November 30, 2005 | 9:48
am
On Monday night Wayne Newton fell off his horse entering his Flamingo Holiday show on an Arabian. Don't worry, the Las Vegas legend is fine, because as, his publicist assures us,
the Wayner has been trained in the martial arts! I wonder if he ever practiced with Elvis? I am hoping to get to the show this week and am especially excited to get a look at the penguins.
(photo by Christine Cotter/LAT)
November 30, 2005 | 9:19
am
One of the most unusual stories in Las Vegas is the one about the connection between comic Breck Wall and Jack Ruby, and it is all true. Breck Wall's variety show "Bottom's Up" first opened in Las Vegas in 1964 and closed after four decades last year. I have a fond memory of seeing Bottom's Up at the Flamingo: a mix of slap stick, jokes, some honking horns and topless girls. But Wall originally opened the show in Dallas where he became close to Ruby. Wall and Oswald's killer were close friends.
Jerry Fink interviews Wall today about his visit to Ruby in prison about a week after the murder. He remembers of the day:
The first thing I said was, "Jack, what on earth did you do?"
He said, "I'm a hero."
I said, "No you're not. Why did you do it?"
He was very ecstatic, hyper -- but he was always hyper. He could lose his temper in a split second.
He thought he had done the right thing by killing the man who killed the president.
(photo by Jack Beers/AP)
November 30, 2005 | 9:00
am
Dr. John W. Miller President of Central Connecticut State University put out a list of
America's Most Literate Cities. I was depressed to see Las Vegas at 44 tied with Fort Worth but just losing out to Anchorage. Still after thinking about it, sighed, and came to terms with the obvious. We don't have a book review in the Sunday paper, we are mostly passed over when a hot literary author does a book tour and many publications in town are geared more to vacationing tourists than appealing to cognoscenti. We have some local poets and a few writers around including our town intellectual Dave Hickey. But in general Las Vegas has room to grow in the literary culture. But then further down the list I noticed Los Angeles is ranked 60 of the 69 cities. That seemed kind of, well, wrong. So, I poked around and notice that Dr. Miller is not a statistician but did his graduate work in education. Looking at his criteria it appears that even our dozens of local publications packed with nothing but advertising, pictures and a few words of puff do contribute to our literacy. Whereas the Los Angeles Times Book Review didn't help you at all. Anyone else think something is wrong here? Even a university loves press coverage and
USA Today covered this survey. Anyway, I would not lose sleep wondering how you can help make Los Angeles as literate as Las Vegas.
November 29, 2005 | 6:50
am
It was an odd match to begin with and it did not last. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were in the midst of doing three weeks at the pyramid shaped Luxor (current home to topless show "Fantasy" and soon to be home to "Hairspray", which is set to open in February)
when the show was canceled without explanation. Originally set to run through December 8 the last performance was November 27. Those hoping to hear "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry" one more time need not be crushed with despair as Valli has been a regular performer here in recent years usually at the Orleans
November 29, 2005 | 6:23
am
The lawsuit the tabloids loved against Siegfried Fishbacher seems to have vanished. In the lawsuit, a former body guard accused Siegfried of abusing and overmedicating Roy. The lawsuit was withdrawn yesterday, and
Mike Weatherford this morning interviews the bodyguard, Louis Mydlach, as to his motives in both suing and withdrawing his claim against the illusionist.
(photo by JOHN S. STEWART/AP)
November 29, 2005 | 5:49
am
Local Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith has an interesting piece today proposing that we build a subway system in Las Vegas. It seems bizarre and impossible, yet that is this city's speciality. Of course, that may be the problem. As a 78 year-old retired driller who has been pushing a subway for Las Vegas since the 70's puts it in Smith's column:
"It has a fatal flaw. It makes sense."
November 29, 2005 | 5:34
am
Real estate on the Strip is too valuable for historic architecture. Our local equivalent of historic preservation is the
Neon Museum being created. Now, the museum hopes it has found the perfect welcome center: the lobby of the La Concha Motel. The shell looking structure next to the Riviera was designed in 1961 by Paul Revere Williams who was probably the first African-American architect to design a building on the Strip. The land that the La Concha Motel lobby sits on is soon to be home to a major high rise development and so philanthropists and activists only have until the end of the year to raise $600,000 to move it.
