Abstract
The Garwood and Joan Van Family Papers (1920-2003) contain scrapbooks, photographs, newsletters, correspondence, and newspaper clippings collected by Garwood Van and his wife Joan Van.The collection includes material on Garwood's music career as a popular band leader in New York, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada as well as material about Joan's early life as a model and dancing career.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Garwood and Joan Van Family Papers (1920-2003) contain newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, and newsletters collected by Garwood and Joan Van during the 1930s through the 1970s that document Garwood Van’s career as a band leader in New York, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, the collection includes information on the Van’s personal lives before and during their marriage including childhood scrapbooks and a baby book for their son, Gary Van.
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 website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged roughly by topic.
Biographical / Historical Note
Born in 1910 in Newark, New Jersey, Garwood Van was a well-known band leader who was active from the late 1920s until the 1970s. Van performed all over the United States, most notably in California, New York, and Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1952 Van moved to Las Vegas, Nevada permanently and served as conductor of the house band at the Last Frontier Hotel. In 1952 Van married Joan Rodriguez, who was known professionally as Joan Manning. The couple met in Lake Tahoe, Nevada while Garwood was conducting the orchestra for Nat King Cole and Joan was performing as one of the back-up dancers. Prior to meeting Van, Joan had danced at a number of Las Vegas hotels including the El Rancho Vegas, the Last Frontier, the Silver Slipper, and Flamingo Hotel. Their son Gary was born in 1953, and Joan transitioned to modeling at various Las Vegas hotels. In 1954 Garwood opened the Pussy Cat a' Go-Go nightclub on The Strip, which featured a dance floor and rock and roll acts. He was also working as the entertainment director for the Castaways Hotel and Casino. In 1959 Garwood and Joan opened Musicworld, a musical instrument and record store. The store operated for twenty years until its closing in 1979.
Van was an active member of the Rotary Club, Las Vegas Better Business Bureau, Greater Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and the Las Vegas Variety Club. He and ran unsuccessfully for the Clark County Commission in 1974 and again in 1976. Garwood and Joan lived for many years at the Desert Inn Country Club before moving to the Las Vegas Country Club in the 1980s. Garwood passed away on April 1999, and Joan in November 2015. Their son Gary died in April 2009.
Source:
"Former Big Band Leader and Activist Dies," accessed September 16, 2018, https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/apr/28/former-big-band-leader-community-activist-van-dies/
"Joan Van Obituary," accessed September 16, 2018, http://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=joan-van&pid=176471809
Preferred Citation
Garwood and Joan Van Family Papers, 1920-2003. MS-000825. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2017 by Julie Von Tobel Gleason; accession number 2017-001.
Processing Note
A rough inventory of the accession was created by Maggie Bukowski and Tammi Kim in 2017. In 2018, Joyce Moore arranged the materials and revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.