Christine Gabell goes by Marley Taylor in the stage show Zowie Bowie at Red Rock Resort.

A Las Vegas headliner's past has caught up with her.

Christine Gabell, who goes by Marley Taylor in the stage show duo Zowie Bowie, has been hit with a $1 million court judgment dating back almost a decade to her Nashville days.

Gabell and her fiancé, Chris Phillips, have been headliners at Red Rock Resort since it opened almost a year ago.

Dan Wilson, a former executive with a prominent Nashville music publishing company, filed for the judgment enforcement last week in Clark County District Court.

During his court fight, Wilson claimed he was forced out of Tree Publishing after Gabell went to his bosses, claiming sexual harassment and stalking.

He had worked for almost 20 years at Tree Publishing, now known as a Sony/ATV Music Publishing, as a song plugger, which involves pitching material to artists and record labels.

Wilson and Gabell met in 1995, when his company arranged to have him help her record a demo.

Wilson, then in his late 40s, and the 25-year-old Gabell became romantically involved before the relationship soured a year later.

Gabell went to Sony/ATV with the sexual harassment charges, and Wilson was asked to resign. He refused and was fired. A sexual harassment lawsuit was never filed.

A Chancery Court judge in Davidson County, Tenn., ruled in November 1997 that there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Gabell's conduct led to Wilson's firing "by virtue of defamatory statements."

Gabell was ordered to pay $1 million, plus $45,788.14 in credit card charges, to Wilson.

Gabell returned to Arizona, where she met Phillips six years ago, and joined his Zowie Bowie show under the name of Marley Taylor.

Phillips said he's been aware of the judgment against his fiancée of three years. They were informed last week that it was filed.

"We're finally finding some success, and we get a certified letter. The last thing we needed was some baggage from the attic."

During the interview Saturday, Phillips said he was surprised Wilson located her.

"She doesn't exist on paper. She doesn't even have a driver's license," he said, adding that nothing is in her name as far as their business arrangement.

According to a published report in Arizona, they signed a $5 million deal with Red Rock Resort.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Upper respiratory problems forced Celine Dion to cancel her Wednesday, Thursday and Friday shows. She returned to the Colosseum stage at Caesars Palace on Saturday. Meantime, there are rumblings that Caesars plans to level the stage from its current 5.7 degrees incline when Dion ends her nearly five-year run in December.

SIGHTINGS

A barefoot Deborah Gibson, singing her 1980s hits at the grand opening of Polly Esther's at the Stratosphere on Friday. Danny Bonaduce posed for photos in a replica of the Partridge Family bus in the 1970s-themed room while David Hasselhoff of "The Producers" (Venetian) partied in the Suite 2000 room. About 2,000 jammed the club, which features four themed dance spaces covering four decades of music. ... All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Jake Plummer, recently traded by the Denver Broncos to the Tampa Bay Bucs, gambling at separate tables at the Playboy Club (Palms) on Friday. Also in the house: Cuba Gooding Jr., with friends. ... Earlier, Gooding attended The Dan Band at The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) after dining at Little Buddha (Palms) with Brenden Theatres owner Johnny Brenden. Gooding is in town for the premiere of "What Love Is" at Brenden Theatres. ... John Corbett, at Lure (Wynn) on Friday night, enjoying champagne with friends until 4 a.m. ... Actors Jeffrey Donovan ("Hitch") and David Anders ("Alias"), at Pure on Friday. ... At the UNLV-Georgia Tech NCAA Tournament game on Friday at Chicago's United Center: Former UNLV president Carol Harter and her husband, Mike. Now executive director of the Black Mountain Institute, Harter was involved in the hiring of Rebels coach Lon Kruger.

THE PUNCH LINE

"In Palm Beach, Florida, this week, a shark attacked a lawyer who was surfing. Remarkably, the shark survived." -- Jay Leno

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