Comedy magicians not yukking it up
In a legal dispute that puts two comedy magicians at odds, Flamingo headliner Nathan Burton alleges in a countersuit that Harrah's headliner Mack King and his producer, Bill Voelkner, attempted to defraud him.
Burton's lawsuit, filed Monday in District Court, was in response to one filed in May 2011 by Voelkner, who claimed Burton owed $173,000 in a ticket sales revenue-sharing agreement.
Voelkner had claimed he negotiated Burton's contract with the Flamingo. Voelkner's lawsuit claimed breach of contract .
Burton has been headlining at the Flamingo for 4½ years, or about 1,700 shows.
King has been the afternoon act at Harrah's since 2000 and has been extended to 2015.
Burton, in his countersuit, said he already had a tentative agreement and "substantive terms" in place with Don Marrandino, then president of the Flamingo, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, O'Shea's and Bill's Gambling Hall.
Burton's lawsuit says it was never his "intention or desire" to have Voelkner negotiate with the Flamingo.
Burton's lawsuit says Voelkner said in a deposition he had an agreement with Suzanne Trout, then a Harrah's executive, that Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment) would not put in a new afternoon show at any Harrah's property in Las Vegas unless Voelkner was able to negotiate the deal.
If Voelkner and Trout were in cahoots, that arrangement was never disclosed, Burton said in his countersuit.
Burton's lawsuit says Voelkner and King were "attempting to impose themselves into the business affairs of Mr. Burton and wrongfully and deceptively profit" through kickback payments from Burton.
Neither King nor Voelkner nor Caesars reps could be reached by deadline Saturday.
CABO WABO WAR
Another legal battle on the Strip is in the court system after infighting between partners in Cabo Wabo Cantina at Planet Hollywood Resort.
It involves many of the same names that surfaced in last week's lawsuit by former Chateau nightclub partner Steve Davidovici and his wife, Charissa, who are suing former partners Corey Jenkins, Perry Rogers and Roland Sturm over a $700,000 promissory note.
According to the recently filed Cabo Wabo lawsuit, majority owner Susan Graves of Don't Eat the Worm LLC is suing to remove Jenkins and Sturm as managing partners.
BIRTHDAY BASH
After 54 years as personal manager for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Judy Tannen has seen her share of epic parties.
This one was personal: Old Hollywood's who's who showed up for her birthday party last month at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Joining Lawrence and Gorme among the 100 guests were comedy greats Don Rickles, Shecky Greene, Bob Newhart and Tim Conway.
Also there: fashion designer Bob Mackie, singer/actor Frankie Avalon and actors Robert Wagner, his wife Jill St. John, Mike Connors and Dennis Farina, and power agent Elliott Weisman, who repped Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr.
"It was like the glory days of great variety television. Judy's loved by a lot of people in the entertainment industry," said longtime Las Vegas entertainer Dennis Bono, who attended with his wife, Lorraine Hunt.
Tannen, Lawrence and Gorme are residents of the Las Vegas Country Club Estates, where Bono and Hunt also live.
It was an evening of nonstop lines, "few that could be repeated," Bono said.
Guests included Steve and Eydie's son, David, composer for the "High School Musical" franchise.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Honorary keg tappers for the Hofbräuhaus' six-week Oktoberfest started with Siegfried & Roy on Saturday. The rest of the lineup: Friday , "America's Got Talent" winner Michael Grimm; Saturday , yours truly; Sept. 28, Corey Harrison of the "Pawn Stars" reality show; Sept. 29, UFC fighter Jay Hieron; Oct. 5, UFC fighter Evan Dunham; Oct. 6, UFC fighter Frank Mir; Oct. 12, Carrot Top; Oct. 13, the Luxor's "Ladies of Fantasy"; Oct. 19, PBR bull rider Luke Snyder; Oct. 20, Pro BMX dirt jumper Ricardo Laguna; Oct. 26, The Chippendales , and Oct. 27, Stratosphere headliner Frankie Moreno. The ceremony starts at 7 p.m. with a parade to the stage, where a 50-gallon keg awaits.
SIGHTINGS
Tim Conway, dining at Piero's Italian Cuisine on Friday. ... Tom McGowan, who plays the wizard in "Wicked" (The Smith Center), touring the Mob Museum on Friday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Fashion Week wrapped up in New York. Leonardo DiCaprio was there checking out the new spring line of girlfriends." - Jimmy Kimmel
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
