Comedian Shecky Greene telling stories this weekend

Two future Vegas legends shared one stage at the New Frontier in April 1956, rarely to be mentioned in the same sentence again.

Young comedian Shecky Greene was on a bill that would later become famous as the local debut of Elvis Presley. But the comedian enjoyed more years on the Strip than Elvis, despite his self-destructive ways. Working late nights in the lounges pioneered a long-form brand of comedy.

"I would elongate things," he once explained. "If I told a joke, it would be a 20-minute story. I would do the characters. That was my style of humor."

But he also had a way of getting himself fired, sometimes even arrested. Once he responded to the questions of an arresting officer by asking, "You want me to do my whole act?"

Now 85, Greene started turning up in locals casinos three years ago with an act just as compelling for its stories about the old days as it is for his old material.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.