Oral history interview with Ffolliott "Fluff" LeCoque conducted by Betty Rosental on March 03, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Fluff LeCoque discusses the first time she worked with black entertainers which was at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, the various black artists she worked with, segregation at the Las Vegas Strip, and her extensive career in the Las Vegas entertainment business.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ffolliott "Fluff" LeCoque conducted by Claytee D. White on September 24, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. LeCoque talks about working with the first line of black dancers in a Las Vegas, Nevada Strip production at the MGM Hotel (currently Bally’s Hotel and Casino).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Louise Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on June 19, 1998 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. In this interview Mary Louise Williams discusses her dance career, working at the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino, visiting Las Vegas, Nevada numerous times throughout her life, and why she retired in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Frederic Apcar conducted by Nancy Hardy on July 19, 2003 for the Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Apcar describes his birth and early life in Paris, France, his parents' divorce, working from a young age, and, at the age of sixteen learning to dance ballet and tap. He talks about his first dancing job at the Folies Bergere in Paris, going on tour for several years with Josephine Baker, and on his return to Paris, dancing with the Lido before signing a contract for a three-month job at the Copacabana in New York City, New York. He then discusses his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959, where he produced the Las Vegas Les Folies Bergere, Vive les Girls with Ron Lewis, and Casino de Paris. He also talks about Donn Arden as the other major show producer on the Strip during this period.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Estelle and Julia Elliott conducted by Vanessa Concepcion and Stefani Evans on December 2, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Twins Estrellita "Estelle" and Julieta "Julia" Elliott share their personal histories growing up in Cebu City, Philippines with their grandparents. They discuss moving to the United States to live with their parents after the death of their grandfather, and how they preserved their "tricultural" Castilian Spanish, Filipino, and American identities. After graduating from Stevens College, an art and academic school in Missouri, Estelle recounts marrying her husband and moving to Las Vegas where she gave birth to her daughter. Julia shares how she followed Estelle a few years later to Las Vegas, and the two women share their experiences as entertainers on the Las Vegas Strip. Both Estelle and Julia joined Minsky's Burlesque before becoming a permanent act in Siegfried and Roy's show at the Frontier Hotel. They also discuss their performances with Kirby VanBurch at the Aladdin's Abracadabra Show, dancing at the Playboy Mansion, and how Siegfried and Roy helped to diversify Las Vegas entertainment by incorporating dancers and performers of color, like the King Charles Troupe, into their shows.
Archival Collection