was not only physically large, he had a huge, deep booming voice, complete with a hearty room-filling laugh.
He also liked to mug and generally fool around, as this scat cadenza (via realaudio or .wav file 635k) from a Tuesday night version of Mack the Knife amply demonstrates.
Nick's voice contributed to his substantial presence, and made it clear to club-goers that it was ok to laugh and feel good.
"Everybody's a Star" he would boom, and even if one didn't quite believe it, the hugeness of the statement left no doubt as to his sincerity.