Gary Lewis says he has no regrets

Gary Lewis prefers to think about it as "stepping forward" rather than betraying his famous father.

The son of comedy legend Jerry Lewis is back in the headlines after agreeing to submit to a DNA test on behalf of a woman who believed she was the biological daughter of the film star.

The DNA results indicated an 88.7 percent probability that the woman, Suzan Minoret, 56, who goes by Suzan Lewis, is related to Gary Lewis, whose band, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, churned out more than a half dozen hits in the '60s.

They met backstage about four years ago when the band was performing in Ocean City, Md. She told him, "I just wanted to talk to you because I'm your sister," Gary Lewis recalled in an interview on Saturday from his home near Rochester, N.Y. "She looked like him and she had some documentation."

Last year they met again in Florida and Gary Lewis said he was more and more convinced.

When the syndicated TV show "Inside Edition" asked if he would participate in a DNA test, Gary Lewis agreed.

"I was willing to do that because nobody else was stepping forward," Gary Lewis said. "I knew how bad I would want to know if I didn't know who my father was. I'd want someone to help me. My dad may think of it as a betrayal, but I didn't mean to stir anything up.

"This is just one of those random acts of kindness. I thought she deserved to know where she came from.

"My mother used to say, 'I know your dad is with other women' and she would say 'The bigger the diamond the worst thing he did.'

"Dad told me himself he was a tremendous womanizer when he was on the road with Dean Martin," said Gary Lewis, who recalled spending his pre-teen years in Las Vegas when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed at the Sands in the 1950s.

Gary Lewis acknowledged he hasn't talked to his father since Father's Day.

"It's been on and off all the time. Just one of those things. I know how he is," he said, adding, "I try to give him a break."

He has no regrets. "I've been getting tons of e-mail commending me for stepping up and doing this for her."

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Terry Fator had a surprise for his VIP-opening night crowd at The Mirage on Saturday. Fator had his characters sing with famous guests. Vikki "the Cougar," introduced the Commodores and sang "Brickhouse" with the hit-making group of the 1970s and '80s. And Fator surprised Lou "The Incredible Hulk" Ferrigno by calling him on stage and turning him into a "Cher" dummy so they could perform "I Got You Babe," with Fator playing Sonny and throwing Cher's voice from Ferrigno, who wore a dummy mask. ...

The first "Survive and Advance" March Madness show with Billy Packer and Bob Knight is being taped live today at the sports and race book at Wynn Las Vegas. Show guests will include some of Knight's best players at Indiana: Isiah Thomas, Quinn Buckner, and Steve Alford. The taping starts at 4 p.m. It's free and open to the public.

SIGHTINGS

At the opening of Fator's show Saturday, Jerry Mathers of "Leave It To Beaver" fame; Slash, formerly of Guns N' Roses and his wife, Perla; action film star Kevin Sorbo; Skip Martin of Kool & the Gang fame; Kathy Joosten of "Desperate Housewives;" Flamingo headliners George Wallace and Nathan Burton; drag queen Frank Marino, veteran entertainers Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton and Alizma, the violin-playing triplets from Poland. ...

Dan Akroyd, drawing a large crowd to his bottle signing Saturday at Lee's Discount Liquors on West Lake Mead Boulevard. He made the five-hour drive from Los Angeles in his black Lincoln Navigator. ... Whitney Port, of MTV's "The City," hosting a bachelorette party Friday for sister Ashley at Tao in The Venetian. ...

Oscar Nuñez, who plays Oscar Martinez in the hit NBC show "The Office," having lunch Saturday with friends at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant (Paris Las Vegas).

THE PUNCH LINE

"The economy is bad. In Beverly Hills, on prom night, some kids might even have to share a limo." -- Jay Leno

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.