An Interview with Toni Clark

An Oral History Conducted by Joanne L. Goodwin

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Las Vegas Women Oral History Project Series I. Gaming and Entertainment University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1997 Revised 2006

 NSHE, UNLV, Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, Las Vegas Women Oral History Project, 1997, 2006.

Citation of material from this interview should include: An Interview with Toni Clark conducted by Joanne L. Goodwin, 1997, rev. 2006, Special Collections, Lied Library, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV.

Produced by:

Las Vegas Women Oral History Project Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, University of Nevada, Las Vegas 89154-5020 Director and Editor: Joanne L. Goodwin Project Assistant and Text Processor: Dona Gearhart

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This interview and transcript have been made possible through the generosity of the Foundation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The History Department and the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada at UNLV provided a home for the project and a wide variety of in-kind services. The department, as well as the college and university administration, enabled students and faculty to work together with community members to generate this selection of first-person narratives. The participants in this project thank the university for its support that gave an idea the chance to flourish. The interview would not have taken place without the great assistance given by Toni Clark and her companion Larry Finuf. Together they provided me with numerous newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, and publications about the Desert Inn. These materials have been added to the Wilbur and Toni Clark Collection in UNLV’s Special Collections. They also took great pains to identify individuals in the photograph collection, track down names and dates they did not have, and to review and edit the transcript correcting and clarifying information. The researcher is encouraged to consult the other materials on Toni Clark contained within the Wilbur and Toni Clark Collection. In 2006, all the original copies produced in 1997 were missing and WRIN rebound revised copies and deposited one each at WRIN and Lied Library, UNLV. At that time, the number of photos included in the transcript were reduced, front matter was updated, and spellings were corrected. The following interview is part of a series of interviews conducted under the auspices of the Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Additional transcripts may be found under that series title. Joanne Goodwin, Project Director Associate Professor, Department of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas

List of Illustrations

Toni and Wilbur Clark announcing their Las Vegas TV station frontispiece (photograph by Mark Swain for Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn) Courtesy of Toni Clark

Photo Portfolio following the text Courtesy of UNLV, Lied Library, Special Collections Department

Gaglionese Family Portrait around 1919 (back row) Josephine, Salvatore, Frank; (front row) Rose, Dominick, Lena

Wedding Day for Wilbur and Toni Clark, 2 August 1944 in Reno, Nevada. Governor E.P. Carville and Larry Allen, an A.P. war correspondent, congratulate them.

The entrance to Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn

Toni Clark received the Fashion Foundation of America’s Best Dressed Hostess Award for 1958.

Socializing in the Desert Inn’s Skyroom following the Tournament of Champions. (Standing, left to right) Lori Adelson, Toni Clark, Averille Dalitz, Shirley Fruchtman, Katherine Simmons, Betty Grable, and Evelyn Roen. (front) Muriel Rothkopf, Bo Weinerger, and Mrs. Bo Weinerger.

On the Set with Elvis (left to right) Charley O’Kern, Moe Dalitz, Juliet Prowse, Elvis Presley, Toni Clark, Wilbur Clark, Cecil Simmons, and Joe Franks.

Party at the Stardust post 1965. (left to right, back row) Jay Sarno, Toni Clark, Hank Greenspun, Kirk Kerkorian. (front) Jean Kerkorian, Charlie Harrison, Mrs. [Jay] Sarno, Theda Harrison, Harold Ambler, and Barbara Greenspun.

Preface

Toni Clark (born Lena Gaglionese) spent her youth in Seattle, Washington where she was born on April 4, 1915 to Angelene and Salvatore Gaglionese. Her father and mother moved to the Seattle area when they immigrated to the United States from Naples,

Italy years earlier. Salvatore worked as a street cleaner for the city of Seattle and

Angelene cared for the house and family until her early death. Toni grew up with three siblings, her father and step-mother, and an uncle and cousins next door. After attending

Seattle’s Franklin High School for three years, she left. “I just didn’t like school so I quit,” she said, and spent the next couple of years at home. From these simple origins,

Toni became “the first lady of Las Vegas” as some admirers called her, referring to the role she played in the transformation of Las Vegas from a frontier town into a glamorous resort town during the1950s and 1960s.

In 1941, before the Second World War began, Toni traveled to San Diego to visit friends and decided to stay. After a year of caring for a young boy, she moved into the

Barbara Worth Hotel which was owned by Wilbur Clark. Clark’s father ran the hotel and suggested that Toni apply for a job at his son’s new bar and restaurant, the Monte Carlo.

She had not met Wilbur Clark at the time and her shyness dissuaded her from making the move. Nevertheless, she did apply and went to work as the hostess of the Monte Carlo in downtown San Diego. Wilbur and Toni’s courtship began slowly. He gave her the name

Toni, saying she “looked more like a Toni than a Lena,” and she kept it. In 1944, around the time Wilbur Clark relocated to Las Vegas where he had purchased the El Rancho

Hotel, the couple married in Reno, Nevada and permanently made Las Vegas their home.

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Clark’s involvement in Las Vegas clubs and gambling expanded with the Monte

Carlo downtown and the Player’s Club on the strip. But his dream to create a luxury

resort hotel came to fruition when the Desert Inn opened in 1950. The fifth major

property on the strip, the Desert Inn had several features that distinguished it from other

places. The Skyroom offered a private club atmosphere for talking, music, and dancing.

The Monte Carlo Room served French cuisine. The Doll House provided round-the-

clock childcare for children of hotel guests. The Painted Desert Room, the property’s

showroom, featured top performers and the Donn Arden Dancers. All these features

combined to create a resort that offered guests an exquisite setting for a gambling

vacation.

Toni Clark had a special place at the heart of the Desert Inn’s social life. She

brought a gracious and elegant charm to social events associated with the property.

Although she said she was never involved in the business of the hotel-casino, she played a unique role setting a new tone for the enterprise. She entertained guests and dignitaries at the hotel as well as her home; organized fashion shows featuring the top designers of the time for the wives of high-rollers; and created celebrations of special events, notably her husband’s late December birthday, with annual parties.

When Wilbur Clark died in 1965, Toni Clark remained active in the city’s social life. She did not disappear as others had, but continued to plan and attend social functions. As part of her service to the community, she took particular pleasure in her work with the Variety Club. She continued to reside in Las Vegas until her death in

2006.

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Toni and Wilbur Clark announce their Las Vegas TV station. Photo credit: Mark Swain for Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn. Courtesy of Toni Clark.

An Interview with Toni Clark

This is Joanne Goodwin. I am interviewing Toni Clark at her home in Las Vegas. It’s July 2, 1996. Mrs. Clark do you agree that you have read the release forms for this interview, and you’ve granted your permission for this interview?

Yes I have.

Thank you very much. And thank you for this interview. I want to start out with your childhood. Where were you born?

I was born in Seattle, Washington, April 4, 1915.

And tell me your parents names, and what they did.

My mother’s name was Angeline Botton. She was a housewife. My father’s name is

Sam [Salvatore] and he was a street cleaner for the city of Seattle.

And what was Sam’s last name?

Gaglionese.

What name were you born with?

Lena Gaglionese.

Were your parents born in Seattle, or did they move to the area?

They were both born in Naples, Italy.

So they came to Seattle directly?

I think so, yes.

Did you grow up with any brothers and sisters?

My real brother’s name is Don and I have a half-brother and a half-sister. My other half- sister Rose did not grow up with us. She lived with her uncle and later became a nun.

So you grew up with three of them in your house?

Yes, the four of us.

Did you have family in the area?

My uncle lived next door to us, my father’s brother, until he passed away. He had three

children: two boys and a girl. They were my cousins.

Did your family ever talk about why they chose Seattle?

They never did mention it, no.

What are some of your earliest memories of your parents?

My mother passed away when I was about four years old and then my father took care of

us until he married my stepmother.

Your mother passed away when you were four or five?

Yes. And then my father re-married and I had a wonderful stepmother that raised and took care of all of us.

What was her name?

Angelene Panfillio.

Had she been born in the area?

She was not from the area. She was married once before and had about four children

when my father married her. They were grown up.

Do you have any early memories of your mother?

Not really, no.

You were so young?

I remember my father said she used to sing all the time. The neighbors loved to hear her

sing.

Seattle was a pretty small city when you lived there.

I think so, yes.

Do you have any recollections of the town, or outings that you family might have taken?

We used to go Mt. Rainier on picnics a lot, to the parks and things like that.

Seattle has wonderful beaches.

Yes. But none of us ever swam so we didn’t go to any of the beaches.

Would you describe your family home in Seattle?

It was a two-story house and we had a big garden with fruits and vegetables.

Both of your parents loved gardening?

Yes, my mother and father both loved gardening.

How many rooms were inside the house, do you remember? Do you remember anything about the inside?

[Pointing to a rendition of the house] This is my sister’s and my bedroom. This is my brothers’ bedroom, and this is the parlor upstairs. This is probably my parent’s bedroom.

There was a sitting room, a dining room, and kitchen downstairs.

Tell me a little bit about your education in Seattle. How far did you go through school.

I graduated from grammar school in 1930.

Grammar school went up through what grade at that point?

Eighth grade. I went to Coleman Grammar School. Then I went to Franklin High School for three years and then I quit.

Do you have any memories of high school before you left Franklin High School? Were you involved in social activities?

No, I wasn’t.

How would you describe yourself as a student?

Just average.

What do you mean?

I was not very smart in school.

You had other interests?

I don’t know what my interests were at that time.

So you tried it for three years and said

This is it.

Had the depression started at that time, or would that come later?

I don’t remember.

When you decided to leave school, do your remember how you came to that decision?

I just didn’t like school so I quit.

Ok. And what did you decide to do next?

I really didn’t have anything to do.

You went to California right after high school?

No, I went to San Diego in 1941.

So between high school and 1941, you were in Seattle. Is that correct?

Yes.

How would you describe the years between high school and your move to San Diego? How did you occupy yourself?

I stayed home with my stepmother. Father had died in 1939 and I went to San Diego to visit some friends. When they left and went back to Seattle, I stayed in San Diego.

And when you decided to leave Franklin High School, were you still living with your family?

Yes, I was.

Did you ever do any kind of wage work?

No. My father would not allow it.

You were in the home during that time?

Yes.

Did you have certain responsibilities to your family?

I cleaned the house all the time. I was a good housecleaner.

I bet that was appreciated.

That was my job.

And there were other children in the home?

My two brothers and my sister.

Did you ever work in any kind of waitress capacity? That was common.

In San Diego, I did.

That came later. So in 1941 you decided to go to San Diego with friends.

To visit my friends, yes.

Can you tell me a little bit about that trip, and your decision to make it?

I just decided to go.

Had you been on such a long journey before?

No, never, never.

Did you go by car?

Yes.

When you arrived in San Diego, you decided to stay?

I went and stayed with my friends and visited them, and then they left. And I stayed. I took care of a little boy for this friend of mine that I had met. And I took care of this little boy for about a year. Then I moved to the Barbara Worth Hotel, which Wilbur Clark owned. I didn’t know him at the time.

The Barbara Worth Hotel. Is that one word or two?

It is two words.

And you stayed in this hotel. What kind of work were you engaged in at that time?

I wasn’t doing anything at that time.

When did you decide to waitress?

This was after I met, excuse me [takes a drink of water]. I stayed at the hotel and I met his [Wilbur Clark’s] father. Wilbur owned this hotel and his father was there running it.

Then Wilbur was opening this new nightclub called the Monte Carlo. It opened the day that the [Second World] War started.

194l, when the war started. And this was a club in San Diego?

It was a nightclub and restaurant. Well, it was a bar and restaurant called the Monte

Carlo and he was getting people to work. So his father said [to me], “Why don’t you go see Wilbur. Maybe you can get a job there.” I was so shy I wouldn’t even go. And he made me go and we met Wilbur and he put me to work as a waitress. Actually, I was on the door. I was a hostess first.

Ok, so you worked for the next two years, 1941 to 1943, in the Monte Carlo restaurant and club.

Yes.

How did you end up meeting Mr. Clark?

Well, I was sitting in the lobby one night and Wilbur came up and his father was behind the desk. He [Wilbur] had to go out to Mission Beach to see his bar because the bartender had gotten drunk. He had to go out there and see what was going on. So his father says to me, “Why don’t you ride out with him.” I didn’t really want to go but he insisted, so I rode out with Wilbur to this bar. And the bartender was on the floor.

Wilbur got the money out of the till and handed it to me. We went in the car and came back to the hotel. And then I never saw him again for a long time. I went to work at the

Monte Carlo after that.

Did you work in two different places in San Diego?

Just the Monte Carlo.

You just told how you had met Mr. Clark and that you accompanied him on a kind of rescue mission.

Yes, that’s right.

He was involved in a number of businesses it seems.

He had three or four bars and card rooms. I think they came after the Monte Carlo. I

don’t think he had any bar [before that]. Only this one out at Mission Beach was the only

bar he had till he opened the Monte Carlo. Then he opened several others after that.

How would you describe the different kinds of businesses? One was the hotel you stayed in, one was the restaurant you worked in. And these others were a kind of social club?

No, they weren’t; they were card rooms and bar. They had a lot of card rooms around

San Diego.

You would say that he was involved in approximately how many businesses?

He had the hotel, and then he had probably three or four restaurants. Then he had the

Monte Carlo. Then he had a place out in Chula Vista called the Silver Dollar, which was a bar and restaurant. He sold them all and came to Las Vegas. All but the Monte Carlo.

He didn’t sell that. His brother was in partnership with him.

And that was where you worked.

The Monte Carlo Club.

And where was that located?

I can’t even remember. It was right downtown I know. Because it was next to the

Knickerbocker Hotel. He used to work, oh what do you call them, at the Knickerbocker when he first came here.

A bellboy?

He was a bellboy at the Knickerbocker. It’s strange, he opened the club right next door to it.

You mention when the war broke out, Mr. Clark was concerned about how it would affect his business. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Oh, yes when he opened up the door, the next day the war started. And he said, “Oh my goodness, I’m going to lose everything.” But his business was very good and he had a good business and it prospered very nicely.

How were you affected by the war? Did it impact your life personally?

It frightened me and everybody else. But I guess you just kept going on.

California, and the West Coast, was such an active part in the war. Any other ways, rationing, you seemed to have had job security during the war.

Yes.

Not much impact?

I was really more of a hostess than a waitress though.

Yes, it sounds like it. What would you do? You’d come to work in the evening, and what would your job be?

I would have to check the I.D. cards of the servicemen.

And then you would get a waitress to seat them at their table?

No, I used to seat them. I used to seat them and check their I.D. cards.

Because San Diego is such a big naval town, did you have a lot of military patrons?

Lots. Mostly all military.

During the war, in San Diego, did you personally experience any kinds of shortages?

Well, we had blackouts every night. And we had shortages of [hosiery] and shoes, and things like that. And food, I ate at the restaurant so I didn’t have to worry about that.

What do you remember about the blackouts?

Well, it was kind of scary. Everything was black. You had to keep your shades down in

your hotel rooms and in your businesses and in your homes.

Was there a curfew? At a certain time everything had to be turned off?

I think so. I think there was a curfew, yes.

Because you were a hostess in a restaurant, you probably had a certain kind of dress code you had to uphold. Did you have any difficulties during the war getting any kind of clothing.

Our [hosiery] mostly. We couldn’t find [hosiery] anywhere. And shoes.

Hosiery was nylon?

No, silk stockings then. We wore silk stockings in those days. I remember sometimes

the servicemen used to bring me stockings. I don’t know where they got them, but every

once in a while I’d get a pair of stockings from a serviceman that came.

Did you have a regular clientele? Did you get to know people?

Well the men usually came and went but we had a lot of servicemen there.

Tell me how, if you will, your relationship with Mr. Clark developed.

I can’t remember when we had our first date, or anything. I know I worked there, but we

didn’t go out for quite some time.

It sounds like his father was instrumental in your first meeting.

Yes, he was.

Did he help the relationship move along later?

Not really, no.

So this was something that just gradually developed?

Yes.

And do you remember when you started feeling like this was getting serious?

Let’s see. I think Wilbur fell in love with me first.

Did he give you some kind of an indication?

He used to play a song on the music box, “Does your heart beat for me?” That was one

of our favorite songs.

During this period, you’re busy working; he’s very busy with many properties; then, in 1944 you decided to get married?

We came to Las Vegas and he bought the El Rancho Vegas in 1944. I came with him and

we were married on August 2 of 1944 in Reno.

So at that point you had been steady for a while?

Yes, yes.

You’d made a commitment of some sort. Now, he had been to Las Vegas, in fact to Nevada, earlier. Is that correct?

He came in 1938 with Guy McAfee in the gambling place at the Green Shack. He said

that anyone that ever came here should have their head examined. It was so hot, he

couldn’t stand it. He left and came back to San Diego.

Now was the business called the Green Shack?

The restaurant was called the Green Shack. Guy McAfee later opened the Golden Nugget

and had the gambling there.

This was a partnership between them?

No, Wilbur just worked there. He was just a dealer.

I see. He just worked there. But he didn’t work there long.

No, no, I think maybe a couple of weeks or so. Or a month maybe.

Had he been in Nevada previously?

I don’t think so.

Any Reno connection?

Reno, later I think.

You mentioned Guy McAfee. Was this a personal friend or a business associate? Did you ever meet him?

Yes, I did. He opened the Golden Nugget. I don’t know what year it was though.

And they had known each other in San Diego?

No. He met him in Las Vegas.

Did he ever talk about if he had such a wonderful situation in San Diego, why he would come to the desert.

I guess he needed a job. So he came here to work and he didn’t like it.

Now in 1944, the first business venture that you are aware of, that brings you both here, is the El Rancho Vegas?

The El Rancho Vegas. He bought that in 1944 and sold it in 1946. And he bought the property where the Desert Inn is now in 1945. Paid cash for it, too.

So when you came to Las Vegas, Mr. Clark had already been involved in the El Rancho Vegas. That property was built by--

No he bought the El Rancho Vegas from Joe Drown and Tommy Hull.

What can you tell me about them?

Tommy Hull had the Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood. And Joe Drown had a lot of interests in Beverly Hills.

How had they decided to start developing in Las Vegas?

I have no idea. They just wanted to build a hotel and they did. They had it for several years and then we bought it from them.

And that was where you came when you first came here?

Was to the El Rancho. Yes.

Now Mr. Clark comes for this brief work experience in 1938 and then he moved back to California. And it wasn’t until 1944 they you both came back.

Yes.

When did you decide to marry?

I wanted to marry him when we first got there but we waited till August the 2nd and we drove to Reno and got married [by a Justice of the Peace] August the 2nd, 1944.

How did you decide to marry in Reno?

He didn’t want to get married in Las Vegas because of all the [attention] being at the hotel. He wanted to get away. So we drove to Reno, got married and then we had lunch with Governor [E.P.] Carville the next day at Lake Tahoe.

And how had either of you known Governor Carville?

Wilbur had met him before.

And do you know anything about their relationship, their friendship?

I really don’t know. I don’t know if somebody told [Carville] we were coming, or what.

[Carville] had called and said he wanted to take us to lunch the next day. So we went to the mansion there in Carson City, and then we went over to Lake Tahoe and had lunch, came back. And then I think we left and came home the following day to Las Vegas.

Were you still in touch with your family at this time, the time of your wedding?

Oh, yes.

And who were the people you were closest to in your family?

My brothers. My sister passed away some years before that. So I had my two brothers.

We were always very close.

And what were their names.

One was Don and the other was Frank.

And what about Mr. Clark, was he still close with his family?

Oh, yes. His brother Harold and his sister Merle.

And his father, you said, had been running his hotel?

Yes.

And he was still alive?

Yes.

When you first came to Las Vegas, where did you live?

The El Rancho Vegas. I had a little bungalow there. We had bungalows at that time.

What was your response to the desert?

I cried everyday for weeks because I didn’t like it. It was so hot. And I missed my friends and my family. Then after awhile I got to meet people and I began loving Las Vegas very much.

If you had to say what your biggest adjustments were, how would you describe them?

I’d never been in the desert before and it was very hot and I didn’t like it at all.

Did you have swamp coolers?

Yes we did have swamp coolers.

But it’s still extremely dry and hot.

Yes.

How would you describe the town in 1944. Where did it begin and end?

Well, the El Rancho Vegas was there and the Frontier and a place called the Bingo Club.

And that was all that was out on the Strip, as far as I remember. The town was very small, very friendly. Local people were very kind, very nice to us. Accepted us with open arms.

So if you were living at the El Ranch, you were outside of town?

Yes we were.

You would have to drive to downtown?

Oh, yes. I always had to drive. I don’t think there even was a bus or anything at that time.

But you began to meet --

People.

How did you meet people?

They all came to the hotel, the El Rancho, all the locals. That’s how we met them all.

When you arrived in town, who were some of the leading families that you began to meet? For example, you mentioned Guy McAfee.

Yes.

He had been a business partner?

No, no business partner, just a friend.1

Those first few years, who were the people that came to be your friends; the people that you socialized with?

The local people you mean?

Yes.

The Art Hams [Senior], the Guy McAfees, the Houssels [Senior], the [Harley] Harmons,

and the Silvanes. They all were probably the backbone of our Las Vegas.

Tell me a little bit about your relationships with the Houssels.

The Houssels. Well, I know he owned horses. We used to see him at Del Mar a lot. And

he owned hotels here in Las Vegas. He owned the El Cortez Hotel in downtown Las

Vegas.

1End tape 1, side 1.

What were your responsibilities at that time, when you were at the El Rancho Vegas?

Wilbur and I would entertain our guests in the evening. In the afternoon I’d sit around the

pool with them.

And did you have any other responsibilities with the business?

No nothing with the business, no. I had nothing to do with the business at all times.

Were you traveling very much during those days?

Not too much in those days, no. We’d go maybe to San Diego to visit the family or to

Los Angeles.

In addition to the El Rancho Vegas, Mr. Clark began the Monte Carlo Club.

Downtown, yes. That opened in 1945 on April Fool’s Day. He opened the Monte Carlo

Club and Grace Hayes opened the lounge for us.

What do you remember about the opening?

Well it was April Fool’s Day and they called to say that the place was on fire. Wilbur didn’t believe it, but it was. Someone had caused a fire down in the basement or something. But he got it all clean and open for that night.

What was an opening night like in those days in Las Vegas?

Well, I guess we kind of started something, having people come dressed for the evening.

We had the lounge and the entertainment.

When you say people came dressed for the evening

I mean dressed. Not formal, but beautiful dresses and clothes. You wouldn’t see anyone in tennis shoes and overalls.

So there was the Monte Carlo Club, and just within a few years [Clark] bought the Player’s Club from Johnny and Mitzi Hughes?

Yes.

Where was the Player’s Club?

Gosh, it was on the strip there, further up from the Frontier there. It was on the same side as the Desert Inn but further up, going towards the Los Angeles Highway.

And was that also a total remodel like you had done with . . .

No, no. It was already, it was a beautiful club, it was already built and everything.

I’m curious if Mr. Clark ever commented about the differences between the kind of older, more established people who owned casinos in Las Vegas like his generation of casino owners. Did he ever comment on any kind of differences between--

Between the people that are there now you mean?

And the people who had come in like himself?

People did go western. A lot of the people wore western clothes a lot. But other than that

I don’t see anything different.

That was never a theme that he developed.

No, no.

Now these years of very busy business, how was the Monte Carlo different in appearance?

Well, for one thing he was the first one to put the glass windows all the way down to the sidewalk. They were all closed in. And after that, everyone followed suit. The had their glass windows in the front.

And in the interior--

And then he had blue satin tufting in the lounge. It was beautiful.

Very glamorous, quite different from --

Oh, I should say, from the other places downtown, yes.

Now these first years when [Clark] owned and managed the El Rancho, the Monte Carlo, then by 1947, the Player’s Club, these are also the first years of your marriage.

Yes they are.

Very busy, busy years. How do you, when you look back on that, how do you think about those years? How do you see them?

Very happy years. The town was very small. We knew practically everyone in town.

When did Mr. Clark sell the El Rancho?

June of 1946.

And this is about the time he began to plan the Desert Inn?

Yes, he bought the property in 1945. And then when we left there, we started making plans for the Desert Inn.

Did he ever discuss these plans, or what his dream . . .

Yes, he did. He used to go out with a stick and say, “This is going to be this, and this is going to be this. The Sky Room is going to be here.” And all that. He always had it on the sand there, on the property where the Desert Inn is now.

His blueprint he would draw in the sand.

Yes. He used to go to California to the man that was our architect. I can’t remember his name but he used to fly in every week and have a meeting with him. And we put all the plans on a blueprint.

Did the two of you discuss things that you might like to see in the design?

No, I left that all up to Wilbur.

It took several years to complete the building.

Yes, we started the rooms and we ran out of money and then he needed partners. It took him that long before he got someone that he really wanted in the hotel, as his partner.

How did he go about that process?

Well, someone brought these people to Wilbur. They were in Cleveland and they wanted to come to Las Vegas. . . . He said he wanted the place to be called Wilbur Clark’s Desert

Inn. We had other people come and they didn’t want that name so he didn’t have them.

But these people agreed to have it called Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn.

Earlier, you said that it took quite a length of time because he wanted to keep his name on it.

That’s right, yes.

This was his dream.

Let’s see. We started building in 1947 and then they couldn’t get the supplies and we had to stop. And then he finished some rooms, and everybody said that it was going to be a motel. He had to wait to get partners to get the money, and then we started to finish the hotel. We opened in 1950, April 23rd.

What was it like being this close to the project, over four years with so many ups and downs?

Well, it was very bad. He used to go around and telling people about Las Vegas and

they’d laugh at him. They’d say, “What do you want to build a place in Las Vegas for?”

When he was trying to find support?

Find people.

And these might have been people in California?

I think they were in California and I forget, other places. Mostly California, I think.

But he had the vision of what Las Vegas could be.

Yes he did have that, very much so.

Were there ever any moments that either you or he felt like it wouldn’t work?

Oh I think there were times when I thought it wouldn’t work, but I thought Wilbur always said it was going to work somehow. He had faith in the town. He loved Las Vegas.

And how was it for you, still rather recently married--

I kind of went along with him.

You had seen it work before.

Yes I knew that he would do it.

When the Desert Inn was being built, where did you live?

We built four apartments on the side. We lived in one and rented three out, on Dio Drive.

And during this four-year period of construction, what were your responsibilities then?

Just being a housewife I guess.

Yes, taking care of home. You’d been very socially active up to that time.

Yes, a lot of friends. A lot of people came over. We used to have parties at that little apartment. Everybody loved coming over to the Clark apartment. Very small, but it was very cute and very nice.

The Desert Inn, as you said, opened in April of 1950. Do you remember the opening night?

I certainly do. It was a big event. Everybody was so dressed up. We had flowers that went from the inside to around the pool, to way out on the street. I think it was the biggest opening that a hotel ever had in Las Vegas. It had flowers, and entertainers. We had movie stars there and everything.

Who were the entertainers at the opening?

Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen, and Vivian Blaine, and we had the Ray Noble

Orchestra for our opening.

They were in your main showroom. And can you remember some of the special guests that night?

Oh, gosh. We had Donald O’Conner, Jack Benny, and Ed Sullivan.

They all came to help you open.

Yes, and a lot more. I can’t remember right now.

Were there any surprises that evening?

The lights went out. We had those lights that came out, what do you call those? It was a generator.

So there was some kind of power failure.

Yes, and then everything went black but then they turned this thing on and the lights

came on in the casino. That did happen that opening night, I forgot about that.

Then it was smooth sailing--

After that, yes.

People frequently refer to you as the hostess of the Desert Inn. This is something you had done in your association with Mr. Clark since you’d met him.

I wasn’t really a hostess of the Desert Inn.

No?

No. There were other partners there so we all couldn’t be hostesses. Wilbur was the host of the Desert Inn.

Tell me about some of the features of the hotel casino. You had a showroom called--

The Painted Desert Room. We had the Sky Room upstairs for dancing.

Was the Sky Room a restaurant-bar?

No, just a bar with dancing.

The Donn Arden Dancers were there at one point?

We had the Donn Arden Dancers for many years at the Desert Inn in the showroom. They were the opening act for all the shows.

It was called the Donn Arden Dancers?

Yes. They just opened up the show. The girls came out and danced and then the show would come on and then they’d close it. The girls would just come out and finish it with dancing again.

You mentioned earlier that there was an unusual feature with a nursery, a child care facility.

Wilbur had this little nursery built there for people that brought their children, they had to stay there that night. They couldn’t run around the hotel or anything. They would have nurses there to stay with them, then their parents would come and pick them up in the morning or whenever they got up.

Where did this idea come from? This is unusual.

Where’s that story? [looking for something].

This newspaper article has a photograph of him with some of the young children.

One of them is Susan Greenspun, one was Brian Greenspun, and Evie Ralli and Drew

Dalitz. I don’t know who these other people are.

It was the only type nursery in a casino at that time?

It was outside by the pool. It was in a cute house. It was called the Doll House.

In those days, when the Desert Inn has just opened, it was truly one of the more glamorous . . .

It was one of the most glamorous hotels on the Strip.

And there was a kind of way in which you played a role in maintaining the standard of elegance.

