Hello Again Las Vegas,

 

After 23 years in the business (16 of them in Vegas), it's been quite a ride. I came to this city in January of 1990 and anyone who's lived here awhile knows that the growth and changes just seem endless. When I arrived, the "new" Vegas was already in full bloom. Themed resort hotels were just making their mark and the community off strip was growing by leaps and bounds.

We started out in a house on the west side of town where our 3 children were in their early elementary school years. We moved here because I was offered a spot with "Legends in Concert" at the Imperial Palace. In fact, I was the first "living legend" (sounds odd), the show had ever hired. With about 5 other tribute performers and several dancers, working on the Las Vegas strip was an opportunity I would have only imagined in my dreams.

Previously, I had never been west of Chicago, so this kind of change for a Midwest kid from Detroit was a little overwhelming. I had already been performing in the Detroit area for 7 years, but playing a Las Vegas stage was a whole new ballgame. I've really worked with some great people over the years, of course most of them I found out, were also transplants from back east or the Midwest.

Of course, behind the scenes of a Vegas show is always interesting. One night, as I left the stage following my last song (Neil Diamond's "America"), our Liberace performer, Darryl Wagner began his flight across the stage, only to notice that the pyro at the end of my song had ignited the curtain above him. As the curtain was lowered, the flames climbed higher and were finally extinguished by stage hands. Since there was no way for him to immediately leave the stage until he was lowered, Darryl's heart must have been pounding a mile a minute. Of course the curtain was dropped and as the audience filed out, the Blues Brothers act kept them entertained as they headed for the exit.

 

After nine years with "Legends," I eventually made my mark by starting my own Neil Diamond show at the Riviera, where I have been performing since Feb. of '02. This opportunity as well, has been a tremendous learning experience about the business end of show business. We're now starting our 5th successful year and after 23 years, it turns out that life is still as unpredictable now as it was 23 years ago...what a ride.