Showman Tyson goes the distance
Mike Tyson has passed a big first test in his goal to take a bite out of the Big Apple.
"He's thrilled. He's loving the fact that he's pulling it off," said Adam Steck, producer and creator of Tyson's one-man show, "Undisputed Truth," which opened last week at the MGM Grand.
"He wants Broadway. He's always wanted a Tony Award. That's on his bucket list," Steck said.
Appearing on Broadway would be the homecoming of homecomings for Tyson, who overcame a bleak childhood spent on the mean streets of New York City.
His six-day show ends tonight amid a deluge of interest in his new career.
"We just got a seven-show offer from Australia," Steck said. "We're getting a lot of interest in Europe.
"We'll just gather the offers and plot it out methodically."
Even a curious Evander Holyfield, who had part of an ear bitten off by Tyson in Las Vegas, showed up on Sunday night.
When Tyson got to the Holyfield stories in his show, a spotlight zeroed in as Tyson heaped praise on Holyfield.
"The crowd went crazy," Steck said, who confirmed rumors that he has been approached by an agent from Atlanta, Holyfield's home territory.
When Tyson and Holyfield posed for photos backstage, "it was a magic moment," Steck said. "Atlanta's definitely in the mix."
Months of worrying over whether the show would be a train wreck or a triumph are over.
"Talk about a resurrection," he sighed.
MEDIA UPDATE
Adam Goldman, a former staffer with The Associated Press in Las Vegas, won a Pulitizer Prize for investigative reporting on Monday. He was part of an AP team that delved into the New York Police Department's clandestine spying program that monitored daily life among Muslim communities. ...
Conservative talk-show host Heidi Harris has landed in the Los Angeles radio market after a decade in Las Vegas. Starting April 23, her 6-9 a.m. show will air on sister stations KRLA and KTIE. The latter station is located in San Bernardino. She recently left KDWN-radio, AM 720, after a five-year run. Prior to that, she was a morning host at KXNT-radio, 840 AM. ...
Comedy legend Betty White was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the NBA convention in Las Vegas. White, 90, won seven Emmys beginning in 1951, with No. 7 coming in 2011
SIGHTINGS
Dan Haggerty of "Grizzly Adams" fame, checking into the Gold Coast. He's an honoree at tonight's banquet for The Cauliflower Alley Club, a nonprofit fraternal organization of both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Pro wrestling icon Steve "Stone Cold" Austin is also expected. ... At Tyson's show on Monday: NBA great Gary Payton and Las Vegas headliners Criss Angel, Louie Anderson and Nathan Burton. "This is your greatest knockout," Anderson raved. ... Rosie O'Donnell, dining at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill (MGM Grand) on Saturday. She was in town for Tyson's show. ... "So You Think You Can Dance?" host Cat Deeley, dining at Strip House (Planet Hollywood Resort) on Sunday. ... Don't forget tonight's ninth edition of the Vegas Dozen: The Men We Love and Why We Love Them at the Fashion Show mall. The event benefits the UC San Diego Nevada Cancer Institute.
THE PUNCH LINE
"An 83-year-old woman from England is calling herself the world's oldest supermodel. I'm just going to keep calling her by her real name, Madonna." -- Craig Ferguson
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.
