This interview is compiled in the bound book version for OH-02270. Born Ffolliott Chorlton in Butte, Montana in 1923, Fluff Le Coque embarked on a career during World War II that would span fifty-five years. Le Coque’s experience as an entertainer started at the age of seven when she began dance lessons during the Great Depression. She expanded her interest in show business at the University of Washington. Attending on a drama scholarship, she performed in theatrical productions and supplemented the scholarship by teaching coordination to university athletes through dance. Le Coque toured as a dancer in a road company during World War II. After the war she came to Las Vegas for the first time. Although she did not consider herself a singer, she performed as a vocalist with the Chuck Gould Orchestra at the Last Frontier. After a brief excursion to Hollywood, she returned to Las Vegas to work at the Thunderbird Hotel as a dancer. It was at the Thunderbird that she became part of the glamour publicity that would help shape the image of Las Vegas. Crowned “Miss Thunderbird,” Le Coque took part in publicity photo shoots designed to attract vacationing customers to the Las Vegas resort casino. While performing at the Thunderbird, Le Coque learned of an opportunity to showcase her talents in a wider arena. She joined a touring company that was preparing to take the production of Hollywood Extravangza to Europe. In Paris, Le Coque took on additional responsibilities in the production end of the business. She served the Hollywood Extravaganza as principal dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistress. On her return to New York, she firmed up her career-long relationship with producers Donn Arden and Ron Fletcher. Le Coque’s association with Arden-Fletcher Productions proved beneficial for an already successful career. She performed as principal dancer for Arden and Fletcher beginning with a six-month engagement at the Lookout House in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the late 1950s Arden wanted her to return to Las Vegas and she accepted immediately. The Las Vegas Desert Inn opened a newly remodeled showroom with Fluff Le Coque as a featured principal dancer. Arden-Fletcher Productions kept a number of performers busy throughout the United States from California to New York. Le Coque, now a valued talent, appeared in the Arden-Fletcher production at the Moulin Rouge in Hollywood. She worked there as company captain and principal dancer for ten years. Following her extended engagement at the Moulin Rouge, she toured the United States and Europe before returning to Las Vegas for good in the late 1960s. Arden again asked her to open a renovated showroom at the Desert Inn and again she agreed. This time Le Coque made Las Vegas her permanent home. She danced until she was forty-five years old and during the later years worked both sides of the stage, as company manager and dancer. Fluff Le Coque retired from dancing in 1970 to enjoy leisure activities and volunteer work. She learned to paint and served as publicity director of the Las Vegas Art Museum. She was wooed out of retirement by Donn Arden, to become company manager of the production show at the new MGM Grand Hotel [later reopened as Bally’s]. At the time of the interview, Le Coque continued to serve as company manager for Jubilee at Bally’s Hotel & Casino. Le Coque’s narrative provides a vivid account of the history of the Las Vegas entertainment industry. In addition to the organization of club circuits during the post-war years, the narrative provides clues about white-black relations during the era. It also informs a wider historical context. Post-war American society underwent significant changes economically, politically, and socially. Expanded work opportunities for women were among those changes. Le Coque’s choice to complete a college education during the 1940s was atypical. Her successful dancing career and later move into production management provides an example of career achievement decades ealier than the majority of American women. By extending her career as a dancer into her forty-fifth year, she resisted the evolving publicity hype that only an ingenue could be a dancer. Her narrative provides a compelling description of both the glamour and physical demands associated with the Las Vegas entertainment industry.
Cleveland A. Earle Rinker was born in Indiana in 1883 to S. Cleveland Rinker and Isadora (Fenwick) Rinker. Shortly after his twentieth birthday Rinker went to Parker, Indiana, seeking work as a stenographer. He soon began working as a clerk for Thomas Condon, a coal and oil dealer who was also an enthusiastic investor in Nevada gold mines. Condon encouraged Rinker to seek his fortune in the gold fields and, in late October of 1906, Rinker boarded a train to make the journey to Goldfield, Nevada.
