richard Abowitz, who writes The Movable Buffet blog for the Los Angeles Times. Maloof was responding to widespread media speculation that Spears intends either a Vegas show at the Palms or is talking with Maloof about mounting a $10 million world tour. The full story is here: http://vegasblog.latimes.com

Sunday 5-25-08

The Hoff looking into Las Vegas run

David Hasselhoff enjoyed his days -- and nights -- in Las Vegas so much he's looking to relaunch his career here.

The "Baywatch" hunk, who starred in "The Producers" at Paris Las Vegas for three months last year, is working on a one-man show called "Viva Hoff Vegas."

Hasselhoff was in Las Vegas last weekend to promote his hasselhoff.com podcast from his suite at Planet Hollywood Resort.

"It's a fun act," he was quoted as saying in Internet reports. "I had a ball in Vegas with 'The Producers,' and I think Vegas wants to see The Hoff, so I'm putting together a knock-down, drag-out, crazy, make-fun-of-my-life Hoff show that also tells my story.

"It'll be a little about 'Baywatch,' about 'Knight Rider,' about the Wall in Germany. I've got footage of all of this; I've saved everything.

"Then we might do a sexy after-hours show at the Hofbrauhaus, which already offered me the gig."

If that reference is to the Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas and Hasselhoff wasn't misquoted, that's news to Stefan Gastager, managing partner of the beer palace.

"We invited him to come out for a keg tapping and to sing 'Looking For Freedom,' but we've had no contact since," Gastager said. "But he would be welcome any time."

Hasselhoff turned "Looking For Freedom" into a megahit in Germany, where he is an icon. He performed the song at the Berlin Wall in 1989 as the wall was crumbling.

He also was quoted as saying he's working with composer Frank Wildhorn on a rock opera that he would perform with an orchestra in castles around the world.

Wildhorn and Hasselhoff teamed up in the dark, gothic-themed musical "Jekyll & Hyde" on Broadway in 2000.

The Scene And Heard

Steve Wynn has lured another star chef to Wynn Las Vegas. Larry Forgione, a pioneering chef from New York, will move An American Place into the Tableau space this winter, when Mark LoRusso opens a restaurant at Encore, the new luxury suite hotel at Wynn Las Vegas. "Larry Forgione was one of the first chefs to focus exclusively on American ingredients and cuisine," Wynn said. "His vision and commitment to sustainability paved the way for many of today's chefs." ...

Bette Midler will be the Nevada Ballet Theater's "Woman of the Year" at the Black & White Ball on Jan. 17 at Caesars Palace.


Monday 5-26-08

Names of friends etched into wall Most of my boyhood memories of Memorial Day involve a tiny cemetery set against a backdrop of the Badlands of eastern Montana. So imagine my overwhelming awe last week while touring the national World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials in Washington, D.C. Instead of Badlands in the background, there was the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol. There were three of us: myself, my friend Ted Kratovil and his friend and tour guide retired Marine Corps Gen. P.X. Kelley, who was chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, I looked up the names of two Montana friends etched into the 246-foot-long, black granite wall: Larry Naasz, panel 12E, line 104, and Richard Lillie, 5W, line 117. Larry and I grew up together in Prairie County. For years, we walked to school together until he dropped out and joined the Army. He was 24 when he died with 33 other Americans on Nov. 21, 1966, in Kon Tum province. When I first saw his name on the memorial wall in 1987, my first visit, I scribbled a stencil of his name. Later that day, when I boarded my plane back to Denver, I was pleased when my seat number, 12E, was the same as Larry's panel number. I met Richard once, at a house party in Billings, Mont. He had just started a career as a radio deejay and was heading off to the Marines. He was 22 when he died in 1971. On our way to the Korean War Memorial, we marveled at the hundreds of Korean visitors paying homage to the Americans who defended their freedom. Kelley, who led the last ground combat unit out of Vietnam and later headed the Marines from 1983 to 1987, recalled the first Marine he lost under his command. "We were going up a hill in Quang Ngai. He was a member of the Hells Angels -- a kid from San Francisco -- and he stepped on a mine. The only thing he said was, 'Please hold me' and, 'Colonel, the hill is mined.'" With those final words, the young man in Kelley's arms was carrying out what he had been trained to do: Think first of his fellow Marines. Last Friday, at a ceremony honoring Ohio's hard-hit Lima Company outside the state Capitol in Columbus, I heard more stories of that selfless commitment. The occasion was the unveiling of life-size oil portraits of the 23 mostly young Marine reservists who died in less than a week in Iraq in 2005. Fourteen died in one day from an improvised explosive device, including my godson David Kreuter of Cincinnati, who spent his final weekend in the United States in Las Vegas. A moment we'll long cherish: the sight of former U.S. Sen. John Glenn, one of the speakers and the first American to orbit the Earth, stopping at each portrait and studying the faces of the fallen. They are among the many generations of men and women we salute today for their sacrifices. To view one of the most passionate speeches by a mother, go to www.ohiochannel.org. A book, "Sword in the Lion's Den: Navy Doc with 3/25th Marines in Iraq" by Capt. Glenn F. Thibault M.D., chronicles the events of that summer. Laura Kreuter, 22, of Cincinnati touches the boots of her brother, Marine Sgt. David Kreuter, during a Friday unveiling of portraits honoring Lima Company in the Ohio state Capitol. Photo above by Cara Roberts

