Little says criticism a knife in the back

It's weird to hear Rich Little groan at the sound of your name on the radio.

Probably as weird as it is for him to read in our pages that his act is "in danger of being upstaged by its opening video."

The little dance we do here in covering entertainment came up recently when Little was on KNPR-FM's "State of Nevada," hosted by former Review-Journal colleague Dave Berns.

"I don't know what his game is," the impressionist said of yours truly. "He makes friends with you and then stabs you in the back."

Ouch, Rich! Thy saber cutteth both ways.

Little must have been confused by the rules of conduct here. They can get cloudy, so they're worth repeating.

Those who work in the newsroom figure readers understand, say, the effort to divide political opinions on the R-J editorial page from the attempt to be impartial elsewhere in the paper.

Yet the R-J is widely known as "the conservative paper." And as newspapers respond to the instant-information era with more interpretive, colorful writing, the division gets blurrier.

Likewise, who could blame a veteran impressionist for the disconnect between my Nov. 2 Neon cover profile of him and the subsequent review of his act?

In the interview, it was undeniably fun to sit inside Frank Sinatra's former dressing room at the Golden Nugget and hear Little's show business stories. Is that "making friends" or being civil?

But then comes the review. That's when my hat changes and loyalty switches to you, the consumer and potential ticket-buyer.

I thought I was constructive, suggesting Little should perhaps restructure the anachronistic act as a memoir. His radio chat with Berns drifted into Little restating the futility of mimicking today's nondescript movie stars, as though I had suggested otherwise.

There I can only say, you've got to actually read the thing. Can't help you if you just read the headline and the letter grade.

Some days I do miss the "good cop, bad cop" days when I would do the interviews and Michael Paskevich would come in for the dirty work. But the good part of doing it otherwise is that most entertainers learn to move on and understand the separation.

Howie Mandel once said the strangest thing about working Las Vegas is riding up the elevator with the people you've just performed to. I've had more than a few awkward, metaphoric elevator rides with entertainers over the years. But usually, no one steps out with a knife in the back.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com.