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Sunday, January 11, 1953 Las Vegas Review Journal j Opera Aisqqation M^ Organized in Las Vegas Tuesday, January 18. 1953 Las Vegas Review-Journal 5 By Alan Jarlson The first chord of the Las Vegas Opera association was echoed Friday as the organization conducted it's initial session under the guiding hand of one of the world's foremost exponents of musical art, Lauritz Melehior. 'This is most wonderful. . .to <in'spg$b?, as^president; Bill Wfl- ilardgvice - president; Virginia Moore, secretary: and Mildred Bianco, treasurer. Miss Moore, who was the key figure in the organizing of the Reno |Opera association- (a now success* ful group), opened the luncheon- meeting conducted at thfflf Hotel by stating: "Every wa. "This is most wonaenui. ... .wj noxei oy sutuug. ?????╜^ ttla meet a group of people who are life?╟÷from the layman to the bank- j interested in contributing some- er?╟÷should share the beauty of fine [thing to the art of fine music," |music." She recalled the || Melchoir said in welcoming the local organization to the world of I opera. The renowned tenor, whose mag- nificant voice has been heard the world over, stressed to the body of (persons representing the first step in opera in Las Vegas, the vital I importance of educating the younger generation of this city to understand and appreciate classical mu sic. Melehior pointed out to the remarkable turnout of 45 persons who attended the first meeting of the association that "there is so | much hidden talent in the youth 'of America, and no place to expertise that talent . .,. Las Vegas (and other cities of similar size) is the place to give these young boys and girls a chance to display their ability to sing or play." He explained that the young pea meeting of the Reno Opera association. "Only 10 people turned out up there (Reno). . .four times that many have shown initial interest in the first meeting of our (Las Vegas) group. .' .Reno is now operating in the black, and there's no reason why we in Las Vegas cant succeed too," she concluded. As evidence of the enthusiasm in the local organization, a contribution that passed around the group realized the organization i $340. In concluding the luncheon, spon- sored by John De Luca, Melehior was acclaimed by thunedrous reception the first honorary member of the newly formed music organization. The association has slated January 26 as its first official business session during which plans will be mapped for the first opera presentation in Las Vegas- which will be He explained tnat tne youitg ycu- tation in Las vegas wmcu wm ^ pie in the United States t have it conducted in the proposed high i... < .?╟?.';<??. in nVitnininer the funda-L?╟?v.^?╜i anrii+nrinm which is sche- pie in wig wx^i/wv* ~ i --- by far easier in obtaining the funda mental knowledge of music due to the musical appreciation classes afforded in our school systems. "But when they have com- ipleted these (appreciation) courses " Melehior explained, "t hey are confronted with the problem of finding a stage on which they may entertain for a profit." "That is when your opera association steps in," he said. The local organizations could be a form of proving grounds for the good i local talent, the robust, jovial Metropolitan Opera^Star explained. Melehior, who has with his current troupe eight young opera and I concert hopefuSs^ith much talent, said that in his tours about the country since World war II he has found the younger generation of America finding a closer feeling towards thegart. A great percent-, age of this.Vhe'explained, can be attributed to the return of the| countless Mmerican troops who . were assigned to Europe, the 'home of cultural music. A lot of these young men, he pointed out, visited the European opera houses) in quest of entertainment and found that "good music ?╟÷ fine lmusic __ wasn't such a bore after j jail." Another highlight of the session was the election by acclamation !of Phil Rizzo, the organization s ;onauutBu m n?╜- ???╜?╟≤"*,?√ß?╟÷~- ---~ school auditorium which is scheduled for completion in mid-June of this year. Also on the agenda for the business meeting is the I appointment of a board of directors and an advisory group. The time and location for the, next confab is pending and will be announced. \Jn the ^Jown . with olan jarlson- Suiiday, January 11, 1953 ! Lak Vegas Review-Journal 5 Touring the Town NEW FACES: Local nitery show bookers, ever-faced with the increasing demand of new talent, have come up with a grab bag full of new spotlite attractions . . . Cutting cute paces with fnew gags at the Flamingo is Mickey Rooney, moviedom's perennial puck who is a new;,comer to local footlites .