What you see here, which we found on the great architecture forum Skyscraperpage.com, is a clipping from the Los Angeles Times showing the glare of an atomic bomb explosion. The shot was taken from atop the L.A. Times Building, and the light is from the 34 kiloton nuclear test codenamed Fox, which took place in the desert near Las Vegas, more than 300 miles away. Of course, the clipping has yellowed with time, but below you can see what the shot looked like originally. There were hundreds of photos of this type made during the heyday of U.S. atomic bomb testing, and with a glance around the web you can find many of them. This one happened today in 1951. 

During the 1950s, Dixie Evans billed herself as burlesque’s answer to Marilyn Monroe. By copying Monroe’s style and embedding it in sensual and clever stage performances that showcased her lush physique, Evans became internationally famous, which is why we see her on this cover of the French erotic mag Folies de Paris et de Hollywood from 1954. Inside, Evans invites French readers to imagine her sleeping in the nude, saying, “Marilyn and I are alike. We both sleep without shirts.”

Evans is still in the striptease industry today, promoting burlesque-themed events in Las Vegas, where she lives. She's also working toward finding a home for her huge collection of burlesque artifacts, which consists of items not just from her career, but from those of other legendary dancers. Many of the items reside at Emergency Arts, an exhibition space in downtown Vegas, but her goal is to create a dedicated burlesque museum that will safeguard this irreplaceable material in perpetuity. Below are a few striking Folies de Paris et de Hollywood images from this issue for your enjoyment. We’ll have more on this magazine, Dixie Evans, and burlesque in general, down the line. Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen our comprehensive burlesque post from a couple of years back, visit it here. 

Above, a Japanese poster for the original Ocean’s Eleven, with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Sammy Davis, Jr., et.al., in a tale of the ultimate Las Vegas casino heist, which is basically just a flimsy excuse for the boys to sing, joke, drink, and look cool. They're great at all of those, though the movie could be better. It opened in Tokyo today in 1960. 

Above, two postcards showing a portion of the Las Vegas strip and a nuclear test in the background, about 75 miles away. For a time, yes, nuclear tests could be seen from Las Vegas, if only as a flash of light. Leave it to the Chamber of Commerce guys to think: Tourist attraction! These are from 1951. 

This later period National Police Gazette published this month in 1972 is packed with scandal and intrigue, with stories on Vegas dealers, Washington, D.C. politics, Soviet assassins, and Hollywood activism. The activism story focuses on Jane Fonda and her shunning of Tinseltown trappings to devote herself to various causes. The most cringe-worthy line is when editors express curiosity at her advocating for “redskins.” Readers are reminded that even though Fonda was lately wearing her hair short and dressing in jeans and t-shirts, she was once a babe, and for proof they include a photo of her in costume as Barbarella. The story itself serves as an indication of one thing the women’s lib movement was fighting—the male perception that women could be only one of three things: beautiful ornaments, loyal partners, or royal pains. Fonda’s intellect was inconvenient for fans and studio execs alike, but her status forced people to listen to what she said.

The Washington story is a bit more convoluted. Editors claim that the Kennedy clan forced 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern to axe his original vice presidential running mate Tom Eagleton in favor of Sargent Shriver, who happened to be a Kennedy in-law. The story carries no quotes, attributions, or corroborating sources of any sort. It’s written as a narrative and is disdainful in tone. In a sense, it’s similar to the responsibility-free journalism seen on American cable television today. But was the story true? Very possibly. The Kennedys had substantial influence in the Democratic Party at the time. Did their choice matter? No. McGovern lost anyway. Scans below. 

Above, a cool photo of six-gun adorned showgirl Dana Wellington, little known today, but who during the late ’60s/early ’70s billed herself as “The Biggest Draw in Las Vegas.” This shot dates from 1970. 

