Danny Gans

Danny's childhood dream was to play third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After high school, he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals. The Chicago White Sox drafted Danny after college, where he was an All-American at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His professional baseball player until an injury ended his career. Many years later, he played a third baseman in the film Bull Durham (1988). Danny was blessed with a great singing voice and the ability to make people laugh and a rare presence that would manifest itself in his new career. He spent 15 years traveling throughout the United States, working in the industry and perfected his repertoire of impressions. At the same time, he became one of the most sought-after performers in the corporate world, often playing to stadium-sized crowds for major international companies like IBM and McDonald's. Danny was the favorite of the Fortune 500 list. In 1995, he moved to Broadway to perform a well-received one-man show, but later decided to move to Las Vegas to reduce time away from his family, who lived in Los Angeles. He started performing at the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel in 1996, then the Rio Hotel and, eventually, The Mirage in 2000 where he became a permanent performer at The Mirage, where the Danny Gans Theatre was built for him. In early 2009, Danny changed venues again, and performed at Encore, which is the sister property to Wynn Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Strip marquee now bearing Danny Gans' image is the largest freestanding marquee in the world. His inaugural album, produced by contemporary Christian music legend Michael Omartian, was cross-marketed in both the pop and Christian music genres, and sold in both mainstream and Christian music outlets, in much the same manner as Amy Grant. Danny's love of entertaining was only surpassed by the love of his family. Danny died in his sleep in the morning hours of May 1st, 2009. He is survived by his wife, Julie, and three children, Amy, Andrew and Emily.