Tuesday 5-27-08

Norm is taking Tuesdays off

Wednesday 5-28-08

Horse scene shot at Caesars Palace

One of most challenging scenes in a Sydney Pollack film happened at Caesars Palace.

The idea was to have Robert Redford's character ride a white stallion off stage and through the casino during an early scene in "The Electric Horseman."

"Stallions are known to be high- strung so we spent months training him," the Hollywood director, who died Monday at age 73, told me during an interview at Paris Las Vegas about eight years ago.

"We played a tape recording of slot machine sound for hours in his stall," said Pollack. "He behaved better than the actors."

Pollack, who shot the Las Vegas scenes in 1978, hooked up Redford and Jane Fonda for the romantic comedy.

The premise: Decked out in a neon costume, Redford plays a washed-up rodeo star who appears with the horse in a cheesy stage revue. But when the horse needs to be sedated to appear on stage, Redford decides to make a run for it. Fonda, who plays a reporter, tracks the two down in the scenic wilds.

According to Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com), the movie was inspired by an incident during the filming of "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" when Penny Chenery, the owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, was invited to bring the racehorse to the studio. Knowing Secretariat would be skittish in the TV lights, she declined.

Local author Jack Sheehan said Pollack got along famously with Jimmy Chagra, then the king of high rollers at Caesars Palace, during the filming.

They often partied, and "Pollack liked Chagra so much he included him as a gambler during the filming, and even got him a Screen Actors Guild card.

"But as the final cut of the film was being edited, Chagra was indicted for conspiracy in the murder of federal Judge John Wood. Pollack then re-cut the film and left Chagra out, not wanting to take any heat for using him in the movie."

JACKSON SIGHTINGS

Michael Jackson met with one of Donald Trump's go-betweens at the Trump International Hotel & Tower last week.

Jackson and local deal maker Jack Wishna had their meeting early last week in the Trump tower boardroom. Wishna facilitated Jackson's move to Las Vegas in December 2006 after several years of self-exile.

The original plan was to move Jackson into Trump's $125 million mansion in Palm Beach, Fla.

Jackson lived at Trump Tower in New York back in the '80s and has had a personal friendship with Trump for years.

Meanwhile Jackson's eccentric ways surfaced again over the weekend when he attended the UFC 84 event at MGM Grand in a wheelchair, with a black fabric over his face.

The Scene And Heard

Vastly differing reports surfaced about a post-fight exchange between Tito Ortiz and UFC President Dana White. Local celebrity blogger Robin Leach quoted an eyewitness as saying the press conference turned into "total chaos and bedlam." Leach said four police officers were called "to keep Tito and (White) apart." His report is here: blogs.lasvegasmagazine.com. Michael David Smith of AOL Sports, reporting from the scene, saw it this way: sports.aol.com.

Thursday 5-29-08

Clooney, Larson no longer an item

Sarah Larson has gone from "It Girl" to George Clooney's ex.

Three weeks after being anointed the "It Girl" on the cover of Harper's Bazaar's June issue, Larson's 11-month romance with Hollywood's leading man is over, according to People magazine.

Was it something she said?

She didn't appear to say anything outlandish in her Harper's Bazaar cover story that appeared to be a deal breaker. The interview was likely conducted two to three months ago.

The actor's rep, Stan Rosenfield, told People, "We do not comment on George's personal life."

She had moved to Las Vegas in 2002 to be closer to her ailing father, who was in Palm Springs. She gave up a $10.50-an-hour job at a homeopathic medical company to work at the Playboy Club and Moon. "It's funny," she told Harper's Bazaar, "you go into cocktailing and you're making a thousand dollars a night."

She met Clooney three or four years ago at his birthday party at Green Valley Ranch. He contacted her by text messaging last June when she was working at Moon nightclub at the Palms and he was in town for the Las Vegas premiere of "Ocean's Thirteen."

