Crowds gather for ‘Today’ Strip show

Nichole Davis

Monday, April 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Canadian visitor Shirley Ley waited more than two hours to catch a glimpse of recording icon Englebert Humperdinck during a taping of the "Today" show at Caesars Palace.

"I'm trying to watch the whole taping," Ley said 45 minutes into the show Sunday evening. She had missed Humperdinck's earlier practice and decided to stick around. "I can't get over how many people it takes," she said.

Ley was one of 1,500 spectators who negotiated 50 miles worth of cords in front of Caesars Palace hotel-casino during the first-ever Las Vegas taping of the "Today" show.

Taped and live portions of the program were broadcast this morning. Among the guests were Bobby Siller, agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office, who spoke on mob involvement in Las Vegas; Phyllis Barber, an author who wrote a memoir about growing up in Southern Nevada called "How I Got Cultured"; magician Lance Burton; and comedian Shecky Greene.

The 46-year-old "Today" show was to be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Journalist Hall of Fame this morning.

It is the first time a morning show has been so honored, Executive Producer Jeff Zucker said.

"We're really proud of the job we do every day," he said. "We're working on a show that's really an institution in America."

The Las Vegas trip is one of only five road trips the show will take this year. Zucker estimated the production costs for the two-hour taping were about $200,000, which he called about average for a road trip.

Shipping NBC-owned equipment and personnel from a Southern California studio and hotel accommodations for the crew were among the major expenses, he said.

Hal Creten, an audio technician at KVBC Channel 3, the local NBC affiliate, was among about a dozen locals who worked 12 hours Saturday to set up and test run segments in each of the show's three stage areas.

"What takes the longest time is the blocking," in which directors select camera angles and test every piece of equipment, Creten said.

Weatherman Al Roker was working his seventh straight day with few complaints.

"My dad worked for a living. He drove a truck," he said. "Not to denigrate what we do, but how tough is this? We get put up in a hotel. We get driven around. People treat us nice."

Roker taped his segments Sunday and was planning to sleep in. The stations carrying the show will handle most of the weather segments, he said, so road trips actually cut his workload.

"I get a little more sleep on the road," he said.

Newly hired news anchor Anne Curry wasn't so lucky.

Curry, who has been full time for a month, was scheduled to be in the Channel 3 studio at 2 a.m. to tape her segments. She was making her first road trip as a member of the show.

"In this business, you're sometimes very removed from the people you're trying to inform," she said. "(Road trips are) a way of staying in touch."

Hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric appeared to enjoy their visit as well. Lauer admitted he was surprised by the quality of life enjoyed by valley residents.

"When you're in New York and you hear about Las Vegas," he said, "all you hear about is the gambling."

Meanwhile, Couric spent most of Sunday memorizing the one-inch script for the show and wishing for more time to get to know the area and its residents.

"You just kind of parachute in," she said. "It's hard to become an expert on a place in such a short time. You just kind of give people a taste."