Warm crowd welcomes back tearful Lawrence
Steve Lawrence made a triumphant return to the stage, on Valentine's Day, that left him in tears.
He wasn't alone.
Lawrence was greeted with a lengthy standing ovation from a sold-out crowd of 1,100 at Palm Springs' McCallum Theater.
"l've never felt so much warmth in a room," said Dennis Bono, a close friend of Lawrence's.
Lawrence was performing for the first time since the death of his wife and stage partner, Eydie Gorme, 2½ years ago.
Another ovation came when he opened his Frank Sinatra salute with "I've Got the World on a String." Lawrence was backed by a 32-piece orchestra conducted by Joey Singer, associate conductor for "Steve Wynn's Showstoppers" and musical director for Bono's weekly radio show.
The tipping point, emotionally, came near the end when Lawrence told the crowd "everybody sings 'My Funny Valentine' on Valentine's Day." Then he added, "But I'm not going to sing it tonight."
The stage went dark, Bono said, "and there on a screen was Steve and Eydie singing it to one another."
"You could hear the sniffling," he said. "We honestly could feel Eydie's presence."
"There was so much emotion for him to deal with," Bono added. "At the end of show, they kept cheering him and he got very emotional."
Lawrence, his face awash with tears, repeatedly pointed a finger toward the heavens.
"He had that smile that always lights up a room and a twinkle in those blue eyes that just melts a crowd," Bono said.
Lawrence, 80, "was at the top of his game ... as good as I've ever seen him," Bono said.
"I hope it's just the beginning," he added.
In the audience: Sinatra's widow, Barbara, Robert Wagner and his wife, Jill St. John, Lucy Arnaz, the daughter of "I Love Lucy" icon Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Bono's wife, Lorraine.
The scene and heard
Las Vegas music royalty, Ruth Brown and BB King, were honored with tributes during the Grammy Awards on Monday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Blues star Bonnie Raitt, a close friend of Brown, an R&B legend, joined Chris Stapleton and Gary Clark Jr., in performing King's 1969 hit "The Thrill is Gone." Brown, who performed weekly at the Bootlegger Bistro during her late years, died Nov. 17, 2006, at the age of 78. King, a longtime Las Vegas resident, died May 14. He was 89. ...
The last of two dozen vehicles used in the recent crash scenes on the Strip for Matt Damon's latest "Bourne" film were hauled away Tuesday from a large parking lot east of Planet Hollywood Resort. The boneyard of battered vehicles included police cars, regular cars, taxi cabs and SWAT trucks. Filming has been going on for nearly a month. The spectacular crash, which takes place in front of Bellagio's dancing fountains, was shown during a Super Bowl commercial. ...
Steve Wynn tells Maxim magazine his first trip to Las Vegas came in the early 1950s. "When I was 10 years old, my father (Mike) brought me to Las Vegas with him for two weeks, and his father Jake Weinberg, came over to see his son and grandson," Wynn told Las Vegas writer Jack Sheehan. "As an old Vaudevillian, Jake danced with some of the showgirls that were performing in the Minsky Revue on top of the Silver Slipper casino. My father recorded the dancing with his 16-millimeter Bell & Howell camera. It was a riot." ...
Yelp's top 100 places to eat in the U.S. were released last week. Rankings are based on analyzing restaurants performances in customer rankings since 2004. The highest ranking local eatery, at No. 21, was Baguette Cafe, 8359 W. Sunset Road. Others: No. 28, El Dorado Cantina, 3025 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive; No. 44, Mr. Mamas breakfast and brunch, 5693 S. Jones Blvd.; No. 80, Oyster Bar at Palace Station, 2411 W. Sahara Ave. Top honors went to Porto's Bakery & Cafe in Burbank. ...
Morning show DJ Mark DiCiero of Beasley Broadcasting's Star 107.9 (KGVS), has returned after an undisclosed absence.
On this day
Feb. 17, 2001: Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis knocks out James Page at the MGM Grand to win the World Boxing Association welterweight title. The nickname is from an earlier bout when a dazed opponent told his corner, "He's got six heads."
In 2006 he loses a fight when he runs out of the ring for an urgent potty break.
Feb. 18, 2007: UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center hosts the first NBA All-Star Game held in a city without an NBA team. The Western Conference defeats the Eastern Conference, 153-132, and Kobe Bryant is named Most Valuable Player.
Sightings
Houston Rockets star James Harden, with friends Monday inside the private dining room at N9ne Steakhouse (Palms), a day after the NBA All-Star Game. According to reports, Harden and Khloe Kardashian recently split.
The punch line
"Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were both in Las Vegas over the weekend. Hillary attended a campaign rally, while Bernie played the nickel slots." — Seth Meyers
Norm Clarke's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. On Twitter: @Norm_Clarke
