Oral history interview with DeeDee Jasmin conducted by Claytee White on March 19, 1998 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Jasmin opens the interview discussing her life growing up on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. Jasmin goes on to discuss her pursuit of a dance career as a youth. Jasmin got her first big break playing in the comedy musical Sugar Hill and after her high school years she starred in movies before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955. Jasmin describes her excitement meeting East Coast dancers during her stay in Las Vegas. Jasmin also discusses her interactions with the many famous actors, dancers, singers, and musicians she met during her career.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Leon Green conducted by Claytee D. White on May 15, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Green discusses his personal history and growing up in West Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about the African American community on the Westside, his educational experiences, and being involved in various church activities. Green describes the significance of spirituality in the African American community and how the Westside was deeply spiritual. He then talks about Westside community leaders Bishop C. C. Cox and Reverend Bennett, rioting on the Westside, and the community response to the changing racial climate. Lastly, Green discusses the growth and increase of businesses on the Westside.
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Oral history interview with David Pearl conducted by Joseph A. Hawk on March 14, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Pearl begins by describing life in Las Vegas, Nevada and how it has changed since the 1940s. Pearl discusses his history organizing community sports events, as well as organizing a game with the national Russian basketball team and other exhibition events for American sports teams. He then talks about his career as the executive director of the Runnin' Rebels Club at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and how he raised money for the athletics department. Pearl also talks about his other jobs, his interest in athletics, being a referee for boxing matches, and the Helldorado Parades.
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Oral history interview with D. Taylor conducted by Claytee White on July 25, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Taylor recalls the 1984 Culinary Workers Union Local 226 citywide strike for improved health coverage for employees. He also talks about the history of the labor union, its leadership, and the union representative structure giving a larger voice to the racially diverse workforce in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James Walker conducted by Larmaya Kilgore on November 14, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Walker discusses his personal history and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s. He talks about his employment at the Fremont Hotel in 1966 and working on the Las Vegas Strip the following year. Walker recalls the African American experience working on casino floors, facing discrimination, and the process of integration in schools. He then describes the jobs given to African Americans at the casinos, being unable to live in certain areas of the city, and the increase of African American workers in construction. Lastly, Walker discusses his ownership of the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino, casino licensing, and the increase of businesses in West Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Emilio Muscelli conducted by Claytee D. White on November 25, 2008 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Muscelli discusses his life in Italy, coming to America in 1948, and working at the Copacabana nightclub in New York. He also discusses his boss there, Jack Entratter, who brought him to Las Vegas, Nevada when he opened the Sands Hotel and Casino in 1952. Muscelli then discusses working as a maitre d' for many years at the Sands and becoming friends with Bobby Darren, Cary Grant, and many other celebrities.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Richard Bryan conducted by Claytee D. White on November 30, 2017 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Bryan discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He recalls attending Fifth Street Grammar School and Las Vegas High School. Bryan talks about the Helldorado Parade, his father’s employment at Basic Magnesium Incorporated, and attending the University of Nevada, Reno. He recalls going to law school, becoming a district attorney, being elected a Nevada State Senator, and serving as the Nevada Attorney General. Lastly, Bryan discusses his reason for attending law school and pursuing a career in law.
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Oral history interview with Barbara Mowry conducted by Jon Sedlacek on February 16, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Mowry describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada from California in 1949 to get a divorce, before remarrying and entering into the restaurant business with her new husband. Mowry discusses buying an established restaurant, the Villa Venice, with her husband, and the eventual fire that would destroy the restaurant in 1952. Mowry describes running the restaurant, the different kinds of recreation in Las Vegas during the 1950s, and how Las Vegas has changed since she moved there. Mowry also discusses the prejudice against African Americans in Las Vegas, and how her husband would have to let in African American performers such as Sammy Davis Jr. or Pearl Bailey through the back door of their restaurant.
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Oral history interview with Herb McDonald conducted by Perry Kaufman on an unknown date in 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In the interview, Herbert Cobb McDonald discusses his work as a managing director and chamber director at Las Vegas, Nevada hotels and casinos including the El Rancho Vegas and the Last Frontier Hotel. McDonald also discusses his experiences promoting tourism through conventions, the Las Vegas News Bureau, celebrity advertisements, and the first sporting events held in casinos.
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Oral history interview with Goldie Spicer conducted by Elmer Herren on February 12, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Spicer discusses working as a cocktail waitress. She also talks about the boom that Las Vegas, Nevada went through when the first casinos were being built, and when the construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam occurred. She discusses El Rancho, Twin Lakes, and the Taylor Ranch.
Archival Collection