El Cortez Hotel & Casino Entertainment

The 1940s and 1950s saw many performers and entertainers grace the stages of the El Cortez Hotel & Casino, from a variety of disciplines and artistic mediums – some could be considered traditional Las Vegas fare, while others broke from the norm entirely and set new standards for the city as a whole.

Many shows at the property were staged in a supper club environment, meaning that audiences could not only enjoy live entertainment, but they could also savor a delicious meal while doing so. Many of these performers hailed directly from Broadway or vaudeville, and offered guests a competitive value compared to, perhaps, other venues in the city at the time. These bargain offerings were among many reasons why, upon opening, the property billed itself as “The Popular Priced El Cortez Hotel [& Casino].”

Musicians and dancers were among the most consistent acts booked at the El Cortez during this early period in the property’s history. On its opening day in November 1941, bright-eyed visitors exploring the new property could do so while the orchestral jazz sounds of Jack Martin and His Band and vocalist Margaret Lewis accompanied their visit, emphasizing the intended sense of luxury that permeated every aspect of the El Cortez. A novelty dance revue followed, as well as performances from the Brazilian-Spanish dance team The Del Combos and a brief engagement from Kenneth Walker’s Chinese Follies, the latter of which starred groundbreaking Asian-American dancer/comedienne Jadin Wong. Years before the Moulin Rouge Agreement integrated the city, the El Cortez booked Black performers for headlining engagements, among them were The Spectacular El Cortez Blackouts, the Golden Gate Quartet, and banjo virtuoso Bruce “Patti” Patterson. By the 1950s, the property began building a reputation for itself as a destination for fans of the emerging rock ‘n’ roll genre, with journalist Les Devor reporting that the El Cortez was routinely “shaking, rattling, and rolling.”

On November 8, 1953, the El Cortez staged what it referred to as: “The GREATEST Show We’ve Ever Booked!” At the property’s Pirates Den venue, female impersonator Lynne Carter was booked for his first ever show in Las Vegas, an integral step along a career path that would culminate in a historic performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1971. Hailed by critics as “a piece of genius in the show world,” Carter made a career of impersonating the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and Eartha Kitt. His famous fans included Pearl Bailey and Josephine Baker, each of whom gifted Carter pieces from their personal wardrobes to encourage him in his artistic pursuits. This is an early example of female impersonation in Las Vegas, a staple of the show business landscape in the city that continues to this day with performers like Frank Marino and productions such as RuPaul’s Drag Race LIVE at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino.