On February 28th, 1977, collector Clyde C. Caldwell interviewed Patrick P. Keenan (born January 24th, 1905 in New York) at his house in Henderson, Nevada. Mr. Keenan discusses Las Vegas and Henderson in the 1950s. He also speaks about working on the Strip and the changes he has seen in Las Vegas over time.
Harold Minsky and choreographer Jerry Norman meeting at the Silver Slipper. The Silver Slipper was a casino in Paradise, Nevada that operated from September 1950 to November 29, 1988. The building was designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr. The casino was built on the grounds of the Last Frontier Village of the Hotel Last Frontier, and was originally named the Golden Slipper Saloon and Gambling Hall. On April 30, 1968, the Silver Slipper was purchased by businessman Howard Hughes for $5.4 million in his famous spending spree of buying Vegas properties, which included the Frontier next door. The casino was purchased for $70 million on June 23, 1988 by Margaret Elardi, who by this time owned the Frontier. It was demolished several months later and turned into a parking lot for the Frontier until its closing and demolition in 2007. In 2009, the Silver Slipper sign was restored and is now part of a display of vintage signs in the median along Las Vegas Boulevard North. Site Name: Silver Slipper (Las Vegas, Nev.) Street Address: 3100 South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson and his wife Bonnie wave from a convertible in a parade on Fremont Street at night. They are passing under a rope decorated with garland and paper cartoon railroad cars. Behind their car is the St. James C. Y. Marching Band. Neon signs for several business are visible in the background, including Franklins, Michael's Quality Shoes, Thrifty Drug Store, and part of the Golden Nugget Gambling Hall sign. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor.
On March 3, 1977, Richard Strahan interviewed Phillip L. Cook (born 1939 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about his life in Southern Nevada. Cook first talks about his parents’ move to Nevada and then describes how the school system has changed over time. He then describes the first businesses that opened up in the Downtown and Strip areas in Las Vegas before discussing prostitution, Block 16, and recreational activities available to youth. Cook also talks about the first television sets and telephone systems made available, and he moves on to talk about the prices of things such as movies and haircuts when he was younger. The interview then moves to discussions on the Old Ranch, racial discrimination, school integration, the crime rate, and the school system in Las Vegas.
The MGM Mirage Records on Mandalay Resort Group consists of materials from Mandalay Resort Group’s office of public relations and community affairs records, which was closed after Mandalay’s corporate merger with MGM Mirage in 2005. The files, dating from 1968 to 2005, provide documentation of Mandalay Resort Group’s external affairs and internal operations. They contain subject files, photographs, negatives, slides, correspondence, VHS tapes, corporate publications, press releases, press kits, wholesale room agreements, hotel ephemera, employee newsletters, and press clippings. Of particular interest are files and photographs documenting the planning, development, construction, and opening of the Mandalay Resort Group properties.
The Howard Hughes Public Relations Reference Files (1931-1997) were compiled by Richard "Dick" Hannah, vice-president of the Los Angeles public relations firm Carl Byoir & Associates, which was hired to direct public relations for Hughes’ companies. The collection is primarily composed of newspaper clippings organized into reference files. A significant number of the files contain articles about Howard Hughes’ personal life, the operations of his companies, and legal and political disputes involving Hughes and his companies. The files also document a range of other subjects related to his business ventures, including aviation, aerospace, defense industries, motion picture studios, film stars, communism in Hollywood, and the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Later in life Hughes became obsessed with how he was being portrayed in the media. In addition to collecting magazine articles, newspaper clippings, transcripts, screenplays, and books that referenced him. He also collected newspaper clippings about the activities of print media outlets, columnists, radio-television stations, current and former employees, and competitors. The collection also contains newspaper clippings about Watergate, organized crime, gambling, and Las Vegas and contains press releases, correspondence and records generated by Carl Byoir & Associates as well as Rosemont Enterprise, Inc.
The Riviera Hotel & Casino Publicity Collection and Architectural Records (1950s-2015) are comprised of entertainment, publicity and marketing files, and architectural drawings from the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The records include publicity photographs and videotapes, press kits, and information about various entertainers who appeared at the Riviera,publicity, promotional material, and newspaper clippings about events, and publicity photographs of restaurant and club venues within the hotel. Also included is information about the Riviera's longest running shows, Splash, La Cage, and Crazy Girls.
Oral history interview with Anna Bailey conducted by Claytee White on March 03, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Bailey opens her interview by describing her early life, family, and dance training. She discusses moving to Los Angeles, California at age fifteen, her first dancing gigs, and touring in London, England. She also talks about her experiences as an African American dancer including issues with segregation while touring in the southern United States. Bailey then discusses her life in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s, and working as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge. She describes the club, the other dancers that performed there, and how the African American community felt when the club closed. Bailey then discusses how her husband and the entertainers Josephine Baker and Frank Sinatra helped integrate Las Vegas. She ends her interview by describing the last hotel she danced at, the Flamingo, where she performed in an integrated dance line.