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Charley Henchis Papers (MS-01145)

Abstract

The Charley Henchis Papers (approximately 1945-1987) document the career of international cabaret show producer Charley Henchis and the shows he produced in Las Vegas, Nevada and Beirut, Lebanon. Materials include Henchis' business files which includes correspondence, files on specialty acts, photographs, and press about Henchis. Shows represented in this collection includes La Parisienne which was performed at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas in 1960 before moving to Casino du Liban in Beirut. Other shows represented in this collection that were produced for Casino du Liban includes Mais Oui, S'il Vous Plait, Flash!, and Hello!. Additional materials include press and publicity files, music arrangements and scores, recordings of musical numbers used for the productions, and film footage of shows and production reels. Also included is film footage of the Charley Ballet, Henchis' dance troupe who were featured in his shows.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1945 to 1987

Extent

17.46 Cubic Feet (22 boxes, 7 oversized boxes, 3 flat files)
14.35 Linear Feet

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

The Charley Henchis Papers (approximately 1945-1987) document the career of international cabaret show producer Charley Henchis and the shows he produced in Las Vegas, Nevada and Beirut, Lebanon. The French spelling of Beirut (Beyrouth) is used throughout the materials. Materials include Henchis' business files which include correspondence, files on specialty acts, photographs, and press about Henchis. Shows represented in this collection includes La Parisienne which was performed at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas in 1960 before moving to Casino du Liban in Beirut. Other shows represented in this collection that were produced for Casino du Liban includes Mais Oui, S'il Vous Plait, Flash!, and Hello!. Additional materials include press and publicity files, music arrangements and scores, recordings of musical numbers used for the productions, and film footage of shows and production reels. Also included is film footage of the Charley Ballet, Henchis' dance troupe who were featured in his shows.

Access Note

Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged by topic.

Biographical / Historical Note

Charley Henchis was a cabaret producer who was born on August 15, 1909 in Hlinaia, Moldova and grew up in the south of France. He founded the dance troupe, the Charley Ballet, who performed in his productions. In 1960, Henchis was contracted by the Dunes Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada to produce La Parisienne, a revue performed in the Arabian Room. The show opened on February 18, 1960 and featured original music by Michel Legrand played by Bill Reddie & his Orchestra, and featured a cast of 80 performers from Europe. In 1961, Henchis moved to Beirut, Lebanon to produce La Parisienne for the Casino du Liban. Henchis produced additional shows for the Casino du Liban throughout the 1960s and 1970s including Mais Oui, S'il Vous Plait, Hello!, and Flash!.

Henchis died on July 12, 1994 in Paris, France.

Sources:

Duke, Forrest, "Monday Mumblings," Las Vegas Review-Journal. October 30, 1961, NewsBank.

Fabulous Las Vegas, February 13, 1960: 17.

Philippe Dumont, email message to curator Su Kim Chung, November 3, 2023.

Preferred Citation

Charley Henchis Papers, approximately 1945-1987. MS-01145. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f10j44

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated by Philippe Dumont in memory of Jacques and Sylvia Dumont in 2023; accession number 2023-019.

Processing Note

In 2023, Tammi Kim processed the collection and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. Materials were rehoused, arranged, and described at the box level.

Resource Type

Papers

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NvLN::MS01145

Appraisal Note

Acquired by Su Kim Chung, curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings in entertainment history. The original acquisition included 2.17 linear feet of duplicate photographs that were de-duplicated and securely disposed during processing. One 35mm film that was topically out-of-scope with the collection materials and exhibiting conservation concerns including vinegar syndrome was reviewed and securely disposed during processing.

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English