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Collins, Gene, 1943-
Gene Collins was born to Gertha and Isaac Collins in Lake Providence, Louisiana. Gene's mother relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950's with his sisters but Gene stayed in Louisiana with his grandparents until college and then migrated to Las Vegas in 1966. Gene and his family lived in West Las Vegas which at the time was a thriving community due to segregation on the Strip. Gene worked as an operator's engineer at the Nevada Test Site and later trained as an engineer.
Person
Marchese, Lamar, 1943-
Lamar Marchese was born December 11, 1943 in Tampa, Florida. Marchese and his wife, Patricia, graduated from the University of Southern Florida and relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1972.
Person
Lake-Eglington, Olive, 1895-1992
An early Las Vegas resident, Olive Lake-Eglington (neé Olive Lake) was born in 1895 in California. In 1904, she moved with her family from Ontario, California to Las Vegas, Nevada in a covered wagon. Eglington's father, Robert E. Lake, was a barber and was also involved in the early civic development of young Las Vegas, for which an elementary school was eventually named in his honor. Olive Lake graduated in the first Clark County High School class in 1913, and soon after married Earle Eglington, who had moved to Las Vegas in 1911.
Person
McQuary, Gail S.
Gail Spaulding Jaros was born on October 16, 1937, in Cicero, Illinois. a suburb of Chicago. Her father Jerry Jaros was a professional saxaphone player and her mother, Fern Spaulding Jarosm was a professional trombone player. Gail began tap and ballet lessons when she was five years old. She signed as a dancer with Moro-Landis Productions in 1956, and she worked for that company at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the Riverside Hotel and Casino in Reno, and the Beverly Hills Country Club in Covington, Kentucky.
Person
Haselton, Velma, 1914-2009
Velma Haselton was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1914. She worked as an assistant bookkeeper for Hart, Schaffner and Marx and rose to Assistant Credit Manager. Velma worked at various jobs after she married for the second time and her son was born. She also represented the San Francisco CPA firm Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery (now Coopers Lybrand) in various capacities, both in California and St. Louis, eventually attaining the position of controller.
Person
Apcar, Frederic, 1914-2008
Frederic Apcar transformed Las Vegas entertainment with his French style shows. Born in Paris, France on September 16, 1914, he trained in dance and became a chorus boy in “Folies Bergere.” After World War II, he formed an adagio act and performed at the “Lido de Paris.” He later expanded the production and brought it to the United States, appearing on the “Ed Sullivan Show” and in the “Folies Bergere” at the Tropicana. He then opened “Vive Les Girls” at the Dunes.
Person
Payne, Julia A., 1943-
Julia A. Payne was born in the 1940s in Santa Monica, California. Her parents had moved to southern California from Columbus, Ohio. After Julia graduated from high school in 1963, the family decided to move to Las Vegas where it was “less hectic.†Her father was one of the first African American athletic trainers for a professional football team. Her mother was swim team captain at Ohio State University and knew Dr. Ralph Bunche. For Julia, adjustment to Las Vegas was difficult. The city was not as diverse as Los Angeles.
Person
Den, the Pen
Las Vegas, Nevada native Dennis Lee Askew is a graduate of Valley High School. In the late 1940s his family moved to Las Vegas from Florida where they were involved in gambling operations. His father worked at the Sands Hotel for thirty years. As a young man, Dennis worked as a bus boy at the Sands, and later moved to southern California after his high school graduation. In the mid 1970s, Dennis led a successful rock band called Universe that played around southern California and Las Vegas. They disbanded and Dennis worked for Odyssey Records in Las Vegas.
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