Thursday, May 05, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
NORM: Lewis dishing on Sinatra mob ties
Frank Sinatra was a mob courier, Jerry Lewis says in a new book. Excerpts appear in Vanity Fair's June edition.
LeBron James seen at McCarran airport.
Matt Stone
Trey Parker
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Back in the day when gangsters ran Las Vegas, this was the surest bet in town: mention Frank Sinatra in the same breath with the mob and nasty things happened to knee caps.
Friends of Frank likely won't be happy to hear that entertainment icon Jerry Lewis is going public about Ol' Blue Eyes' wiseguy ties.
Sinatra, who went to his grave denying any mafia association, was a mob courier, Lewis says in the new book "Sinatra: The Life," excerpts of which appear in the June edition of Vanity Fair.
Lewis' comments came during interviews with co-authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan.
Among them, according to the New York Daily News:
• Sinatra "volunteered to be a messenger" for the mafia in the late 1940s, Lewis said.
• "Frank, at a cocktail party, told (mobster) Meyer (Lansky) in no uncertain terms, `If there is going to be East Coast, West Coast, intercontinental and foreign -- if all that's going to happen, I go all the time, Meyer,' " Lewis is quoted.
• Sinatra was spotted smuggling $3.5 million through customs, but customs officers let him go, distracted when Sinatra fans recognized him and started pushing and shoving, Lewis said.
• Bugsy Siegel, the mob's top man in Las Vegas when he opened the Flamingo in 1946, blocked Sinatra from getting established in Las Vegas. After Siegel was killed by the mob in 1947, Sinatra later toured the murder scene in a Beverly Hills mansion, according to the book.
The Scene and Heard
Late-night TV host Conan O'Brien is joining Tiger Woods' charity benefit, Tiger Jam VIII at Mandalay Bay on May 21. O'Brien will introduce guests during the dinner and auction before a concert by Stevie Wonder and Counting Crows. ...
Tabu bouncer Matt Feeley takes a shot at big money during tonight's airing of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" (KTNV-TV, Channel 13, 7:30 p.m.). ...
Judith Morris and Lisa Swanson of Las Vegas will be among the 100 mothers in the studio audience who are in for a big surprise during Friday's Mother's Day episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (KLAS-TV, Channel 8, 3 p.m.)...
Local PR whiz Stacy Foley is following her heart to Broadway. Foley, an account rep at Kirvin Doak Communications since 2001, is departing today to join the cast of "Steel Magnolias," which opens Friday at Las Vegas Little Theatre and runs through May 22. "I've always wanted to live in New York and make theater a bigger part of my life," Foley said. She plans to move to New York City after the play ends its run. ...
KXNT-AM 840 is announcing the winner of its search for a new talk-show host at 8:20 a.m. today during the Alan Stock & Heidi Harris show. ...
E-mail e-mergency: Due to technical problems, my e-mail has been on the fritz for several days. Since only a handful were arriving, please re-send your releases, sightings and tips.
Sightings
Cleveland Cavaliers standout LeBron James, at McCarran airport on Wednesday night after arriving on an AmericaWest flight from Orange County, California. ... "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, dining at Craftsteak (MGM Grand) on Wednesday. ... Martin Sheen, schlepping his own bags on the east wing of Caesars Palace.
The Punch Line
"For the first time, top finishers (in the Kentucky Derby) will be tested for drugs. I guess officials got suspicious they realized a lot of the horses were as big as Jose Canseco." -- Jay Leno
Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.
