Fred E. Basten and Charles Phoenix
foreword by Keely Smith

Fabulous Las Vegas in the '50s—a treasury of retro Las Vegas, of pre-Rat Pack days, when Liberace's candles flamed, Elvis was a flop and the town was just beginning to earn its reputation as the capital of real-life make-believe. Filled with glamorous visuals that give authentic meaning to the word "kitsch," this must-have collectors' book shows Las Vegas as it was—the town where celebrities, everyday folk, and glamour mixed with glitz, games and sex appeal. See and read about the early days of Sinatra on the Strip, Judy Garland introducing her eleven-year-old daughter Liza to the stage and Ronald Reagan making his Sin City debut performing with a troop of chimps. In these pages readers visit the original Tropicana hotel, the Sahara, the Sands, the Dunes and the Flamingo, as well as numerous spots that existed only in the earliest days of the town. Topless showgirls, midnight-til-dawn lounge acts and the greatest recording stars of the day were all standard fare—and the memorabilia collected by authors Basten and Phoenix brings them all back, bigger than life. Dozens of rare photographs show Crosby and Hope teeing off at the Tournament of Champions, America's most famous couple Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher cooing (before Liz Taylor came between them), and Milton Berle hamming it up at his birthday party.
 

Fred E. Basten, of Santa Monica, has written twenty books on Hollywood and entertainment such as Glorious Technicolor, Max Factor's Hollywood, Life at the Marmont and The Lost Artwork of Hollywood. 

Charles Phoenix provides humorous commentary a la Garrison Keillor for God Bless Americana, his theater slide show of America's best-loved cities. He is the author of Southern Californialand,  Southern California in the '50s and co-author (with Fred E. Basten) of Leis, Luaus & Alohas: The Lure of Hawaii in the '50s. 

Recording star Keely Smith, "The First Lady of Las Vegas," arrived in the glittering city in the early ‘50s, destined for a two-week stint. Together with her partner Louis Prima, she was the top lounge act in Vegas for more than six years and she continues to play there today. Keely Smith experienced the real Las Vegas, and shares the tale in her rollicking introduction.