Rita Rudner adds singing daughter to her show

Famous helicopter parents in history have included Mozart’s dad, Britney’s mom (wait, what?) and Las Vegas comedian Rita Rudner, whose 13-year-old singing daughter, Molly Bergman, will open for Rudner on Friday and Saturday at Red Rock Resort.

“She’s going to be earning a living in a little while so she can support me, which is my ambition,” Rudner joked. “She owes me a lot of money” for raising her.

Molly’s YouTube channel is mollybmusic, where she sings a cover of Taylor Swift and original songs such as “Dear Mr. Trump,” which goes: “Time to go/time to go/We’ve seen your show/it was fun at first/but now you blow.”

Ever since Rudner stopped performing five nights a week for Harrah’s, two years ago, Rudner, Molly and patriarch Martin Bergman have been traveling the world more often.

Molly makes Rudner get out of her comfort zone.

“I’ve been ziplining with her in New Zealand. I’ve been snorkeling with her in Bora Bora. I’ve been climbing mountains with her,” Rudner said, not joking.

Martin Bergman doesn’t join them on sea dives.

“His idea of a water sport is shaving,” Rudner said. “She had me paddle boarding in Hawaii, and canoeing and kayaking. And Martin was on the beach reading.”

At Red Rock, Molly will sing covers, plus original songs, as she does when opening for Rudner on cruise ships. Yes, the mother-daughter team is a cruise ship duo.

“I got very, very lucky. I have an excellent little girl. But she’s not so little anymore. She’s (5-foot-7), a half-an-inch taller than I am, which is a little bit upsetting.”

So yeah, helicopter parenting gets a bad rap.

“I’m a helicopter parent, but I’m trying to at least make wider circles around her in my helicopter,” Rudner said. “She had a science test today, and I know more about the planet than I care to know. We were up studying an hour last night.”

Meanwhile, Rudner and Las Vegas comedian Louie Anderson have created funny audio sketches in front of audiences at the Laguna Playhouse, named “The Louie & Rita Show,” available free on iTunes and podcast apps.

Rudner just opened a relationship comedy play, “Act 3,” in the Laguna Playhouse, co-written with her husband.

And she’s on an episode of Andrew Dice Clay’s Showtime series, “Dice,” along with Criss Angel and Wayne Newton.

SEBASTIAN’S FAMILY SHOW

Mirage headliner Sebastian Maniscalco is in the midst of editing an NBC pilot named “Sebastian Says,” which is just as family-oriented as his stage show.

“Sebastian Says” revolves around Sunday suppers, and integrating two families together through marriage.

“The family aspect in entertainment is being underserviced. You turn on the TV, it seems to be all kinds of shock comedy, or dirty,” the comedian, whose known more by his first name than his last, said.

“Very few people are talking about everyday stuff you can relate to — being married, and having a father who’s overbearing — and that’s what the TV show is about, too.”

Sebastian (headlining Friday-Saturday at The Mirage) is from Chicago, but his comedy took off quickly on the East Coast. He’s hoping “Sebastian Says” can expose him to wider audiences nationally.

“You don’t have to be Italian to understand the humor. It’s pretty much (universal) if you had a mother and a father,” said Sebastian, who is Italian with a Jewish wife, which plays into his act.

NBC will probably give the show, which co-stars Tony Danza as his dad and Vanessa Lachey as his wife, a green or red light during the network’s mid-May announcement fanfare.

Playing himself in a broadcast network sitcom would be one of his first acting gigs. He thinks he did a good job, thanks to acting classes and tips from set vets, but he stops short of calling himself an award contender.

“It’s not like I was turning into ‘Rain Man,’” he joked.

Sebastian will film a new Showtime special May 7 in the Beacon Theater in New York.

He’s writing a food autobiography for February called “Where You Wanna Eat?”

JETER’S BACK

You might be able to catch a glimpse of athletes and stars who are in town Thursday for the Derek Jeter Celebrity Invitational golf tourney at Shadow Creek, followed by a red carpet gala at Aria Resort.

Jeter’s RSVPs include Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Rob Riggle, Reggie Bush, Josh Duhamel, Luke Rockhold, Misty May-Treanor, Alan Thicke, Bode Miller, Tina Martinez, Jorge Posada, Paige Spiranac, Joey Fatone, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment, and Flo Rida.

But these events are not open to the public. So if you want to rubberneck and gawk at the stars, you’ll have to try to see the carpet from a distance, I’m told. Or use your connections.

PERSONAL NOTE

The RJ lost one of our beloved people on Wednesday. Lisa Kim Bach, 49, was smart, funny, the best laugher, kind, and now she’s gone from cancer.

If you read the paper, you read her bylines or stories she edited. Her work was in your hands every day.

Lisa and I weren’t tight friends. We were comrades. But she always made my moments brighter when I talked with her in the newsroom. Her smile was sunshine.

Doug Elfman can be reached at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. On Twitter: @VegasAnonymous