Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, above, and Joe Yablonsky, below, disliked each other but liked Joe Kludjian's Golden Steer.
Smokey Robinson sang and paid for everyone's supper at Lotus of Siam.
Steakhouse pioneer Joe Kludjian saw 'em all come through the Golden Steer's door -- famous names and feared mobsters. Kludjian, who owned the popular west Sahara Avenue restaurant from 1960 to 2001, died Tuesday at age 81.
Shortly before his retirement in 2001, he walked me through the restaurant, pointing out the VIP booths.
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Dean Martin always requested Booth No. 6, he said. Band leader-trumpeter Harry James and World War II pinup queen Betty Grable were regulars, but the married couple "never talked to each other."
Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio always asked for a seat facing the door so he could see who was coming in, recalled Kludjian.
But nothing heated up Kludjian's famous eatery like the hate between Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, the mobster, and Joe Yablonsky, the FBI chief who went after him.
"They would sit and glare across the room at each other," said Kludjian, a Las Vegan since 1952.
When Elvis Presley opened at the New Frontier on April 23, 1956, Kludjian stopped in that week to see what all the fuss was about.
"There were six people in the whole goddamn barn. I didn't understand what the big deal was, this business about, 'You ain't nothin' but a hound dog.' "
He added, "The place was empty. All the white tablecloths made it look like a blizzard."
Viewing will be from 3-7 p.m. Monday at Bunkers Mortuary, 925 Las Vegas Blvd. North. He will be buried Tuesday at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.
Send me your favorite memories of Kludjian and the Golden Steer at norm@reviewjournal.com or leave a message at 383-0244.
PLAYBOY PLANS
Christie Hefner, chairman & chief executive officer of Playboy Enterprises Inc., will discuss the new Playboy Club at the Palms in her April 19 keynote speech at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon at the Rio.
Hefner, Playboy's top executive since 1988, will also talk about the restructuring operations and the company's successful electronic and international expansion, including digital content via television, the Internet and wireless services.
The new Playboy Club, when it opens in September, will be the first one opened in the world since 1984.
MAY I RECOMMEND ...
Ice Cube hosts tonight's star-studded taping of Spike TV's AutoRox TV awards show at the Fremont Street Experience. The show, which celebrates America's love affair with automobiles, will start at 8 p.m. after a 6 p.m. red-carpet arrival. The celebrity lineup includes: Pamela Anderson, Kiefer Sutherland, LaDainian Tomlinson, wrestler Goldberg, Magic Johnson, Wayne Newton and Lee Iacocca. The show will air April 18.
SIGHTINGS
Motown great Smokey Robinson, singing some of his hits after dinner at Lotus of Siam on Monday. Before leaving, he picked up the tab (about $3,000) for everybody in the restaurant and left a $500 tip. ... Susan Anton, starring in "Hairspray" (Luxor), winning the $10,000 first prize in the "Queer Eye" celebrity poker tournament Thursday at Caesars Palace. A poker novice, she was down to one chip before overtaking David Brenner. The event was being taped for the "Queer Eye" series, which is being filmed in Las Vegas. ... Rapper Busta Rhymes, performing at Tryst (Wynn) on Wednesday. ... Emmanuel Lewis and George Lucas, at separate tables at Spago (Forums Shops at Caesars) on Thursday. ... Verne "Mini Me" Troyer, Vanilla Ice, Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa, Traci Bingham and Ron Jeremy, being introduced at "An Evening at La Cage" (Riviera) on Thursday night. The contingent moved on to Tabu and Studio 54 at MGM Grand. They are in town filming episodes for "The Surreal Life: Fame Games." ... Ultimate Fighting Championship star Diego Sanchez, with friends at Tabu.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Pop star Britney Spears is rumored to be having another baby. This could be the first time in history that the baby drives itself home from the hospital." -- David Letterman
