Guystalktime  

May 1, 2009 family, friends and fans were devastated to hear the shocking news of Danny Gans death. He was only 52 and in the prime of life, as they say “the world as his oyster”, he had it all. Many may not realize however that off stage Gans was a devout Christian, husband to wife Julie, and father to children Amy, Andrew and Emily. Maybe that devotion was the true key to his success.

I sought out to find someone who knew the man behind the legend. Someone who had personal experiences with Mr Gans before his rise to fame. Finally I  came across just such a person in Peter K. Godinez. Godinez was kind enough to share his memories of the late Danny Gans as he knew him, They met in 1976 while they were both attending California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo. At that time Gans was a Junior who played baseball, while Godinez ran track and field as a decathlete.

Godinez: “My 1st memory of Danny, as you would image it was entertaining. There were two very attractive young college ladies in the cafeteria during a weekend breakfast. Danny’s favorite meal was breakfast. He use to put ice in his milk with cereal because it made the milk colder. He was wearing his dark sweat shirt and pants and had these young ladies laughing really hard. He was doing his impressions and making funny facial expressions. A few weeks later I realize he would do shows in the cafeteria after it closed down. He had everyone laughing and singing along. Faculty was also watching. It was amazing to witness what this baseball player could do.”

I hear that during his college years Gans was very involved with Campus Crusades for Christ.

What was your experience with this aspect of this life?

Godinez: “To my surprise, Danny walked up to me one day and said hello and introduced himself. His first question was “I hear you are a Christian”. Whoa! Slow down and stop talking so loud, people might hear you, I thought. Why was such a talented “upper classmen” baseball stud(who can make women laugh) talking to a “punky” freshman track athlete. From then out Danny took me under his wing and we became friends.”

Godinez went on to share how Danny was a great friend who always went out of his way to include him in daily activities.

Godinez: “One of my favorite memories was going out in SLO town and dancing. I was very shy with females and Danny always made it a point to set up 2 ladies to go dancing. This was very fun. One thing I remember about Danny was how he treated women. He was always very respectfully and did not try to overstep his boundaries. The ladies always had a blast. After safely getting the ladies home Danny and I would walk home along the railroad tracks, singing and dancing to the song “We ain’t got a barrel of money” or "You ain't nothing but a hound dog". I think people who saw us thought we we out of our mind. It did not matter we were having fun to the max.”

Then Godinez shared his story of the night Danny was introduced to his future bride Julie. ( Photo below)

They were married 27 years before his passing.

Godinez: “The most precious memory I have (and there are many) was being a part of the group who introduced Danny to his future 27 year bride Julie Russell. Danny had seen her and thought she was very attractive. I did not know Julie, but I used to see her in the preparation salad bar kitchen where I worked in a Bakery. I also knew the lady she was a roommate with, Meagan. I asked Meagan if I could introduce her roommate Julie to Danny. She suggested that we meet at the Basketball game that night. Danny had a baseball game that day and had a bad game, and was not in a very good mood when he arrived at the Basketball game. Danny was not very engaging like he normally was , and the introduction was, well let’s say not very successful. Danny, being the super guy that he is, felt bad, called her the next day and explain what had happened. They went out another time and the rest is history.”

Were you able to keep in contact with Danny after College?

Godinez: “I kept in contact with Danny when we were on summer vacation by writing letter sharing with him my goals in athletic and life. He cleaned spas and pools at a health club in Carlsbad. His final year he was a resident assistant in Jespersen at Cal Poly SLO. It was good to be with him one more year.”

“After graduating I lost track of Danny and reconnected with him when he was at the Stratosphere. I had seen his face on a taxi. They were all over the place. I could go on and on but I will stop hear. I will miss Danny even though his schedule was too intense to just hang out like we use to and did not see him much. He was a fan of Text message. The last year of his life we communicated more since he did not have to use his voice in this process.

What will you remember most about Danny?

Godinez: “I carry within me the seeds of Danny’s excitement for life, his positive and powerful behavior.”

“He was my friend, my brother in the Lord, mentor and role model.”

Be sure to tune in to http://www.guystalktime.com Thursday May 7th at 5:00 - 6:00 PM PST.

where Godinez will be doing a feature on his legendary friend Danny Gans.