Man of Fire suffers ‘burned butt’ in Vegas venue launch

Ray Wold has been the The Man of Fire in “O” since the show’s debut in 1998. He’s been set aflame and walked across the Bellagio stage in some 13,000 performances.

Wold, 65, has only missed a couple of performances — about 20 years ago — after a car accident. He was rear-ended.

That happened again, in a manner of speaking, Monday night.

Not at “O,” mind you, but at the open house of the new venue Ray’s Comedy World. Wold set himself on fire, as the act always starts, but flames crept down the back of his pants. He couldn’t unsnap the suit quickly enough and suffered (medical term here) a burned butt.

“It was our first time doing it in this show, so things were a little off, and the pants I was wearing were made out of a little different material, more synthetic,” Wold said Thursday. “But it’s always tricky in the first show, getting the timing down.”

Wold received third-degree burns, along with a healthy ovation, as his “safety guy” Daniel Lucero snuffed out the blaze.

“I will be fine,” Wold said. “I do not miss shows. I’m up and going again now.”

Wold owns the newly branded club at 3625 E. Flamingo Road, the space also known as the Amazing Clowns party and banquet hall. Starting Feb. 5, the club will rotate comics and side acts every Monday, with food offered at 7 p.m., acts in the courtyard at 7:30 and comedy in the showroom at 8:30.

Comic performer Joe Trammel, late of the famed “Splash” production at the Riv among many other Vegas productions, hosts. Steven Pearl is the opening headlining comic Feb. 5-12. For the open-house event, Penny Wiggins (best known as Psychic Tanya in The Amazing Johnathan show), comic Kitty Pineapple and venriloquial headliner April Brucker all performed.

Wold will appear around his “O” schedule. He’s off Mondays and Tuesdays. The veteran stage artist most recently garnered national attention in 2023 on “America’s Got Talent” (of course) with his Ray Wold & Mom act. He performed with flaming whips and threw flaming knives at his mother, Corinne, who is 86. She also performed at Ray’s Comedy World on Monday.

The open house was promoted with the promise, “Fire Tonight,” which was certainly delivered by an artist who is an expert in the genre.

“I believe I hold the record for most body burns,” Wold says, the term referring to the number of acts he’s performed with fire, not actual burns on his body. His “O” act is strictly staged and controlled.

Wold has not suffered serious injury in the show, and he’s never missed a show because of a burn.

But before Wold joined Cirque, when he was a touring circus performer, he was occasionally burned.

“When you do overseas shows, they might have money to fly me over, but I would depend on their crew to put me out,” Wold said. “The thing with fire is, when it goes wrong, you have to put it out, now.”

Wold is shown to be a capable juggler, at least away from the stage. He is managing his Cirque schedule while launching and performing in this new venue. He feels the spark is there to fire up enthusiasm among Vegas entertainers.

“It’s a challenge. I’m the owner, and I guess I am the face of the venue,” said Wold, whose derriere has also become a focal point. “You know, we’re just shooting by the seat of our pants.” Hey, he said it.

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.