Nathan Burton As a boy, he performed magic tricks for former first lady Betty Ford President Ford and daughter Susan play with their dog, Liberty, on the South Lawn in October 1974. Magician Nathan Burton drew the attention of the Secret Service during Susan's nuptials in 1979. Photo by The Associated Press

Nathan Burton got a presidential pardon from Gerald Ford, too.

Burton's sin? He got busted by the Secret Service for cracking the super-secret White House radio frequency.

He was about 7 when his father, an Episcopal minister, presided over the Feb. 10, 1979, wedding of President Ford's daughter, Susan, to Charles Vance, one of her father's former Secret Service agents.

Burton was playing with his walkie-talkie behind the St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, Calif., blissfully unaware that the Secret Service was scrambling to locate a mysterious voice on the frequency.

Suddenly, "guys in suits with little ear pieces swooped in," he recalled, and nabbed him and confiscated his walkie-talkie.

"I was like in little kid jail until the wedding was over," said Burton, a local comedy magician at V Theatre at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood.

The president "laughed about it" later, after the Fords, who went to the church, and Burton's parents became friends.

"When my sister was born, my parents recieved two silver cups with the presidential seal on them," Burton added.

Little Nathan often did magic tricks for Betty Ford, when she showed up at the hair salon where Burton's mother worked.

President Ford's memorial service was Friday at the same church where Burton's father, Bob, was the minister from 1978 to 1983.

SIGHTINGS

Leonardo DiCaprio and girlfriend Bar Rafaeli, swimming Monday with the dolphins at The Mirage before attending the 10:30 p.m. performance of "Love." Also at "Love": Smash Mouth guitarist Greg Camp. ... NASCAR driver Todd Bodine, at Blue Man Group (Venetian) on Tuesday. ... Wayne Newton and burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, putting on a special performance at a private party at Pure (Caesars Palace) on Tuesday. At separate tables: ultimate fighters Keith Jardine and Forrest Griffin, who opposed each other Saturday, with Jardine prevailing. Also: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and actress Meagan Good. ... Britain's hip-hop princess Lady Sovereign, tossing pieces of cake into the crowd during her 21st birthday celebration Tuesday at Studio 54 (MGM Grand). ... At Moon Nightclub (Palms) on New Year's Eve: Mario Lopez, dancing up a storm; "American Idol" Kelly Clarkson and 25 of her pals, watching the fireworks from the balcony; Shawn Chacon; Paul Pierce; Suge Knight; and Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson. ... At OPM (Forum Shops at Caesars): Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live" and boxing champ Mayweather, spraying $9,000-a-bottle Cristal champagne into the crowd. ... Jenn Grijalva of "Real World Denver," hosting at Coyote Ugly. ... Danny Gans, introducing the band Chicago on Fremont Street. ... Chyna of pro wrestling fame, dancing in the crowd of the Original Idols Live concert at the Flamingo while Leif Garrett sang a cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." ... Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses in a Fantasy Tower suite. ... At chef Kerry Simon's all-star rock 'n' roll dinner at Simon Kitchen & Bar (Hard Rock Hotel) on New Year's Eve: Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, Jane's Addiction's Chris Chaney, The Cult's Billy Morrison, Camp Freddy's Donovan Leitch, rock drummer Matt Sorum, Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell and Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. On New Year's Day: Rock guitarist Gilby Clarke, Mick Fleetwood and Tommy Lee stopped by for a late night bite. ... At Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab (Forum Shops at Caesars): Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, many-time baseball All-Star Rickey Henderson and Brian Johnson from the Beach Boys.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Ryan Seacrest did a nice job on the countdown." -- From David Letterman's Top Ten Things Overheard Outside Saddam Hussein's Execution

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