Son of actress Eileen Heckart shares anecdotes, video clips about growing up with star
Did you ever wonder what it must be like to be part of showbiz history?
Ethel Merman whipping up martinis, Paul Newman giving acting tips, fielding calls the night your mother won an Oscar?
Luke Yankee, son of Tony-, Emmy- and Oscar-winning actress Eileen Heckart lived that life.
He will take the audience behind the scenes as he shares amusing anecdotes, reminiscences, video clips and photographs of legendary Hollywood and Broadway stars at 3 p.m. today in the Reed Whipple Cultural Center’s main theater.
Tickets are $15. Call 229-6211 or pick up tickets at the center’s box office, 821 Las Vegas Blvd. North.
Rex Reed calls Yankee’s show “touching, hilarious and completely enthralling … a marvelous storyteller.”
Yankee himself has enjoyed a rewarding career in show business, directing, producing, teaching, lecturing and acting throughout the country and abroad. He has run two regional theaters and worked with many of the great names in the entertainment field.
Yankee also is a playwright and author. His first play, “A Place at Forest Lawn,” which was co-written with James Bontempo, won the 2003 New Noises Playwriting Award and was a finalist in the Palm Springs International Playwrights Competition.
His latest play, “The Jesus Hickey,” an irreverent comedy about religious fanaticism, is the recipient of the 2007 TRU Voices Award.
His one-man show “Just Outside the Spotlight (aka Diva Dish!)” inspired his recently published debut book, “Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing up with Eileen Heckart.”
The performance is presented by the Arts & Community Events Division of the of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services.