Terry Fator on divorce, "handlers" + Barry Manilow

OK, so the podcast is up and you can hear Terry Fator and his ex-wife Melinda discuss -- or not discuss as the case may be -- their marriage. I've also analyzed the situation a bit in this week's column, so you can read that, too. But I thought I'd provide a partial transcript of the salient parts because there was more to this conversation than the marital chatter. Like, for instance, the part where we're discussing Fator's gay puppet, Barry Fabulous, and he said this:

Fator: The whole point of Barry, I thought it would be a lot of fun to create a character that was almost an homage to the people of the past that we all knew were gay – Liberace, Paul Lynde – these guys we all knew were gay…

Friess: Barry Manilow?

Fator: Barry Manilow. And yet they just won’t come out of the closet. So that’s the whole point of Barry. It was like, you know these entertainers. There’s no doubt in our minds that they’re gay. Do we care? Of course we don’t care. It was the conservatives that made Liberace an icon.

Barry Manilow has, in fact, never confirmed whether he is gay.

The marital stuff was juicy, and I'll get to that in a moment, but Fator also had choice words for "handlers" he blames for some of the show's content:

Friess: You just said the show that opened at the Mirage as not yours. What about the show at the Hilton?

Fator: No, that was not mine either. That was other people.

Friess: Who? Who’s telling you what to do at that point?

Fator: Yes, exactly.

Friess: No, no. I’m asking you. Who?

Fator: From the very moment "America’s Got Talent" happened, I had advisers swoop in and take charge and take complete control of my career and life. I had my ex-wife who was at home telling me everything to do. I was the hen-pecked husband who never ever argued and never ever gave my opinion and then these advisers swooped in and I was the henpacked entertainer who never ever made a decision. It was all done by other people. It was wonderful because on the one hand I was achieving everything I ever wanted, but on the other hand, I wasn’t able to fulfill my creative potential as an entertainer. I would come up with an idea and I’d be immediately shut down by these advisers and then I would go, "Uh, OK," the way I did at home when I wanted soemthing at home.

Friess: Can you give me examples of things that were in the show in the beginning that aren’t there now?

Fator: Pretty much any of the dirty stuff. My show was getting dirtier and dirtier and we were getting more blatant. I like double entrendre jokes that are not outright dirty. And I was told, 'You’re in Vegas now, you can’t do a clean show. It has to be have edge, you know." They called it edge. . . . I was too big of a wimp because of the way I was raised to even mention it. It was that sense of confidence, the sense of, I won "America’s Got Talent" without any of these advisers. None of them were even there. I created this whole concept. . . . Their attitude was, "Well, you don’t know Vegas." And I was like, "I don’t care if I don’t know Vegas. Good entertainment is good entertainment, I’m a good entertainer and I’m a very good writer and I’m a creative person."

I asked him about his decision to have anti-Obama jokes in the show and why they're gone now, and this was his response:

Fator: That was one of those that was pushed on me, that they were saying that gives you edge. I definitely had second thoughts about that and it was one of those things that I caved and gave in to the other people. Once we had done that joke for two or three weeks, I put my foot down and said I don’t want to do political humor because I am a conservative, I am a Christian -- obviously my Christianity comes out when I do the song "Horses In Heaven" – but I don’t push anything down anyone’s throat and I certainly don’t want to use my show to push one political side or another. My show is about forgetting political differences. It’s about laughing or having fun and forgetting the realities of life.

Finally, for the record, here's some of the back-and-forth about his marriage:

Friess: I realize that nobody can say what goes on in a marriage. It’s always going to be personal and private, but was the demand on you as a public figure a factor in what happened to your first marriage?

Fator: Not at all. What really happened, the issues that were happening in my first marriage were happening for years before. I mistakenly thought success would fix those issues, and they made them even worse. Really, what happened was my ex-wife didn’t get along at all with my family and refused to allow them to enjoy the success that I had achieved, and family had been there when I first started ventriloquism. You know, decades before I ever met my first wife. It was just tearing me apart that they couldn’t be a part of it. I just really had to make a choice between my family and my mom, my brother and my sister and their families and my ex-wife. And I don’t regret that decision, haven’t regretted it one day because to sit and watch my mom who was not able to take part in any of the "America’s Got Talent" stuff because of my ex-wife, who was not able to take part in my first show in Las Vegas because of my ex-wife, to have my mom come to town and look at her face and see how proud she is sitting out there in the crowd. . . .

I did not have an affair on [Melinda]. She’s kinda gone out and made the claims that I did. What happened was that once we were separated, then it was several weeks afterward, my sister told me that [on-stage assistant] Taylor [Makakoa] was interested in me. I couldn’t believe it because I’m an older guy and I’m not that great looking. Turned out, She was looking for a guy who would love her and not cheat on her, and I’m that guy.

