It’s the most loving and romantic story I’ve heard in my 15 years of living in Las Vegas — maybe in my 52 years of living in the USA (the anniversary is Nov. 23, 1963, when I arrived in New York Harbor).
Every night just seconds before headliner superstar Celine Dion went onstage at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace, her husband, Rene Angelil, always held her hands for a few moments to wish her a great performance but without a word being spoken.
It was a tradition that lasted through the years from her first show at Caesars on March 25, 2003. It continued at Caesars until December 2007, and the ritual resumed when Celine returned in March 2011.
Celine took a yearlong hiatus to care for her manager husband as he battled throat cancer, then returned again in August.
However, Rene was too sick to make the nightly journey from their Lake Las Vegas home to the theater. On opening night, he had a closed-circuit TV feed of the show at their home so that he could watch from his bedroom.
But what to do with the nightly custom? At some point, and I don’t know when, a bronze casting was made of his hands, and Celine now has it perched on a pedestal in a darkened private corner of the stage where she makes her entrance.
Now each night, she grips the hands as an acknowledgement of their love for a few moments, then goes onstage. Celine checks in with Rene by cell phone within seconds of the final curtain call to advise him how the performance went and to fill him in with a report on the audience reaction.
“He might not be there physically, but emotionally he’s there for her every step of the way for every show,” I was told.
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