Lance Burton on Gans: 'I am Profoundly Sad'

May 1, 2009 | Remembered
Lance Burton remembers Danny Gans

Magician Lance Burton has released a statement to "Extra" regarding the passing of his longtime friend and colleague, Danny Gans.

"The news of Danny Gans' passing is unbelievably shocking," Burton writes. "Las Vegas has lost one of its best ambassadors. He was quite simply one of the greatest entertainers ever to step foot onto the stage. In my 27 years in Las Vegas, I have never seen anyone better."

He adds, "I first worked with Danny over 20 years ago in Palm Springs. President Gerald Ford was in the audience during the benefit at the Bob Hope Theater. As recently as last year I performed with Danny at a benefit show at the Mirage. "

The statement concludes, "He was a dear friend and I am profoundly sad today. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Julie, his children Amy, Andrew, Emily and his longtime friend and manager Chip Lightman."

comments

Is Larry writing to offer his condolences or to shamelessly promote himself?

LorrietheLvely
May 5, 2009

Danny Gans was a fantastic performer and will be missed by me and millions of other fans. My heartfelt prayers go out to his family and friends who, along with his faith were the core of his life.

I can honestly say that If it were not for Danny’s success, I would probably not be working today as a singing impressionist in Las Vegas(or in the corporate world). The first time I visited Las Vegas in 1996 to research the venues, the city and shows, I saw Danny Gans at the Stratosphere and was amazed by his variety of voices and his show.

While our material is quite different, my show’s format is influenced by Danny’s model of ‘hit and run’ using a large multitude of short musical segments and lots of song parodies packed into every show in order to get more voices in . Even though is truly an honor, I am upset by the circumstance that would somehow suddenly make your mine be the longest running (albeit on a much smaller scale) impressionist show in Las Vegas (7 years).

As a Las Vegas entertainer, I can only hope to touch the surface of creating a legacy like his. In the meantime, like Danny, I’ll just keep doing what I love. Especially for the reason I have survived ‘terminal cancer’, drowning, and kidney failure; I am shocked and deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Las Vegas’ all-time top performers. I hope to meet him in heaven one day to say “Thank You Danny Gans, for bringing so much joy to so many people!”

RIP my friend.
All my best,
Larry G Jones

Larry G Jones
May 2, 2009

i am also saddened by the huge loss of an old friend,who made the world happy and captivated by his ability to impersonate 200 celebrity voices…
he is now home with the lord entertaining in his kingdom. my codolonces to julie, amy,emily,andrew

len baron….st james theatre nyc

len baron
May 2, 2009
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