ent000591-012

THE ARCEN TOUCH PaGE TIIREE STARTING AS A DANCER IN HIS NATIVE ST. LOUIS, ARDEN'S STUDIES INCLUDED EVERY FORM OF DANCE BALLET, TAP, JAZZ, MODERN DANCE AND ACROBATICS... A DIVERSITY OF TRAINING MCRE UNUSUAL A FEW YEARS AGO THAN IT WOULD BE NOW, PERHAPS, BUT DESIGNED TO GIVE HIM THE BROADEST POSSIBLE RANGE OF EXPRESSION. WHEN ONLY 15, HE WAS ALREADY STAGING SHOWS, AND ADDING TO HIS OTHER SKILLS, DESIGNED COSTUMES, PAINTED SCENERY AND EVEN SERVED AS STAGE ELECTRICIAN. IMPRESSED WITH HIS TALENTS, SOPHIE TUCKER BACKED HIM IN HIS FIRST ACT. TOURING IN VAUDEVILLE, PLAYING ALL THE TOP CIRCUITS, TEXAS GUINAN HIRED HIM AS A FEATURED ACT ALSO ASKING HIM TO HELP OUT WITH HER DANCERS' ROUTINES. THUS BRANCHING INTO CHOREOGRAPHY, HIS FIRST MANHATTAN TRIUMPH WAS STAGING, SUCCESSFULLY TO CRITICAL ACCLAIM, THE ICE SHOWS AT.THE HOTEL NEW YORKER, AN ASSIGNMENT LASTING TEN YEARS! FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II, HE WAS INVITED TO PARIS TO STAGE, DIRECT AND CHOREOGRAPH THE EXTRAVAGANZAS AT THE FAMOUS CABARET LIDO. IN THE WORLD OF NIGHT CLUBS, THIS WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF BEING CALLED TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO PRESIDE AT A SUMMIT CONFERENCE! IT WAS A MAGNIFICENT EXPERIENCE. DONN ARDEN AND PARIS LOVED EaCH OTHER. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS TO THE DELIGHT OF THE FRENCH. SO DELIGHTED WERE THEY THAT MR. ARDEN CREATED WONDERFULLY INNOVATIVE REVUES FOR 22 YEARS! AN UNPRECEDENTED RECORD IN SHO)VBUSINESS. ESPECIALLY SINCE HE WAS ALSO CROSSING THE ATLANTIC CONSTANTLY TO STAGE RESPLENDENT PRODUCTIONS FOR SUCH TOP CLUBS AS THE LATIN QUARTER CASINOS IN NEW YORK AND MIAMI, THE MOULIN ROUGE ( NOW THE AQUARIUS THEATRE ) AND CIRO'S IN HOLLYWOOD, THE BIG "HOLIDAY ON ICE" AND "HOLLYWOOD ICE REVUE" TOURING SPECTACLES AND THE DESERT INN AND STARDUST HOTEL EXTRAVAGANZAS IN LAS VEGAS. ARDENiS ASSOCIATION WITH THE DESERT INN SHOWS IS SHOWBIZ HISTORY, HAVING DIRECTED ALL THE PRODUCTIONS FOR THE HOTEL FOR MORE THAN 15 YEARS, SINCE THE DAY IT OPENED. BUT PERHAPS HIS FINEST ACHIEVEMENT IN LAS VEGAS WAS THE UNPRECEDENTED LIDO SHOW AT THE STARDUST HOTEL. NEVER BEFORE IN TUE DESERT RESORT'S HISTORY HAD ANY OFFERING EVER GARNERED SUCH ECSTATIC APPLAUSE FROM THE PRESS AND ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCE ACCEPTANCE.