Oral history interview with Fluff LeCoque conducted by Joyce Marshall on May 05, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. LeCoque discusses the history of Las Vegas, Nevada’s entertainment industry. LeCoque recalls her dance experience in Las Vegas including work at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, and performing as a principal dancer for Arden-Fletcher Productions at the Desert Inn. LeCoque retired from dancing in 1970 but recalls being lured out of retirement by Donn Arden to become company manager of Jubilee at the new MGM Grand Hotel (later renamed Bally's). Finally, she talks about the economic, social, and political changes that occurred in Las Vegas after World War II.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Judith Lee Johnson Jones conducted by Claytee D. White on February 22, 2007 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Johnson Jones discusses winning a contest that allowed her to be a showgirl at the Sands Hotel and Casino when she was seventeen, receiving a college degree in Houston, Texas, and performing in the Elvis movie “Viva Las Vegas.” She also talks about her twenty-nine-year career in education.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Raya Meron conducted by Claytee D. White on July 14, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Meron discusses her upbringing in Israel, moving to Istanbul with her husband, and immigrating to Canada after their divorce. Meron also talks about her career as a showgirl in Las Vegas, Nevada, including being in the Vive les Girls road show in 1965. She then discusses her involvement in helping Cambodian refugees.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Judith Ann Allaire conducted by Tracye Ann Collins on March 10, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Allaire discusses her education, growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and politics in Nevada. Allaire also discusses the various job titles she has held, such as medical social worker, secretary, cocktail waitress, drug counselor, dancer, and teacher.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Jillian Hrushowy conducted by Joyce Marshall on October 11, 1995 and October 26, 1995 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. In this interview, Hrushowy describes her dance career, which started in Paris, France. Hrushowy then goes on to describe how her career moved her to Las Vegas, Nevada and the shows she performed in. Further, Hrushowy describes her performance schedule and experiences as a young dancer. Lastly Hrushowy discusses recreation activities in Las Vegas in the 1960s and 1970s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Leo conducted by Rafael Reyes-Spindola on February 27, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Mary Susanne Kaime Leo moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952. In the interview, Leo discusses community interactions during her childhood, as well as her employment with the Tropicana Las Vegas and the Riviera Hotel & Casino in the restaurant and sales departments. She also discusses the lifestyles of showgirls she interacted with.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Aquiles Garcia conducted by Claytee D. White on January 10 and February 20, 2015 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Garcia discusses the political atmosphere and risks of being gay in Juan Perón’s Argentina in the 1940s, Las Vegas, Nevada life in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and his dual Las Vegas careers as a dancer and a casino dealer throughout the second half of the twentieth century.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Audrey Taylor Henry conducted by Claytee D. White on February 26, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview Audrey Henry discusses her early childhood, going to the prestigious New York School of Performing Arts, and becoming a dancer. She then talks about dancing around the world and in Las Vegas, Nevada. She also discusses having to leave dance to have more time with her family, becoming an on-air radio personality, and earning her undergraduate and master's degrees.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Marjorie Pierce conducted by Andres Moses on January 17, 2006 for the Living to Dance: Tapping in Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Pierce discusses her early life in Kansas City, Missouri and becoming a dancer at a young age. She talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1951, performing at the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino and the Dunes Hotel and Casino, and being cast in the musical
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Irene Tabor conducted by Claytee D. White on July 03, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods: an Oral History Project of Ward 1. In this interview, Tabor discusses growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii, her father’s employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947. She talks about being a teenager in Las Vegas, attending Las Vegas High School, and the businesses on Fifth Street. Tabor recalls her employment at the Dunes Hotel and Casino as a wardrobe artist for showgirls. Lastly, Tabor discusses activities she participated in as part of the Girl Scouts, her involvement in the sorority Beta Sigma Phi, and changes in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection