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ent000591-001
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    University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Libraries

    From: Bill Matters & Associates 1271 St, Ives Place Los Angeles 69, Calif. BRadshaw 2-0148 DONN ARDEN Biography Opulence - tempered with impeccable good taste * is perhaps the best way to describe what is meant by "The Arden Touch*" Pigeons trimmed in pink, French poodles dyed in pastel colors, white horses, elephants, landscapes with rhinestone sagebrush - you can always tell a Donn Arden production by such wonderfully offbeat touches. In the world of night club entertainment, the words "Donn Arden" and "spectacular" are synonymous. But the lavish use of spectacle is not the principal reason for the enormous success of this brilliant master showman - it is his consummate ability to coordinate everything so perfectly within the framework of his eye-filling presentations. During his three decades in show business, Arden has almost single- handedly raised the standard of night club entertainment to its present respected place in the field of entertainment, His brilliant shows in Mew York, Paris, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Miami have created a standard of excellence which others strive for but seldom achieve. Donn Arden started out to be a dancer, studying as a boy with Robert Alton in his native St. Louis. His curriculum included everything - ballet, modern dance, acrobatic, jazz - a diversity of training more unusual a few years ago than it would be now, perhaps, but ^ signed to give him the broadest possible range of expression. His first job paid him $10 a week. When he was only 15, he was already staging shows in various small clubs around St. Louis, even adding to his other skills by designing the costumes, painting the scenery and, when necessity demanded, serving as stage electrician.