This photograph has three images. The first one (0272_0040) reads, "Early morning on grave-yard shift, day shift coming on, notice lunch boxes. Hardway Johnnie (John Armitage) the graveyard Asst. Super. Coming down to see why they are slow getting to their jobs - that's me right behind him." "The men nicknamed me Hardway Jr. I relayed his orders. He had a hard time walking those 2x12 boards on top of the forms - they did install rails later, as you can see, but didn't weather the rough treatment - (xx) elevator shaft." "I got a lot of learning under John Armitage. He sent me to relieve on so many different jobs. Had clean up crew for three months - also I ran the pours with #5 hi-line until it could reach the dam no more, with the angle it sat. Tied steel on intake towers two nights." "Most fearful job was relief hook tender on the stiffleg. The job was situated on a pad on the upstream face of the dam, about level with the low-mix trusel, with just enough room for two of the 8 yd. buckets - the stiffleg would leave a bucket of mud - pick an empty one - No.6 hi-line would leave and empty one and pick up the empty. The men stood as flat as they could - during the exchange with the bucket down. The men would grab the swinging steel cables in one hand, the 12 pound hook that felt like 50 pounds. Place cable on eye in bucket, then twist hook down and slam in place - no guard rails." The second one (0272_0041) reads "Intake towers growing. The bottom of the picture shows a finished pour - it must cure for 12 hours in the hot weather, and 48 hours, cold weather - 300 ft. down if you step off the end of this panel (see arrow)," as a handwritten inscription. The third one (0272_0042) reads "The morning after my first night of work, with Dickey" (dog).
Sign animation: Chasing, flashing, oscillating Notes: The logo cabinets which adorn the entrances on the elevated walkways: The letters start with both rows of text in the off position. The top row flashes on, while the bottom row is dark then the bottom row illuminates, as the top row goes dark. Once the top row flashes off it flashes back on so that both rows of text are briefly illuminated simultaneously before they both go dark and the sequence stars over again. While this is going on the incandescent bulbs which line all of the raceways are chasing each other from left to right on the horizontal planes, while the arched sections chase each other downward. The triangular peaks which radiate around the top of the logo sign, flash on and off in a sequence which chase each other downward. First the top center peak flashes on, then the next sequential triangular channel on both sides illuminate simultaneously, flash off, then the next two in the series illuminate. The resultant effect is a chasing pattern starting from the top. The sister animation is located on almost the exact same design on the porte cochere. I would think the previous smaller sign would be based on the larger porte cochere. The other variance besides obvious size difference is the that the channel letters are filled with incandescent bulbs instead of neon. The animation is a bit simpler as well. The incandescent bulbs oscillate continuously while the triangular pan channels which create the radiating crown, animate. The neon in the channels chase each other as described in the smaller walk way version, while the text continues until the entire text flashes off, then on, off, then begin to animate once again. All of the bulbs, which line the raceways of the exterior edge of the porte cochere, as well as the encrustation of bulbs on the brass bull nose portion, animate in rapid succession. All the raceway bulbs chase each other while the bulbs on the brass portion continually oscillate. Animation continues on the east face of the building with the entrances first. The principle for these two signs is oscillation and chasing. All bulbs on the underside of the entrance, as well as in the logo, oscillate rapidly. All bulbs on the raceways chase each other. Further on the surface of the building as well, the Pepsi cola wall sign is found displaying a very unique form of animation, seen here on the strip. The signage for the Pepsi ad is located on the eastern wall. (Detailed in specific description) The Incandescent bulbs which fill the inside of the text that spells Pepsi, chase each other from left to right, leaving all the bulbs in its path illuminated, as if writing out the word Pepsi. The neon bars located within the tilted bottle of Pepsi are illuminated, and chase each other downward, leaving the bars it its path dark. As this sequence in taking place, the waving tubes of neon illuminate, flashed subtly making the neon appear as soda pouring out of the bottle. As the tubing flows then the vertical neon bars in the cup illuminate one at a time making the cup appear as if it is filling up. The text above each of the painted fires head, flashes back and forth as if talking to each other as well. ESPN ZONE animation: The letters in the vertical blade portion of the ESPN Zone illuminate one at a time, starting from the top. Once the entire phrase is lit, in flashes off then on then off, before restating. The orange and red neon tubing which resides inside the pan channels that represent flames flash on and off in a relaxed manner as if to animate the flickering of the flames. The small incandescent bulbs on the black portions above the main matrix reader board flash on and off subtly. Sign keywords: Neon; Backlit