As Oscar Goodman was plugged at The Mob Museum, his wife was meeting with the mayor of Mexicali.
This is true -- except where it isn’t.
Oscar Goodman was not actually plugged, or, rather, shot on the steps of The Mob Museum in tonight’s episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He was merely acting as if. The scene opens the popular CBS crime drama, and to celebrate Goodman’s latest wade into the thespian pond, a viewing party has been set for the Plaza Showroom tonight. The public is invited to drop in at 8:30 p.m., and the first 200 attendees will be served an officially sanctioned Oscar Goodman Bombay Sapphire martini. The viewing of the show is from 10 to 11 p.m.
Now, the part about Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who also is Oscar Goodman’s spouse, is true. Carolyn Goodman was actually written into a version of the script for Wednesday night’s episode but could not appear because of a previous engagement she declined to break.
“She was meeting with the mayor of Mexicali,” Oscar Goodman said Monday after a tour of CSI: The Experience at MGM Grand, a promotional sort of walk-through tied to tonight’s episode of CSI. “It was a prior obligation, and she kept that obligation.”
As Oscar said, Carolyn Goodman has not been featured in any film or TV roles. But give her time. It is just her first term.
The Goodmans’ grip on the mayoral post was referenced in the episode of CSI. In his character as coroner Dr. Al Robbins, Robert David Hall says of Oscar Goodman, “I voted for him four times.” When reminded that Goodman is not permitted to run after finishing his third term, Hall says, “Well, I voted for his wife, so that counts as four.”
Oscar Goodman is continuing a busy post-mayoral career. His restaurant and speakeasy are to be opened at the Plaza by the end of the year. The Mob Museum, for which he remains an active board member and spokesman, is targeted for a Valentine’s Day 2012 opening (“Six months after it’s opened on CSI,” he jokes.)
More fascinating, even, is a contract proposal Goodman is still reviewing: to host a syndicated TV show titled Las Vegas Night Court. Predictably, he would be the judge in that show and is working with Wayne Jeffries, who helped launch the cable TV phenomenon Pawn Stars, on the project.
A couple of niggling issues remain, and they are not insignificant: Goodman demands that the show air at night, not during the day. Many other celebrity-judge shows have broadcast during the day, but Goodman wants the Night show to be viewed at night.
Also, Goodman is not accustomed to ceding control over the final product. “I want absolute, total, creative control,” he says.
So, yes, the jury is still out on that project. But Goodman-as-victim is in the can tonight. Whether the role will lead to any Emmy buzz remains to be seen.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
Previous Discussion: