MovieChat Forums > Vegas (2012) Discussion > Segregated Bathrooms

Segregated Bathrooms


One scene showed a restroom marked "Whites Only" in the Pilot episode. I was under the impression that such segregation never would have been present in 1960 Nevada and, if it was, would not have been at the casinos which made (and make) their money by marketing to all. Anybody know whether my impression is correct or incorrect?

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The Rat Pack had to fight to have Sammy Davis Jr come in the same door as they did. Nevada was once known as the "Mississippi of the West". I hope this explains it all for you.

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Critical as I am of the historical inaccuracies (and those are just the ones I can see), inclusion of the euphemistically called "separate-but-equal" facility seems regrettably realistic to me for the place and period. The Civil Rights Act wasn't passed 'til 1964, and Nevada wasn't, and isn't, exactly a socially liberal place.

Which, I know, makes no sense, with all the debauchery, but it's true nonetheless. It's a very odd social dichotomy there.

Let us rate alien sex movies in peace!

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@ Helen Back Again

Wow, you hit the nail right on the head. From cowboy boot wearing lawyers, judges and politicians, to racist cops, I always tell people that the 3 years I lived in Nevada were the closest I'll ever come to living in the Midwest or the South. The strip is just am illusion in so many intended and non intended ways.

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[deleted]

But Nevada is sure liberal with the hand outs from Uncle Obama.

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Vegas was an extremely segregated city, and this was very accurate.

http://chriscolleytvblog.blogspot.com

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In addition to Sammy Davis, Jr., I believe other stars who were discriminated against in Vegas include Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Johnny Mathis, etc. I think Sinatra threatened a complete boycott of one of the hotels if Ella Fitzgerald wasn't allowed to stay where she was also scheduled to perform.

Ha ha, made you look.

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Thanks to everyone for giving the real history and correcting my misperception. This topic could make a juicy plot line for the show.

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It's CBS, there's pretty much no chance that will happen.

http://chriscolleytvblog.blogspot.com

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By the late 50s, some black performers (Sammy Davis excepted) agreed to occupy trailers on the grounds of the hotels they appeared at. They could receive room service, but were barred from the pool areas.
Davis, with Sinatra's aid, was eventually able to live in hotels he performed at. More important, he was able to secure accommodations for the black members of his entourage. Sinatra also made sure that his own longtime black valet had a room in any hotel Sinatra stayed in.
Casinos were off limits to blacks until the early 60s. I'm assuming Savino will be following such a policy.
BTW, there were some black casinos and hotels on "the other side of town." But white casinos didn't start hiring black dealers until the mid-60s.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

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Nice background filling.

http://chriscolleytvblog.blogspot.com

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My god that is so %$#@&*^ sad!!I was growing up in Montana at that time and had no idea how much of that ignorance was going on in our country until our dad moved us to Oklahoma and I witnessed it.I,m in my 50s and am still chilled and appalled at the ignorance that was taken as normal back then,it still boggles my mind.

Illigitimi non Carborundum

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Beleive me, if this was not how it was they would not be showing it. I guess they can prove that those signs existed back in 1960.

think how long ago that was!! Just because we remember JFK and his death like it was yesterday, we have to remember how backward the country was.

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There were seperate casino's built for the black people in Las Vegas. Strip casinos were off limits to black people unless they worked in them.

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[deleted]

Beleive me ,it was alive and kicking well into the 70s.sad but true,I was there.I,m a white man, and have never understood it.ignorance

Illigitimi non Carborundum

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Terranova, I'm VERY interested in finding a DVD of the documentary you mentioned, but I'm coming up empty in my search. Could you please give the title?
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

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There was an absolutely fantastic (low production value, high story) documentary about it on a local Las Vegas channel (maybe Vegas TV) that I saw about 2 years ago. Maybe use that as a guideline, but I can't remember what it was called. If you find it, it would probably ring a bell.

http://chriscolleytvblog.blogspot.com

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I think it was part of the PBS' "American Experience" program and titled "Las Vegas: An Unconventional History."
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

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"American Experience | Las Vegas: An Unconventional History | PBS" www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas

Watched it recently. Quite interesting.

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