Search the Special Collections and Archives Portal
Search Results
Phipps, Christopher, 1959-
Chris Phipps was born November 1, 1959 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was homeschooled until the age of 12, when he went to boarding school in New England. After graduating high school in 1977, he moved to California and came out as gay. Phipps stopped attending college for a few years to regain his social life, but he returned and received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Utah in 1986.
Person
Rosencrantz, Arne, 1947-
Arne Rosencrantz was born on September 27, 1947 in Longview, Washington. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952 and graduated from Las Vegas High School. He grew up in the dense Mormon population of the John S. Park Neighborhood. Rosencrantz attended Nevada Southern University, now known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In 1967, Rosencrantz began working at Garrett's Furniture and in 1979, he purchased the company and became its president.
Person
Vandersnick, Ralph, 1927-
Ralph Vandersnick was born March 16, 1927 in Annawan, Illinois, a small town that was 150 miles from Chicago, Illinois. His mother died when he was five, and his family moved to Atkinson, Illinois in 1934. He grew up in the Great Depression and was drafted into World War II when he was 17, missing high school graduation by a year.
Person
Weil, Aubrey Bud
Aubrey “Bud” Weil was born in Los Angeles, California. He worked as a disc jockey in Mexico after serving in the military during World War II. In 1947, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to work at KLAS, but his search landed him at KENO, a radio station owned by Max and Laura Belle Kelch. Weil’s show afforded him entry to stars performing in town, including Sophie Tucker, Sammy Davis, Jack Benny, The Mills Brother, Rosemary Clooney, Leno Horne, Joey Lewis and many other.
Person
Bellis, Bob, 1966-
Bob Bellis was born November 20, 1966 in Parma, Ohio. At the age of one, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with his parents. Then at nine years old he and his family moved to Pahrump, Nevada. Bellis moved back to Las Vegas after graduating high school. He headed the creation of the John S. Park Neighborhood Association in 2000.
Person
Fried, Joni, 1955-
Joni Fried was born November 09, 1955 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her parents, Milton and Esther Fried, owned Freed’s Bakery. She grew up in Paradise Palms and became one of the third-generation owners of her parents’ bakery.
Joni is married to Fred Jones. They have two children: Matthew Scott Eichenfield and Sarah Charlotte O'Briant-Fried.
Person
Robinson, Lyn, 1978-
Lyn Robinson was born January 16, 1978 in Florida. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999 and became a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She was an art major with a concentration on photography. Robinson also had a deep appreciation of the horror of the Holocaust and what the survivors she would take photos of had endured. This began a two year project, during which she took photos of over sixty survivors. Robinson’s images were displayed at the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center.
Person
Epstein, Kenny, 1941-
Kenneth Epstein was born in 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. When he was 15 years old, Epstein’s family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Three years later, he began to work in the gaming industry. His mentor was Jackie Gaughan, then-owner of the El Cortez Hotel and Casino, whom he met in Lake Tahoe in 1956. In 1975, Epstein became Gaughan’s business partner in the operation of the El Cortez. He also helped Gaughan and his son open the Barbary Coast on the Las Vegas Strip in 1979.
Person