Pop artist pursued big ‘Las Vegas’ sign
Pop artist Steve Kaufman's grand plan was to have Las Vegas visitors greeted with an iconic visual that would dwarf the Hollywood sign.
Seven years ago, Kaufman pitched Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and major Las Vegas resorts on the idea of building a "Las Vegas" sign on Sunrise Mountain behind Henderson. The 100-foot-high letters would be illuminated by lights, he told Vegas Confidential.
"When you fly into McCarran (from the north), the right side of the plane has a view of the Strip, and there's nothing on the left side," Kaufman said at the time. "Now you'll have the sign. We're just waiting to hear if we can have this mountain."
Kaufman, who died Friday in Vail, Colo., at the age of 49, told me he initially wanted the super-sized sign to be four times larger than the Hollywood sign, which had 50-foot-high letters when it was officially dedicated in 1923. After a restoration project in 1978, the letters ended up being 45-feet high, with nine donors contributing $27,777 per letter. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner purchased the "Y."
Kaufman's concept would have stretched 1,000 feet across the mountain. The project would have been underwritten by 20 to 40 casinos, he said.
Kaufman, who lived in Los Angeles most of the time and was an assistant to Andy Warhol, created a number of artworks for Las Vegas resorts. Vail police said it appeared he died of natural causes.
The Hollywood sign is back in the headlines this week after preservationists covered the letters and replaced them with the words "SAVE THE PEAK."
The Save the Peak campaign would bar the sale of the land to prevent developers from having luxury homes built on the 138-acre area, which is known as Cahuenga Peak.
According to reports, Howard Hughes originally purchased the land in 1940 with the intention of building a castle for then-fiancee Ginger Rogers, one of Hollywood's biggest stars.
Others have altered the sign over the years. When a law was passed in 1976 decriminalizing marijuana, jubilant potheads celebrated by changing the sign to read "HOLLYWeeD."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
A photograph has surfaced of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who is rarely seen in social circles, with lady friend Joan Dangerfield. They were photographed holding hands at UCLA's Visionary Ball held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in October. A source told Vegas Confidential that she has moved into Kerkorian's Beverly Hills mansion. A second source said there are rumblings that Kerkorian and Dangerfield are engaged. She was married to comedian Rodney Dangerfield from 1993 until his death in 2004. ... A memorial service for longtime local musician Mike Corda will be held at 10 a.m. today at the Stirling Club, 2827 Paradise Road. Corda, who spent much of the past decade as the piano player at Charlie Palmer Steak in the Four Seasons, died Saturday at age 88. He has been a shining light in the music community since moving here in 1963. During his career, he composed and produced music for Bill Haley and The Comets and wrote music for such greats as Sammy Davis Jr., Nancy Wilson and others. For gate clearance into the Stirling Club, 2827 Paradise Road, contact Nikki Corda at 702-270-7719.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Johnny Weir is kind of the Lady Gaga of the Winter Olympics." -- Jimmy Kimmel
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
