Hundreds offer cotton candy toasts to late chef Kerry Simon
Celebrity chef Kerry Simon was remembered Sunday with cotton candy toasts, friends surrounded by a boatload of food, and rafter-shaking rock 'n' roll music.
The emotional tribute took place at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, where the former "Iron Chef" fought an incurable condition called multiple system atrophy. A crowd of more than 500 showed up to honor Simon, who died Sept. 11. He was 60.
In a room featuring oversized guitars and food booths manned by fellow chefs, Larry Ruvo, Elizabeth Blau and George Maloof spoke from a stage.
Ruvo and Blau ended their speeches by raising cotton candy toasts. Simon believed in sending patrons home with cotton candy.
It was the same venue where $550,000 was raised at an event titled Kerry Simon Says Fight MSA. Actor Bill Murray, an old Chicago friend of Simon's from their pizza-slinging days, showed, along with many rock 'n' roll acts.
Outside, where Simon's chef friends set up food booths, photographer Maryanne Bilham-Knight of New Zealand told me her favorite Simon story.
She remembered Simon taking New York City by storm when he earned his nickname as the Rock 'n' Roll Chef in his 30s as executive chef at The Plaza.
"There's a Polaroid and sketch of David Bowie and Iman's hands the night David proposed to her at the chef's table," said Bilham-Knight.
But his appeal was far broader than just rock 'n' roll, said Bilham-Knight.
Fashion designers Betsy Ross, Jean Paul Gaultier and Anne Klein were among Simon's clientele.
Barry Dakake, executive chef of N9ne Steakhouse, provided a heaping table of fresh Alaskan king crab and shrimp.
"When his night was over (at Palms Place), he'd come down to the bar at N9ne and order fresh seafood," said Dakake. "So that's what I brought."
Guitar picks engraved with Simon's name were handed out to guests at the entrance to the center on Sunday.
"I'm going to frame it with my collection. I've got picks from the Rolling Stones, The Eagles and Cheap Trick," said Ben Kalb, a longtime friend and customer of Simon's.
Primm estate sold
The Primm estate, one of Nevada's most expensive homes, was sold at auction Oct. 10 for $6 million, far from the asking price of $14.5 million.
In 2009 it was on the market for $22 million.
Built at 7000 Tomiyasu Lane in 1991 by casino developer Gary Primm, the compound includes five buildings, 50 total rooms, an indoor-outdoor dog kennel and a 20-car showroom.
Real estate agent Zar Zanganeh, who represented the estate for two years, said, "We had a TV executive who offered him (Primm) $10 million five years ago."
Primm sold it to a private buyer.
Zanganeh showed the property to entertainer Michael Jackson a couple years before he died in 2009.
The scene and heard
Venetian headliner Bob Anderson, the star of "Sinatra: The Man, The Music," will sing the national anthem to kick off the Veterans Day parade on Nov. 11. KXNT talk-show host Alan Stock and Les Krifaton, weather reporter at KVVU-TV (Channel 5), will share emcee duties. Anderson was a platoon leader in Vietnam. The second largest Veterans Day parade in the nation, it begins at 10 a.m. ...
Judy Garland impersonator David de Alba performs his tribute show Nov. 8 at Erotic Heritage Museum, 3275 S. Industrial Road. De Alba was a regular featured performer at Finocchio's Club in San Francisco. Must be over 21 ...
"Jersey Boys" celebrated its 3,000 show on Thursday. It opened on May 3, 2008. ...
Correction: The band Foreigner had the hit "I Want to Know What Love Is," which went to No. 1 in 1985, not Journey.
On this day
Oct. 19, 2003: Former NBA star and human lightning rod Dennis Rodman emerges from Treasures strip club, takes a borrowed motorcycle for a spin and immediately crashes into a pole. It takes 70 stitches to patch him up, but his dream of a basketball comeback is over.
Oct. 20, 1967: Las Vegas Country Club opens its new golf course to the public with a sweet bargain: $10 to play. The clubhouse opens the following year and LVCC becomes a private, exclusive gathering place for the Las Vegas elite. (Thanks to Mike Precker.)
Sightings
Kim Kardashian West, her sister Kendall Jenner and their mother, Kris Jenner, spotted at Sunrise Hospital over the weekend, according to several reports. They joined Khloe Kardashian at the bedside of former NBA player Lamar Odom, who continued to show positive signs of recovering from his collapse at a Southern Nevada brothel on Tuesday. ... Former tennis great Andre Agassi, in the audience at Opportunity Village for a HalloVeen performance Friday at the Magical Forest. ... Singer-songwriter Pink, with friends at Crush (MGM Grand) on Saturday. Former NBA great and TV basketball analyst Charles Barkley was in the lounge with friends. ... Tampa Bay Rays slugger Evan Longoria, with a group at N9ne Steakhouse (Palms) on Saturday. ... At Drai's (Cromwell) on Saturday: Motocross/supercross stars Jeremy McGrath, Chad Reed, and Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg and snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg. They were in town for the Monster Energy Cup competition. ... French star chef Alain Ducasse, leaving Rivea restaurant (Delano) after Thursday's V.I.P. opening with Larry and Camille Ruvo for a late-night tour of the new Southern Wines & Spirits training academy. The Ruvos flew to northern California on Friday to attend star chef Thomas Keller's 60th birthday at his Ad Hoc restaurant in Napa. ... "Horny Mike" Henry of the Las Vegas-based "Counting Cars" reality show, with girlfriend Kelly at Andiamo Italian Steakhouse (the D) on Saturday. They were celebrating her birthday.
The punch line
"Donald Trump is reportedly threatening to pull out of the next GOP debate unless CNBC reinstates opening and closing statements. And Lincoln Chafee is threatening to pull out of the next Democratic debate if there are going to be questions." — Seth Meyers
— Norm Clarke's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. On Twitter: @Norm_Clarke.
