Headliners who became lounge acts
There’s an old show business adage that says casino lounges are either for performers on their way up, or on their way down. There was a time in Las Vegas and Atlantic City when that was true. Comics Don Rickles and Shecky Green first worked the Vegas lounges, then...
Eddie Bruce rocks with Stockton’s ‘Big Band in Residence’
Vocal artist, bandleader, broadcaster and cabaret performer Eddie Bruce has done just about everything there is to do in the entertainment business since he first broke in as a youngster over five decades ago, except to record with a really swinging jazz band. But...
When Merv Griffin ruled the Atlantic City Boardwalk
Who would have thought that a modestly talented afternoon television talk show host would eventually become not only a media mogul, but one of the top players in the hotel/casino business? Probably no one. But it happened and the legacy of Merv Griffin, both on...
Chris Columbus: The beat of Atlantic City
When fans of classic big band jazz gather, the talk invariably turns to the legendary drummers of yore who drove those ensembles. One of the names that seems to always come up is that of Sonny Payne, who spent 10 years with the band of Count Basie, 13 years with Harry...