Friess: Part of your biography when you first came to Las Vegas and when you won "America’s Got Talent" was this notion that for all of those years, you were playing in empty rooms and convention halls and you were struggling until you finally got noticed and you got noticed big. Part of that was, you would give a lot of credit to your first wife for sticking with you and not abandoning that dream with you. Was that sort of television fable-making or was that true?

Fator: The actual reality of it was that I felt like I was stuck in what I felt was a no-win situation. I felt like I might as well make the best of it. When I wrote the first book, my ex-wife went through it and got really angry with me because I didn’t give her enough credit for enough stuff, so she edited it. (Laughs) When you’re stuck in a marriage, and in my mind there was no hope because I was raised to believe you don’t get divorced, that’s just not an option, you know, the old religious viewpoint of you can’t do it, you have to stick through everything, and so in my mind I was like, "Well, I might as well make this look good because I’m unhappy but we might as well look like it because I’m stuck." It wasn’t until I really started to get more confidence in myself. Another thing I was taught by my crazy religious father was if you do something good for yourself, it’s a sin and God’s going to punish you for that. I was terrified to do anything for myself. I was terrified to do anything that would benefit me. It was always about benefiting someone else. And I began to get the confidence in myself and said, "Wait a second, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with making a decision that helps me. That’s not a wrong thing. As a matter of fact, when I do good things for myself, it puts me in a better position to help others." And it was when I got that confidence in myself, when I got the realization that it’s not wrong, it’s not a sin to do something good that helps my life and my family’s lives, it was then that things really started to change in my life. It was when I really started to take control of my show.

It was when I started bucking everyone, my ex-wife included, and saying, "Wait a second, this is my life, this is my show, this is not your show, this is not your life, is when things really started changing for me." The show you came out to see, that’s my show. I put that show together, I wrote that show with the help of some other writers but they were my ideas and I was the end result of every decision that was made in that show. And I’m telling you, Steve, I’m more proud of that show than anything I’ve ever done in my entire lfe. And my life has become what I always truly dreamed of. I don’t have to exaggerate anymore. I don’t have to pretend anymore. I think that the success is probably what began to give me that confidence in myself and in my own ability to make decisions.

Friess: How old were you when you first got to know your wife?

Fator: I was in my mid-20s. That was another thing. In my mid-20s, I had no desire to have children. Never. Throughout our entire marriage, she never wanted children. But when I got to be about 30, I would be at an airport and I’d be picking up my luggage -- and of course I’d be by myself -- and I’d see a little kid run up to their dad and say “Daddy!” and I began to get those feelings of oh my gosh, I wonder what that feels like to have a child, to have children. And I’d go home and talk to my ex-wife about it and I would say, "Do you think there’s any possibility" and it was, "No, absolutely not, just get it out of your head, you’re never going to have kids, that’s all there is to it. There’s not even a discussion here." And of course, the way I was in life, it was "OK, OK. Whatever. It’s not my decision, it’s yours." That was another big issue. I’m here at the Mirage here, I ave a stable life, I don’t have to travel every day, I can have children. And now the prospect of having a houseful of kids and dogs and having a family is the sweetest prospect of all.

Friess: You kind of seem to acknowledge that it came out kind of badly in the press, the way you left your wife and got involved with Taylor. Is there anything you regret about the way that was rolled out?

Fator: Absolutely. And again, this was me not having the confidence in myself to make my own decisions and my advisors at the time, they were panicking and telling me that my career would be over. And so they advised me to hide my separation for six months. It was absolute hell. Taylor and I started dating and she had to hide in the shadows. And it was my fault because I did not have the confidence in myself and my own decisions to say, "No, this is how it’s going to be." I mean, I was lied to, I was told things by these advisers that my divorce attorney had advised me to do certain things and then when I talked to my divorce attorney, my dovorce attorney telling me no I would never tell you to do that. So it was people manipulating my life and my career and so, I feel what should have ehappened was I should have just come out and said, "Look, this is not working, it’s something that we just couldn’t see eye to eye," left her, made an announcement right away and then when Taylor and I started dating just dated in public and not have to worry about it. What’s funny is, it had almost no impact on anyone. Yeah, I got ripped, but sometimes people rip you.

I interviewed Melinda Fator for the podcast, and you can hear her responses, but she denies that the conversation about children ever happened and she denies rewriting Fator's book for make herself seem better.

The Show is UP: Fator v Fator

Some weeks, I head into an interview expecting one thing and a whole, very different other thing happens. This is one of those. Enjoy. Click on the date below to play or right-click to save the show. Or you subscribe -- for free -- in iTunes or Zune and you'll always get it first. -sf

May 25: Fator vs Fator

Terry Fator makes a lot of money as the master behind a string of colorful, entertaining puppets who croon standards nightly at the Mirage. But was the singing ventriloquist himself nothing more than a dummy, controlled by his ex-wife and so-called “handlers” who hijacked his career following his triumph on “America’s Got Talent”? That’s pretty much what he tells us this week in a stunningly candid interview that paints his former wife of 18 years as a self-aggrandizing, hen-pecking shrew who alienated him from his family and refused to bear him children. Melinda Fator, not surprisingly, has a different version of the story, and she gets her say, too. Also, the performer outs Barry Manilow.

