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Leone, Frank
Frank Leone was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1940. He began playing the piano as a young child and by junior high school, Leone was participating in the school orchestra alongside Frankie Avalon. In high school he played piano in the symphony and joined Local 77 in Philadelphia in 1955 at the age of fifteen. While in Philadelphia, Leone started playing teenage dances as a member of a quintet and eventually began recording. Frank would earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Curtis Institute.
Person
Blue, Ivory H., II, 1973-
Ivory H. Blue II was born August 3, 1973 in the Women's Hospital in Nevada to Theresa Blue and Ivory Blue I. Blue has three sisters, Marian, Hope, and Katrina. Both of Blue's parents worked when he was a child. His mother worked throughout the Westside at restaurants and as a caregiver. His father Ivory Blue worked as a bailiff and later a civil engineer. Blue grew up in the Westside Projects in Las Vegas, Nevada. Blue went to grade school in Las Vegas and in the 1990s enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Person
Boag, Tina, 1940-
Tina Boag was born in New Your City, New York to Gabrielle Sirocky and Maghoub Hanafi. Her mother was born in Paris, France and worked as a dancer there. Her father was born in Port Said, Egypt and worked as a magician there. Tina moved to Las Vegas with her family as a teenager because of her father's magician career. She then left Las Vegas to continue her education. She returned to Las Vegas after a divorce and started working at Sands Hotel and Casino.
Person
Brown, Betty, 1941-
Betty Brown grew up in Westwood, California with foster parents. She moved to Las Vegas when a branch of Bank of America and United California Bank opened a few floors above the Sands Corporate offices. Betty was offered a job at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino as a genie in 1969.
Person
Ravetti, Joanne, 1947-
Joanne Ravetti was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Her family then moved to Pittsburgh. Jan has three sisters and an older brother; she is the second youngest child. Her parents owned a bar in Pittsburg, they also managed a hotel. Jan's family moved to Las Vegas on the request of her uncle who invited the family to move to Las Vegas so he could assist them financially.They arrived on August 12th 1963. Her family moved into the Paradise Palm area.
Person
Hansen, Lin (Ellen L.), 1934-
Lin Hansen was born on April 02, 1934 in Alamo, Nevada. Her parents were Benjamin Levi Brown and Zada Mae Bushnell. Her father was a farmer and her mother was a school teacher.
Person
Hanson, Bess
Bess Hanson was born in Laramie, Wyoming on July 28, 1918. Her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for Hanson's father's career with the Union Pacific Railroad. The family moved to Nevada in February of 1919, when Hanson was only six months old. Hanson was educated in Las Vegas and graduated from high school in Las Vegas in 1931. Hanson married Jack Hanson in 1941
Person
Harris, Otis
Otis R. Harris Jr. was born May 19, 1941 to Otis R. Harris Sr. and Florence Harris. In the early 1940s, after an argument with a white person, Otis Harris's father decided to relocate from Texas to California. During the trip west, he stopped in Las Vegas where they were hiring at the Basic Magnesium plant. Though he only worked there briefly, Las Vegas became home to the Harris family. In this interview, Otis talks about his father's hard working nature and being raised with seven siblings in Las Vegas.
Person
Harris, Tisha
Sylvia "Tisha" Harris was born on November 29, 1941 to Guy and Mae Fish of Princeton, New Jersey. She came to Las Vegas in 1963. Tisha married Otis Harris Jr. on July 31, 1965. Tisha worked in the Clark County School system for 29 years at the Westside School.
Person