Rhinestones and Dreams
“She floats across the stage draped in sequins and dreams, her spirit brighter then her dazzling rhinestones”
This week, I discussed the first show in Las Vegas, which made an impression on me. It started when I was five when my parents visited the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1959. Little did I know when I was five years old, in the future, I would be working with these gorgeous showgirls from the Follies Bergère show. Next week, I will elaborate on the Jubilee show, which I starred in along with my ex-husband Jonathan. All of this is material for my soon-to-be-published radio program, What Stays In Vegas on KIYQ, 107.1 on the dial in Las Vegas, to begin airing later this month or early next month. Frank Sinatra overwhelmingly won the poll. After I lay out some history, I will discuss it with him in my third program. I hope you enjoy this series and the richness I hope it provides.
Laying on the coffee table was a brochure showing a fantastic woman dressed in rhinestones and colorful feathers, and she appeared to my five-year-old mind as a mystical being from another world. From another galaxy, a place I wanted to go. She was the most beautiful lady, and I was mesmerized by the glitter, sparkle, and smile. Who was she? How do I get there? In our living room, my parents readied for a trip far away to a place called the desert in the town of Las Vegas, Nevada. As I looked through the brochure, searching the pictures of Las Vegas, my eyes stopped on one showing a vast expanse of landscape of earthy and red tones of brown, tan, ochre, and rusty red against the clear blue sky, giving serenity to the earth, which went on as far as your eye could see. Mountains came up from the floor, showing off rainbows of those same color tones. In the middle of the valley was a welcoming oasis, and the little green seen provided a refreshing contrast to the brownness and added a sense of energy and vitality to an otherwise barren landscape. It was a world away from my rustic, tiny coastal town of Templeton, California, where we lived in the green hills and where coastal mountains meet the ocean. Looking at this picture of the desert, I couldn't imagine how long my parents would be gone. It was the place where you could find that beautiful lady. Far, far away in my five-year-old mind. Off they went in the year 1959 for an unforgettable romantic adventure to the bustling desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada, to stay at the luxurious Tropicana Hotel and Casino to see the Grand Opening of the much talked about show, The Folies Bergere featuring some of the most beautiful showgirls from Paris including Blue Bell girls kicking their legs high performing the can-can, dancing around the headline entertainers adding much razzle and dazzle to the overall production. Waving goodbye, I watched my parents go down the road until they vanished, headed for the desert.
Nevada is a place described by Mark Twain as a unique, incomparable landscape that stands apart from any other place on Earth. “The desert... could not be mistaken for any other part of the globe; there was nothing in all the world to resemble it...” What I saw the first time I drove through Nevada was the untamed wilderness surrounding me. This is where Mom and Dad were going. A harsh and unforgiving terrain that had to have posed challenges to those traversing its arid expanses on horseback. In northern Nevada, The Donner Party had to have been delighted when they left the harsh desert— leaving those challenges behind in search of a brighter future, only to discover their longing for the promised land of California wasn't to be found in the refuge of The Sierra Nevadas that beckoned them closer. Where the Sierra Nevadas meet, the desert is where hope and despair collide. They must have seen the mountains the same way John Muir described in his book The Mountains of California by praising the glorious Sierra Nevadas, writing about their towering high peaks, alpine lakes, breathtaking landscapes, and the spiritual significance of the beauty. Muir said, “Then it seemed to me the Sierra should be called not the Nevada, or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light. And After ten years spent in the heart of it, rejoicing and wondering, bathing in its glorious floods of light, seeing the sunbursts of morning among the icy peaks, the noonday radiance on the trees and rocks and snow, the flush of the alpenglow, and a thousand dashing waterfalls with their marvelous abundance of irised spray, it still seems to me above all others the Range of Light, the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain-chains I have ever seen.” It’s incredible beauty caused Mark Twain to say, “The air up there in the clouds is pure and refined. It is bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? It is the same the angels breathe.“
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I’ve spent much time in Lake Tahoe and Reno, and I live at the base of the range near Sequoia National Park and Giant Redwood Forest. I can attest to the angelic, intoxicating effect caused by breathing in that magical air. I can also attest to the rough, craggy landscape when you exit the desert's harsh ruggedness and enter the Sierra Nevadas's eastern foothills. You look up at those peaks and feel like you are floating up to heaven. But the mountains are deceptive, so the Donner Party didn't recognize the signs of the trap ahead of their journey. With its craggy peaks, it’s difficult to negotiate in the summer, let alone during the winter, where the highest snowfall recorded is 60 feet, and it's a delayed landscape in the winter. The Donners were only 60 miles or less from crossing to the west side of the mountains when they were snowbound by some say 30 feet of snow. Of course, my parents didn’t face those hardships during their easy drive on a modern, well-paved freeway traveling through the southern high desert, stopping at places like Barstow and Baker for food, rest, and gas. After leaving Baker, climbing the last mountain grade before descending into the Vegas Valley, where Vegas sat like a gleaming desert jewel, enticing them to the enchanting oasis, where the luxurious Tropicana Hotel was their destination.
