Drug toxicity cited in death of Las Vegas’ Danny Gans

The sudden death of long-running Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans was accidental and caused by a toxic reaction to a prescription painkiller, the Clark County coroner said Tuesday.

Gans, 52, had been treating chronic pain with hydromorphone, more commonly known as Dilaudid, coroner Michael Murphy said.

This proved a fatal combination with Gans’ preexisting conditions: hypertensive cardiovascular disease, which is caused by high blood pressure and thickens the heart muscle, and polycythemia, which raises the red blood cell count to higher-than-normal levels.

The coroner did not detail how much of the drug was in Gans’ system, how long he had been taking it or whether other drugs showed up in toxicology tests.

Gans died at his suburban Henderson, Nev., home May 1 after having trouble breathing. Police said Tuesday that, after receiving the coroner’s report, they plan to close their investigation.

“This is not an issue of drug abuse,” Murphy told a room that was packed with reporters, a reflection of how much attention the entertainer’s death has received here.

Though Gans was relatively unknown outside the Las Vegas Strip, he delighted thousands of tourists for more than a dozen years with a variety of impressions, including of Forrest Gump, Frank Sinatra and Kermit the Frog. He had performed at the Stratosphere and the Mirage, and this year moved to mogul Steve Wynn’s lavish Encore hotel and casino.

Gans grew up in Torrance, had a brief stint as a minor league baseball player and eventually spun a knack for impressions into a gig that reportedly made him millions of dollars a year. He is survived by his wife, Julie, and their three children.

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ashley.powers@latimes.com