Here’s a curious item we ran across at our favorite vintage memorabilia shop. It’s a Japanese promo poster for Viva Las Vegas, which… hey, wait a sec. Where’s Elvis? Where’s Ann-Margret? And who are these imposters? Well, turns out Elvis’s immortal Viva Las Vegas was not the first. The first film of that title starred Cyd Charisse, Dan Dailey and Agnes Moorehead, and was released in 1956. During its U.S. run it was known as Meet Me in Las Vegas, but for its international release the title was changed. Plotwise, you’ve got a flick here with a central gimmick that’s just begging to be recycled in a modern romcom. Get this—Dailey discovers that whenever he’s at the gambling tables he cannot lose as long as he’s holding hands with Charisse. If it sounds intolerably cute, well, what do you expect? It’s a mid-century musical. Actually though, the movie isn’t top notch, due mainly to some less-than-stellar acting in parts, but you do get to see Las Vegas as it was before it became the consumerist dystopia it is today, and you get cameos from Vic Damone, Sammy Davis, Jr., Debbie Reynolds, Frankie Laine, Lena Horne and others. Well worth a look. 

She was born Ellen Louise Stowe in Little Rock, Arkansas, but she called herself Star because of her fascination with the sky. She even got a big blue star tattooed below her bikini line. She moved to Los Angeles with ambitions to become a dancer and caught the eye of a Playboy scout while performing at a strip bar. From that point forward she met lots of celebrities and made connections. She was acquainted with Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, dated him, and posed for a Kiss picture disc. Offered an opportunity to be a Playmate of the Month, she accepted and was featured in the magazine’s February 1977 issue.

On March 16, 1997 she was found strangled and dumped behind an Eckerd pharmacy. Another area prostitute named Sandra Kay Walters had been strangled in the same manner weeks earlier, leading policeto believe both women had been victims of the same assailant. But leads were scarce. Later in 1997 another woman named Tammy Strunk was found dead in a shopping center trash bin in the city of Plantation, Florida. Before the year ended a woman named Theresa Kettner was found dead in Coral Springs. By then police had to admit they probably had a serial killer on their hands.

This January 1954 issue of Whisper tells readers about a stripper named Lola Dewitt Stewart who bit a cop, covers a gala Harlem dance, and exposes the voodoo rites of Haitian virgin priestesses. The issue also contains a profile of Christine Jorgensen, the most famous transsexual of her day. Jorgensen—whose name is misspelled "Jorgenson" by Whisper editors—had been born George Jorgensen and had lived unhappily as a male for twenty-five years. After a stint in the Army, he learned about the possibility of becoming more feminine, started by taking hormones, and later travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark to have his male sex organs removed. At the time, Denmark used castration on sexual criminals, which is why the procedure was legal there.

Jorgensen, now female in appearance, returned to the U.S. and New York’s Daily News broke her story with one of the most famous headlines in tabloid history: Ex-G.I. Becomes Blonde Beauty. Jorgensen parlayed the recognition into a show business career, establishing a blueprint for later transgenders like Coccinelle. Jorgensen finished the last of her reassignment surgeries in the mid-1950s and, now sexually female, continued in show business for many years. She danced in Las Vegas, appeared on The Dick Cavett Show, was voted “Miss Neutral Zone” by American soldiers serving in Korea, and had high-profile romances. Later in her life she reflected that she was proud to have been part of the sexual revolution. “We may not have started it,” she said of herself and other transgenders, “but we gave it a good swift kick in the pants.”

This Confidential from December 1963 offers up several great stories, including an item on a supposed feud between Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra over Marilyn Monroe, who had died the previous year. Confidential contends that DiMaggio considered Sinatra to be part of a too-fast crowd from which Monroe had picked up numerous bad habits that eventually contributed to her death. DiMaggio also supposedly hated Sinatra because Monroe had moved into Sinatra’s Las Vegas house after her marriage to DiMaggio fell apart in 1954. According to most biographers, Monroe and Sinatra became sexually involved around then. The most repeated story concerning the actual genesis of the affair has Sinatra waking one morning and entering his kitchen to find a nude Monroe peering into his refrigerator. According to the story she turned, startled, and said, “Oh Frankie, I didn’t know you got up so early.” From that point forward he was getting up pretty much constantly. Is this tale true? We don’t know, nor does anybody else, probably. But we want to believe.