Gary Anthony belts out Frank Sinatra's greatest hits
By GINGER MIKKELSEN VIEW STAFF WRITER
Gary Anthony's dad was a big band leader, so singing came naturally. From the time he was 5 years old, he was impersonating Frank Sinatra."I've been doing Frank all my life, since I was a kid," he said. Sure the performer sings as himself, does a mean Rodney Dangerfield, a smooth President Reagan, and a slew of others, but nothing compares to Sinatra. "There was Andy Williams and everybody else, but Frank was the man," Anthony reasoned. That's why Anthony is thrilled to be singing Sinatra at the Celebration Lounge in the Tropicana Friday through Tuesday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. The free show runs now through Aug 12 to Aug 25.
Anthony is joined by Bill Whitton as Dean Martin and Lambus Dean as Sammy Davis Jr.
At age 15, Anthony was already singing Sinatra at venues like the Riviera. But his biggest brush with fame came singing as himself, sort of. As an adolescent and in his early 20s, Anthony sang with his family group, the Allens. The family name wasn't Allen, actually to maintain mystery, Anthony refuses to reveal his real given name, Allen was just something they took up. "It was the Allens -- sort of like the Osmonds. I was one of 11 children and we were all in showbiz. I'm the only one left in though." The family group had one big hit, "High Tide," a song written by the Osmonds, "but we sang it and it climbed the charts at Motown Records." Anthony said his family was probably one of the first caucasian families to sign with Motown. For a while the boys in the family were young teen idols seen on the Johnny Carson Show, Merv Griffin, American Bandstand and within the pages of countless teen magazines. "My daughters look at those pictures and they laugh. I had the Beetle cut and the flairs and everything," the singer said.
Eventually, the Allens were kicked out of the limelight by disco. At that point, Anthony went into the recording business as a sound engineer working with bands like Oingo Boingo, the Police, Blondie and others. When the musician married, he decided it was time to get a real job. So he and his father opened an electrical sign business. Part of their job involved entertainment neon. Anthony and his father did neon for the Golden Globes and for assorted television shows. Then the duo moved into video production, producing commercials and cable shows out of a garage. Anthony's show "The Unzipped World of Gary Blazer (yet another stage name)" got plenty of attention. With the rise of movies like "Wayne's World" that glorified upstart cable shows, Anthony and his father found themselves in the limelight again as subjects of television news programs and an HBO documentary. "Dad and I are partners in life," Anthony said. Though they live in California with their mother, Anthony's daughters Krystine, 19, and Rynae, 16, are already steeped in the entertainment business, just like dad and grandpa. Rynae sings in an all-girl group called simply The Girls, and Kristine is trying to break into script development at Warner Brothers. As for Anthony, when he's not being "perfectly Frank" he's busy booking a stable of impersonators, disk jockeys, bands and look-a-likes. No matter what look a producer is looking for, Anthony is certain he can find it. "I'm a little like a broker. Let's say they want someone who looks like a member of 'N Sync. I know who has them. I know where everybody is." Anthony got into bookings by booking himself. He started out in Las Vegas as a DJ and then an event karaoke singer before jumping back up on a stage again. He has also worked stints as a comic. But most of Anthony's business comes from people looking for Sinatra. "After all, what's Vegas without Frank?" he asked. "Life's a party and everyone's invited. If you can't have fun with me I don't know where to send you. I'm having the time of my life. Between Frank and Rodney (Dangerfield) all the babes love me, as Rodney would say."
For more information, Anthony can be reached by e-mail at garybdj@aol.com.