Explore the Tropicana’s glory days in Las Vegas — PHOTOS

By Richard N. Velotta

Las Vegas Review-Journal

8 months ago

7/27/1957 Tropicana front day

1/15/76 Tropicana Paradise Hotel/Casino in background

Showgirls from "Folies Bergere" getting ready for a show in their dressing room at the Tropicana hotel and casino at the southeast corner of East Tropicana Avenue and South Las Vegas Boulevard. Folies Bergere is Las Vegas’ longest-running show that opened in 1959. The show was revamped this year and is called "The Best of the Folies Bergere … Sexier than Ever". A short article about the show is in the paper 1997-11-07 page 14J.

Tropicana 4/22/57

From left, Eddie Fisher, Eddie Cantor and Sammy Davis Jr. are seen at the Tropicana, June 19, 1958 in Las Vegas on Fisher’s opening night. (AP Photo)

This is a view looking north along Las Vegas Boulevard May 2, 1975. Visible in the image are the Tropicana, Marina, MGM Grand, Dunes, Caesars, (Las Vegas News Bureau)

A tower is seen under conservation at the Tropicana Las Vegas in 1982. (Review-Journal file)

7/16/64 Tropicana Hotel pool 11340-0021

Christine Toly dealing "face-up" blackjack to tourists at the Tropicana Hotel’s "Learning 21" table. This is the first in a weekly series explaining some of the casino games available in Nevada. Location is the Tropicana Hotel & Casino at the southeast corner of East Tropicana Avenue and South Las Vegas Boulevard. In paper 1994-03-01 page 1C. (Review-Journal file)

Siegfried and Roy at the Tropicana in May 1985. (Courtesy photo)

The cast of "Folies Bergere" pose under the marquee of the Tropicana hotel-casino Oct. 17, 1975. (File photo)

Elizabeth Taylor, in the audience at far right, listens as Eddie Fisher sings love songs to her during his closing show at the Tropicana Hotel, the same day that they planned to marry in Las Vegas, May 12, 1959. (AP Photo/Harold Filan)

Entertainer Wayne Newton performs during the opening night of his limited-engagement production ‘Once Before I Go’ at the Tropicana hotel-casino October 28, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. DUANE PROKOP/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Kim Denmark, a dancer with Folies Bergere at the Tropicana hotel-casino, sits backstage before the start of the show Thursday, April 5, 2007, in Las Vegas. Las Vegas showgirls are considered one of the “Seven Wonders of Las Vegas.” JANE KALINOWSKY/REVIEW-JOURNAL JANE KALINOWSKY/REVIEW-JOURNAL Kim Denmark performs as a Folies Bergere at the Tropicana, which is one of the “seven wonders of Las Vegas.” Photographed on April 5, 2007.

6/5/1963 Folies Bergere, Tropicana, Showgirls

A lounge at the Tropicana Las Vegas is seen in this undated file photo. (Review-Journal file)

The gaming area was busy Tuesday March 24, 2009 at the Tropicana Hotel. (Review-Journal file)

People relaxing in lounge chairs at the swimming pool at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino 3801 South Las Vegas Boulevard on April 24, 1987. (Review-Journal file)

A showgirl performs in the Strips longest running show “Les Folies Bergere” at the Tropicana hotel-casino on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009, in Las Vegas. The Tropicana announced Thursday that the iconic show will end it’s 49-year run on March 28. (Review-Journal file) K.M. CANNON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL A showgirl performs in Les Folies Bergere at the Tropicana Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009. The Tropicana announced Thursday that the iconic show will end it’s 49-year run on March 28.

Showgirls in “Folies Bergere” perform at the Tropicana Las Vegas in this undated file photo. (Review-Journal file)

Robbie Knievel successfully lands after jumping his motorcycle over 30 limousines at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, Feb. 24, 1998. Knievel traveled at nearly 100 mph to set the distance record of more than 230 feet. The jump was part of a two-hour television special. (AP Photo/Jeff Scheid)

Elizabeth Taylor, right, and Eddie Fisher, left, discuss wedding plans with Sammy Davis, Jr. shortly before dawn at the Hotel Tropicana, April 2, 1959, Las Vegas, Nev. The actress and Fisher said where they will marry depends on what Debbie Reynolds Fishers ex-wife, says. If Miss Reynolds agrees to a quickie Nevada divorce, Liz and Eddie will wed here, otherwise Mexico. (AP Photo)

FILE – In this May 20, 1957 file photo, Actress Rhonda Fleming blossoms out as a singer and dancer in the first night club appearance of her career at the New Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas. Actress Rhonda Fleming, the fiery redhead who appeared with Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Ronald Reagan and other film stars of the 1940s and 1950s, has died, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. She was 97. (AP Photo/David Smith, File)

Showgirls from “Folies Bergere” getting ready for a show in their dressing room at the Tropicana hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Folies Bergere is Las Vegas’ longest-running show that opened in 1959. The show was revamped this year and is called “The Best of the Folies Bergere … Sexier than Ever”.

The Folies Bergere performance at the Tropicana Hotel Casino Thursday July 15, 2004. CRAIG L. MORAN/REVIEW-JOURNAL

Murray Sawchuck, "aka Murray The Magician," outside Tropicana on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager Review-Journal) @BenjaminHphoto

Folies Bergere cast members toast the audience (consisting mostly of alumni) inside the Tiffany Theater at the Tropicana after the final performance of the longest-running show on the Las Vegas Strip Saturday, March 28, 2009. (Review-Journal file)

Folies Bergere alumni pose on the “golden staircase” inside the Tiffany Theater at the Tropicana before the final performance of the longest-running show on the Las Vegas Strip Saturday, March 28, 2009. (Review-Journal file)

April 4, 1957: Tropicana Hotel’s water cooling tower. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

3/16/61 aerial of Tropicana 8869-0028

The Tropicana, which closes its doors April 2, has a rich history filled with celebrities and entertainers since its 1957 opening.

Bally’s Corp., operators of the resort at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, plans to turn 9 acres of its 35-acre site into a Major League Baseball stadium pending the relocation of the Oakland A’s.

But during its heyday Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. spent time at the Trop. Actress Elizabeth Taylor was on hand when her future husband Eddie Fisher performed there. Boxers Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali made appearances there. Famed Strip magicians Siegfried & Roy and Lance Burton also appeared in Trop showrooms.

And, of course, the famed Folies Bergere showgirls, part of the longest-running production in Las Vegas history, performed there for more than 50 years.

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