Danny Gans

Danny Davies Gans (October 25, 1956 – May 1, 2009) was an American singer, comedian, and vocal impressionist born in Torrance, California. Before entering entertainment, he pursued a career in professional baseball, having been drafted by the Chicago White Sox following an All-America designation at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he studied Physical Education and met his future wife, Julie. His athletic career ended when a fielding play resulted in a player's spikes tearing his Achilles tendon, redirecting him toward show business.

Gans built his early entertainment career performing at private corporate functions while traveling on the road. In 1992, he portrayed Dean Martin in the CBS miniseries Sinatra. He also appeared in the 1988 romantic comedy Bull Durham in a small role as a third baseman, a credit he continued to reference throughout his career. His television work included 12 episodes of Silk Stalkings (1991–92) as Roger, the role of Scott Babylon in the sitcom Duet (1987–89) and its spin-off Open House (1989–90), and a Wayne Newton impersonator in the Roseanne episode "Vegas, Vegas" in 1991. He received an uncredited cameo as himself in Race to Witch Mountain (2009).

In 1995, Gans brought his one-man show, Danny Gans on Broadway: The Man of Many Voices, to Broadway. He subsequently relocated his performances to Las Vegas to spend more time with his family, who were based in Los Angeles. He began his Las Vegas residency at the Stratosphere Hotel in 1996, moved to the Rio in 1998, and in 2000 transferred to The Mirage, where a dedicated venue, the Danny Gans Theatre, was constructed for his productions. In February 2009, he moved to Encore Las Vegas. Billed throughout as "The Man of Many Voices," Gans was named Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year and his show received the Show of the Year designation for ten consecutive years, from 1998 through 2008. At the time of his death, his show was generating $18 million annually. A marquee bearing his image on the Las Vegas Strip held the record at one point as the largest freestanding marquee in the world.

Gans also released a record album produced by Michael Omartian, distributed through both mainstream pop and Christian music outlets, though he did not chart in either market. He was additionally known for collecting vintage automobiles.

Gans died on May 1, 2009, at his home in Henderson, Nevada, after his wife called paramedics reporting that he was having difficulty breathing. His death was attributed to drug toxicity resulting from a combination of hydromorphone and a pre-existing heart condition, and was determined to be the result of an adverse drug reaction rather than drug abuse. He was survived by his wife Julie and their three children, Amy, Andrew, and Emily. Gans is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.