May 28, 1954: Kirk Douglas marries Anne Buydens at the Sahara...
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
May 28, 1954: Kirk Douglas marries Anne Buydens at the Sahara to begin one of Hollywood’s most enduring unions. They have two children (Michael was from Kirk’s first marriage) and renew their vows 50 years later at a star-studded reception in Los Angeles.
May 29, 1994: Frank Sinatra plays his final Las Vegas show at the MGM Grand, 42 years after his Vegas debut. When he dies four years later, the lights on the Strip are dimmed in his honor.
May 30, 2008: Lady Gaga makes her Las Vegas debut, performing just a few songs with only two backup dancers at Krave, a popular gay nightclub. Three months later her breakthrough album The Fame is released, and she soon upgrades to over-the-top extravaganzas in giant arenas.
May 31, 1999: At a bawdy dinner party at the Venetian’s Delmonico Steakhouse, Robin Leach’s female guests doff their clothes. He gets ejected and county authorities – who could have revoked the Delmonico’s liquor license – issue a stern reprimand. Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse apologizes.
June 1, 2007: Pamela Anderson makes her debut as the comely assistant in Hans Klok’s Beauty of Magic Show at Planet Hollywood. “She really trusts me because I saw her in half every night,” he says. The reported $1 million-a-month gig lasts six months.
June 2, 2012: Glen Campbell, who honeymooned in Las Vegas in 1959, plays his final concert in the city before an emotional, enthusiastic crowd at the Las Vegas Hotel (formerly the Hilton). His farewell tour followed the announcement that the singer is battling Alzheimer’s Disease.
June 3, 2001: Rocker Tom Petty marries longtime girlfriend Dana York in a low-key Vegas ceremony after two sold-out shows at the Hard Rock Hotel. Three weeks later they repeat the ceremony in front of family and friends in Malibu, with Little Richard officiating.
(Thanks to Mike Precker for the research)