Jermaine Jackson hires Gans’ man
Taking early steps in what he hopes will be a comeback, Jermaine Jackson has hired Danny Gans' former manager to handle convention and corporate bookings.
Jackson, who turns 55 in December, is teaming up with Chip Lightman, who employed a similar strategy with Gans, who went on to become a Las Vegas headliner sensation.
Lightman announced that he would be representing Jackson on chiplightmanentertainment.com Thursday, the day of Michael Jackson's funeral at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Calif.
Lightman said Jermaine Jackson, who had limited success as a solo act, is putting together a show based on his hits (two top 10 entries), Jackson 5 hits and a tribute to Michael.
There are no Las Vegas bookings as yet. "For now he wants to build the show through private audiences, but ultimately it could lead to that," said Lightman, who has been assisting Wynn Las Vegas with bookings since Gans died May 1.
Jermaine, who sang Michael's favorite song, "Smile," at his brother's memorial, plans to hire some of Michael's musicians, said Lightman.
Jermaine's relationship with family members was strained before his brother's death and the split has reportedly widened since then.
Jermaine recently announced he was organizing a tribute to Michael in Vienna, Austria, and promised 1 billion TV viewers. But no family members agreed to participate.
Larry King's wife, Shawn, was initially involved, but pulled out.
Lightman's Web site said he is also the booking agent for the CNN host, singer Michael Bolton, Deborah Gibson, Taylor Dayne, Expose and Beacher's Madhouse.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
KWWN-radio, 1100 AM (ESPN Radio), has reshuffled its lineup, switching its midday team of Steve Cofield and Dave Cokin to the 4 to 7 p.m. time slot. Mitch Moss and Seat Williams move to the midday show, which now runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and includes the return of Pauly Howard. Howard will also join sister station KBAD-radio, 920 AM (Fox Sports), on the 5-7 p.m. weekday show "The Sports Executives" with Ken Thompson.
MAY I RECOMMEND...
Las Vegas Restaurant Week, an anti-hunger benefit featuring discounted prices at 80 restaurants, ends Sunday.
Participating restaurants are offering prices at $50.09, $30.09 and $20.09, with a portion benefiting the Three Square food bank, a nonprofit working to end hunger in Southern Nevada. Participating restaurants and their menus are posted at www.threesquare.org.
Also, the newest addition on the Strip -- the Hard Rock Cafe -- opens Saturday at the Showcase mall with 950 seats in a 42,000-square-foot space.
It will feature the Rock Wall, an 18-foot-wide, 4-foot-high interactive touch screen allows patrons to take a virtual tour of the Hard Rock Cafe's legendary rock 'n' roll memorabilia collection at the company's 156 venues.
THE PUNCH LINE
"According to a new study, a moderate amount of drinking may prevent Alzheimer's disease. Me? I'm always drinking to forget, so that's no good for me." -- David Letterman
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