In Banter: Caesars wants to soak tourists for an arena, NV may nix its smoking ban, the FAA is silent about the Ferris Wheel, the hosts baffle over who the &*#@ attends pro soccer and more.

Open & Banter: Start to 18ish
Terry Fator interview: 19-58ish
Trivia/Poll/Letters: 59-1:06ish
Melinda Fator interview: 1:07-1:24ish
TSTToTW: 1:24-end

Links to stuff discussed

Terry Fator’s website
Steve’s LVW column on Fator’s Barry Fabulous character
VegasHappensHere.Com on Fator’s lousy break-up style
Steve’s column in the Weekly based on these interviews
VegasMavens.Com profile of Steve and the podcast
Smoking ban in danger in Nevada
The R-J on the non-groundbreaking for the Ferris Wheel
Elvis is leaving the bathroom
Caesars’ Jan Jones writes an op-ed supporting soaking tourists
The latest from Howard Stutz on Christopher Milam’s arena plans
See pictures of the new Plaza rooms via their Facebook page
Internet Mafia Family Picnic Planned by VegasTripping.Com
Yelp on The Henry at the Cosmopolitan
Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me from NPR
The YouTube video of Terry Fator at the Michael Jackson tribute benefit
Robin Leach on Terry Fator dumping his manager, John McEntee
J. Patrick Coolican’s turn-the-Sahara-into-the-state-capital column
Gladys Knight raises her ticket price

The Strip is LIVE tonight: Fator vs Fator

We are live tonight on The Strip, where we'll be playing my stunningly candid interview with Mirage headliner Terry Fator, who lays the blame for his 18-year marriage on his ex-wife, Melinda. They split in 2009 and finalized their divorce in November 2010. Fator also talks about how he broke free from controlling handlers he said were forcing his show and career in directions he didn't like.

Melinda Fator also gets an opportunity to respond to specific allegations, and you'll hear that, too. That's the couple, above right, back when his Mirage show was announced in 2008. Terry Fator is now married to his on-stage assistant, ascendant model Taylor Makakoa, left.

Join us at 8 pm PT http://ustre.am/tGQx to listen and watch via the live cam. We'll play the two interviews back to back and then Miles and I will record the proper parts of the show starting at about 8:45 pm. Then you can expect the podcast edition to be available late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Hating Myself For Liking Terry Fator's Gay Puppet

If the question a few weeks ago was whether I was capable of giving Criss Angel a fair shake even though I'm not a fan of his off-stage antics, this week's piece proves that talent actually will win me over most of the time. I went to "Believe" for that earlier column trying my best to give it a shot, but I went to Terry Fator last week determined to dislike it. And then I didn't because Fator may be square and corny, but so I am. Here's this week's Las Vegas Weekly entry. And, for the record, since readers seem to like it when I give grades, I'd now give Fator's show a B+. -sf

Finding the fun in Terry Fator’s gay puppet
By STEVE FRIESS

This was supposed to turn out differently. I had planned this column out weeks ago, knowing precisely how I’d react and what I would have to say. All that was left was to find the gory details that would entertain and appall all of you.

I’m allowed to do this. Yes, reporters are expected to be unbiased, but not columnists. We can make assumptions, bring our personal baggage to bear, set out to prove our hunches correct, make arguments and take sides.

Still, sometimes reality presents itself and we must admit we were misguided. We must, however painful and embarrassing it may be, acknowledge that we had it wrong.

So here goes: I love Barry Fabulous.

Read the rest at LasVegasWeekly.Com

The Show Has Been UP: Donny & Marie

This show's been available in the show feed now for a few days, but I've just been too swamped to get it updated on TheStripPodcast.Com. Remember if you subscribe -- for free! -- in iTunes or Zune, you'll always get it first. Anywho, enjoy. -sf

March 29: The Donny & Marie Show

As we record this episode of our show, the folks at the Flamingo Las Vegas are busy applying a spankin’ new wrap to the hotel’s Strip side. And while the faces will be the same – Donny and Marie, of course – they’ll look a little less cheesy, a little more rock n roll. As Donny Osmond explains this hour, the original wrap was thrown up in a hurry when the sibling duo opened there in 2008. But now they’ve weathered a withering recession and passed their 500th performance, so it’s time for something more current and durable. How much longer can they dominate Vegas? Donny’s answer: Forever. Sort of. Stick around to hear what the big brother has to say about their future and hear him play some bits of their first album of new music in decades. Also, Marie chimes in a bit as well.

