NEWS

Indiana Treasure Dead at 89

 By Wendell Wilkie 

Indiana has lost one of its cultural icons this week with the demise of one “Disco Ernie.”  It is our sad duty at the Hoosier Gazette to report the passing of Ernest Nasser to the big discotheque in the sky.   

All is well though, according to his daughter Marsha Nasser. “He’s dancing with the angels.”  

Disco Ernie epitomized what makes Indiana great; someone making the most of an opportunity.  According to the Terre Haute Tribune Star, Mr. Nasser was an “avid ballroom dancer,” who at the age of 62 lived out every American male dream: to fill in for an injured Chippendale’s exotic dancer during a tour stop in Terre Haute.   

Ernie made the most of his opportunity. He parlayed his good looks, chiseled body, and unstoppable dance moves into nationwide notoriety.  Ernie was first featured on The Bob and Tom Radio Show as well as appearing on a segment of the highly popular Maury Povich Show.  No, he wasn’t on there for a paternity test; the title of his show was “We’re Totally Opposite, but we’re Madly in Love.” 

Maybe not known to the entire state, Disco Ernie was renowned on the Terre Haute night scene.  According to his son, Marlon, Ernie was beloved by women of all ages.  Some would say that we should not celebrate an individual who spent the majority of his time frequenting bars.  But Mr. Nasser did not partake in any sins of the flesh.  Rather he was a true Hoosier.   Marsha Nasser said that “while her father danced at nightclubs, he never smoked, drank or took the Lord’s name in vain.”  We all could take a lesson from Mr. Nasser. 

While Ernie’s condition worsened at a local hospital, he made one last ditch effort to hang onto his precious life.  His daughter reported that before her father died, the family played a song from his favorite group—the Bee Gees.  Remarkably, “his heart rate went up.”  

But alas, all was for naught.  Everyone knows that all parties must come to an end, and Disco Ernie’s life was no exception.  All of Indiana weeps as a cultural icon, ranking up with James Dean, David Letterman, and Michael Jackson, has passed away.  Disco Ernie’s  life could well serve as a model of what Indiana needs most—the right opportunity.   

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