Las Vegas group too sexy at Sundance party
A sexually charged Las Vegas troupe is at the center of a firestorm that rocked the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a party hosted by Hollywood powerhouse Creative Artists Agency had jaws dropping last Sunday.
CAA issued the following statement: "The performance by Simon Hammerstein's The Act LV was more explicit than intended. We regret if this created an uncomfortable setting for any of our guests."
The Times' account said the evening "took festival revelry in an unexpectedly bawdy direction, as Sundance guests mingled with lingerie-clad women pretending to snort prop cocaine, erotic dancers outfitted with sex toys and an Alice in Wonderland look-alike performing a simulated sex act on a man in a rabbit costume."
The Act LV, which opened at The Palazzo in October, is a tamer spinoff of Hammerstein's New York City raunchy burlesque club The Box.
ALL THAT JAZZ
Arthur "Doc" Rando-Grillot, one of the last survivors of the Big Band Era, can't walk or see, but he's unstoppable with a saxophone.
When a seven-member Dixieland group showed up to salute him on his 103rd birthday Wednesday, Rando-Grillot marked the occasion by playing a solo of "Sentimental Journey."
David Poe, who fronts a New Orleans-themed jazz brunch at the Wynn Country Club on Sundays, put together the birthday group.
It included Dr. Richard Gaudet, Brian O'Shea, Rick Moreno, Pat Marlin, Bob Baker and John Drase.
Rando-Grillot played for and with many of the Big Band greats, including Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Lawrence Welk, and Bing Crosby's brother Bob Crosby (and the Bob Cats).
MEDIA NOTES
KSNV-TV, Channel 3 owner Jim Rogers plans to drop all syndicated programming by 2016 and load up on local news. "A lot of people think I'm out of my mind giving up 'Wheel (of Fortune)' and 'Jeopardy' and putting in news. It's a big gamble," Rogers, 74, told TVNewsCheck.com. That means more jobs, he said, and the possibility that an entire show will be dedicated to the Hispanic community. ...
A delegation from KLAS-TV, Channel 8 was in New York City on Tuesday to attend the duPont awards at Columbia University. They were recipients for the series "Desert Underwater," about the housing and foreclosure crisis. Attendees included George Knapp and Colleen McCarty, who spearheaded the project; photographer Matt Adams and news director Ron Comings. The award is considered broadcast journalism's version of a Pulitzer Prize. ...
Ashlee DeMartino has left KTNV-TV, Channel 13 for a weather position at ABC's KGTV, Channel 10 in San Diego. DeMartino, who overcame dyslexia, was a versatile talent at KTNV, working in news, weather and as a weekend anchor/reporter. A former cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals, she used her dance background to win the Las Vegas "Dancing With the Stars" competition a year ago. Her first TV job out of journalism school was in Laughlin.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Holly Madison and beau Pasquale Rotella closed escrow on their Rancho Circle home. She planned to paint the nursery over the weekend. County transfer records show the home went for $3.5 million. They are neighbors with singing legend Phyllis McGuire and Brandon Flowers of The Killers. Zappos chief Tony Hsieh was spotted house-hunting in the neighborhood the other day.
SIGHTINGS
Lady Gaga and two friends, feasting on sushi in a private booth at Andrea's (Encore) on Friday after her show at the MGM Grand Garden. ... Kirsten Dunst, dancing at a VIP table with friends at Marquee (Cosmopolitan) on Friday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"The New Orleans Hornets have announced plans to change their name to the New Orleans Pelicans. Meanwhile, the Lakers want to change their name to the Clippers." - Conan O'Brien
Norm Clarke's column appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or email him at norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke. "Norm Clarke's Vegas," airs Thursdays on the "Morning Blend" on KTNV-TV, Channel 13.
