Saturday, February 26, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Manilow basks in the limelight

Barry Manilow performs Thursday at the Las Vegas Hilton. Photo by Jeff Scheid.

Barry Manilow's VIP gala opening at the Las Vegas Hilton was a far cry from his debut here almost 30 years ago.

"I opened for Helen Reddy" at the MGM Grand in 1976, recalled Manilow, who was coming off his No. 1 "Mandy" and high-flyers "Could It be Magic" and "It's a Miracle."

A galaxy of stars turned out Thursday for Manilow, whose last lengthy engagement here was 1988.

Elton John's surprise arrival had the paparazzi in a tizzy.

During the after-party that attracted about 1,000 people, Manilow said he was deeply grateful that John, the Caesars Palace headliner, braved the red-carpet scrum, one of the few public appearances John has made since starting his Las Vegas engagement a year ago.

"Elton John is the Shakespeare of pop music of my generation," Manilow told me during his tour of the after-party event.

Manilow had the crowd on its feet for most of the half hour.

The big finish saw a metal platform with glass sideboards and two sets of stairs lowered from the ceiling, allowing Manilow and his backup singers to perform "Copacabana" above the capacity crowd of 1,700.

VIP attendees included: Steve and Elaine Wynn with Steve Guttenberg of "Police Academy" fame; David Brenner and Tai Babilonia (just back from the 25th anniversary of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics); Robert Goulet; Clint Holmes; Larry Ruvo; Gordie Brown; Lance Burton; Bernie Yuman; Frank Marino; Mimi Hines (who replaced Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl" on Broadway); Kimberly Locke and the Maynard triplets of "American Idol" fame; Matt Dusk; David Foster; Robin Leach; country singer Shelby Lynne; Jeff Beacher; Grammy-nominated singer Monica Mancini (daughter of iconic composer Henry Mancini); Adrian Zmed; Ron Dante, who produced many of Manilow's albums, including the "Mandy" and "Copacabana" hits; Desmond Childs, who wrote for KISS; Bon Jovi; Aerosmith; Cher; Ricky Martin; and songwriting hall of fame composer Marty Panzer, who collaborated on "Even Now" with Manilow.

The Scene and Heard

An assistant for Las Vegas impersonator Rich Little has been sued on allegations of conspiring with an interior design group to defraud the entertainer. Barbara Frankel had an arrangement with Gary Adamski and Ruth Miller of Cris-Mar Designs LLC to overcharge Little about $78,000, according to the suit filed in Clark County District Court. Cris-Mar had an arrangement with Frankel to perform about $35,000 in interior design work on Frankel's personal residence and fraudulently charged the work to Little and his production company, the suits says.

Sightings

Josh Duhamel of NBC's "Las Vegas" and girlfriend Stacey "Fergie" Ferguson of the Black-Eyed Peas, checking into the Hard Rock Hotel on Friday night. ... NBA legend Michael Jordan at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday with bike racing legend Freddie Spencer. Jordan was at the speedway for what was characterized as an "undisclosed business meeting." ... NFL Hall of Fame coach Don Shula and wife Mary Anne, lunching at Chinois (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Friday. ... Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, staying at the Palms, where he was spotted at N9NE steak house and the Sunrise Cafe with some wide-body pals but not galpal golfer Natalie Gulbis.

The Punch Line

"Right now President Bush is in Europe. He's in Germany, and he stopped in Frankfurt, and he got off the plane, and he electrified the crowd with `Ich bin ein frankfurter.' " -- David Letterman

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.