The latest Spago-catered fundraising effort takes place tomorrow.(photo by SAM MORRIS/AP)
November 29, 2005 | 5:04
am
Tomorrow actor Pat Morita will be remembered at private memorial service in town. Morita, best known for his role as Mr. Miyagi in the "Karate Kid" movies,
passed away in his Las Vegas home on Thanksgiving. I am sorry to say I didn't know he lived here, and I never had the opportunity to interview him about a life that included early years spent as a stand-up here. The Las Vegas area has many such famous residents who as seniors come here to live instead of perform. Others, like actor Tony Curtis and Robin Leach, notice what big fish they are in our pond and become very active locally.
(photo by GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS)
November 28, 2005 | 7:12
am
Yes, I spoke to Paris Hilton it's true! And, I have her cell phone number until she changes it next. So, how does something like that happen?
Let me start by saying I have a history of Hilton girl awareness going back to New Year's Eve 2000. I was covering a Guns & Roses show at the Hard Rock where I bumped into Neil Strauss (a music critic for The New York Times at that point and now the author of everything from
a porn star memoir to a
book on his quest for studliness) who I knew slightly. Strauss was driven to distraction by the presence of a Hilton sister at the concert. I don't remember which Hilton. "They are huge in New York," was the best explanation Neil could offer. A year later when the Palms opened there was Paris Hilton in a dress made of poker chips. All of this was before the television show, the video and too many controversies to keep track of all of which somehow made Paris Hilton a superstar for reasons that are honestly rather mysterious to me. No matter. I will leave it to the people who can quote Foucault to explain her success. After all, who better to explain the appeal of Paris than French cultural theorists.
The quest continues, after the jump
November 23, 2005 | 12:09
pm
This is one of the rare holidays during which people don't come to Las Vegas, but leave instead. I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving, and on Monday I will catch you up on what happened here over the weekend. Be well.
On Monday night Wayne Newton fell off his horse entering his Flamingo Holiday show on an Arabian. Don't worry, the Las Vegas legend is fine, because as, his publicist assures us, the Wayner has been trained in the martial arts! I wonder if he ever practiced with Elvis? I am hoping to get to the show this week and am especially excited to get a look at the penguins. 
One of the most unusual stories in Las Vegas is the one about the connection between comic Breck Wall and Jack Ruby, and it is all true. Breck Wall's variety show "Bottom's Up" first opened in Las Vegas in 1964 and closed after four decades last year. I have a fond memory of seeing Bottom's Up at the Flamingo: a mix of slap stick, jokes, some honking horns and topless girls. But Wall originally opened the show in Dallas where he became close to Ruby. Wall and Oswald's killer were close friends. Jerry Fink interviews Wall today about his visit to Ruby in prison about a week after the murder. He remembers of the day: 
The lawsuit the tabloids loved against Siegfried Fishbacher seems to have vanished. In the lawsuit, a former body guard accused Siegfried of abusing and overmedicating Roy. The lawsuit was withdrawn yesterday, and Mike Weatherford this morning interviews the bodyguard, Louis Mydlach, as to his motives in both suing and withdrawing his claim against the illusionist. 
Real estate on the Strip is too valuable for historic architecture. Our local equivalent of historic preservation is the Neon Museum being created. Now, the museum hopes it has found the perfect welcome center: the lobby of the La Concha Motel. The shell looking structure next to the Riviera was designed in 1961 by Paul Revere Williams who was probably the first African-American architect to design a building on the Strip. The land that the La Concha Motel lobby sits on is soon to be home to a major high rise development and so philanthropists and activists only have until the end of the year to raise $600,000 to move it. The latest Spago-catered fundraising effort takes place tomorrow.
Tomorrow actor Pat Morita will be remembered at private memorial service in town. Morita, best known for his role as Mr. Miyagi in the "Karate Kid" movies, passed away in his Las Vegas home on Thanksgiving. I am sorry to say I didn't know he lived here, and I never had the opportunity to interview him about a life that included early years spent as a stand-up here. The Las Vegas area has many such famous residents who as seniors come here to live instead of perform. Others, like actor Tony Curtis and Robin Leach, notice what big fish they are in our pond and become very active locally. 
Yes, I spoke to Paris Hilton it's true! And, I have her cell phone number until she changes it next. So, how does something like that happen? 