In Banter: Celine's return, Terry Fator's gay puppet, the Loews Las Vegas' William and Kate deal, the ex-Rao chef's new gigs, and much more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Steve’s bathroom-related Tweet
Blog wrap-up, review, Flickr and special edition of The Strip, re: Celine
Steve’s Las Vegas Weekly column about rude Vegas tweeting
Steve’s Pine Mouth affliction, per ABC News
Terry Fator’s Berry Fabulous
Loews Las Vegas' $249 Royal Wedding Deal
The Alaska Daily News on Alaska’s new Vegas effort to lure tourists to Palin Country
Doug Elfman’s take on MGM Grand’s Scott Sibella on "Undercover Boss"
Former Rao’s chef Carla Pellegrino’s new restaurant and taking over the Trop place
Donny & Marie tickets at the Flamingo
The sites of Donny and Marie
Apple suing others for use of the term App Store

The show is UP: Cheap Trick

Here's this week's episode of "The Strip" featuring a conversation with Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. It was fun for me to recall my own Rockford roots -- my first newspaper job -- and Amy and I had some excellent banter about the week's news. Click on the date below to listen or right-click to download and hear it at your leisure. Also, subscribe (it's free!) via iTunes or Zune. (does anyone listen via Zune? Email me!). -sf

Sept. 17: Cheap Trick Hopes You Will Enjoy The Show

In a city of knockoffs and impersonations, how do you go about reinterpreting a great piece of music without being tainted as a copycat? Well, it helps if you’re already a legendary rock band in your own right behind you, too. That’s how Cheap Trick’s doing it anyway, landing at the Las Vegas Hilton for nine performances of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band before a full orchestra and assisted by such other pop stars as Joan Osbourne. Cheap Trick’s guitarist and vocalist Rick Nielsen joins us this hour to talk about the band’s relationship with the Beatles, about growing up in Rockford, Ill., and whether this swing of shows could portend a resident Vegas gig of some form soon.

In banter: Mindy Kaling gets Vegas whiners whining, Terry Fator puts puppets on cabs, Amy gets a Vegas welcome on her European cruise, Top Chef's been good to Hubert Keller and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets to see Cheap Trick’s Sgt. Pepper Live at the Hilton
Cheap Trick’s website
Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza on Oct. 17 at the Palms
See the redesigned VegasHappensHere.Com
Amy’s revived (for how long?) podcast, Grits to Glitz
Amy’s trip report on her European cruise
Sparky of Las Vegas, our redesigner and hero
Watch the whole Mindy Kaling clip
VegasHappensHere.Com’s rant on the whiners re: Kaling
Luv-It Frozen Custard’s website
Join Steve’s Facebook group “Las Vegas Needs To Grow A Pair”
Fleur de Lys, owned by Hubert Keller
Steve’s TV Guide Magazine piece on CSI: The Experience

Hey Terry Fator: Keep Your Mouth Shut, Dummy.

The one thing that everyone who has met and interviewed ventriloquist Terry Fator agreed on -- even when they disagreed on what they thought of his show -- was that he seemed like a truly nice guy. Middle-America nice.

And then this.

It's not that he hit the height of fame and fortune and then dumped his wife of 18 years after, by his own account during earlier interviews after he won "America's Got Talent," she held his hand through those long stretches of anonymity and reassured him of his talent and promise. Nobody can really know what goes on between two people, nor should anyone judge it. It looks like a stereotypical celebrity divorce story, but people do divorce. That's their business.

But, Terry, having your publicist put out a press release Tweeted by Norm Clarke saying you're dating some hot young model who was your assistant? Is that necessary? Catching your soon-to-be-ex-wife unaware? Humiliating her? And then telling KVBC's Alicia Jacobs this:

"Though our marriage is ending, I continue to have a tremendous amount of respect and affection for Melinda. As you can imagine, this is a truly difficult time and it is my hope that everyone will understand that this is a personal matter and respect our privacy."

WTF? Who had the publicist tell everyone about it in the first place? Where's your contrition for this embarrassment being your doing? Is there something in the water for you red-staters that everything's the media's fault?

Dude, listen up. Put down the talking turtle, too.

You're a middle-aged, wildly overpaid -- although now I'm hearing far LESS wildly overpaid than that $100m figure that you've touted and which makes no mathematical sense -- singing ventriloquist. US Weekly is never going to care about you, no matter how weird your love life gets and at the moment it's just conventionally ugly. If you think that cavorting your hookups in the media, if you think that waving over the tabloid press and inviting the world to observe you in this intimate way will be a good thing for your career and your fame, you're wrong. It's creepy. And sad.

And worse, it ruins your brand just as surely as Meg Ryan ruined hers. You're the nice, family-friendly guy. The press-friendly Danny Gans. But first you started infusing your act with unnecessarily partisan digs at the new president and really raunchy, homophobic and derivative Michael Jackson stuff.

