Las Vegas Weekly

March 16, 2009 · 9:56 AM

Photo Gallery: A star-studded gala befitting new King of the Strip Terry Fator

By Robin Leach

Cher (Lou Ferrigno in costume) and Sonny (Terry Fator).

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Singing ventriloquist Terry Fator became the new King of the Strip with the premiere of his show at The Mirage over the weekend. Everybody from corporate executives to Hollywood celebrities to regular theatergoers simply loved him. They applauded Terry, they stood for him and, afterward at the red carpet party, they raved about him -- unanimously!

It is the feel-fantastic show that Las Vegas needs to jump-start our sluggish tourist counts in this economic downturn. Terry, who won the first $1 million prize on America’s Got Talent, came with six ventriloquist puppets -- and, without his lips moving, he conquered the night!

What’s extraordinary is that it took the humble man more than 25 years to see his dream come true with a starring billboard on the Strip, and now he’s beginning his new five-year $100 million contract in his own Terry Fator Theatre at The Mirage.

He even invited all the Vegas agents and producers who had turned him down over the years! At that time, he’d only performed in a Strip hotel steakhouse. When he won Season 2 of Talent and crusty judge Simon Cowell said he was one of the two best entertainers ever in showbiz, the long, lonely years on the road turned into “overnight stardom.” He won a year of monthly guest appearances at the Hilton and was sold out before setting foot onstage. The Mirage deal followed.

Despite being ignored for a quarter century but always believing his day would come, Terry has brought Vegas back to its roots of great music, comedy and fun -- without a circus spectacular and a cast of hundreds! He’s one man who takes command of a stage for 100 minutes. He’s a singing ventriloquist. His lips never move -- as you can vouch for in the close-up camera always trained on his face -- and he does the most masterful impersonations of everybody from a hysterical Michael Jackson to an emotional Louis Armstrong impeccably! He has some truly hilarious routines for everybody from Elvis Presley to Garth Brooks to Michael Buble.

Fifteen minutes before his premiere, Terry discovered that The Commodores were in the audience. He invited them as a fan onstage to do an unrehearsed number while he sang along in their voices. It brought the house down! And when you thought there was no other mountain to conquer, Terry discovered Lou Ferrigno in the audience and brought him onstage to play Cher while Terry played Sonny and did both voices! The audience went wild with laughter and applause.

Terry promises no two shows will ever be alike. He rewrites comedy material every day to add zingers and one-liners for all of his character puppets, including his favorite Winston the Impersonating Turtle and his new Vicky the Cougar.

Terry told me: “Winston is my favorite because he’s this catch-all character who has been with me longest. He can do anything. If I have an impression that needs to be done and another puppet can’t really do, I always call on Winston. He can do it all -- and that’s why he always closes the show doing Kermit the Frog in a duet with Louis Armstrong, and he says to the audience ‘I love you’ better than I could!”

The red carpet celebrities included Slash, Kathryn Joosten, Kevin Sorbo, Lou and Carla Ferrigno, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez, Deborah Gibson, The Commodores, Mariette Hartley, Jennifer Finnigan, Jonathan Silverman, Jerry Mathers, Fred Willard, Maeve Quinlan, Kristy Swanson, Lloyd Eisler, Billy Hufsey, Dee Wallace, Frank Marino, Tony Denison, George Wallace, Eddie Mekka, Ace Young, Clint Holmes and wife Kelly Clinton, Louie Anderson, Rasheeda Ali, Nathan Burton, Don Marrandino, Val Valentino, Skip Martin, Scarlett, Princess of Magic, and yours truly.

After all the excitement of the opening night, I talked with Terry. He told me: “I have a great sense of accomplishment. It’s just fantastic to finally reach the opening night. The dream for over 25 years came true. I feel so good about the show. Our writing is great, and we’ve got the stage exactly the way we want it. I feel it’s incredible. We were ready to take it on, and we won!

“We invited the agents who always told me no. The ones who said I would never work in Vegas. We made sure to invite them. I don’t know exactly which of them showed up, but they were here. The message from that is don’t ever let anybody tell you that you can’t do something. When somebody else tells you that you can’t do something, work harder to prove them wrong.

“The dream coming true is as good as you could imagine it. It’s incredible. It’s a lot of fun, and I feel great. I’m still pinching myself, and I think I will always be pinching myself. Every time I pass a billboard with me on it, I will pinch myself!”

Click HERE for a previous interview with Terry, and click HERE for this week’s cover story at our sister Las Vegas Weekly Web site!

Terry is a rarity in a business of giant egos. He is a genuine and unique talent who might single-handedly boost the Strip’s tourism numbers. Everybody loves him and his show, and in this past 18 months of shooting to the top, he has remained one of the nicest, warmest and most gracious men you’ll ever meet.

We’ll check in with him in a couple of months to see how everything is progressing. Meantime, with everyone from concierges to cab drivers telling visitors his is the must-see show, you’d better race to The Mirage for tickets as fast as you can!

Terry Fator is one super-sized, superstar hit! Overnight -- after 25 years! Congratulations to the Strip’s newest mega-bucks winner!

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