That’s right, yes.

How would you describe that time?

Well, it was time when everyone dressed--

Much more formally?

Well not really formally, but we always wore cocktail dresses at night. We used to dress up for the opening of the shows in formals and things like that.

You’re living in Las Vegas, where would you buy these wonderful outfits?

We had nice shops, Betty Boyle’s Dress Shop at the Desert Inn. And the Flamingo had

Fanny’s Dress Shop there. I used to go to Beverly Hills, but I use to buy quite a bit of my clothes at Fanny’s and from Betty Boyle’s Dress Shop.

Would they make custom orders?

Oh, yes. They would if you want. They had elegant clothes. They had all the top designers there. She carried the nice clothes, yes.

So you could find a lot of your shopping needs here?

Right there, yes. Betty Boyle ordered things for me from the shop at the Desert Inn. And

Fanny’s would order things for me too. Fanny’s Dress Shop was very famous here. It was probably one of the first dress shops in town. Betty Boyle came when we opened the

Desert Inn.

But she had her own shop. So that would definitely be one of the other features of the Desert Inn. And the Tournament of Champions.

Yes.

Later in the 1950s, people talk about atom bomb parties in the Sky Room, to watch the atom bomb explosions.

Oh, the atom bomb, yes. We never had parties because that would happen real early in the morning. We used to bring people up there just to see the thing go off.

So you partook in those?

Yes. All the time.

Tell me what that was like.

It was like a big mushroom that would go up.

How many stories to the Desert Inn?

Three stories.

And so you really had no competition for the view.

No, nothing around, no. Only the Frontier and the Silver Slipper were the only two things

across the street from us.

Now in the Life magazine [6/19/1950] that you let me borrow, there is a wonderful two- page spread of the interior of the casino and of the employees that worked in it when it opened. Really a marvelous photograph. It gives people a very visual image of the casino and employees of the entire operation. I wonder if you can explain to me, simply because I’m learning this and you have lived through it, how the different sections of the whole property were run. Wilbur was the owner. Did someone else manage the casino?

Yes, we have different people. Allard Roen was the general manager. We had the hotel manager, the casino manager, the casino operator, dealers, camera girl, waiters.

Are any parts of the this business managed or owned by other people for . . .

No, no. We owned everything ourselves.

So when someone takes care of entertainment, they work for Mr. Clark.

Yes. Frank Sennes was our agent and then Allard Roen helped him a lot with the shows.

And he would have to get Allard Roen’s approval, because he was in charge of that. And

Frank Sennes got the shows but Allard Roen was the one that approved all the shows that

were at the Desert Inn.

Someone else managed the hotel part of the property?

That’s right. The hotel manager, the assistant hotel managers, the front desk clerks, auditors, everything.

Mr. Clark was the general manager--

No. He was an owner.

You said he had other partners that he was involved with, the largest of which was--

Moe Dalitz.

How did the two of them make decisions together? How did they make decisions about the Desert Inn?

They just had meetings between them.

But it was a joint partnership?

Yes, yes.

You said that they had opened a wonderful restaurant, the Monte Carlo Room?

After the Desert Inn opened, they decided they should have a gourmet restaurant, so they

opened the Monte Carlo.

And this was probably the only gourmet restaurant in Las Vegas.

I think so.

Unless maybe the Flamingo had one.

Oh, yes. The Flamingo had--what was that called? They had the Candlelight Room and

we had our Monte Carlo Room.

The kind of cuisine that one might have at the Monte Carlo Room--

Yes, it was all French cuisine.

So this was rather unique.

We had French chef brought in just to cook for the Monte Carlo Room.

Would you eat most of your meals in the hotel?

Well, we ate there a lot but we’d go out a lot, also.

Where did you like to go?

We used to go to Luigi’s, I know, quite often. It was Italian restaurant where the Sands

was built. But we ate most of our meals at the hotel.

What was the part of the Desert Inn that you loved the most?

The Sky Room.

Why is that?

Because I used to go up there and sit until Wilbur called me on the phone, until it was

time to leave, time for us to go home.

You would spend your afternoons--

No, the evenings. Not the afternoon, it wasn’t open in the afternoon. In the afternoons

I’d go sit around the pool with my friends or play golf. I’d play golf every once in a while too. Or go shopping or do a lot of other things.

And then you’d go up to the Sky Room on some evenings.

Mostly every night, I was always there, with Wilbur. I’d go up with friends. Everybody loved going up to the [Sky Room]. The men gambled and the wives would go upstairs and have drinks and socialize with friends.

That’s where a lot of the socializing happened.

Yes, upstairs in the Sky Room.

When would the evening end?

Oh, sometimes two or three in the morning for Wilbur and I.

Would the casino actually close?

No, no it never closed. A casino never closed.

So then you would retire to your home?

Yes. We built our home on the Desert Inn golf course in 1955.

This was the home that had all the inventions.

Yes.

Can you describe some of those?

We had a closed circuit at the front door. People would come to the front door, we could see who was at the door. When we used to have our parties, we’d get a big kick, if they were feuding, they’d say a few last words to each other and they’d come in smiling. I had a T.V. that came down from the ceiling in our bedroom that Wilbur invented. And we had a circular fireplace with a hood that we used to entertain around. The pool outside of our bedroom had a wall around it.

And you would have parties at this house?

Oh, many parties we’d have, yes. Especially for Wilbur’s birthday on December 27th. I always had a great big party. We used to put a tent out on the patio, it was all closed in.

It was lovely.

How did you learn to be this type of a hostess?

I don’t know, it just came naturally.

Did you have help?

No, I did it all myself.

You had several years over which to do this.2

Oh, yes. Meeting people. I used to know every person that came up, I’d tell Wilbur what

their names were. I used to remember their names easily and I used to help him out a lot

in that respect. I just loved doing it and I did it all by myself.

So you would have the annual birthday party for Mr. Clark.

Every December 27th, yes at this house.

What other parties did you have?

Oh a lot of parties at the house. I used to have fashion shows at the house, too.

Would you describe to me how you organized those?

Distinctive Apparel at the Desert Inn was the name of the shop that had fashion shows.

They either had them up in the Sky Room or at my home. Most of them were at my

home.

Who would come to these fashion shows?

All of the, we’d invite the local women of Las Vegas that patronized the shops. We’d

send them invitations and they’d come to see the fashion shows.

And were the casino guests ever invited?

Some of the wives of the high-rollers would come to the fashion show.

What designers would you have?

We had Helen Rose, Cardinale, Bill Travilla, and Valentino.

And these were some of the biggest names?

Oh, yes at that time they were very big names.

Also in the late Fifties, 1958 I believe, you were named “best dressed hostess” by the Fashion Foundation of America.

Yes, I was.

Tell me about this award.

The Fashion Foundation of America chose me in 1958.

Who did you replace?

I replaced Pearl Mesta for that year.

And you were the “best dressed hostess?”

I was in the hostess category, yes.

You met many celebrities during the time that you and Mr. Clark were involved with the Desert Inn. We have a photograph that you shared with me of Debbie Reynolds.

This was a show that she was on at the Desert Inn, but this was when Mr. Clark had already passed.

She was a guest in your home?

Yes. Debbie Reynolds was working on a movie and she would fly in every night to have dinner with him and then fly back the next morning.

2The Clarks’ involvement lasted from 1950 to 1965.

She would fly in from Hollywood?

Yes, yes she would. They were like two little teenagers.

Did you continue your friendship with her?

