Abstract
The Bogie's Niteclub Revue Collection (1969-1990) consists of photographs, flyers, and newspapers advertising Bogie's Niteclub, which ran the female impersonation (now known as drag) revue "Frivolous Follies" in Las Vegas, Nevada. Images include performers on stage, portraits, and publictiy photographs of members of "Frivolous Follies," which was renamed "Vive les Boys" in 1984. Issues of Las Vegas Mirror and Vegas magazine are also included, and contain advertisements for Bogie's Niteclub drag shows and male strip shows. Also included in the collection is a single photograph of Stewart Randall Armstrong, who was born and raised in Las Vegas and passed away from AIDS in 1994. The collection was donated in his honor. This collection also contains digital scans of the photographs and some ephemera.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Bogie's Niteclub Revue Collection (1969-1990) consists of photographs, flyers, and newspapers advertising Bogie's Niteclub, which ran the female impersonation (now known as drag) revue "Frivolous Follies" in Las Vegas, Nevada. Images include performers on stage, portraits, and publictiy photographs of members of "Frivolous Follies," which was renamed "Vive les Boys" in 1984. Issues of Las Vegas Mirror and Vegas magazine are also included, and contain advertisements for Bogie's Niteclub drag shows and male strip shows. Also included in the collection is a single photograph of Stewart Randall Armstrong, who was born and raised in Las Vegas and passed away from AIDS in 1994. The collection was donated in his honor. This collection also contains digital scans of the photographs and some ephemera.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
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 remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Located at 4377 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Bogie's Niteclub (also known as Bogie's Speakeasy Disco and Restaurant) opened a "female impersonation" (known today as a drag performance) revue called "Boys Will Be Girls" in October 1983. The name of the production was changed to "Frivolous Follies in 1984, and the show was produced by Las Vegas costumer and female impersonator, David Svisco, known as Helen Twelvetrees during performances. In August 1984, the show's title was changed again to "Vive les Boys." Bogie's was known as a "straight bar" during the day but hosted drag performances in the late evenings.
Source:
McBride, Dennis. Out of the Neon Closet: Queer Community in the Silver State. North Charleston: South Carolina (2016).
Preferred Citation
Bogie's Niteclub Revue Collection, 1969-1990. MS-01118. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f19x9m
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2022 by Stan Armstrong; accession number 2022-042.
Stewart Randall Armstrong was born June 3, 1956 in Las Vegas, Nevada and grew up on the Westside of Las Vegas. After graduating from Rancho High School, Armstrong worked as a server at the Sahara Hotel and Casino where he was often assigned to work for visiting celebrities such as Kenny Rogers and Michael Jackson. After leaving the Sahara, Armstrong went to work as a server in the Siegfried and Roy Theatre at the Mirage Hotel and Casino where he remained until he died of AIDS on February 24, 1994. His brother is noted historian and filmmaker Stan Armstrong. Stan donated in this collection to UNLV Special Collections in honor of his brother, Stewart.