Let me fill in some history. The untamed wilderness of Nevada is where the Devil set up shop (according to some people), with gambling and the skin industries playing prominently since the beginning. Those were the early days. Days when tough men and women left the safety of the developed East to the untamed West, attracted mainly by the promise of getting rich from mining, the most famous mine was located in Virginia City, a city said to once be more significant than San Fransisco during Comstock Lode days making people wealthy by mining the richest silver mine in the United States during the mid-1800s. When mining dried up, most moved on, leaving ghost towns throughout Nevada, including Virginia City. The towns that survived the exodus are now quaint western towns that look like they are out of an old Western movie. Places like Goldfield, population 211, still thrive due mainly to tourism and gambling. Esmeralda County is not too far, so you see a bright red light in the distance when driving. Getting closer, you discover it’s the famous prostitution house called Chicken Ranch. There is no general pit stop here. Lol! But I passed it many times, driving back and forth between Lake Tahoe/Reno and Las Vegas. Vegas Valley is a little different from the rest of Nevada surrounding it. Early New Mexican traders going to Los Angeles discovered the artesian springs in the area and stopped for respite in the abundant valley, naming it Las Vegas. Later, the Mormons came and sold the land to a railroad company, which attracted a population of about 3,000. But it wasn't until 1931 that the future of Las Vegas changed forever. The building of Hoover Dam nearby brought thousands of residents. Gambling was legalized and got money to the city and, with it, organized crime. Those running the mob foresaw the future for Las Vegas, where the rich and famous came to stay by the lush poolside gardens and dressed to the nines at night to eat at the restaurants and enjoy the nightclubs and shows. The El Rancho was the first in 1941 to open its doors, followed by other casinos, including The Flamingo in 1946 by mobster Bubsy Siegel and backed by East Coast Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky’s Mexican drug money. It was a stylish resort attracting Hollywood crowds. The "crème de la crème” of talent was booked for its lounges, and the showgirls followed. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, the Sahara, the Sands, the New Frontier, and the Riviera arrived, bringing headliners performers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Elvis Presley to its clubs, attracting crowds of tourists to its rows of slot machines and gaming tables.
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In 1957, the Tropicana Las Vegas, known as “the Tiffany of the Strip" (a reference to the famous jeweler), opened its doors, and celebrities flocked to this new lavish resort. Lou Walters, the father of journalist Barbara Walters and entertainment director of the Tropicana, imported the Folies Bergère from Paris and its entire cast and creative team to reinforce the luxury. Lights, music, It’s Showtime! The curtain opened, and the Fountain Theater stage was a whirlwind of feathers, sequins, and rhinestones dancing on the stage, symbolic of a Parisian cabaret. The longest-running and possibly the greatest revue show in Las Vegas opened to a packed house in 1959. My parents were in the audience, eating dinner, smoking cigarettes, and sipping cocktails with the other 400-plus audience members. They saw these legendary beauties, sometimes 10 feet tall, adorned with feathers and high heels. They epitomized the magnificence, grandeur, and larger-than-life presence portrayed by this swanky gambling town. It's more Hollywood than Deadwood. The glamorous costumes embellished with shimmering Parisian crystals and luxurious fur radiated elegance and style. They became the city's symbol, and their iconic vital role helped establish Las Vegas as the World Entertainment Capital. It closed in 2009, and the Tropicana Hotel is scheduled for demolition soon to make space for the Oakland A’s new 9-acre ballpark seating 33,000.