Oh, yes. We’re still very good friends.

Because she has also played an important role in entertainment.

Yes, she has.

Do other people stand out in your memory?

The Ed Sullivans. [pause]

One of the favorite events that took place at the Desert Inn was the Tournament of Champions. You’ve shared a photograph that I believe is from that period.

Yes it is.

With a number of your friends at the time.

There’s Evelyn Roen and Betty Grable and Katherine Simmons [and Shirley Fruchtman] and Averille Dalitz and myself and Lori Adelson and Muriel Rothkopf and Bo Weinerger, and his wife. These are at the parties that we had up at the Desert Inn after the

Tournament of Champions.

And these were your girlfriends, more or less?

These were all my girlfriends, yes. 3

So much to remember. I can’t remember very good anymore, I’m sorry.

You’re doing wonderful.

I’m not telling it the way things should be. I can’t remember a lot of things.

There is a lot to remember. A lot of years have passed. In the mid 1950s, Mr. Clark is also involved in the development of Paradise Valley.

Yes, he built the homes.

You bought some of the property?

He bought all the property and then had the homes built out there.

This was behind the Desert Inn?

Oh, no, no, no.

Do you remember where it started?

Near the university. What’s the street out there? Maryland Parkway and Tropicana.

You said that you had . . .

Named all the streets out there.

What were some of the streets?

There was Toni Street and Wilbur Street and Katie Street, and Shirley, that was for his

father. And Merle was for his sister. And then Liberace lived on Shirley Street. And he

wanted the name changed but we wouldn’t have them do it. He thought it was an old

aunt or something and when I told him it was Wilbur’s father then he forgot about it.

Swenson Street which no goes all the way down to Desert Inn Road should have been

Wilbur Street. [It] would have been nice, wouldn’t it?

And these were all family members?

Friends and family. Then he was going to build another section and have it for his brother

and things like that but he never got to finish that.

3End tape 1, side 2.

So this was one of the earlier residential areas?

Yes it was. There’s a Lulu Street after his mother, and I think there’s a Durante Street out

there too after Jimmy Durante. And then Lou Laramore Street, Dalton Street, these were

all this friends.

Were most of his investments, at this time, in Las Vegas?

Oh, yes. All in Las Vegas.

So he sold the California businesses he sold when he moved out here, or did he maintain them?

Sold all his bars and things when he came, when he stared the El Rancho Vegas.

In 1944.

Yes.

In 1956, the Hotel Nacional in Havana, tell me how this idea to start a property . .

I don’t know about that.

Did you ever visit [Havana]?

Oh, yes. We were there for the opening. Moe Dalitz and Wilbur, I think they are the

ones that got it all together. It was a beautiful hotel. The first time Cuba had ever had

gambling in a hotel was when we started it.

In Cuba?

Yes, in Cuba. The first time they ever had gambling in Cuba was this hotel.

So you had started this.

I think we were there for about two years.

How big was the Nacional in Havana?

You mean the room-wise, the hotel?

Yes, how many stories?

Oh, God it was quite tall. I don’t really remember. And it had a nice small casino. I remember it was very small.

Did they also have showroom?

Yes, in fact, Eartha Kitt opened the show. There was just a stage, no showroom.

You had the property for two years--

Yes, just the casino. We leased the casino in the hotel.

I see. So the property moved before Castro’s revolution.

Oh, yes. We got rid of it and someone else took over. We were only there, I think, two years.

Lucky break.

Yes.

Then in Las Vegas in 1958, the Desert Inn became involved with the Stardust.

Yes, we took over, finished the Stardust, our group from the Desert Inn.

Can you explain to me how that happened. Why did the Desert Inn decide to help out?

Well the place was empty for a long, long time, so they decided to finish it and open it up and have another hotel.

You mentioned before that Mr. Clark had an opportunity to go to Paris and find some of the Lido entertainment.

Frank Sennes, Allard Roen, and Wilbur went there because he already had the deal made.

But we had to go pick out the girls for the show.

When you say “you had the deal made” it was to bring Lido de Paris?

To bring the show to the United States for the first time. The girls were called the

Bluebell girls. The lady in charge was called Madam Bluebell.4

How long did the Desert Inn own the Stardust?

Well, gosh. We still owned it when Wilbur died.

The Desert Inn retained its involvement with the Stardust until 1965, or at least until 1967?

Wilbur died in 1965 and they still had the Stardust. But then we don’t care about that anyway.

You’ve mentioned that in 1964, about a year before his death, he began to sell his interest in the Desert Inn to start the Clark Crest Hotels?

Yes.

He wanted to start a chain. Could you tell me about that, the Clark Crest chain?

He wanted to have hotels all around the United States. He started in Corpus Christi and

San Antonio and then he died and that was the end of his Clark Crest hotels.

Do you think that he wanted to move into this other . . .

Yes, just have the hotels.

4Joseph Clerico owned the Paris show. Pierre Louis-Guerin and Renee Fraday conceived the idea. In Las Vegas, Frank Sennes produced it and Donn Arden staged and directed it.

And then eventually the Desert Inn was sold to Howard Hughes.

That was after Wilbur passed away. He bought it in 1966 I think, or 1967.

At this point do you have any continuing interest?

No, no, no, none so ever.

What type of community activities occupied you for the next ten or fifteen years?

What else did I do?

What did you do?

After that, well I traveled a lot. I still had parties with my friends. I was very active with

the Variety Club here.

And the Nevada Dance Theater?

The Nevada Dance Theater. The Las Vegas Country Club and at home.

But you became involved in charity work.

Yes, especially with the Variety Club. I was active until the women and the men merged

together. A lot of us didn’t care to go to the meetings. I’m still a member of the Variety

Club though. I’ll always be.

Is there anything that you would like to add in concluding this part of the interview?

I’d like to hear then I’ll finish it.

Ok. You’d like to look at what we’ve said so far. . . . Well, I’d like to thank you for this interview. You’ve been very patient with me.

Oh, God. I don’t think I’ve been good at all.

Yes, you have.

I can’t remember a lot of things.

And this concludes the first part of the interview.5

This is Joanne Goodwin. It is August 14, 1996 and I’m interviewing Toni Clark. This is the second interview in her home in Las Vegas. We signed a release agreement the first time, for the interview and do you agree that this release agreement is still in effect for the second interview.

Yes, I do.

Ok, thank you. We want to start this interview going over some corrections from the first interview that weren’t clear. Let’s start out with your name.

My name is Lena Gaglionese, but we went through life spelling it Galianese. All my family still spells it this way.

And you started going by Toni, when?

Well, when I met Wilbur he didn’t like the name of Lena. He said, “You look more like a

Toni. I’m gonna call you Toni Lena Clark. That’s how I got my name.

The other thing that you mentioned, you wanted to tell me a little bit more about how your father Salvatore arrived in this country.

Yes.

5End tape 2, side 1.

When did your father arrive in this country?

In the early 1900s. When he came from Naples, Italy he landed in New York and stayed there awhile, and then he came to Seattle and his brother followed him.

What was his brother’s name?

Joseph Gaglionese.

And Joseph also moved to Seattle?

Yes. They were neighbors.

Do you have any particular memories of your mother and father?

My mother died when I was four years old. And my childhood home was a happy home.

Mother sang all the time. Dad was very strict, but I went dancing with my cousins for entertainment, Frank and Betty. Those were my cousins.

Did your father have any particular views whether you would work in or outside of the home?

My father was very strict. He did not want me to work outside the home.