They made their public debut at premieres of his "Michael Clayton" film in Venice and Deauville, France. They were in a motorcycle accident last fall in New Jersey. Clooney, 47, flew to Las Vegas to spend Valentine's weekend with Larson, 29, and took her to the Oscars 10 days later.

When I interviewed Larson after her fashion show appearance for Emilio Pucci's spring collection at the Four Seasons Hotel in early April, I asked if Clooney supported her modeling career. She continued to make Las Vegas her home base after switching to modeling.

"Your boyfriend better be," she said, smiling. "If they aren't, you gotta kick 'em in the butt and walk away."

MEDIA UPDATE

After a year of major changes, they're celebrating at KVBC-TV, Channel 3 after winning 11 of 14 local newscasts in the May sweeps households ratings.

It's heady stuff after a massive staff makeover.

KLAS-TV, Channel 8 won the weekday late news slot, with KVBC second, and KLAS also won the 5 p.m. weekday newscast, edging KVBC by one-tenth of a rating. KLAS also won the Sunday late newscast.

The household Nielsen ratings measure the percentage of TV households watching during that program. The demographic ratings, which come out in June, offer a more detailed view of the audience.

"The bottom line is that we won nearly every local newscast in Las Vegas," said KVBC general manager Lisa Howfield. "That is an exciting and incredible accomplishment in this very competitive news environment."

Las Vegas has more than 700,000 TV households.

In other developments:

Barbara Walters' "The View" is coming to tape in Las Vegas from June 23 through June 27 at Caesars Palace. ... Rob Powers has resigned as communications director at the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. Cisco Aguilar is filling in on an interim basis. ... Marisa Bilkiss, director of marketing and promotions at Clear Channel's KPLV-FM 93.1 since 2006, is moving to CBS Radio's KKJJ-FM 100.5. ... Local businessman Dane Phillips has purchased Las Vegas Woman magazine.

Friday 5-30-08

Open not shut, first lady argues

Attorneys for Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons are citing examples of why Gov. Jim Gibbons' bid to keep secret his divorce proceedings should be ruled unconstitutional.

In a motion filed Wednesday, Reno-based attorneys Cal Dunlap and Monique Laxalt listed several high-profile divorce cases that led to such rulings.

One of the examples in the motion was the case of California supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle, a former business partner of Bill Clinton.

Janet Burkle won her challenge when a California court concluded that the First Amendment provides a right of access to court records in court proceedings.

The first lady's attorneys said the Nevada statute is similar to the California version that was declared unconstitutional.

In court documents, Ron Burkle argued that the record should be sealed to keep his wife from publicizing his business affairs to the media and to guarantee his "constitutional right of privacy."

Dunlap and Laxalt contend the order by Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox to seal the divorce court files should be declared "void and in violation" of the constitutional rights of the first lady.

The Scene And Heard

"Toni Braxton: Revealed" has been canceled, the Flamingo Las Vegas announced Thursday, "to allow for Ms. Braxton to focus on her health." The singer has been sidelined since early April when she experienced heart palpitations. Her two-year contract was scheduled to run through mid-August. ...

Clay Aiken, sperm donor. The 29-year-old "American Idol" star has impregnated 50-year-old Jaymes Foster, his record producer and sister of prominent record producer David Foster, according to the celebrity Web site TMZ.com. ...

Former UNLV football player Marion "Suge" Knight has been ordered by a Los Angeles bankruptcy court judge to put Death Row Records up for public auction June 24. The minimum starting bid has been set at $24 million and includes rights to the recordings of Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. ...

Former Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees is among E! Entertainment's "Pageant Queens Gone Wrong: 15 Pageant Scandals," which premieres tonight at 8 p.m. Alicia Jacobs, former Miss Nevada USA and Mrs. United States, offers commentary, calling Rees "misguided." Jacobs says, "Once she got to Las Vegas, her association with people like Tiffany Masters and that 'lifestyle' probably didn't help her cause." Masters appeared in the 2003 film "Fluffy Cumsalot, Porn Star" with a cast that included Ron Jeremy, Marilyn Chambers, Jenna Jameson and Seymore Butts. ...

Be proud, Chris Berman. A locally owned thoroughbred named Backbackbackgone set a stakes record Sunday in the Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes race at Hollywood Park. The performance was shown on ESPN's SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays of the Day that night. Bought in March, the Gerson Racing Team's colt won by four lengths; his only other race was a 10-length romp at Bay Meadows. The 2-year-old is owned by Mark Wayman, Matt Vest and local publicist Laura Herlovich.

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