Stardust employees toast resort's last hurrah.
Photo by Norm Clarke/Review-Journal
Many people arrived at the Stardust on Saturday in their Sunday best to bid farewell to an old friend.
Richard from Denver wore a tuxedo, a nod to a bygone era when a show on the Strip was a glamorous occasion.
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Former Lido de Paris dancers Margo Mansergh, Valerie Chapman and Joey Thomas showed up to see their old home, the stage in the Stardust Theatre, for one last time.
"It hits you right here," said Chapman, placing her hand up to her throat.
Minutes after Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme closed the showroom, after a multitude of Frank Sinatra songs, many in the crowd lingered to pose for photos in front of the gold-colored curtain.
Backstage, a party raged as longtime pals of Lawrence and Gorme gathered for a spirited farewell and storytelling.
Frankie Avalon stopped by. Bob Stupak was on a bar stool, next to the ever-effervescent Gorme, who was medicinally treating her bad knee.
Lawrence was working the room, one last time.
After walking off the stage ramp, I spotted the showroom staff gathered near the exit, their tuxedo jackets already off and bow ties undone.
Champagne glasses held aloft, they were saluting the Stardust with a somber round of toasts.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
More news from the local podcasting community: The Web site www.fivehundybymidnight.com reported on Sunday that David Hasselhoff is expected to play Franz, the former crazy Nazi, when "The Producers" opens at The Venetian next year. This will be big news in Germany, where the 'Hoff is idolized. The Web site is predicting an announcement this week on Prince's deal at the Rio that includes the singer's takeover of the Rio's Fiore restaurant, which will be renamed the 3121 Jazz Kitchen.
SIGHTINGS
Nicolas Cage, adding more fuel to speculation that he might be moving here, attended Lance Burton's magic show (Monte Carlo) on Saturday, his third visit to see Burton in recent months. Cage plays a Las Vegas showroom magician with powers to see the future in an upcoming thriller entitled "Next." He's also in pre-production for "Amarillo Slim," the story of poker legend "Amarillo Slim" Preston, winner of the 1972 World Series of Poker. ... Prince, throwing his guitar into the crowd as a souvenir after sitting in and playing guitar with Maceo Parker at the latter's late-night House of Blues show, which started at 1:20 a.m. and didn't conclude until 4 a.m. ... George Clooney and Rande Gerber, hanging out at a Halloween party at Cherry, Gerber's nightclub at Red Rock Resort. ... Dennis Rodman, dressed as Kiss frontman Gene Simmons, surprising Simmons when they met for dinner Saturday at Social House (Treasure Island). Later, they headed for Tangerine. Also in the house: Ivanka Trump, dining with members of Maroon 5, and Ryan Cabrera. ... Petra Nemcova, the Czech supermodel who survived the 2004 Asia tsunami, dancing barefooted at Tryst (Wynn) on Saturday. ... Fiona Apple, a headliner at the Vegoose festival, dining at the Garden of the Dragon (Hilton). ... Former race car driver Sam Schmidt, receiving a $500,000 donation for his paralysis foundation from developers Leonard and Susan Mardian during Schmidt's Walk of Stars presentation Saturday at Capital Grille at the Fashion Show mall. ... In the closing-show crowd at the Stardust, comedy icon Shecky Greene, no stranger to tough crowds, was wearing a yellow hard hat.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Tom Cruise is a thrifty and shrewd guy. To save money on the wedding, he's going to stand on the cake." -- David Letterman.
