ML - Vegas Magazine

2013 - Issue 6 - October

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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F ront Runners Mr. Moonlight An errant apostrophe can't dim Frankie Vaughan's smile. S inger Frankie Vaughan was as English as they came, with his stylish signature top hat, bow tie, tails, and cane, but he boldly set out for American shores in the 1950s—and landed in a Las Vegas cabaret show. The relocation of Mr. Moonlight (the nickname he received from his hit song "Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl") to the Strip turned out to be a savvy career move, and Vaughan proudly posed in his Lincoln Continental Mark IV in front of the sign welcoming him to the Dunes' Minsky's revue in October 1959. Performing up to three shows per night, the crooner captivated audiences in the hotel's Aladdin Room with his one-of-a-kind act, a combination of singing, cabaret performers, and beautiful burlesque dancers. Harold Minsky brought his family's burlesque business to the desert in the hope that it would fare better in Vegas than it had in New York, where the show was declared obscene. It was raided so frequently there that it inspired the 1960 book The Night They Raided Minsky's and the 1968 film of the same name. Hollywood inevitably came calling, and during his second season at the Dunes, Vaughan also appeared on the big screen, performing a musical number alongside bombshell Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love. The Bellagio now occupies the property where the Dunes hotel and showroom once stood. And while there is no Englishman in top hat and tails to entertain with his sweet melodies, the Bellagio's choreographed fountains dance to timeless songs 365 days a year. V 14 PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEYSTONE FEATURES/GETTY IMAGES SINGER FRANKIE VAUGHAN TRADES THE BRITISH CHARTS TO SHARE A STAGE WITH BEAUTIFUL WOMEN IN THE FIRST TOPLESS SHOW ON THE LAS VEGAS STRIP. BY ANDREA CORRAL VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 014_V_FOB_FR_Oct13.indd 14 9/17/13 4:25 PM

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