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Carsony, Karl, 1924-2012
Karl Carsony was an Austrian-born acrobat and balancing artist who performed primarily in the United States and Europe from the 1940s-1970s. He was well known for performing a handstand on a cane while balancing atop the Sahara Hotel and Casino sign in Las Vegas, Nevada--a publicity stunt for the hotel's opening in 1952.
Person
Meet Me in Las Vegas photographs
Series XVIII. Television, Radio Shows, and Movies
Sands Hotel and Casino
El Portal Theatre (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Mixed Content
Transcript of interview with Harvey Diederich by K.J. Evans, January 4, 1999
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Jocelyn Cortez interview, March 18, 2019: transcript
Interviewed by Nathalie Martinez. Jocelyn Cortez is a Salvadoran-American immigration lawyer. She grew up on the Eastside of Las Vegas and grew up going to school in the Clark County School District and at UNLV before going to Law School at the University of Arizona. She is an engaged community member as an immigration lawyer working alongside the Culinary Union and the Latino Bar Association.
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Transcript of interview with Herb Tobman by Deborah Fischer, March 13, 1981
Interview with Herb Tobman by Deborah Fischer on March 13, 1981. In this interview on the subject of gambling, Herb Tobman talks about moving to Las Vegas while working for Standard Oil as a tire, battery and accessory salesman, then began working for the Moulin Rouge as the general manager in 1955. He gives a description of the hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard and downtown, and the "western" nature of town where people rode horses. Tobman then discusses the types of gambling that were popular: slot machines, blackjack and craps. He also talks about the accommodations (hotels and motels) available in the 1950s, transportation to and from the area, entertainment, and the economy. The interviewer continually asks Tobman to compare 1950s Las Vegas with 1980s Las Vegas in terms of the gambling environment.
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Mary Leo interview, February 27, 1980: transcript
On February 27, 1980, Rafael Reyes-Spindola interviewed Mary Leo (b. Mary Susanne Kaime Leo in 1949 in Santa Barbara, California) about her life growing up in the Las Vegas Valley and her varied career path. Leo, having moved to Las Vegas as a toddler, talks about what the city was like when she arrived, the landscape, schooling and local life in general. She remembers the construction of the University of Las Vegas, Nevada and the growth of the city and population. Through her anecdotes, Leo shares the local attitude towards the Strip that Las Vegans develop as a result of being raised in the city and focuses the beginning half of her interview on life outside of the Strip. The interviewer and Leo move their conversation towards her career path, beginning in a coffee shop at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, her time in the travel industry, as a Las Vegas showgirl in the famed Folies Bergere show, her return to the Riviera as the director of sales and catering, and the legacy she hopes to leave behind with her career.
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Don T. Walker Photograph Collection
The Don T. Walker Photograph Collection (1900-1995) is comprised of black-and-white and color photographs taken by or belonging to Las Vegas photographer and Nevada historian Don Travis Walker. The photographs taken by Walker include ghost towns in Nevada, Arizona, and California, as well as a series on Phil Benson, editor and publisher of the Southern Nevada Times. Other items in the collection include photographs taken by other people related to the Moulin Rouge Hotel in Las Vegas, various photographs of historic sites in Nevada, and a program from the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society for its "Moulin Rouge: History in the Making" exhibition.
Archival Collection
Frederic Apcar oral history interview
Oral history interview with Frederic Apcar conducted by Nancy Hardy on July 19, 2003 for the Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Apcar describes his birth and early life in Paris, France, his parents' divorce, working from a young age, and, at the age of sixteen learning to dance ballet and tap. He talks about his first dancing job at the Folies Bergere in Paris, going on tour for several years with Josephine Baker, and on his return to Paris, dancing with the Lido before signing a contract for a three-month job at the Copacabana in New York City, New York. He then discusses his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959, where he produced the Las Vegas Les Folies Bergere, Vive les Girls with Ron Lewis, and Casino de Paris. He also talks about Donn Arden as the other major show producer on the Strip during this period.
Archival Collection
Photograph of Copa Girls performing onstage at the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, circa 1950s to 1960s
Site Name: Sands Hotel and Casino
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