--. . Another new pilling brings a unique bit of showmanship to Las Vegas tonite in file Desert Inn's "Ice Capades," featuring an all-star cast of clever lads and lassies cutting capers on a specially built-in skat- ling rink frozen over the nitery's stage ^^ And opening Monday at the Last Frontier is another hew appeal, the Sportsman'* Quartet, the four fellows who rocketed to fame by drawing laughs while doing commercials for the Jack Benny airwave bit"'^-,, Keeping with the Strip's newest policy is the Sahara's draw of Bob Crosby's Club 15 Revue, slated for opening tonite (the Crosby bit may be bungled however, cause latest reports have it that the leader of the band^r<|fbr himself?╟÷was fogged in at Pebble Beach while participating in brother Bingle's link open) ... j <*sS|li M- * * * .gl&|??║|f?║ 5''^H THE OWL HOOT: Word from Minneapolis has it that Bob] Gilbert's (local choregrapher) wife, Joanee Hyldoft, is confined] to a hospital after receiving nasty spill while cutting fancy figures during the Holiday on Ice Revue currently showing in the Mm-! nesota city . . . Nevada lovelies will be asked to submit photos to the "Miss Universe" (Nevada section) preliminaries which will be staged at the Sands in 'bout a month. The state contest committee will headquarter itself at Jake Freedman's "Place in a Sun," and the laurels taker will be sent to compete in the Universe finals at Long Beach hi July ... sez one of the town's top picture-makers, Betty Pritchard, the local hospital (where \, she Is recuperating from aminor operation) has the latest thing! for the cocktail hour??-Pena$iol and Sodium . . . SATING GOODBYE to our town is Phil Strassberg of the New York Daily Mirror movie'and drama department. The critic returns home with a full notebook of nice things to say 'bout Lad Vegas show biz . . . A??d then there's the item that reaches ouri attention 'bout the rich tourist who did so good on our local greenj cloths .that he wired each one of his seven ex-wives enough loot I add to their minkrobe V. . An all out drive to hasten the com traction of the Footprinter's Boys Ranch to be built here is-in jbe making . . 5 And a new gimmick to reach the platters is the /ipcoming Frankie Lane recording of "Cigarette." Everytime a 'Adisc- jockey, plugs this new Lane ditty, he will receive a carton of smokes to send overseas to a member of our armed services of his choosing ... ^ N #s||| 1 AND IT'S NICE to watch a crowd of nitery-goers bathe artist [Lauritz Melehior with "bravo." The tenor star of the Met shattered all precendent one-week nitery stand in Las Vegas, and is one of the few entertainers to grace our footlites who actually brought the crowds to their feet. Writers have decried Las Vegas as a town full of sinful people with no understanding, or care, for real art. Yet Melehior disproved the so-called knowledge of some of our foremost critics. Climaxing his successful stand here, he was presented last nita with an honorary membership card to the Las Vegas Opera Association by Hizzoner Baker. And at the same time, Association Pfexy Phil Rizzo handed a plaque of appreciation to Milton Prell for bringing the foremost exponent of the opera, Melehior, to our town. Melehior now embarks to the east tOr the second of his 104Jpersonal appearances that was] touched off by his trek to the Las Vegas spotlite ..-. . Once again| BRAVO! # , , m CUT UPS ABOUT TOWN: Strip followers running ace saddle-1 smith Willie Shoemaker ragged for hot tips . . . Bing Crosby, j Bob Hope and Rosemary Cijpney will wind up their USO troop , training camp appearance #th a stint at Nellis air force base Jo Stafford will drop into our town long enough to rest and do quick rehearsals for Korea personal appearance tour . . . The biggies of the town (including the mayor, the city and county commish, et cetera) heap "happy boithdays" on Sophie Tucker who rings in 65th year tonite. . . Graphic House shuttering Ed [ Parham doing layout on petite Mala Powers who is visiting our town with Momma Powers ... liflfti (r * ?╟≤ '?╜.-ii;>?║*ajK8 PHfe^: ''-^H'g.- AND THE FITE scene in the current Silve?