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.