Inmates treated to Vegas-style show

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 8:01 a.m.

It was not the entertainment venue the troupe of veteran performers are accustomed to -- lounges or plush nightclubs with cushy chairs, soft lighting and cocktails served by shapely waitresses to mixed crowds of men and women.

The only spotlights were located in towers where armed guards made sure no members of the audience decided to walk out in the middle of a performance.

The showroom was in a cement building surrounded by a tall chainlink fence topped with razor wire. The room itself was a cafeteria with linoleum-tile floors, cinder-block walls and bullet-proof windows -- professional acoustic quality was non-existent.

But more than 100 inmates in the Southern Desert Correctional Center at Indian Springs, 45 miles north of Las Vegas, were not concerned about the sound system or the lack of atmosphere in a room where the walls were lined with vending machines.

They were thrilled that the musicians, singers and comedians from Las Vegas had volunteered their time to entertain them. The show is an annual event that has become a traditional Memorial Day celebration for more than 130 convicts who are members of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 558.

"This brings up the morale of the guys. It gives us some hope," Larry Jennings, doing time for robbery, said.

"We look forward to this all year long," said Mario Delara, 47, who was a member of the army's 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam and for the past 16 years has been serving a double-life sentence for murder. "The entertainment means the world to us because we have nothing else all year long."

Larry Walraven, veterans chapter president, said, "This is the one time of the year you can come out and forget about, as much as possible, where you're at. You can relax and enjoy yourself, have something to eat, mix with people, shake hands, experience the camaraderie. That's what the VVA is all about.

"Several of the same entertainers this year performed for the inmates at last year's event. Everybody had a great time then. They really enjoyed themselves. There were so many comments on how good (the entertainers) were."

Harry Seybold puts the volunteer show together each year, calling on his long list of friends in the entertainment world for help. The former entertainment director of the defunct Dunes hotel-casino has spent the past 31 years in Las Vegas producing and promoting shows.

The prison performances are Seybold's expression of gratitude for his success.

"It's a payback thing," he said. "Because the man upstairs has always been good to me I wanted to do something. What could be better than doing something for prisoners? My God, they get nothing."

The show must go on

Besides the annual Memorial Day show for the veterans, which this year was held the day after, Seybold puts together two or three other events for prisons in Southern Nevada each year. He started the practice almost two decades ago when he was touring the country with his then-wife, singer Patty James.

"Patty was one of the most dynamic singers you've ever heard in your life and she had a fantastic body," Seybold said. "She would wear a mini-skirt when she performed and (would) jump from the stage to a table where prisoners were sitting. She really gave them a performance and when the show was over she would talk the warden into letting her talk to the men in solitary confinement.

"She would stand outside the bars and say, 'Hi, how are you? Just thought I would come by to see you,' and the next time she came back if the inmates were out of solitary they would tear that place apart for her. She was fantastic."

The recent event overseen by Seybold was considerably more restrained, but nonetheless appreciated by the inmates.

The cast of performers included:

Barbutti said he loves to entertain inmates.

"They're among the best and most appreciative audiences in the world," he said.

Pier performs in most of the prison shows for Seybold.

"They're a great crowd. They always enjoy everything you do," Pier said.

Seybold said before he began putting together shows for prisons he used to do it at nursing homes and other facilities.

"I was doing them for free but some of the people (at the facilities) were collecting money for me coming and they would keep it," he said. "I know they're not getting anything in prison."

It usually isn't difficult for Seybold to find volunteers.

"I know everybody in this business, I've been in it all my life," he said. "They (the entertainers) kid me about doing the benefits but nobody turns me down."

Veteran convictions

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, of the more than two million state and federal inmates, more than 56,000 are Vietnam-era veterans.

Between 1985 and 1998 the number of veterans in the U.S. population dropped from 28 million to almost 25 million. The number of veterans in prisons or jails increased by 46 percent, while the number of incarcerated non-veterans rose by 172 percent.

Only 18 of the prisoners at Indian Springs are Vietnam veterans. The rest of the chapter consists of honorary members who help raise funds throughout the year for such causes as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and programs for inmates to fight drug, alcohol and spousal abuse.

Jennings said there are other performances at the prison besides the Memorial Day event, although those events are for the general population.

"We try to give something for the guys at least every three months," he said. "We bring in various groups like the Las Vegas High Steppers (drill team). We bring in church groups. We've had Redd Foxx, some big-name people. But this event just for the veterans we do once a year."

It's the one day the veterans chapter pats itself on the back for its good deeds. Besides entertainment, there is a barbecue lunch.

"It's a reward for all the hard work," Jennings said, noting that it is made possible by the warden and others in the administration.

This year the hard work included the completion of a Vietnam Memorial site on the prison grounds, which took almost a year for the inmates to complete.

It also provided moral support for inmates.

"We encourage guys to go to literacy classes, classes in English as a second language and other programs offered here," Jennings said. "Our initial job is to get the classes up and running. This is one of the institutions I would honestly say, being an inmate, they are actually trying to rehabilitate, to give us the opportunity of interacting and to do things that are positive."

But inmates must want to accept the approach.

"When you come through that door you've got a choice. You can program or you don't program," Jennings said. "If you want to just kick rocks that's up to you but the opportunity to program is here. Everything is here if you want to use it. That's up to the individual. The tools to rehabilitate yourself are here. It is not pleasant being here because you are incarcerated but we try to take advantage of the things we do have."

Jennings said he feels the program is working in most cases.

"Most of us are going to come out of prison and live in society again and we want to have good morals, good work habits and responsibility," he said. "We want to go back out and be the fathers we haven't been for years and be the husbands to our wives we haven't been for years.

"We have a lot of lifers here, guys with five (years)-to-life, 10-to-life, life without (parole), life with possibility (of parole), life with hundreds of years. Most of the guys I have dealt with that have life sentences haven't given up hope."

One of the things the inmates said they hope for is that the entertainers who diverted their attention, however briefly, from the prison walls will return July 4 for an encore performance.

Seybold said he would be happy celebrate Independence Day with those who have lost their freedom.

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