Now this. Shut up, pal. Get through the divorce and show the world you respect the woman who made it all possible for you. Learn a lesson or two from what middle-age loser idiots Mark Sanford, John Edwards and John Ensign look like right about now.

Free advice. Worth what it cost.

Norm v Robin, Round Deux

There are a few updates to report in the mini-feud between Norm Clarke and Robin Leach.

(a) Both have written me to say, in various ways, that they're good friends and it's all good. The Jolly Brit, in fact, mildly chastized me for calling it a "grudge match," but I thought it was clear I was using overblown language -- "exclusive," "breaking," lots of !!!s -- as a sort of tongue-in-cheek homage. Any which way, it became a public thing when Norm took on Robin yesterday on Twitter and Robin would certainly be reporting it if, say, Steve Wyrick took a competitive shot at Lance Burton in this manner, right?

(b) @Robin_Leach has now removed the Tweet that set off the tiff, but the screen shot is still here. @Norm_Clarke, meanwhile, has not Tweeted since he called out his "competitor" -- 17 hours ago and counting.

(c) The Patched One added a splash of gasoline to the matter this morning in his Sunday column by writing that he had Fator's "first interview acknowledging the divorce." Robin told me yesterday that Norm chatted with Fator "after me." Hmmm...

EXCLUSIVE!!! NORM v. ROBIN GRUDGE MATCH!!! BREAKING!!!

Here's some internecine media fireworks to admire alongside the crappy shooters with which your asshole neighbor is presently littering your street and freaking out your dog.

My esteemed colleagues, a tiff that has been bubbling up between Norm Clarke and Robin Leach spilled over earlier tonight. Norm, of late, has been increasingly snarky about some of Robin's stuff. Earlier this week, for instance, in his Review-Journal column, writing about a tasteless upcoming Criss Angel trick, the Patched One referred to "Leach, taking a breathless booster tone, ...". That was eyebrow-raising.

Today, though, the gloves came off, sort of, over the news that Mirage ventriloquist Terry Fator is divorcing his wife of 18 years. About three hours ago on his @Norm_Clarke Twitter feed, The Patched One wroth:


If you can't read it, it says: "A competitor is claiming, again, that he has an 'exclusive' -- this time Re Terry Fator's divorce. Vegas Confidential had it hours ago. WTH"

Norm had been Tweeting about the Fator breakup for six hours by then. It didn't take much sleuthing to find this Tweet from @Robin_Leach:


The Jolly Brit wroth: "Breaking News: Top Strip headliner reveals longtime marriage is ending. Full exclusive on VegasDeLuxe.com shortly. He says 'A sad day' ". That was about an hour after Norm started his Tweets, so Norm clearly wins this round.

I caught Norm via text-message to ask him about his decision to go public with his displeasure. He wrote back: "I made a similar comment on Twitter a couple weeks, saying a 'celebrity blogger is claiming an exclusive on a press release that came out yesterday.' I hoped that would nip it in the bud. It didn't."

As I said, this has been festering. I asked Norm why it mattered so much to him.

"It mattered to you when Perez Hilton plagiarized you. It matters when a competitor claims 'exclusives' that appeared first elsewhere. We all try to be professionals, especially when it comes to giving credit where it's due. It's the honorable thing to do."

Fair enough, and for the record both Norm and Robin have routinely given me, this blog and my podcast proper credit. So I have no complaint of my own, but can see what Norm's issue is. I asked Norm if he had tried to address this with Robin privately. This was the exchange:

Norm: I pointed out some examples of "exclusives" that weren't by e-mail a couple months ago. His response was that he wasn't responsible for the headlines.

Friess: Do you buy that?

Norm: No, I don't buy that, not when "exclusive" keeps appearing in the text and tweets. It's tabloidy.

A bit later, Norm texted me again: "Just got a message from RL saying he doesn't write headlines or put it in his copy...so I guess an editor is inserting it in stories and tweets."

Why, if I didn't know better, I'd think Norm was getting snarky again. I don't know how that works, either, given that I've been at events where Robin was Tweeting and it doesn't seem like there are any intermediate steps between his hitting "send" and the Tweet appearing on my phone.

I contacted Robin via email. He's out on the beat right now Tweeting away about Steve Wyrick's Fourth of July publicity stunt. He began by insisting: "The story posted on the Vegas DeLuxe website is not marked exclusive."

Well, no. Not anymore. Here's the earlier screenshot...


...and how it looks now.


Robin also wrote: "I had an exclusive interview with Terry very early this afternoon and Tweeted accordingly at first possible moment on a holiday weekend. When I learned Terry talked with Norm after me and I posted the full interview and story on the website I did not use the word exclusive."

Hmm. That actually raises an interesting question. What *is* an exclusive, anyhow? I mean, Norm broke the story, that's clear, but I wouldn't begrudge Robin from also calling it "breaking" since it is very new news and the proximity of their scoops pretty close.

