Matt Gregory Entertainment Papers (MS-00381)

Las Vegas, Nevada producer, manager, and agent Matthias Gregory Gluchowski (a.k.a. Matt Gregory) was born November 21, 1921 in Araucaria, Parana, Brazil. He was the son of an aristocratic Polish diplomat serving as Ambassador to Brazil. Matthias was raised in southern Poland on a large estate that bordered Czechoslovakia. He was educated at the Marian Fathers Lyceum in Warsaw, Poland, and later came to New York during his father's tenure as diplomat to the United States. Gregory attended Amherst University. Shortly after returning to Poland he was forced to flee the country when the Germans invaded in 1939. Following a narrow escape via train to Italy, Matthias enlisted in the Polish Air Force, which had squadrons attached to the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. He flew missions as a bomber pilot and was decorated for his service. Following the war, he returned to the United States, where several men he had met during the war introduced him to a number of influential people, including Frank Sinatra and millionaire Reg Newton. Newton, in turn, introduced him to others. This led to Gregory's employment as a script writer for radio and television in New York, where Gregory worked for the Milton Blackstone Agency. He applied for citizenship and was finally naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1955 with the name Matt G. Gregory. In 1949 Gregory moved to San Francisco, California, where he continued to work in television. In 1953 he was invited to come to Las Vegas, Nevada by Moe Dalitz, one of the partners at Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn Hotel and Country Club. Dalitz recruited Gregory to work in public relations on a project the owners were involved with, the Showboat Hotel and Casino, one of the first casinos designed to cater to "locals." Gregory left the Showboat in 1956 to pursue a career as a personal manager, agent and producer. He made his name in the mid-1950s by representing a number of lounge acts. He also recruited and developed talented young artists. Among his clients were Marlene Dietrich, Sandler and Young, Lee Greenwood, Jerry Fielding, and Bill Reddie and The Characters. Gregory also produced a number of shows in Las Vegas, Nevada and elsewhere. These shows ranged from large productions to smaller revues. He had a reputation of creating the "midi" and "mini" revues which brought the talent, costumes, and flair of the large shows to a smaller venue.

Some of his shows appeared in Paris, Sweden, and Japan as well as Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Gregory produced the world's largest fashion show for the Lion's Club Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also produced "Las Vegas Gambit," the only network television game show to originate in Las Vegas. He continued producing and managing until his retirement in the mid-1980s. He was married in December of 1964 to Ailsa Winton, a dancer and native of England. They had one son, Adam Casimer Gregory-Glochowski, born in 1965. Matt Gregory resided in Las Vegas until his death on July 29, 2000.

References

“Matthias Gregory Gluchowski,” Who’s Who in the World 1984, 7th ed. (Chicago: Marguis Who’s Who, Inc., 1984).