Bonus video! A brief history of Las Vegas gay nightlife
Hello there!
I'm visiting family in Las Vegas this week, but I managed to sneak away for a few minutes to record a bonus video about some local gay history. One of the things that I find fascinating about Las Vegas' 20th-century queer history is how much of it survived, even from times when that sort of thing was so taboo that records of queer lives weren't kept or were usually destroyed. I suspect that at least some of that endurance is due to how important nightlife in general was to the economic stability of Las Vegas. But I also think it's important to note that it's a lot harder to come by histories going further back to the original inhabitants.
Here's a few fun clips that I found of some gay Las Vegas stuff:
Female impersonator Lynne Carter: https://youtu.be/VM_YDUVjFZ8?si=PRDtM85dDPnChGtm
Jim Bailey performing on the show Vegas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJkBPJ8Flkw
A short 1953 newsreel with Christine Jorgensen (a trans woman, not a female impersonator), who in 1955 performed in Las Vegas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FYZ6m06bDU
Reno gay rodeo in 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEguOmS5q9I
Bonus video! A brief history of Las Vegas gay nightlife (YouTube)
Comments (9)
Appreciate your commentary on precolonial history as well
Interesting to see that Winston cigarette company was a sponsor of the rodeo
Haha, like the old saying goes, "Winston loves the gays like a cigarette should"
Welcome to Sin City.
Thanks! I can't believe New York is called the city that never sleeps when Las Vegas goes as hard as it does after dark.
Thanks for this. Interesting that the billboard for Le Cafe says "Le Cafe Courageously Presents..." Also, at 7:31 did you really mean to reference pre colonial history "going back a thousand, two thousand years ago"?
Yes, that phrasing is quite a reminder of how perilous queer life could be. And yes indeed, Paiute cultures (of which there are several dozen) in Nevada can be traced to around 1000 AD, and of course there were people living there for many thousands of years prior to that. (The availability of fresh water made the region particularly magnetic for human settlement. I can't tell you how happy I am to have a reason to relate queer history to hydrological history, my other favorite topic.)
We're so lucky to have you as a "teacher" Matt! Thanks to you and your curiosity, I've learned a ton. Happy New Year.
Aw it's my pleasure! Thanks for watching! :D