Freddie Bell, Lounge Pioneer, has died

Our In Memoriam list, unfortunately, keeps growing.

Latest addition, Lounge Pioneer Freddie Bell.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Freddie back in 2004 about his life and career in Las Vegas.  Though he hailed from Philadelphia, he loved Las Vegas.  He and his group, The Bellboys, had come to Las Vegas in the early 1950s and were one of the early lounge acts that helped put Las Vegas on the radar of visitors from around the world.  Today, most people remember Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera and maybe the Mary Kaye Trio.  But groups like Freddie Bell and the Bellboys and the Treniers were staples in the Lounges of the Las Vegas Strip for more years than many of us can remember.

Freddie and the Bellboys recorded "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" and "Hound Dog".  A young Elvis Presley, appearing at the Frontier Hotel in 1956, caught Freddie's lounge act and heard him sing "Hound Dog".  He approached Bell about the song and Bell basically said "If you want it, it's yours".  Freddie was that kind of guy.   He did a killer impersonation of Presley and Elvis would often drop in to watch Bell's act and then laugh the loudest at the impersonation.

Freddie was pals with the Rat Pack in the glorious 1950s and was headlining the lounge at the Sands thanks to Jack Entratter who hoped by employing the energetic singer he could control his gambling habit.  Bell was one of the lucky ones chosen to join the Rat Pack in the fabled Steam Room at the Sands prior to them taking the stage for the legendary Summit in 1960. 

He married another lounge stalwart, Roberta Sherwood, in the early 1960s and they often alternated on a lounge double bill in throughout the early 1960s. 

When Sonny King passed away a few years back, Freddie Bell took his place anchoring the late-night party at the Bootlegger Bistro.

He entered Valley Hospital earlier this month due to complications from lung cancer.  He passed away earlier today at the age of 76.

We will miss him and his wonderful sense of humor.  He had a strong sense of the entertainment history of the Las Vegas Strip and his role in defining the lounge scene.  He was a true pioneer. 

The Past Resurfaces

 

As the Lake continues to drop dramatically, all sorts of artifacts that have long been underwater are popping up in the mud and dirt of where the Lake once was.

One such place is St. Thomas.  Once a small Mormon farming community, St. Thomas was established in 1865.  It was near where the Muddy River flowed into the mighty Colorado.  Many of the Mormon families left St. Thomas in 1871 when a re-alignment of the state line placed St. Thomas in Nevada instead of Utah.    Some families stayed and others moved there.  St. Thomas thrived and became a well-known community on the edge of the Moapa Valley. 

The building of Boulder Dam, however, doomed the community.  In anticipation of Lake Mead rising behind the Dam, the federal government bought out the homeowners in St. Thomas beginning in the mid-1930s.  Some families tore down their homesteads that had been in their family for generations.  Others walked away with what they could carry leaving behind their possessions that were too large or burdensome to take.

On June 11th, 1938 the last resident, Hugh Lord, rowed away from St. Thomas forever.   Lake Mead soon engulfed and covered over St. Thomas.  The town became but a memory that old-timers talked about.  When a drought in the mid-1960s caused the Lake to drop, some of St. Thomas briefly reappeared.  But the drought soon ended, the snows returned to the Rockies and St. Thomas soon slipped back under the blue water of the Lake.

Today, the Lake has dropped so dramatically that St. Thomas has resurfaced completely.  Guided tours can be arranged through the National Park Service for those interested in exploring this wonderful piece of Southern Nevada history.

One of these days, the snows will return to the Rockies and the drought will end and the Lake will once again reclaim this fascinating piece of history. 

 Special thanks to RoadsidePictures for letting us use that photo. 

Lake Mead Marina moved

 

Lake Mead Boat Landing 1935

 

As the water began to fill in behind Boulder Dam, boat landings began springing up.  One of the first on Lake Mead was the aptly named Lake Mead Boat Landing.  It opened in 1935.  Thirty years later it had grown into a full-sized marina and renamed the Lake Mead Marina.
 
Due to a drought through-out the Southwest the last few years, the water in Lake Mead has been dropping.  Dramatically.  The Lake is at an all-time low, one hundred feet below where it was at its peak.  Because the Lake has dropped so low, the old boat landings such as Overton Landing have been closed.  Marinas such as Las Vegas Bay have been moved to Hemenway Harbor in order to literally keep afloat.

 

On Friday morning, Lake Mead Marina fell victim to the shrinking lake and was also moved to deeper water at Hemenway Harbor.  With boat owners and photographers looking on, the Marina began its slow move.  How do you move a marina, boats and all?  
 
Well, we hope these photos from RoadsidePictures helps explain it: 

 

 

Detached from land, Lake Mead Marina Feb. 8, 2008 

 

 

On its way out of the cove 

 

 

 

 

Making a wide righ turn  

 

 

 

The carp wonder what all the excitement is about 

 

If you haven't been out to see just how low the Lake is, we recommend you do so.  It is a once in a life-time opportunity to see just how dramatically the drought has affected the largest man-made lake in the country.  Islands and other debris that had been beneath a watery grave for over seventy years now dot the landscape of the lake.  But nothing quite prepares for you seeing in person the difference in level between the high water mark and the level of the lake today.
 

Howard Hughes Event a great success

 

Author Geoff Schumacher signs a book for Patti Haack

 

I want to thank everyone that helped make our event, "Power, Paranoia and Palace Intrique: Howard Hughes in Las Vegas" at the State Museum last Tuesday such a success.  The book signing, coordinated by Stephens Press, was a rousing success.  The Staff and Volunteers of the Nevada State Museum provided an excellent venue, refreshments and support.  The Friends of Classic Las Vegas helped to co-sponsor the event.

 

Though Robert Maheu was ill and unable to attend we send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.  The other panelists, Mr. Paul Winn, Mrs. Peg Crockett, Mr. Gordon Margulis and the author, Geofff Schumacher shared their memories and their stories of Mr. Hughes.  It was a wonderful evening and the panelists held the audience entranced as they each described the Howard Hughes they had encountered over the years.

 

A special thanks to all who attended and helped make this a very memorable evening for all involved.