The Maria LaCavera Papers (1947-2017) contain the papers of professional dancer Maria LaCavera. The collection documents the career of LaCavera dancing in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Flamingo Hotel in 1947, and the Last Frontier Hotel in 1949 as one of the Ramona Girls dancing in the Danny O'Neil Varieties Act. Materials include photographs of LaCavera and other Ramona Girls, newspaper clippings, correspondence, LaCavera's American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) employment contracts, Fabulous Las Vegas magazines, and hotel receipts. Other items of note include photographs of the 1949 Helldorado parade, a Frontier Hotel Ramona Room menu, and Frontier Hotel ephemera. There is also a copy of a self-published biography of LaCavera, written by her daughter-in-law Kristin Meyer entitled From Bon-Air to the Last Frontier. The collection also contains the digital images used to illustrate the book.
Archival Collection
The Maria Pogee Papers (1942-2019) document the life and career of Argentinian born dancer, choreographer, and actress, Maria Pogee. Pogee worked extensively in Argentina, Chile, Lebanon, around the United States and in Las Vegas, Nevada. Materials include press clippings, show programs, correspondence, and photographs representing Pogee's entertainment career such as her work in the stage production of
Archival Collection
The Patricia Craig Papers (approximately 1941-1989) contain photographs from Las Vegas, Nevada dancer and showgirl Patricia (Pat) Craig. The collection includes early photographs of her family, Craig as a young ballet dancer, and her high school diploma. The majority of the photographs of are Craig in costume on stage, candid photographs of her at home, and professional modeling shots. There are a small amount of newspaper clippings and magazines regarding Craig's appearances in Las Vegas shows, and her diploma from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Shirley Allen conducted by Nancy Hardy on June 21, 2003 for the Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Allen discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family and starting dancing professionally while attending university. Her first job was at the Riviera in 1964, working as a showgirl. She explains that the work was not difficult and they were not asked to do anything inappropriate, but they did have to pay for their own cocktail dresses and accessories. She also explains that she was a "covered dancer" in the beginning but by the late 1960s she had to "uncover" (work topless) to be employed. She then talks about working in Pzazz! '68 at the Stardust Resort Hotel and Casino, after auditioning for Fluff LeCoque, Donn Arden's company captain. She also talks about her impression of Miss Bluebell and Donn Arden. She spends some time talking about what life was like backstage, relations between the girls, and meeting celebrities, her first experience with topless dancing in Lido de Paris, and how the backstage dressing areas were assigned and the difficulty of fast changes between sets. Later, she talks about things that can go wrong, from forgeting choreography to the more serious issue of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that swept through the shows in the 1980s.
Archival Collection
The Alice Key Papers (1936-2004) consist of documents detailing Alice Key’s life and work in the African American community, historic preservation, and labor relations in Las Vegas, Nevada. Included in the collection are awards and certificates documenting Key’s achievements, invitations and programs to events, political and civic correspondence, and magazine and newspaper articles both about Key and written by her. The collection also contains photographs.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jim Kaufman and Larry Reeves conducted by Joyce Marshall on June 18, 1996 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this joint interview, Kaufman begins by talking about his start as a wardrobe dresser for Hollywood, California and Las Vegas, Nevada hotel-casino revues in the early 1970s. He relates a number of stories and comments on work, including the temporary nature and the potential safety hazards. Reeves starts to add his perspective as a "boy dancer" in the shows, and the two men continue trading stories and anecdotes about the small world of Las Vegas Strip revues.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dorothy and Don Tomlin conducted by Joyce Marshall on April 3, 2002 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. Don Tomlin relates his early life in Los Angeles, California, military service during World War II, returning to California and working as a bartender. He then talks about moving to Alaska and meeting Dorothy, who was there as choreographer and manager for her professional dance troupe. The couple then talk at length about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. Dorothy describes the long hours involved in running her dancers for the El Rancho Vegas Hotel showroom. Both talk about the hotel's owner Beldon Katleman and Don describes opening a men's clothing store near the Moulin Rouge Hotel, catering to both the Westside community and the professional bands that played at the hotels. Finally, the couple describe retiring to travel, buying a resort hotel in California and selling it after repeated flooding, returning to Las Vegas and settling down to help their son run his photography business.
Archival Collection
Oral history roundtable interviews with Jerry Jackson, Jillian Hrushowy, Dawnie Sachs, and Trenna Howard moderated by Su Kim Chung on May 17, 2015 for the Las Vegas Women in Gaming and Entertainment Oral History Project. The panel discusses their experiences working in Las Vegas productions including Folies Bergere and Lido de Paris as part of an opening event for the exhibit The French Connection: Lido de Paris and Folies Bergere in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Patrice Adams-Fauci conducted by Joyce Marshall on June 19, 1996 for the Las Vegas Women in Gaming and Entertainment Oral History Project. In this interview, Adams-Fauci relates how she traveled to the United States with the Bluebell Girls dance troupe in 1960. She continues talking about life as a dancer, how the rules of behavior and comportment differed in Europe, and how strange it was to see racial prejudice in the entertainment industry in the United States. She ends the interview by explaining that dancers had to quit once they married and how she returned to school and became an interior designer.
Archival Collection
The Opus Dance Ensemble of Las Vegas Collection (1988-1996) contains the newsletters and bi-annual concert programs for the Las Vegas, Nevada nonprofit dance organzation. The organization was comprised of dancers and choreographers from various leading Las Vegas production shows, and held bi-annual performances at the Tropicana Hotel.
Archival Collection