Longtime Las Vegas entertainer Sonny King, left, introduced Jerry Lewis, center, to Dean Martin. King, 83, died Friday.

Sonny King was as much a chunk of Las Vegas history as the neon along the Strip.

Before he was a local lounge institution and Jimmy Durante's sidekick, it was King who introduced Dean Martin to Jerry Lewis in the 1940s. In the 1960s, he ran with The Rat Pack.

King, a 50-year Las Vegas resident, died Friday at age 83, wearing a straw hat, after a fierce battle with throat cancer. He died on the 88th birthday of longtime pal Joey Bishop, the jokester of The Rat Pack.

He was a storyteller supreme, the go-to guy for many a reporter looking for an old Vegas anecdote.

During an interview a few years back, he told me he roomed with Martin for 6 1/2 years at the Bryant Hotel on 54th Street in New York City.

"They put out a plaque that said, 'Dean Martin and Sonny King lived here and never paid the rent.' " Not true, said Sonny. "We would sing at all their functions in lieu of the rent."

Hired by Sahara entertainment director Bill Miller in 1955, King became part of the iconic lounge era with Sahara stars Louie Prima and Keely Smith.

In the 1940s, after introducing Martin and Lewis, they made up a trio called "The Three Lads" and performed all over New York.

"Sonny got a chance to do a gig in the Catskills, and he left for a few weeks," said King's wife, Peggy. "The rest, as they say, is history." Martin and Lewis went on to become show business megastars.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

The paparazzi are prowling: Vince Vaughn returns with his "Wild West Comedy Show" at Mandalay Bay tonight. The last time he was in town, at New Year's, girlfriend Jennifer Aniston danced on the bar at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce. Over at the Hard Rock Hotel, "Beacher's Madhouse" opens a new season, with party riot Paris Hilton expected. ...

A reminder: KNPR's online auction closes by 3 p.m. today. Among the 562 items: behind-the-scenes tours of Cirque du Soleil shows "Ka" (currently at $370), "O" ($360), "Zumanity" ($310) and "Mystere" ($250). And there's a night on the town, including dinner at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, with a certain eye-patched, man-about-town columnist ($220). I'll throw in a personalized Norm! bobblehead to boot. ...

Lisa Delcampo left Laura Herlovich's PR Plus staff this week to become personal assistant/publicist for Lance Bass of 'N Sync. She's moving to Los Angeles.

SIGHTINGS

New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, in the Kingpin Suite at the Palms' Fantasy Tower. The suite includes two bowling lanes. ... At Hooters grand opening Thursday and Friday: Dan Marino; Carrot Top; Gene Simmons of KISS; Cindy Margolis; former "Baywatch" star and Bruce Willis ex Brooke Burns; former University of Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins; former NFL lineman Tony Siragusa; TNT's NBA courtside reporter Craig Sager; former NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg; Vanna Lace; and Dennis "Mr. Belding" Haskins. ... At Tryst (Wynn): Axl Rose of Guns 'n' Roses. He later showed up at Seamless Afterhours, the new strip club on Arville. Also at Seamless: Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, Carey Hart, and Oakland Raiders' Jerry Porter and Calvin Branch. ... Baseball Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Ozzie Smith, in the audience at George Wallace's show at the Flamingo on Thursday night.

THE PUNCH LINE

"The first confirmed case of bird flu has just been discovered in Iraq. This is just the kind of thing that can destroy their tourism industry." -- Jay Leno

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or at norm@reviewjournal.com.