But the issue here is Robin's use of the term "exclusive." There's a difference between an "exclusive" and an "exclusive interview," isn't there? Robin clearly shouldn't claim he had the Fator news "exclusively," but can he say his interview with Fator was "exclusive"? Sure! Used loosely, that could just mean that Robin had a one-on-one interview with Fator. That gets unwieldy, to be sure -- by that definition, every single interview I conduct one-on-one could be considered an exclusive -- but the TV media does this all the time. Captain Sullenberger had already been on CBS and NBC by the time Fox News called their chat with him "exclusive" when he spoke to them the next day. And, remember, Robin Leach comes out of a TV tradition.

And another thing, in Robin's defense: I have no doubt Robin generally has no idea what Norm reports or when. It's all flying by so fast, who has the time to research everybody else's minute-by-minute work? I've fallen prey to this, too; I've thought I was breaking something that had been buried in a Mike Weatherford column I had missed from weeks earlier. When it is noted, I fix it if it can be verified. (The Review-Journal, by the way, never makes such corrections for anybody once they've claimed to be first on something that they were, in fact, third or fourth on. But that's a whole other thing.)

In any event, the whole lot of it gets very messy. But The Jolly Brit, taking a cue from the gazillion feud-plagued celebs he's quizzed over the eon, insisted it's not.

"Competition is healthy and I'm glad we both got the story," Robin concluded. "I don't know what you're noticing--Both of us doing the best job we can! I have the greatest respect for him."

Norm-Robin photo credit: SteveDacri.Com

Danny Gans: Still Dead, Right?

Last week, I noticed this Google Ad appearing atop this blog...


...and took a screen shot but got busy and forgot to blog about it. Then, just now, it happened again...


...so it seemed worth noting. I mean, unless you're Terry Fator and believe you can commune with Gans, I'm thinking this ship has sailed.

Then again, Google Ads behave notoriously strangely. Take this one, also on this site today that links to TravelZoo.Com:


The Sands Hotel was imploded in Las Vegas was imploded on June 30, 1996. Oops.

Split Decision on Fator

The morning paper featured an interesting contrast on the Terry Fator premiere on Saturday. On the front page, the Review-Journal's Doug Elfman offered a baffling declaration of the consensus of the "elite" crowd in attendance that the show was a knockout. Baffling, that is, because he and I were in the same room and I heard largely uneven responses. I would never pretend to speak for an entire audience -- especially one biased by free tickets and booze -- but Elfman chose to do so.

Elfman's sample was also tainted by natural human behavior. I've always found if you encounter a friend effusively happy about a performance, you tend not to want to disabuse them of their pleasure. It's awkward. Why would anyone want to take away another person's satisfaction? I had precisely that experience on Saturday with my friend Dave Berns, host of KNPR's "State of Nevada," who started the discussion with something like, "Wasn't that great?" Because I have no reflex for being polite, the best I could answer was, "Uh, it was OK." I recovered quickly by saying Fator fits a viable demographic of which I am not a member, a statement I do believe.

But an opening-night party didn't feel like an appropriate forum to start a debate over the merits of different bits I disliked so I, like some Elfman may have chatted up, chose not to expound on how hackneyed the Michael Jackson stuff was or how out of place the Obama attacks seemed. Most people stifle their own displeasure altogether and respond to those who enjoyed themselves with a smile and something like, "Yes, he's very talented." (Note to Berns: It could be some interesting radio to bring me and Elfman on KNPR to debate the show. Could be a fun regular segment when new shows open.)

It's also clear Elfman does not count me or Las Vegas Sun reviewer Joe Brown among the "elites." Brown's review was more mixed and hit many of the same points I did in my VegasHappensHere.Com post yesterday. It's one of those funny RJ-Sun moments when the front page says "Everyone who matters loves it!" and the Sun's headline says, "Mixed impressions!"

One thing everyone agreed about and felt the need to state -- including me yesterday -- is that Fator is a swell fellow who has been incredibly engaging to the media. And that approach has earned him an inclination among even those of us who had criticism to make some allowances and give him a chance.

And so, a thought: How might the Criss Angel experience have gone differently had he come across as friendly, humble and accessible rather than the Second Coming of Harry Houdini? If he seemed sincerely earnest to answer questions from the public's proxies as honestly as possible rather than threatening local columnists with violence or using his dating life as a fame-enhancer? How might it have gone had he not been given to outlandish, easily disproved boasts about his greatness, innovation and boffo sales? Would we have been more forgiving or patient when his show finally opened?

A Few Thoughts On Terry Fator

Upon emerging from the grand opening of the Terry Fator show at Mirage last night, friends and colleagues were eager to know -- or maybe they were just making polite conversation -- what I thought. And I was reminded once again that there is a difference between what I think about a show and what I think about a show's prospects for Vegas success.

