Noted late-night movie host, friend of charities, Kogan dies

Monday, March 22, 1999 | 11:03 a.m.

Jack Kogan, whose late-night conversations with names such as Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante and Dean Martin were watched by two generations of local night owls, died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was 81.

Known as one of Las Vegas' most noted late-night movie hosts, Kogan's television and radio career spanned more than 40 years. Moreover, Kogan, who never forgot his upbringing, will be remembered for his work with various charities including the City of Hope and the Jerry Lewis telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

In 1995 a proclamation by Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones declared Jan. 28, 1995, as Jack Kogan Day, calling Kogan "The" Las Vegas Late-Night Movie Host and commending him for his charitable work.

The Good Neighbor Fund, created on his late-night talk shows, helped many locals find jobs and pay their rent. Kogan also was instrumental in keeping doors open at the Children's Home in Carson City.

"When anybody needed help, they called him and he'd make a plea on television," Esther Frailer, Kogan's sister, said. "He was very active with the community. He loved Las Vegas. This was his city."

Born Jan. 8, 1918, in Philadelphia, Kogan was raised in an orphanage with his three sisters until the age of 18 when he joined the Army.

After the service Kogan opened a dance studio in Atlantic City and another in Philadelphia. Using moves he learned from a Cuban girlfriend, he taught the tango and the rumba for three years.

In the late 1940s he joined the Barnum & Bailey Circus as a roustabout and barker as a means to travel across the United States. When he left the circus, he continued his yearlong journey west taking whatever jobs he could find.

Each town he'd enter, he'd go to the local police station and ask for work to avoid being arrested for vagrancy, Jeff Frailer, Kogan's nephew, said.

"Sometimes he'd sweep floors in an ice cream factory and was paid in ice cream," Frailer said.

When he was settled in Los Angeles in the early '50s, Kogan was sent to Las Vegas by the City of Hope to emcee a charity event. A childhood stutterer who overcame many obstacles in his life, Kogan found himself at home in Las Vegas and his "on-air" career began.

"He talked his way into a job where he was on television showing movies all night long," Esther Frailer said.

He hosted late-night movies on Channel 13 as well as intermittent radio shows. "Every old-timer knew him," Jeff Frailer said. "Every single person in this town knew him."

In early Las Vegas every celebrity who came through town was interviewed by him, a lengthy list that included Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Joe Williams and more.

Kogan emceed the local Jerry Lewis Telethon with longtime friend Gus Giuffre, a daytime movie host and TV and radio personality from the 1950s to the '80s.

Kogan was also co-founder of the 30-30 Dinner, an annual get-together at the Stardust for people who have lived in Las Vegas 30 years or more.

Most recently, Kogan had hosted Christmas specials at the Stardust and emceed local fund-raisers.

"The city is losing a wonderful friend now," Esther Kogan said.

Jeff Frailer will host a show in his memory 5 p.m. Monday KLAV 1230 AM, where friends, including longtime friend and Sun columnist Joe Delaney, will talk about the old times.

In addition to Esther Frailer and Jeff Frailer and his wife, Deborah, Kogan is survived by a brother-in-law, Harry Frailer; niece Susan Frailer Green; and grandniece, Tasha Bella Frailer.

Services are being handled by Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd., and are pending.