Jimmy Kimmel to be honored at renowned Las Vegas Strip gala

Jimmy Kimmel once made a tour stop in Las Vegas and hardly anyone knew of it.

One of the city’s favorite sons and a Clark High and Kenny Guinn Middle School grad (who also hosts a popular late-night talk show), Kimmel walked the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in October 2019.

An idea was hatched that day: To invite Kimmel to be honored at the annual Keep Memory Alive Power of Love gala. The stars, and star, aligned for Kimmel to be honored at the event Feb. 22 at MGM Grand Garden.

Kimmel has announced he will not return to host the Academy Awards telecast, scheduled for March 22. Ruvo Center co-founder Larry Ruvo confirmed Monday that Kimmel would be honored at the next Power of Love event.

Hosting the Oscars had been a roadblock for Kimmel committing as an honoree of the event (though he attended when Neil Diamond was recognized in 2019, and introduced the pop legend).

The Academy Awards prep has even interfered with Kimmel’s primary gig as host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

The 56-year-old, talk-show icon said this month on the “Politickin” podcast, “​​I’m all in when it comes to something like the Oscars. I think about it in the morning and at night, and when I have ideas I want to work on them and then my nightly show seems like a nuisance. You wind up pushing everything off until after the Oscars, and you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars.”

In his first visit to the Ruvo Center in ‘19, Kimmel spent more than an hour learning of the facility’s initiatives to combat an array of brain disorders. Cleveland Clinic Director Dr. Dylan Wint; Dr. Dietmar Cordes; Center co-founder Camille Ruvo; board member Michael Severino; and Kimmel’s longtime friend, Las Vegas marketing vet Jim Gentleman, took part.

The presentation from Dr. Cordes was heavy with medical data, focused on the Center’s many treatments and initiatives. “I know all of this,” Kimmel said. “I went to UNLV.”

The intro ... @NeilDiamond @JimmyKimmelLive #LarryRuvo #PowerOfLove ... great comment from Neil on his Neil Diamond Day proclamation... @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/HimaOj2P1m

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) March 8, 2020

Strip hit preps for 25

Quick quiz: What Las Vegas production has performed more than 10,000 shows and for more than 2.5 million audience members and is about to mark its 25th anniversary?

If you said “Sydney After Dark,” you would be wildly off-target.

“Fantasy” at Luxor is that show. The Anita Mann Productions juggernaut opened as “Midnight Fantasy” in 1999, soon shifting show times and titles, but remaining on stage consistently.

To mark it’s 25th anniversary this October, Mann has enlisted “Eras Tour” and “La La Land” choreographer Mandy Moore, “Dancing With the Stars” champs Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson; famed choreographer Cris Judd (who worked on the show about a decade ago), and former cast member Yesi Burgess, who today is a resident director at Voltaire at The Venetian and dancing with such headliners as Kylie Minogue and Jason Derulo.

Lorena Peril, who is a terrific national anthem singer and also avid 49ers fan, remains the show’s primary singer.

Moore also earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography, for her work on the 2024 Oscars telecast. This can happen in a choreographer’s world, especially if you are Moore, who has won three Emmys already.

“It’s a little crazy and a little confusing,” Moore said during a recent rehearsal. “But it’s television, not movies.”

Moore has also been honored in 2017 for “ Dancing with the Stars,” in 2018 for “So You Think You Can Dance,” and in 2020 for “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.”

The veteran dance designer is a close friend of Mann’s, and is working out a new opening and closing for the 25th anniversary. New music is being created by District 78, which has contributed to “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Masked Singer,” and “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

“Fantasy” started on a six-month contract. The deal with the host hotel has continued through ownership changes and several presidents and general managers. Despite its original title, the clock has never struck midnight for this show.

Later for Nate

Stand-up headliner Nate Bargatze has postponed his October run at Encore Theater because of a TV-production conflict. Bargatze is back Jan. 8, 10-11. He’s performing six shows (7:30 and 10 p.m.) over those three dates. They’ll all sell out, we brazenly predict.

Great Moments in Social Media

Historic Vids (@historyinmmes), one of my favorite follows on X, has posted a “Price is Right” showcase showdown clip from 1973. A blue ‘73 AMC Gremlin (with a luggage rack and am radio), a trip to Las Vegas with a stay at the Sahara, $500 in silver dollars was valued at $3,433.

The contestant, “Silvia,” bid $3,000, and won. Hope she had a good time seeing (maybe) Sonny and Cher at the Congo Showroom.

Cool Hang Alert

Bruce Harper Big Band with Naomi Mauro fills Myron’s with powerhouse horn action at 7 p.m. Tuesday. It’s a night of jazz standards with Mauro at the front of Harper’s 17-piece outfit. A range of music is featured, from The Beatles to Steve Allen to Antônio Carlos Jobin is to be highlighted. Go to smithcenterlv.com for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.