So you mostly helped--

Stayed at home and helped around the house.

You wanted to add some information about how you went to San Diego when you left Seattle. How was that?

I can’t really remember, but I think I was driven by a friend or something because I can remember stopping in San Francisco, Long Beach, and then we went to San Diego.

When the Desert Inn was built, it was really part of the glamour era of Las Vegas. It was one of the glamorous hotels.

Yes it was because there was only three hotels on the Strip at the time. The El Rancho,

the Frontier, and the Flamingo, and then the Desert Inn opened.

Were you here for the opening of the Flamingo?

No we were not. We were in San Diego. We sold the hotel in June of 1946 and I think

the Flamingo opened in 1946 a few months later. I was not here for the opening of the

Flamingo, no.

So when the Desert Inn opened in 1950 that would have been your first glamorous opening.

Yes it was.

Did you go to any other casino openings? In the 1950s we have the Sands, the Sahara, and the Riviera opening up. Was it a tradition that you would go to openings of other casinos?

We always went to all the openings, yes.

Can you describe a little bit, what those events were like?

Not as exciting as the opening of the Desert Inn, I’ll tell you that.

You mentioned something earlier how you would get special dresses designed.

We had special dresses designed for the opening of the Desert Inn only.

What was yours like?

I had a white off-the-shoulder dress with a white peau-de-soir top and five layers of white chiffon for the skirt. The designer that made the dress was Howard Shoup, an Academy

Award winner.

Any other particular recollections about either the Desert Inn’s opening or just the whole phenomena of casino openings in the 1950s? They would seem to be particularly glamorous events.

The Desert Inn was the most glamorous of all.

Were there a lot of Hollywood personalities? You’ve mentioned a couple already.

For the Desert Inn? We had Donald O’Conner, Sidney Miller, Jack Benny and his wife

Mary Livingstone, and we had Ed Sullivan and his wife Sylvia. Joe DiMaggio was there.

And Bob Considine, a famous writer from New York.

Did the Desert Inn do any particular events to get the kind of clientele or guests that it sought in this particular glamour, elite, group? You had the Tournament of Champions.

We had our golf course that opened in 1952, which brought a lot of people in, as did the first Dancing Waters performance at the Desert Inn.6

And that was an annual event.

Yes, we had the Tournament of Champions every year. The first one was in 1953.

Do you have any particular memories of that?

I had a lot of wonderful memories. We had a lot of entertainers that came. Bing Crosby and his sons, Bob Hope, Phil Harris, Victor Mature, Frankie Land, and Peter Lind Hayes were there. We use to have a putting contest and they always performed. Bob Hope and

Phil Harris and Bing Crosby and Walter Winchell were there.

Was Damon Runyan somehow --

Yes.

Yes. There was a fundraiser --

Walter Winchell started the Damon Runyan Fund and that’s why we had the Tournament of Champions. All the money we used to get, we used to give to the Damon Runyan

Cancer Fund.

This would bring in a lot of special groups.

Oh, yes. Very special people came every year.

What about the rest of the year? Were there any particular kinds of ways in which publicity would be done?

There were so many special events which brought in celebrities. They came for the shows and to relax. We had great shows and the people came to see them. Then we use to have the atom bomb views and invited guests came to the Sky Room to see them. The room closed at three in the morning, so we use to bring people up there just to watch the bomb go off.

Did you tell me that was usually in the early morning?

After three in the morning.

In 1953, Newsweek magazine called Las Vegas the entertainment capital of the world. And you just mentioned that entertainment was a really large part of the Desert Inn.

Yes it was, our entertainment in the lounge and in the dining room.

What are some of your fondest memories of entertainers that you got to know during those years?

I got to know Janie Powell. I got to know Jack Dempsey. I got to know Patti Page.

6In 1952, the Desert Inn initiated Dancing Waters, a computerized water display with colored lights and synchronized music.

You mentioned to me that something very special happened with Patti Page.

She was married in my home to Charlie O’Kern.

Did this happen more than once, when you would host --

We had several weddings at my home and I can’t remember them all but Patti Page is the one that stands out the most.

I think earlier you mentioned Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.

They came and stayed with me after they were married while Eddie performed at the

Desert Inn. Debbie would fly in from Hollywood, while filming Tammy, just to be with him. She would return to Hollywood every morning.

Now in terms of the entertainment, any other particular entertainers that stick in your mind, people that you particularly liked?

Noel Coward performed only at the Desert Inn. He was a very wonderful person. I liked him very much. He did a fantastic show. Maurice Chevalier was in our show also. He was very good. Janie Powell appeared on the show and the Maguire Sisters were on the show. Gypsy Rose Lee, Betty Hutton, the Boswell Sisters, Jackie Miles, but Jimmy

Durante was our favorite. He was so dear. William Powell and Mousey Powell were our very dear friends. Her name was Diane Lewis but when William Powell married her he said, “You’re no bigger than a little mouse.” And he named her Mousey, and she’s been

Mousey ever since. She now lives in Palm Springs and we’re very dear friends.

When they would come, would they come for a couple of weeks out of the year?

Yes, they usually stayed two weeks. [That] was about as long as we kept them. Some, like the Lou Walter’s Parisian show, that was there a whole month. Direct from Paris.

Lou Walter’s Parisian Follies, cast of forty, but most of the shows would return three to

four times a year.

This is Lou Walters who also owned a property in New York?

He owned the Latin Quarter in New York.

And this was his show at the Latin Quarter?

He brought it to the Desert Inn, yes.

Why do you think entertainment was so big in Las Vegas? What made it the entertainment capital of the world?

There wasn’t much else to see at that time. We had all the great stars performing at all the

hotels. And that’s what really made Las Vegas, I would say were the shows. People still

miss that very much.

Did it change while you were still involved with the Desert Inn?

No, we still had good shows at the Desert Inn.

Did the casinos trade entertainers? Or would entertainers say “I’m only going to the Desert Inn. That’s the only place I’m going to work.”

They used to stick to the hotels that they first performed for. I don’t think they changed

around that much, with the exception of an entertainer’s illness. Someone from another

hotel would fill in. Great camaraderie.

There were some very famous guests of the Desert Inn. Do you have any stories or recollections?

Well, the Duke and Duchess came for one night. I was in Los Angeles. Wilbur was in

New York. We got the call to get there in a hurry. We both arrived there in time for dinner in the Painted Desert Room. They were most charming people. Then we took

them around town and showed them the sights. She wanted me to ride with her in the

limo, but according to protocol I couldn’t do it. So I rode in the car, Wilbur and I and

Averile and Moe. And they rode in the other limo and we took them all over town. They

left the next morning. They were very nice people. We loved them dearly. Then we met

them at their Paris home later that year and visited them.

You showed me a picture once of Elvis Presley. Did you ever have an opportunity to--

Well, we met Elvis Presley, yes, at the studio.

What studio was that? They were filming here in--

No, it was in Hollywood.

Did you ever visit with him when he was performing here or was that later?

We saw him a few times here, yes.

In 1957 the Stardust opened and you’ve already told us a little of the involvement of the Desert Inn and opening the Stardust. But you wanted to add some things about the Lido Show and how it came to the Stardust. You had traveled to Paris.

I didn’t travel to Paris. Wilbur and Allard, who was our general manager of the Desert

Inn, and Frank Sennes who booked the shows at the hotel, they went to Paris and picked

out the girls for the Lido Show.

The Lido was conceived in Paris by Pierre Louis Guerin and Rene Fraday.

