Search Results
Borders, Myram: video interview and transcript, 2003 to 2005
Level of Description
Archival Collection
Collection Name: The Story of Classic Las Vegas Oral History Interviews
Box/Folder: Digital File 00
Archival Component
Martinez, Jose Leonardo, 1971-
For Leonardo Martinez, the United States was never meant to be a destination—it was merely a short stop along the way as he awaited the day he could safely return to his family in El Salvador. Now a man who embraces the occasional Big Mac from McDonalds but never turns away a Salvadoran pupusa, Leonardo has embraced both places as home with memories that took him from his humble upbringings in Santa Lucía to the bright lights of the city of Las Vegas.
Person
Transcript of interview with Roberta Kane by Barbara Tabach, September 6, 2017 and May 22, 2018
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Roberta “Bobbie” Kane (1932 - ) is the first known Jewish child born in Las Vegas. Her parents, Sallie and Mike Gordon, were liquor stores owners and among the founders of the first Jewish congregation in Las Vegas. Bobbie’s childhood remembrances are as a young girl who was fully aware that “Friday nights were reserved for religious services. Saturdays were always reserved for gin rummy.” In the late 1940s, as a teenager at Las Vegas High School (and 1950 graduate), Bobbie recalls Las Vegas as a small town and a joyful place to grow up. She briefly attended University of Southern California before marrying and beginning her family. In time, life brought her back to live with her parents. She pursued a career working for the Desert Inn group of hotels and helped open the Stardust in 1957. She was mentored by Mark Swain, “a six foot-four hunk of a cowboy” who worked for Moe Dalitz. This experience included driving Mark’s pink Cadillac to pick up hotel guests. This provided her with a
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Transcript of interview with Ellis Landau by Barbara Tabach, November 28, 2017
Date
Archival Collection
Description
In 1990, Las Vegas became home to Ellis Landau and his attorney wife, Yvette. They moved from Phoenix, Arizona when Ellis accepted a position as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with Boyd Gaming. The relocation also included a desire to become active in the local community. Temple Beth Sholom was one of their first connections. For Ellis the Jewish community of a newer city like Las Vegas differed immensely from his childhood upbringing in a more ethnic Jewish community outside Philadelphia. Nevertheless, Ellis soon became active on the Temple Beth Sholom board, and is a past Treasurer and President. The couple are among the founders of the Warsaw Memorial Garden at the synagogue. In 2006, Ellis was honored as Temple Beth Sholom’s “Man of the Year.” The Landaus have been significantly involved with other local organizations such as Nathan Adelson Hospice and the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Ellis’s dedication to the Anti-defamation League, both on a local and regional level, is a beacon of inspiration to others. The Landaus are sponsors of ADL’s “No Place for Hate” program. Ellis is a graduate of Brandeis University in economics and has a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University School of Business. His former career steps include Ramada Inc. and U-Haul Corporation.
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McCracken, Richard G.
Richard McCracken was born August 21, 1949 and was raised in San Jose, California in a family of farmers. He went to college at the University of California, Los Angeles, but graduated from Berkeley University in 1974. During this time, he married his wife, Marjorie, on July 7, 1972. McCracken moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1974 and started his career as a lawyer.
Person
Clark, Helen M., 1921-2009
Helen M. Clark was born in July 1921 in Memphis, Tennessee. In her lifetime she has been a stenographer, real estate secretary, real estate agent, and a cashier. In this interview she discusses why she moved to Las Vegas with her family and why she was homeschooled, and then discusses her life in Las Vegas during the Great Depression, prostition, and the mob influence.
Person
Henley, Larry, 1957-
Larry Henley was born in Portland, Oregon in 1957. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973. He enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1975 and recieved his theatre degree in 1980. He was part of the stage crew at UNLV and segued into a profesional staff position in 1988. As of May 23, 2007 he is the director of artistic programming and production at the Performing Arts Center.
Person