Superstar Bette Midler, just 12-days away from her Feb. 20 premiere at Caesars Palace, has apparently turned-down the Grammy Award producers request this weekend—and instead will stay rehearsing here rather than flying to Los Angeles for the CBS-TV show as a presenter. It had been a touch-and-go decision anyway for more than the past week—but insiders say she pulled the plug on the trip in the last 36-hours. Bette has also been nominated for her Yuletide album.

“Everything is fine with Bette and the show. It is going to be sensational. There are no problems or delays. It’s just that taking out what would really be three days from the grueling schedule so close to her major debut opening was just deemed “too much” simultaneously,” said a reliable source. “There are motorized mechanical platforms on the new re-constructed stage that will raise her above it—and everybody wants to ensure those effects work perfectly.”

Local Vegas headliners Ne-Yo, Jay-Z & Beyoncé, and the cast of The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil musical at The Mirage will all be featured on the 50th anniversary show. There will be a special presentation to veteran Beatles record producer, Sir George Martin who re-mastered the entire soundtrack of the Cirque show here—and although it’s somewhat of a surprise both Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr should be there after flying in from Europe. George Harrison’s widow Olivia is already in Los Angeles after spending two days here earlier this week.

My ABC News radio producer Al Mancini will be backstage at the Grammys on Sunday evening and has promised me he’ll pass onto us for Luxe Life Monday morning comments that he gets from the Vegas victors!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 10:10 am and is filed under Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.