Ep. 280 I Why the 'Man of Many Voices' Lost His Own: The Danny Gans Story

Danny Gans was the "Man of Many Voices," the legendary Las Vegas headliner who could become anyone on stage—except himself.

While he was breaking records on the Strip, he was secretly fighting a private battle. In this episode, his son Andrew Gans joins us for a deeply personal look at his directorial debut, revealing the human truth hidden behind the Vegas glitz.

In Episode 280, Christian Taylor sits down with director and producer Andrew Gans to talk about the documentary he made about his father: how a baseball injury and his father's death in the same month set him on the path to filmmaking, why he stepped in front of the camera, and how the film became a search for the truth about Danny's chronic pain and his legacy.

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IN THIS EPISODE:
➤ How Danny Gans went from minor league baseball to the Man of Many Voices in Las Vegas
➤ How Danny became the first performer to sell a $100 ticket on the Las Vegas Strip
➤ What comedian Louie Anderson taught Andrew about telling a story the hard way
➤ Why Andrew decided to tell the truth about his father's chronic pain
➤ Why a first-time director shouldn't try to be 100% prepared

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Losing his father and his baseball dream in the same month
2:09 From a Major League dream to filmmaking: a son finds his father's story
5:34 Three generations of dreamers: the grandfather, the Catskills, and a family that reinvents itself
7:22 The White Sox draft, a severed Achilles, and Danny's rise to the Man of Many Voices
10:54 Why Andrew made the film: a 10th anniversary, a teaser, and a COVID shutdown
14:17 Trailer: Voices: The Danny Gans Story, the $100 ticket legend, and a word from Virgil Films
18:27 Rebuilding after COVID, and becoming a father mid-production
20:42 Choosing vulnerability: the decision to put himself in the film
22:57 Louie Anderson and the choice to tell the story the hard way
26:30 The hardest truth: the Al Pacino 'Scent of a Woman' edit, chronic pain, and one of millions
35:20 First-time filmmaking lessons: why you shouldn't be 100% prepared
38:16 Inside the edit room: movie magic and a writing credit for the editor
41:48 The Vegas voices: Tony Orlando, Donny Osmond, and Steve Wynn
48:37 What's next: narrative films, the festival run, and distribution
52:37 DocuView Déjà Vu: Shuffle and Searching for Sugar Man

CONNECT WITH ANDREW DAVIES GANS:
Website (Glanzrock Productions): https://glanzrock.productions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gans_andrew
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-davies-gans
Voices: The Danny Gans Story on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36590609/
Glanzrock Productions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Glanzrock-Productions-100063642647635/

DOCUVIEW DÉJÀ VU PICKS:
Andrew's picks: Shuffle, a documentary about fraud in the drug rehabilitation industry (in progress), and Searching for Sugar Man, the Oscar-winning documentary about Sixto Rodriguez.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Voices: The Danny Gans Story on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36590609/
Louie Anderson, comedian (1953 to 2022)
Virgil Films Entertainment: https://www.virgilfilms.com

SPONSORED BY VIRGIL FILMS ENTERTAINMENT
Sponsored by Virgil Films Entertainment, with 25-plus years of distribution and a catalog including Super Size Me, the Oscar-nominated Restrepo, and Forks Over Knives. On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtsAllianceAmerica. Learn more: https://virgilfilms.com

ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FIRST
Documentary First is a podcast for documentary filmmakers, lovers of story, and anyone who wants to think more deeply about what we are watching. Each week, host Christian Taylor sits down with documentary filmmakers from every stage of their careers, then follows up with a solo Deep Dive episode that explores one insight from the conversation. Christian Taylor is a documentary filmmaker (The Girl Who Wore Freedom), actress, voice actor, and podcast host.

#DocumentaryFilmmaking #DocumentaryFilm #IndieFilm #Documentary
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