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My history of being surrounded by gorgeous showgirls began in the late 70s at a casino in Wendover, Nevada, a tiny community in northern Nevada located on Interstate 80 on the border of Utah. Like most of Nevada, the military has a prominent presence, so many of our audiences came from that community, along with ranchers, old cowboys, and Mormons pouring in from Salt Lake City. It was a small review featuring the Jackie Sleight dancers, a balancing act, and closing with The Pendragon’s magic. Our next contract was at Harvey’s in Tahoe, where we headed a Too Hot To Handle cabaret show. It was followed by Vegas starring in Rocky Sennes Wild World of Burlesque at the Holiday Casino, now Harrah’s. Throughout the ’80s, The Pendragons were featured or headlined many of these popular Showgirl revue shows. Wendover, Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, Monte Carlo, Malaysia, and South Africa, we presented our performances, which lovely showgirls accentuated. It’s during 1987, after performing a long-term run at Jupiter’s, a popular casino and showroom located in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia, that we received a call from Richard Sturm, the entertainment Director of Bally‘s Grand in Las Vegas, inquiring about our availability starring in the popular revue show, Jubilee! Produced by Don Arden, who I call “King of the Cabaret.”
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Arden knew how to take a small revue show and turn it into an elaborate production revue show never forgotten by those fortunate to see it. When "Jubilee" opened in 1981, the production cost was over $10 million. Over 1,000 costumes were made, with the final costumes designed by famous designer Bob Mackie. The opening number alone required 320 costumes valued at around $5,000. Triple that cost today. Then there were the thousands of expensive Swarovski rhinestones, which today are increasingly difficult to find and purchase. It’s said, "Jubilee!” was the show that cost too much to close. It featured world-class showgirls, presented on the third most significant stage in the world at the time, including a cast of 132, but by 2014, that number dwindled to 64, and the stage crew outnumbered the cast by six members with 70 members of the crew. One of those performers was my friend and next-door neighbor for over ten years, Linda Green, who opened the revue and holds the record as its longest-tenured showgirl at 23 years and who is reported to have been forced to retire from the show because of her age of 51 years old. It was the biggest showgirl revue extravaganza in Las Vegas. The show’s finale ended each night with the giant curtain closing as you watched Linda, wearing a $25,000.00 ($100,000.00 most likely the cost today) Bob Mackie costume fade away with the last notes of the music. I can’t remember all the statistics from the Jubilee Show, but some of the costumes sometimes weighed 75 plus pounds and had to be worn with an appearance of weightlessness as the showgirls gracefully moved through space effortlessly. It was magic! She was the best because she not only fulfilled all the physical requirements of being a showgirl but also a highly trained ballerina, having danced with the Ballets De Monte Carlo, a prestigious ballet company in Monaco. Interesting fact about Linda and I: we discovered a dead body. Another story for a future article. It’s at Bally’s Grand that I got to know many of the top Las Vegas headliners who performed in the Celebrity Theater, a smaller venue next to the Jubilee Theater connected by a long hallway housing the dressing rooms for the featured performers and stars of the Jubilee show and the stars headlining the Celebrity Showroom. It was a social event backstage as we all readied for our performances. This is where I became friends with Sammy Davis Jr. and guys like Tom Jones and Smokey Robinson (who would often flirt with me, and I didn’t mind the attention!) Later, our career took us to Caesar’s Palace, where we were headliners.
We never performed in the Folies Berege Show. Still, I did perform a magic illusion with them. On NBC’s World’s Greatest Magic, Jonathan and I vanished 25 of the Folies Bergere showgirls, and I was one of the showgirls myself. We filmed it ironically on the Circus Maximus Showroom, a stage I’ve performed on countless times—another future Substack, all its own. With the final closing of the curtain on the timeless Don Arden’s Jubilee show at Bally’s Grand in the mid-2010’s, the showgirl is now a nostalgic remnant for many. One era ends, another one begins, and what’s old is new again, offering a glimmer of hope that she may one day grace the stage again—a clear message of resilience, renewal, and the cyclical nature of life.
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When my parents returned, they brought all kinds of souvenir trinkets and postcards. As a five-year-old, my favorite was a miniature showgirl dressed in feathers and a few rhinestones dangling from a keychain. It was the cutest thing but lost to the wind's time. And having it as a treasure, I never dreamed some day I’d actually be a Folies Bergere showgirl for a day. Now, the showgirls you currently see along the sidewalks of the Las Vegas Strip are either paid models or street performers posing for photos in exchange for tips. Until the winds change directions, she will remain a myth. So, continue believing in possibilities, maintaining a positive outlook, and staying open to new opportunities, even when faced with uncertainty or challenges. When we remain resilient, open to change, and hopeful for the future, we can revisit the past in a new light. Maybe the Showgirl will return to her prominent place on the Vegas stage.
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Love these articles. Thank you so much and you are a great writer and I am looking forward to reading those yet stories or later you call them!
Wow, Elizabeth Taylor was drop dead gorgeous (and real, no plastic surgery then)