·i]Slipper "Guys, (Giggles and Gals" revue brought laughs aplenty to fcmtt Howard, local rep of the Natioiai Boxing Association . . . GanpLer_Benny Binion, of the Lone, Star (Ranger) state didn't cast too many Smile&i*8Jr??gags tossed during show he and private ta^ attorneys caught last nite . , . ^dVcbmmie prober Red and' puttMimmlljrs will reveal shortly that orlne knowm,commies sloppinr.*??#a across our bars, 28 per cent are holdmg]dpwn acadenlic jobajk. iMarylin Maxwell mulling over new ^MVerlat-ae^rnationa^Hpl- er contract while spending a few days on the town with>s$??·en writer Jerry Davis . . . And real local talent that is destined' to wind up in big time musical is the appealing v^ice m Beajester tenor Bobbie Jenson . . . ?║t/n the %^At vwn . with a I an jarSson- J|4 SidetVafk iNite Owl TICKER TAPE: A San Francisco police! officer, who drives a | patrol wagon,.brought a middle-agid gal into a bay city bastile ito be booked for drunken driving, pie complaint?╟÷smashing into the paddJl;wagon-. . . And Sally, tl|e Calicp cat has the only sys-,| tern felifl^jshould follow whejji wishing to visit the neighbors^?╟÷I just ring the doorbell. The family who supports Sally have been Idisturbed recently at all hours by a mysterious ringing of their' doorbell. Yep, you guessed it, it wa& Sally twho found amuzement, in jumping up on the settee and leaning a&ainst the bell . ?║ *,.Oh- l well, I'd rather lead a dog's life nwself?╟÷I can't stand cats . , ,. IT IS DELIGHTFUL to have Lena Horne chirping spine tingling notes fOr our entertainment once again. The first lady of song's current appearance at the Sands; marks, her third (and charmed) trip to our lucky show ^K. circle. The exciting warbler's presentation in the footlites makes her a top package in the entertainment world . . . FIRSTNITERS: Comic Danny f#homas who is staying over in our town to catch up on a little rest . . . Miss Home's brother-in-law Maurice Hart who has yet to miss an opening nite of the songstress . . . Critics Phil Strassberg (New York Mirror), Phil Scheur (Los Angeles Times) and. Hy Hollinger (Variety) who are penning entertainment revue of| K>wt town in general ... \ * ' ?╟≤?╟≤?√ß.t^jfe'" .. * g iW^M 'STARTLING REPORTS have it -that there are so many pro- commies in the "Voice of America" campaign that G. I. vets (who belong to the organization that has flopped but good) have ,fc> confer behind locked doors or sacrifice their posts . . . Singer^ T&ny Martin (whose nite spot engagement closed here last niter didn't waste any time getting back to Hollywood to slightly ruffled frau Cyd Charisse (the dancer) . . . Producer Tom Douglas (Windmill Revue) has returned to Las Vegas and El Rancho Vegas after recovering from a recent .stroke E . . THE BOOK WORM: The touristiseasom may have slacked off a bit in our town, but the clippings and tear sheets ballyhooing Las Vegas continue to flow in to our desk > . . As usual some are * favorable, while the other decry our burg as being a communi-, ty crawling witfr thugs, mugs, and just people who have the shocking playboy habit of galavanting around at all shameful hours of the nite (and day) . . . The latest spread to favor Las Vegas is the Tournament of Roses program which reached 800,J JIDO readers far and wide . . . Coming to the newstands soon is the article in Life Magazine depicting Las Vegas as a fabulous ..show biz center . . . The plugs for Las Vegas taper off with tw^ fftmrns in Fortnight mag (a California periodical). One is an article in which the author apparently can't make up his mind whethei to like or hate Las Vegas (and Reno), while the second is a trave guide to the Golden state's friendly neighbor to the east (meaning us) . . . Another article in Reader's Digest deplores our town as an unfit place for anyone to live,,the story building up to the easy quick divoreeignow obtainable in (the author sez)?·|he to| marriage buster of the world?╟÷the j Virgin Isles ... Maybe w?╜T citizens here should start wearing sarongs and carrying stra^ baskets on our domes.1... jf^vV BLURPS ON THE CUFF: Quipped Lauritz Melehior at the com elusion of the first session of the Las Vegas Opera association (at which the reiifwn tenor was-honored guest): "Maybe this group can install slot machines with opera names on the reels u instead of the regular figures. Then when, you'd hit a jackpot r Twould be a Caruso" ... And Sophie Tucker sez in comment o: her forthcoming birthday (January 13)= "I'm 65 years old Tues day I hope the press doesn't add any numbers to that figure?