Las Vegas icon turns 80, and we list the fun facts

Clint Holmes is at the “He is?” age. As in, “Clint Holmes is 80.” “He is?”

The answer is one of astonishment. The timeless Las Vegan turns 80 on Saturday, celebrating on stage at Myron’s at The Smith Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday with “Clint Holmes: In Joy.” Get the play on “enjoy” there.

The show is a musical adaptation of Holmes’ life and career, his family story and familiar numbers. He is backed by music director and keyboardist Bill Zappia, Jimmy Tripi on guitar, Dave Ostrem on bass, Rocco Barbado on sax and Elisa Fiorillo as guest vocalist.

We remember Holmes arriving in Las Vegas to play the Golden Nugget in 1998, soon moving to a 6½-year run (1,872 total shows) at Harrah’s Showroom. He opened Cabaret Jazz (now Myron’s) in 2012, the first residency headliner at the venue.

We summon eight fun facts about Holmes, culled over the years, one for each decade:

— 8. I met Holmes at the Las Vegas Athletic Club on West Sahara about two years after he moved to town. He was on an exercise bike. I was wearing a maroon Washington State University hat, white “W” in the middle (Dad got his DVM from Wazzu). I waited until Holmes finished his workout to say hello, and he said, “Love the hat. I’m a big Redskins fan.” I let it go, telling him years later it was a Washington State hat, which I still have.

— 7. For years I threatened to rush the stage when Holmes performed “Playground in My Mind,” his No. 2 hit from 1973. One night in 2014, he finally sang it during a Mondays Dark show at Vinyl at the Hard Rock Hotel. I raced up from stage right, grabbed him quickly and fled. He got me back a decade later.

— 6. Holmes told me that Tony Bennett visited him backstage at Harrah’s when Bennett was about 80 years old. Bennett handed Holmes a cassette tape of the Italian vocal exercises Bennett performed every day. “I literally couldn’t do it. I put the tape in and went, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’” Holmes said in 2023, after Bennett died at age 96. “The scales were so intricate; they were way too hard to do just out of hand.” Holmes’ epitaph on the memory: “Later, I was watching an interview with Barbra Streisand, and she told the same story.”

— 5. Holmes’ voice was the first ever broadcast on Fox, on Oct. 9, 1986, opening “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers.” He was Rivers’ announcer and sidekick. His intro met with a standing ovation. The opening show featured Elton John, Cher, Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens), and David Lee Roth. The night was likely the zenith for Rivers’ run as host.

— 4. In the summer of 2004, Holmes and the late pianist/composer Bill Fayne volunteered as performers at the “Hands Together” fundraiser at the Railhead at Boulder Station. I had helped organize the event, benefiting the Samaritan House, the recovery home on North Fourth Street for men recovering from alcoholism. Holmes and Fayne were among the first entertainers to say yes to the request, leading to a host of Vegas performers (the cast of “Fantasy” and the late Amazing Johnathan among them). Another to immediately sign up was our host, rising TV talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel.

— 3. In June 2018, Holmes and then-“Soundtrack” co-headliner Earl Turner filled in for Barry Manilow, who had postponed his premiere at the International Theater at Westgate because of a bronchial infection. Holmes, Turner and the band learned Thursday morning that Manilow would be out. They performed a great set of music that night.

— 2. Holmes called with the news he’d been nominated for two Grammys for his jazz album “Rendezvous” just before I was to interview Lionel Richie at Zappos Theater. Richie was kicking off his residency at the Planet Hollywood venue. Before our chat, I told the recording superstar of Holmes’ nominations. The two have been friends for years. “I’m getting chills,” Richie said, holding out his arm to prove it.

— 1. At the 2024 Nevada School of the Arts awards ceremony at Myron’s, I was at the mic thanking the organization for honoring a media member when Holmes moved toward the stage. “I just want to say something here …” he said, the crowd laughing. “We can have a Q&A after the show,” I said, totally confused. He made it to my side, asked David Perrico and the band to play “Playground in My Mind” and started singing. I had no escape. We were a hit. Or rather, he was.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.