In this case, I personally found Fator occasionally enjoyable, occasionally grating, largely cliched and unnecessarily political. And I totally see why he will do excellent business provided tourists continue to come here and spend money on such things.

For one thing, he's got a clear sense of Middle America tastes and a sharp mind for marketing. Encouraging his audiences to take photos during the show, for instance, is brilliant. Just think of the legions who will show their photos to their friends or blog audiences (see?) or Tweethearts, thereby increasing Fator's fame. Well played, sir.

That said, some thoughts on the show itself. Terry Fator is a ventriloquist who, through puppets, can do singing impersonations that are occasionally spot-on but just as often require audience willingness to go with the illusion even when their ears don't hear it. When it works, it's pretty impressive. But, like watching a Cirque performer or an opera diva, at some point the audience gets used to the presented skill -- as astonishing as it is -- and becomes more interested in the content. This is especially so when you're watching for 90 minutes and not a 4-minute bit on the TV talent show from whence he emerged.

And some of Fator's current content is, in a word, lame. As a comedian, Fator hits mostly well-beaten softballs. For whatever reason he feels Michael Jackson needs yet one more round of mockery, the sequence is all of the obvious stuff you've heard a zillion times: The weird thing with little kids, the plastic surgery, the voice, the crotch-grabbing, the light skin. How difficult is it to make an audience giggle at this stuff? If you were presenting a new show on the Strip in Vegas, would this hackneyed material be a central portion of your act?


And then, when he does stray off the standard-issue reservation, he does so for two jokes about Obama that are unnecessary and polarizing. Vegas shows normally hew to a non-political bent, making fun of presidents for their mannerisms, their voices, non-policy stuff that turns them into the butt of late-night comics like Clinton's sexual peccadillos or Dubya's syntax mangling.

It's not that President Obama ought to be above mockery, but to hold up a puppet with a scared look on its face and have Fator say, "I've been scared since Obama was elected" is weird. Sure, some sullen right-wingers eager for any pop-culture attack on the new president will roar, but is it worth alienating many others who came to hear not simplistic political humor but a turtle singing standards? (And, yes, I think that jokes about Bush's policies in otherwise non-political stand-up comedy would have been equally inappropriate on the Strip and I can't recall ever hearing any.)

It's also kind of interesting that Fator is evidently quite the conservative but he didn't have any trouble borrowing, uh, liberally from one of the most overtly leftist Broadway shows, "Avenue Q." The Q character Lucy the Slut...


...becomes Vicki the Cougar.


The basics of the character are exactly the same, most notably in the voice and swagger. Granted, most in the audience won't be familiar with the source material, but it seemed like brazen theft to those who are. (And before you point to "Avenue Q" as a lefty political show that played Vegas, might I remind you that that may very well be one reason it failed? And that it was originally intended for Broadway, not the Strip?)

So what *did* I like? I enjoyed a lot of the singing. The ventriloquism is truly impressive. And the part where Fator pulled "The Hulk" Lou Ferrigno on stage and attired him as a Cher dummy was clever and funny.


I assume that normally Fator pulls a random married guy out of the audience, but it was opening night so he had to make use of certain stars in attendance. That also included the Commodores, brought on stage for a number.


There is a point late in the show when Fator relates an anecdote about a woman who tells him his Elvis sounds nothing like the actual King. He retorts to her that that is what Elvis would have sounded like if he sang with his mouth shut. Fator uses this to disarm his critics, but it's not a fair reply. Must we simply be in awe of someone else's talent just because we can't do it? Or can we say, OK, that's an interesting skill, but I'm not buying this or that and you're getting $10 million a year to sell it to me so I'm going to let you know?

I have interviewed Fator a few times and he is a very affable fellow. I expect he'll do well, I wish him well and I will recommend the show to certain segments of my audience when it makes sense. But I also think he can do better than this and I look forward to watching this show change and alter in coming years.

The Show, Such As It Is, Is UP

This is what happens when we don't have a proper studio. The audio's a bit rough, to say the least. I should have done some extra tests to make sure it worked well, but I didn't. I tried to fix it, I'm not sure I was all that successful. BUT...the interviews with Fator (starts @ 26ish) and Brown (starts @ 1:01ish) are quite loud and clear. They're also really good interviews. The tourist tip, poll and trivia question can be read at TheStripPodcast.Com, too. It's a good show - there's even a bit of a surprise within the first minute - but I feel the need to offer all of this disclaiming because, unlike a certain other media outlet in town, I am embarrassed when my product is substandard. OK, with that, here's the weekly info: Click on the date below to listen or right-click and save to your computer. Or subscribe via iTunes here or via Zune here.