╟÷] couldn't stand the excess baggage" . . . And Cameraman Ed Pahram was jolted when pic subject Abbe Lane answered with! "Certainly I'll wear a low cut gown ... do you think J want td hide'" . . And Copa gal Peggy Dietrich drew considerable at tention wkw&me^Wfflmf'W^o rehearsal singing a lullabye ir Japanese. The petite chorine learned to speak the foreign Ianl guage while in Tokyo on tour. ^ff'^jfi^h l'ftnTBQ Wo ^flard ?╓¬Bill WmardMji ?√ß FOR BETTER MUSIC: Opera Associations first luncheon and meeting'.yesterday at theJ>a&J& proved beyond a doubt thafTnany people are highly interested in the move for better m'usic for Las Vegas. Lauritz Melehior was made the first honorary member of the new organization, and spoke words of wisdom to the more than 60 citizens present from all walks of our local life. His advice to start slowly and build a solid, base for future operations was well received. With a twinkle.in his\eye, he mentioned tlie possibility br added revenue by installing slot machines to colli leet funds for opera here. "Instead of cherries, plums, oranges and such have the machines bear likeness of famous operatic stars, ?╜v#fothe jackpot three Carusos!" . . . John De Luca picked up the check for the entire luncheon. He and Phil Rizzo have long dreamed of just such a gathering to spur interest in opera. . . . And, with Rizzo unanimously elected prez of the association, those who were in on the organization from the beginning were gratified to see the restaurateur' sjievotion to Igood music pay off by such an ihonor^V/^ls^ HUDDLE FOR MARCH: Resort Hotel Association got down to first intensive work yesterday on March of Dimes show to be presented at the Desert Inn Monday, Jan. 26. From this vantage point, the big production unrolls with the Desert Inn's "Calendar Capers" ice show, Lena Horne, Arthur Lee Simpkins, Jimmy McHugh, Bob Crosby's Club 15 Gang, Mimi Benzell, and the Sportsmen . . . Kalantan, who opens at the* Silver Slipper Friday, Jan. 16 will cause a sensation with new dances created by Seymour Felix, top producer of many Ziegfeld Follies shows and ?√ßfilm spectacles. Kalantan's featured dances will be a Mambo and "High Priestess of Voodoo" . . . I Les Compagnons de la Chanson set for Thunderbird Feb. 5 . . . N. Y. Sunday Mirror articled Rosemary Clooney and quote: "She was sighed by Paramount when a talent scout heard her king at the Thunderbird nightclub In Las Vegas, and the big build- to began." . .. MORE BEAUTY: Sands line of Co^a Girls to be enhanced by more beauty in the next three weeks when three state winners of "Miss Universe" contest join the other lassies. . . . Police.Chief Al Kennedy tovbe featured speaker on Zenith Franklin's "Teen-A-Visions" Monday night on KENO. He'll give lowdown on narcotics. ;> . Marty Allen & Mitch DeWood pull some funny schticklach during their nightly El Cortez slambangs. These .guys are definitely NOT on-a Martin & Lewis kick, but have beginning for a different comedy coupling.... Larry Sloan off to L. A. and Frisco to line up sports scriveners for Las Vegas hegira and Suf^* Ray Robinson's Sahara footligiit frolic ,.. TritiaJ Hurst and hoosband, Bob Sahd- bach sky eastward today. ... I*hil Strassberg, N. Y Mirror staffer enjoying Lena Home's opening mightily in company with the Hy Hollingers.... Dorothy Lamour's road leads her to Vegas and the Last Frontier preddy quik. ;|B| ft ui*/fcfiffi FURRY MILLION: Rite Bros, advanced fur fashion show at the Desert Inn next; Friday and Saturday will have" models wearing more than a million bucks worth of rare mink and other costly pelts. . . . Xavief Cugat and Carmen Miranda readying a TV show* to roll as soon as the maestro returns from his far eastern tour. . .. Maurice Hart, the L. A. disc jockey, with his wife and young daughter were almost wrecked outside Victorville on their way to the Sands.,?·ax hit a soft shoulder, but MSurlce wisely steered out onto the desert instead of whipping the wheel back. ,. .Abel Green, Variety's top man, is heading for a week's stay in Las Vegas end of this month. ... I KENO now airing Metropolitan Opera Auditions^ every Monday at 8:30 p. m.... > j ?√ßA* " HAPPY HAPPY: Sophie Tucker celebrates her bir4faday on Jan. 13 with big pressiparty & turnout at El Rancho Vegas. She didn't say 4&w young. . . . Betty Hutton will dp Sophie's film biography sometime next year according to latest Hollywood reports. . . . The film "Stars and Stripes Forever" which might give Clif- (oCntinued on Pase 7)