Cult Vegas

Elvis Meets Liberace, Shecky, and Vampira

Where? In Las Vegas, of course Just about every subject of lingering cult fascination, from James Bond and Bela Lugosi to Lili St. Cyr and "Pussycat" Tura Satana, has a Las Vegas connection. And Cult Vegas is the first--the only --entertainment history that puts them all together. Forget about the modern, corporate, themed Las Vegas. Cult Vegas resurrects the golden-age Sin City of history and legend: Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, Ann-Margret, Redd Foxx, the Treniers, Charo, Don Rickles, Juliet Prowse, Buddy Hackett, and more. This book captures the cool without forgetting the kitsch, such as sex kittens Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, and sit-com stars Don Knotts and Sherman Hemsley as headliners. Cult Vegas also includes detailed coverage of the Strip's swingin' lounge scene of the '50s and takes a comprehensive look at its own boozy brand of comedy. Cult Vegas also gives you the inside dope on nearly every offbeat movie to feature Las Vegas, and peers into forgotten corners of showroom trivia and esoterica: Marilyn Chambers goes legit Lorne Greene sings The extreme, the awful, the camp, and the sublime--it's all here in this freewheeling tribute to a half-century of entertainment that can only be collectively described as "Vegas."