Is ‘AGT’ winner and Planet Hollywood headliner Paul Zerdin the next James Bond?
Editor’s Note: While Robin Leach is on his annual family vacation in Italy, several of his showbiz pals have stepped forward to submit guest columns while he enjoys the treasures of Tuscany.
On Wednesday, we welcomed AMERICA’S GOT TALENT winners Terry Fator and Mat Franco, who now both call Las Vegas home with their Strip residencies. The hit NBC series also boasts a third winner and Strip headliner, Paul Zerdin with his ventriloquist show at Planet Hollywood.
No previous TV show in history has ever produced so many new stars to claim their place in the Las Vegas firmament. From Merry Old England, here’s Paul!
By Paul Zerdin
After many years of living in Wimbledon, London — gigging on cruise ships, working men’s clubs, holiday centers, doing appearances on TV and comedy festivals around the world — more than a year ago, I found myself standing onstage at one of the most famous theaters in the world in Hollywood, auditioning for NBC’s AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.
Fast forward a few months, I found myself walking onstage for the finale of AGT at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The moment I won that show, I was filled with a mixture of adrenaline, euphoria and jetlag!
I now call it adrephalag for interviews!
A year on and I find myself driving down the Las Vegas Strip every evening preparing for my 7 p.m. show in PH Showroom at Planet Hollywood. Where did it all go wrong?
I’ve always been on holidays to Las Vegas over the years, mainly to come and see shows such as David Copperfield (my absolute favorite) and all the Cirque du Soleil spectaculars. I would head back home so inspired.
I remember sitting with a Las Vegas producer friend, Paul Stone, watching Terry Fator at The Mirage, and he said, “One day you’ll have a show here!” I laughed sarcastically and said, “Yeah, right!” Well, he was right!
After being in Las Vegas for six weeks, I think that I’m just getting the hang of the audiences here. I knew most of my material worked for an American crowd as I spent years on U.S. cruise ships, but the Las Vegas audience is such a different beast. Some nights, a gag gets a round of applause, and the next night it raises a polite laugh.
I drive home wondering why it works sometimes but not other times, and I think that’s what stops you from getting bored with comedy. You never know quite what you’re going to get from an audience, particularly in Las Vegas, even if it’s a routine or joke you’ve been doing for a long time.
I guess one of the reasons why the reactions are always different is because the audience is made up of people not just from all over the United States but also all around the world. Sometimes English might not be their first language.
I find that I’m also putting more material about being a Brit abroad into the show as it seems that the audiences genuinely like my take as a British ventriloquist performing in America. I suppose that it’s quite a unique position.
Why are Americans so fascinated by the way we speak? I get people coming up to me all the time saying, “Oh my God! I love your accent! Where are you from?” And I say, “England,” and they say, “Wow, I love that!”
It seems that we Brits are still a bit of a novelty here in the U.S., and I guess that’s why there’s always a posh Brit in Hollywood: David Beckham, Jeremy Irons, the late great Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Ralph Fiennes, Ian McKellen. The list goes on.
Now there’s a thought. Hey, Mr. Producer, are you still looking for that new James Bond?
