Posted on 05/02/2009 1:42:45 PM PDT by Shermy
Danny Gans had just finished his show Wednesday when his manager Chip Lightman sent a text message.
"Apollo show. Are you OK. No curtain?"
Something didn't feel right to Lightman.
Looking back, "that was the scariest thing," Lightman said Friday, still in shock hours after the death of Gans at age 52.
A creature of habit, Gans rarely ended with "The Curtain Falls," Bobby Darin's favorite closer.
Through most of his thousands of shows as a 13-year Las Vegas headliner, Gans preferred ending with "Apollo," which featured snippets of songs by Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles and others.
No one will ever know for certain, but just maybe Gans knew something was amiss and sent a message through Darin's curtain closer at the Encore theater.
A "health nut" -- Lightman's words -- who appeared to be in top condition, Gans had not been feeling up to snuff for a couple days, he told Lightman.
Gans went to bed Thursday afternoon. About 3 a.m. his wife, Julie, found him unresponsive. Paramedics told her Danny's heart "just stopped."
Dead at 52, at the peak of his career.
... ...
Near the end of Friday's walk-through to capture photo snippets of Gans' backstage life, Lightman brought up the mystery of "The Curtain Falls."
It was one of many why's that didn't make sense to Gans' longtime friend and manager.
I offered a theory.
Maybe Gans' switch to "The Final Curtain" was hinting about his health by channeling Darin for the finale.
Darin had a meteoric run before dying of heart-related problems at the age of 37 in 1973.
The final words of "The Curtain Falls":
"Your cheers and laughter will linger after
They've torn down these dusty walls
People say I was made for this
Nothin' else would I trade for this
And just think I get paid for this ...
"Goodnight ladies and gentlemen and God love you."
.
His death doesn’t pass the smell test.
Goes to show, you just never know for sure when your time is up.
R..P Danny Gans
oops, R.I.P. Danny Gans
if you look at his family background, I bet you’ll find a history of cardiovascular disease. Doesn’t matter how well you take care of yourself if you have bad genes.
It’s almost as if he got the “Two Minute Warning.”
bttt
bttt
for local boy.
RIP dg
DITTO! May God Bless his lovely wife and sweet children.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.