Carme Pitrello Inducted Into the Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame

Sixty Years of Hits: Straight From the Horse's Mouth

The Plugger has been tooting horns for others for sixty years.  Its about time she tooted one for herself.  Yes.  The Plugger is a lady.  Well, a few ladies actually.  Jean Bennett began writing the Plugger in February 1954.  Gayle Schreiber took over for a few issues in 1986 and then permanently in 2004.  A couple of other ladies contributed over the years, but there has never been a fellow.  I guess in horse language it would be "a stud."

"Sixty Years of Hits: Straight From the Horse's Mouth" has been available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online since 2014. It includes press releases (Pluggers) on everyone from Liberace and The Platters to The Colts, Freddie Bell and a host of other stars.  

It is not a How To book or a story about a group.  It is a "How It Was Done" book.  Everything collected here was written in the moment it happened.  It's a back office look at how rock and roll and the promotion of many entertainers took place with, not only Pluggers, but office notes, correspondence and photos.  If you want to be a star, this is a book you'll want to read.  The only thing that has changed in promotion  over the years is you no longer have to duplicate, fold, stamp and mail.  All you have to do is hit the enter key.

Jazzin' Jeannie Brei and the Speakeasy Swingers

Perhaps it's giving the Plugger's age away by saying this was the most enjoyable evening of entertainment we've experienced in a long, long time, but this was a night filled with talented performers that are hard to find today.

Jeannie Brei is a fabulous singer who reminds us of what talent truly is and takes us back to an era when there was no such thing as auto-tune.  The girl can sing!  Charlie Shaffer on keyboard is an old friend of the Plugger, but that didn't influence the overall experience.  The guest performers Jeannie brought onstage also harkened back to the day when talent was king. . . . and a necessity to stand center stage.  If you're in Las Vegas on the first Thursday of the Month, make sure to stop by the Italian American Club.  It is well worth the $10 cover.

 

Coming up at the Italian American Club on February 28, 2015, Las Vegas Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee, Dondino.

Awards Show - January 28, 2015

Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame Awards Show

Bruce Commander Garrett, Dondino, Don Hill, Marty Allen, Karon Kate Blackwell, Gary Campbell and the Showgirls from Showgirls Across America

Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame Award Show 2015

First Inductees of 2015

The Mad Greek Café Welcomes the Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame

Mark your calendars and stop by the Mad Greek Café on Wednesday, January 28, at 2:00 p.m. when the Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame and Museum will induct six of Las Vegas’ most talented entertainers including two broadcast media personalities who have been spreading the story about Las Vegas entertainment for decades.  A donation of $10 at the door supports the Hall of Fame.  The menu offers fabulous Greek food and drinks at reasonable prices.

Being inducted into the Hall of Fame at this event are Brillo haired comedian Marty Allen who has been making people laugh for more than seventy years.  With over 400 television appearance under his belt, including following the Beatles on their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Marty has been a headliner in Las Vegas “forever,” including a four year stint at Vegas World (Stratosphere).  Keeping audiences laughing in Las Vegas has rightfully earned this talented man his place among those who have made Las Vegas the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Karon Kate Blackwell has been headlining in Las Vegas for more than twenty years . . . but she never gets top billing because she plays straight woman to Marty Allen’s quick wit.  Karon, a consummate performer who sings, plays piano and captivates audiences at every performance, opened for Wayne Newton and played the lounges throughout town before joining her husband onstage.  This multi-talented artist has brought enjoyment to thousands and is best defined as a 5 Star Performer.

The Treniers were playing Las Vegas lounges in the 1940’s, and saxophonist Don Hill was playing with them.   Mr. Hill, who still delights audiences in Las Vegas after seventy years onstage, embodies the music, entertainment and soul that built the town.  His talent and longevity and those who took the stage with him are the reason the Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame was created.

Dondino, that’s just one name, has been delighting audiences in Las Vegas since the 1970’s.  There are few venues he did not play before they were imploded and before he settled in at the Four Queens for a thirteen year stint.  He deserted Las Vegas for a couple of years to headline at his own theater in Branson, but there’s no place like Las Vegas.  He’s home, and we’re delighted to have him back where he belongs keeping Las Vegas entertainment alive.

Without media attention Las Vegas would be nothing but a sandy spot on the road in the middle of the desert; therefore, The hall of Fame recognizes those who made it happen.

For forty years Gary Campbell has been spreading the word about Las Vegas entertainment.  Although you may not recognize his name, you recognize his voice as it is heard from one end of the state to the other.  For ten years he hosted Backstage Live with Gary Campbell and Connie Ross from Duisenberg Room at the Imperial Palace.  The show was broadcast on both radio and television as Gary and co-host Connie Ross interviewed a list of talent too long to name.

Bruce Commander Garrett dropped into Las Vegas a decade ago and immediately became an on air personality at Las Vegas’ oldest local radio station, KLAV.  For the first few years, the Commander hosted “Nights Over Las Vegas,” six nights a week.  Having stepped into a management roll at the station, he is now heard on Saturday nights as he plays great music and interviews local Las Vegas talent to let America and the world know what’s happening in Las Vegas entertainment.

Hall of Fame Inductees

The Las Vegas Entertainers Hall of Fame does not have a physical home yet, but in February 2014, we realized how many of Las Vegas' fabulous entertainers were getting a little age on them.  We decided now was the time to honor them.  In February the first group of "old timers" gathered for a very small event at Skinny Dugans.  Those inducted were Jean Bennett for Lifetime Achievement in Media and Management; Robbie Robinison for Lifetime Achievement in Performance; Huck Daniels for Lifetime Achievement in Lounge Performance; Earl "Good Rockin'" Brown, for Lifetime Achievement in bringing jazz to Las Vegas.  All of the artists have performed on Las Vegas stages more fifty years of more.

Jean Bennett, as a manager and publicist, brought The Platters to the Moulin Rouge and Flamingo in 1956.  She moved the offices of Personality Productions to Las Vegas in 1966.  The Platters is the entertainment name on a marquee longer than any other - 58 years.  Jean booked them at the Four Queens for sixteen weeks a year for ten years.  They opened the Maxim and she put them on the stage at every major property in Las Vegas.

She also booked and promoted a many other opening and lounge performers including Bach Yen, The Kim Brothers, Scott Randolph, Anita McKune, and Two Cats and  Mouse.

Robbie Robinson began his career as a teenager working with The Platters.  But he has done it all.  In addition to being the original music director for The Platters, he also performed as a singer with various line-ups of the group over fifty years, and he has played his saxophone on just about every stage and club in Las Vegas with a host of other talented artists and is still working at it.  Robbie is what Las Vegas entertainment is  about. 

Like Robbie Robinson and Jean Bennett, Earl "Good Rockin'" Brown has kept people coming to Las Vegas for great entertainment for many decades.  It was Earl who first brought jazz to the lounges.  And it was Earl who brought  Huck Daniels to Las Vegas.

Huck Daniels has been a staple of Las Vegas entertainment for decades.  There is hardly a lounge he has not played with his exciting "Huck Daniels Review."  His was a show that left audiences wanting more.

If all of these inductees seem to be tied together somehow, they are.  This is Las Vegas.  This is where they have each made enormous contributions in creating the Entertainment Capital of the World, and at one time or another their paths have crossed.  They have worked together and filled our lives with music.