Feb. 15: The Impressionist Era Of Vegas...

with Terry Fator and Gordie Brown

Call it the impressionist period of Las Vegas. This month, three major impersonator acts open – or reopen. Danny Gans relocated to Encore, Terry Fator took Gans’ space at the Mirage and Gordie Brown, late of the Venetian, has returned to his old Golden Nugget haunts. Fator and Brown both join us this hour. Find out what Fator’s new Mirage-appropriate puppet will be and hear all about Brown’s early years as a celebrity stalker. Plus, Steve grills Brown on parts of his act he didn’t like.

In Banter: Behind the scenes at Cirque dance auditions, Oscar v Obama, Curtas v Encore, bye-bye La Cage and Heidi Fleiss, the Excalibur’s new deal.

Links:

Get tickets for Terry Fator at the Mirage here
Get tickets to Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget here
Get tickets for Danny Gans at Wynn Las Vegas here
Terry Fator’s website is here
Gordie Brown’s website is here
Danny Gans’ website is here
Read Steve’s column on Danny Gans’ show here
Find out what happened to the LVRocks studio here
Read Steve’s posts on the Obama v Oscar row here and here
Hear the 2/12 Oscar Goodman press conference here
Read John Curtas’ blog review of Encore here
The Review-Journal’s report on the closure of La Cage is here
The Las Vegas Sun’s story on the rebranding of the Trop is here
If you care, Richard Abowitz discusses Heidi Fleiss’ no-go of a stud farm here
Read about the smoker to fell out of the Circus Circus window here
Our listeners’ new show Seattle Geekly, can be found here
Buy an Edirol that we use to record interviews here
See the list of companies likely to go under, with two Vegas-related entries, here

The Show is UP: In The Valli Of Jersey

Because I'm in Florida visiting my parents and will be traveling home tomorrow, I figured I'd put this post up now. Our latest show featuring a conversation with the legendary Frankie Valli is now online. The show won't be in the RSS feed for iTunes or Zune subscribers until early Thursday, as always, but you can download it by right-clicking here or listen to it via your computer by clicking here right now.

May 15: In The Valli of Jersey

A priceless falsetto took an Italian pipsqueak from New Jersey all the way to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. But it’s only now, with the huge success of the Tony-winning Broadway show based on his life, that Frankie Valli is feeling truly appreciated by the entertainment world. That show, “Jersey Boys,” opened last month to rave reviews at the Palazzo, returning the sound of Valli and the Four Seasons to the Strip in grand fashion. Valli talks about what covers he likes, why he left his Luxor contract so suddenly in 2005 and much more.

In Banter: Terry Fator takes over, Cher needs work, the WSOP undergoes big changes, shrimp cocktails are more expensive and why Vegas.Com rules the world.

Show Links:

Get Jersey Boys tickets for Vegas here
News of Terry Fator's takeover at the Mirage is here
Steve's blog post about Cher's show problems is here
A piece on the changes coming for the World Series of Poker is here
That website to find wireless hotspots in Vegas is here
A story about the increased prices for shrimp cocktails at Golden Gate is here
That weird Trek-crazy site's report on the possible closure of Star Trek Experience is here
Old blog posts about the feud, now over, with Robert Earl, can be found here

The Strip is LIVE tonight at 7:05 p.m. PT

It's the attack of the Vegas reality-TV stars this week -- except that these are actual success stories! We'll have Las Vegas Hilton's $100,000-a-show ventriloquist Terry Fator ("America's Got Talent") on live as well as a taped chat with Trump marketing veep Stefanie Schaeffer ("The Apprentice") to discuss their reality-show experiences and how they led them to Las Vegas.

We'll also recap our big trip to Switzerland and delve into some Vegas news. So join us at LVROCKS.Com at 7 p.m. PT tonight for the live show and chat room. Or grab the podcast version on Thursday.

If you haven't seen Fator before, he's really remarkable. Check this out:

Vegas' New $100K Man

We on "The Strip" never did manage to ascertain what act was first to earn $100K a week in Vegas, but thanks to the exclusive dinner I attended this evening at the Hilton, I can tell you who the new $100K-per-show performer is: Terry Fator.

Uhh, who? Fator is the 42-y/o ventriloquist who won NBC's "America's Got Talent" contest and $1 million this summer. He was promptly pegged to do a show at the Hilton in October that sold out instantly, as did the second show they added. Now he's doing a third gig in December, then New Year's Eve and then 15 dates through May.

In a rather unusual move, the Hilton released his salary, which is $1.5 million for the 15-show package. That's a nice chunk of change. Fator seemed like a very affable guy, extremely awestruck that after all these years of toiling in obscurity he's a Vegas headliner now. He gave a brief performance for a group of about seven journalists tonight and, yes, he's quite good, but I'm a sucker for this stuff. Also, he seems savvy enough to duck the answer to this question I asked: "So, just how drunk was Hasselhoff during the show?"

Did any of you watch "America's Got Talent?" Would you pay $49-$149 a seat to see him? Is he the next Danny Gans now that Gordie Brown seems to have turned out not to be?