Neil Diamond won�t be anywhere near Atlantic City next week. But local fans of the legendary singer-songwriter planning on being in A.C. will find the next best thing there � Pittston resident Tom Sadge.

Mr. Sadge, one of country�s busiest Neil Diamond impersonators, will be a featured act in �A Really Big Shew,� a tribute to �The Ed Sullivan Show� that will play the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort Sunday through Thursday.

During the hour-long show, Mr. Sadge will perform a 13-minute set that will include such Diamond classics as �Cherry Cherry,� �Sweet Caroline,� �I�m a Believer,� �America� and �Solitary Man.�

The cast also includes actor Jeff DeHart, who plays Ed Sullivan, plus ventriloquist Pete Michaels, juggler/plate spinner Hendrick, comedian Glen Singer and, of course, puppet and Sullivan standby Topo Gigo.

�It�s just like a regular taping of �The Ed Sullivan show,�� said Mr. Sadge, who in the past has performed with the show in places like Laughlin and Jackpot, Nev. �We all get along great. It�s a fun show.�

Beginnings
Mr. Sadge, 52, has spent much of the past 13 years taking his Diamond tribute on the road. A talented mimic since grade school, he did impressions of everyone from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley to Tony Bennett during his days as a party DJ. Of all the voices in his arsenal, though, Mr. Diamond was the clear favorite.

�People said, �Oh, you sound like Neil Diamond, you should be doing something with that,�� said Mr. Sadge, a good friend of renowned Elvis Presley impersonator and fellow Pittston resident Shawn Klush. (One of Mr. Diamond�s nicknames is �the Jewish Elvis.�)

So, with a little encouragement from his wife, Marion, Mr. Sadge dyed his long blond hair black, grew some sideburns, shaved his mustache off and bought a closetful of Mr. Diamond�s trademark sequined shirts. Then he worked at mastering the singer�s distinctive stage moves and patter.

He might not look exactly like Mr. Diamond, but once �you�re on stage performing, you morph into the person,� Mr. Sadge said.

Performed worldwide
The illusion has worked so well he�s been able to make a full-time career out of it. He�s never performed locally, but has played just about everywhere else, including a host of casinos in the United States and Canada (Las Vegas� MGM Grand among them), cruise ships in Mexico and theaters in Germany and the Netherlands.

He once sang before a Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game, and has opened for Jackie Mason, Kool and the Gang and Engelbert Humperdinck (whom he also does an impression of). On Feb. 21, he�ll be the opening act for Jay and the Americans at the Broadway Theater in Pittman, N.J.

�It�s a lot of fun,� said Mr. Sadge, currently in the process of looking for local musicians for his backing band. �You get to meet a lot of people and do a lot of things.�

Perhaps his most high-profile gig is the annual Neil Diamond birthday party held in Chicago by Mr. Diamond�s biggest fans, better known as the �Diamondheads.�

�I guess you could say I�m his fans� favorite,� Mr. Sadge said.

And you could say he�s Mr. Diamond�s favorite, too. He�s had the opportunity to meet the singer on three different occasions, including a concert in which Mr. Diamond pointed his microphone at Mr. Sadge, who was seated in the front row, and had him belt out a few bars of �Forever in Blue Jeans.�

�He said I sounded just like him,� Mr. Sadge said.