MGM Grand added to Streisand’s tour
Barbra Streisand is returning to Las Vegas in November, nearly a half-century after a smitten Liberace signed the 20-year-old as his opening act at the Riviera.
It was announced Thursday that Streisand, who has made only a handful of appearances here over three decades, has added a Nov. 2 show at the MGM Grand Garden to her upcoming tour. Joining her will be Italy's pop-opera tenors Il Volo and Grammy-nominated trumpeter Chris Botti.
Streisand's last onstage appearance in Las Vegas was in November 2007 when she was the surprise performer at a star-studded grand opening of Planet Hollywood Resort. She sang just one song, citing throat issues from her European tour.
Now 70, Streisand's retirement rumors have been following her since her 2000 two-day Madison Square Garden engagement.
Her Las Vegas legacy includes opening for Liberace on July 2, 1963, after he saw her perform in late 1962 on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
She opened Kirk Kerkorian's huge hotel, The International, on July 2, 1969, a few days before Elvis Presley launched his comeback there. Streisand opened the new MGM Grand, another Kerkorian megahotel, on Dec. 31, 1993.
Her 1999 New Year's Eve millennium show at the MGM Grand made headlines for its budget-busting $1,000 tickets.
Streisand won two Oscars, starting with "Funny Girl." She has won eight Grammys, five Emmys and a special Tony, but today's generation might know her best because of her role in "Meet the Fockers."
Streisand has been courted by AEG Live, the Los Angeles operator of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, but she ended up back at the MGM Grand.
Tickets go on sale Sept. 21.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
CeeLo Green's Las Vegas chapter will begin with a benefit. "CeeLo and Friends," an all-star gathering benefiting Keep Memory Alive, will be Oct. 10 in the showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort. It will feature stars from his NBC show "The Voice," among others, and it's being billed as a preview of his Christmas album, set for an Oct. 30 release. He returns Feb. 27 for his first residency, titled "CeeLo Green is Loberace." Ticket information: 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. ...
Motley Crue's Vince Neil plans to continue the band's tour with KISS despite two broken bones in his foot. It happened Thursday during a performance in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Neil, who lives in Las Vegas, tweeted the news at 1 a.m., saying, "Paramedics think I broke my foot."...
Mike Tyson and wife Kiki will have the first fundraiser for their charity, called Mike Tyson Cares, on Oct. 27 at the estate of Jim and Joan Hammer inside the Red Rock Country Club. Rio headliner Eddie Griffin will provide part of the entertainment. The event benefits The Shade Tree, which helps homeless and abused women and children in crisis, and the Torino Foundation, which offers summer camp for critically ill children. ...
Several readers pointed out that the song "To Know Him Is to Love Him," mentioned here on Wednesday in the Kerkorian item, was done originally by the Teddy Bears in 1958. Kerkorian's former fiancee, Joan Dangerfield, used The Shirelles version for the flash mob dance performance that celebrated Kerkorian's 95th birthday at The Beverly Hills Hotel. R-J reader "Joe C. from the Bronx" noted in an email that the Teddy Bears included a guy by the name of Phil Spector, "who wrote the song."
SIGHTINGS
TV personality Montel Williams received the icon award on Thursday during the Moxie Awards at Wynn Las Vegas. The event honored the best in the infomercial and commercial industry.
THE PUNCH LINE
"A new survey found that 34 percent of Americans do not have a Facebook or Twitter account. There's even a name for those people - productive." - Jimmy Fallon
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.