Yes, yes.

And in Las Vegas it was staged by Donn Arden.

He was the choreographer, yes.

He worked with the Desert Inn as well.

Yes, he was our choreographer, also for the Desert Inn show.

Great show.

And the Lido owner was Joseph Clerico. He owned the Lido in Paris.

That was quite a long-running show.

Oh my goodness, it was there for how many years? Up until the new people took it over.

We changed the appearance of the show once a year for twenty-eight years.

I think there is a small film clip about the Lido in the materials you gave to Special Collections. And I have some material here I want to share with you about the collection. Now one of the other things that you said you wanted to talk more about was Betty Boyle and her dress shop.

When we opened the Desert Inn we had Betty Boyle’s Dress Shop. And at that time they didn’t have any good shops here other than Fanny’s. Fanny’s was here many years before

Betty Boyle, but Betty Boyle brought all the new designers in. We had Scassi, Travilla,

Howard Shoup, Don Loper, Dior, Galanos, and Geoffrey Beene were designers that she brought in while she was at the Betty Boyle Dress Shop at the Desert Inn.

Would you say that that was the most exclusive dress shop in Las Vegas?

It was the only exclusive dress shop other than Fanny’s.

That sounds quite distinctive.

It was very nice.

One of the other areas that you wanted to correct was that a few years afterwards, the Paradise Valley development. It was on [Tropicana] and Eastern.

It is across from the university now.

That was where a number of the streets were named for family members.

No, families and entertainers and people that we knew.

Wilbur Avenue is right across from Thomas and Mack.7

I know. And they are supposed to have gone into the university but it was changed.

I think the final correction was with the property in Cuba. You had a couple of things, the name of it, of the Cuba hotel.

It was the National Hotel in Cuba.

And you corrected that it was not the first gambling in Cuba.

It was the first gambling in this hotel. The National Hotel, it was the first gambling it ever had. But there was gambling in other parts of Cuba..

Ok. I appreciate those corrections. You had some additional information to add about the original investment group.

Yes. Moe Dalitz and Morris Kleinman came to Las Vegas to buy the Flamingo. While they were there, they heard about Wilbur wanting money, and wanting to open the Desert

Inn. So the whole group came and talked to Wilbur about it. They had meetings for months and months, finally made up that they were going to have it called Wilbur Clark’s

Desert Inn.

Great. That’s helpful.

I didn’t know that myself. I heard that from Allard this morning. How did the group get together? He said, “Moe Dalitz came with a group to buy the Flamingo and went with

Wilbur for its new venture.” Wilbur told them how much they would make in the first year and they had trouble believing him. At the end of the first year it made three times his estimate.

Thank you. One of the more notable people in terms of Las Vegas history is Howard Hughes. Did you have any connection with Howard Hughes?

Howard Hughes used to come and stay with us when we had the El Rancho Vegas. He was a very nice person. We liked him very much. And then Wilbur always used to see him through the years. Wilbur wanted Hughes to come in with him, but [Hughes] didn’t want to be partners with anyone.

Now, some writers credit Howard Hughes as the beginning of the corporate era in Las Vegas.

It was the beginning of the corporate area.

So you would agree with that?

Yes.

Do you think that brought improvements to the city?

No, I don’t think so. Not at the time. Although Howard Hughes bought up all hotels that were empty, it did not do the town any good. They had a different way of running hotels.

Did you see him have much of a direct hand?

No, he did nothing at all to run the hotels. Bob Mayheu was in charge at the time. He never left the room upstairs at all when he came to the Desert Inn. I knew him well and I never got to talk to him again, but he inquired about me through Roy Crawford, his personal aide.

That was after a certain point in time. He was much more social earlier at the El Rancho Vegas.

At the El Rancho Vegas, yes. But then when he came to the Desert Inn he was very ill.

7The Thomas and Mack Stadium at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In his earlier years when you socialized at the El Rancho Vegas, was he at all interested in owning or . . .

No, he didn’t want to own anything. He didn’t want to be a partner with anyone but he

didn’t talk about owning a hotel at the time.

So he came to relax here.

He came to have fun at the El Rancho with us, yes. Wilbur said he was the smartest man he ever met in his whole life. He used to talk to him by the hour.

You mentioned that one of the other personalities, celebrities, really great people of the twentieth century that you had an opportunity to know was John F. Kennedy.

Yes. We met him. He came to my home on Desert Inn Road when he was a Senator.

And Wilbur and Hank Greenspun visited them in their home in Maryland. Jacqueline

Kennedy made them hamburgers for lunch. And I thought that was very nice. And she sent Wilbur a letter, and thanked him very much for a [television] set that he had sent because her television was broken, or out of order or something.

I would assume then, that you were supporters in his presidential campaign.

Oh, yes. Very much so. Wilbur was a delegate for the Democratic Party at the time.

So he went to the 1960 --

We both went.

Oh you did?

Oh, yes. Very exciting.

Was there ever any connection between your family and theirs after he was inaugurated President?

We went to the inauguration, Wilbur and I, and Wilbur corresponded with him regularly.

You have seen gambling change tremendously in this town and you’ve seen the city grow tremendously. What is it that you miss the most about the city that you first came to in the 1940s and 1950s?

What I miss is the personality and the personal touch. The attitude and dress code of the

visitors today hasn’t any class.

That’s what you miss today?

Yes.

Are there any improvements that you’ve seen in the city? Would you think of anything that’s gotten better as the city has changed?

It should never have been changed to family-oriented. Children have no business in a gambling environment for vacations. I know that for one thing. The worst thing Las

Vegas has done is to create neighborhood casinos, which I don’t think they should do that either.

This concludes the interview. Thank you very much. I appreciate all the time you’ve spent, all the research you’ve done.

Thank you very much for having me. I enjoyed it very much

Thank you.

Gaglionese family portrait around 1919. (back row) Josephine, Salvatore, Frank; (front row) Rose, Dominick, Lena Courtesy of Special Collections Dept., Lied Library, UNLV

Wedding Day for Wilbur and Toni Clark, 2 August 1944 in Reno, Nevada. Governor E.P. Carville and A.P. war correspondent, Larry Allen, congratulate them. Courtesy of Special Collections Dept., Lied Library, UNLV.

The entrance to Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn. Courtesy of Special Collections Dept., Lied Library, UNLV.

Toni Clark on the occasion of receiving the Fashion Foundation of America’s Best Dressed Hostess Award for 1958. Courtesy of Special Collections Dept., Lied Library, UNLV.

Socializing in the Desert Inn’s Skyroom following the Tournament of Champions. (Standing, left to right) Lori Adelson, Toni Clark, Averille Dalitz, Shirley Fruchtman, Katherine Simmons, Betty Grable, and Evelyn Roen. (Front) Muriel Rothkopf, Bo Weinerger, and Mrs. Bo Weinerger. Courtesy of Special Collections Dept., Lied Library, UNLV.

On the set with Elvis (Left to right) Moe Dalitz, Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse, Wilbur Clark, Toni Clark, and Cecil Simmons. Courtesy of Special Collections Dept, Lied Library, UNLV.

Party at the Stardust, post 1965. (back row, left to right) Jay Sarno, Toni Clark, Hank Greenspun, Kirk Kerkorian. (front) Jean Kerkorian, Charlie Harrison, Mrs. [Jay] Sarno, Theda Harrison, Harold Ambler, and Barbara Greenspun. Courtesy of Special Collections Dept., Lied Library, UNLV