Friday, June 28, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.
Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] at (702) 259-4058.
For the past 15 years Larry Taylor has been having a ball.
Tuesday night the popular DJ celebrated his 15th anniversary of emceeing ballroom dance sessions at the Gold Coast Showroom.
Almost 300 movers and shakers waltzed, tangoed, polkaed and swung their way across the floating wood floor to the sounds of recorded big-band music at the Black Tie Ball (black tie optional).
"What happened Tuesday night was one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to me," the 55-year-old Taylor said.
Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt sent a proclamation to the affair, which honored Taylor's contribution to the local entertainment scene.
Buddy Greco, Carme, Freddie Bell, Nelson Sardelli and Sonny King, each an entertainment legend in their own right, serenaded Taylor and the roomful of dancers, many of whom wore evening gowns and tuxedos.
Among the celebrants were vocalists Grant Griffin, taking some time off from working on an upcoming concert, and Maggi Albisani, a popular lounge entertainer at the Kitchen Cafe.
And of course, there were the dancers.
"About 75 percent are regulars," Taylor said. "The rest are semiregulars.
"It's a social event. People from all over the country come here to dance. A lot of them dress up in gowns. Gentlemen wear sports coats and ties. But we don't enforce the dress code."
When people complain that the music is recorded, Taylor points out that dancers never have to worry about whether the band can play Latin or any other form of music. They don't have to be concerned that the band might not know a specific song.
"I never play out of tune, and I never show up late or drunk."
Taylor says his dance floor is for everyone, not just the expert ballroom dancers.
"My contention is that Joe Blow, who doesn't know his right from his left, should be having a good time," he said. "That's what it's all about."
Taylor started his ballroom dance sessions in June 1987, six months after the Gold Coast opened.
"The room, basically, was made as a country-and-western dance hall," he said. "Country and western was really big back then."
When the Gold Coast opened, Taylor was a DJ at another venue where he emceed ballroom dancing. He suggested that he be allowed to emcee ballroom dancing one night a week, to give the room a break from country-and-western music. Six months later, he brought in his DJ equipment and has been there ever since.
The price of admission has been $5 per person, which includes an hour of dance lessons and two drinks. But the cost will rise to $7.50 effective Sunday.
"I needed a raise," Taylor laughed.
The DJ, who wears a braided ponytail, laughs easily.
"I have got to be the luckiest entertainer in the world, for somebody who never wanted to do it as a career," he said.
Taylor grew up in the Bay Area, where he worked for a time for Arthur Murray Dance Studios and routinely won dance contests.
In 1969, following a divorce, Taylor started to hitchhike across the country but only made it as far as Las Vegas. He had 85 cents in his pocket when he arrived. He went to the office of an underground newspaper, got a bundle of papers and took them to Fremont Street and sold them for 25 cents apiece. He kept 10 cents from each sale for himself.
"You could get a bunk for the night at the Liberty Lodge for $2," Taylor recalled. "You could go across the street to the Las Vegas Club and get a 49-cent breakfast."
The next day he got a job as a casual laborer and earned $15 working on a farm. He rented a bunk for a week for $10 and had $5 left to eat one meal a day.
"I went across the street and got a job as a busboy at the Horseshoe," Taylor said.
He met a waiter who asked him to go to the Palomino Club in North Las Vegas. At that time it was not as risque as it is today. It was a go-go club where girls never took off their tops, their mini-skirts or their boots.
"The Palomino had a couples dance contest on Wednesday nights and on Friday and Saturday nights they had a bikini contest," Taylor said. "I started getting in the dance contests and winning. I'd win $100 each time. I made enough in two weeks that the owner of the club, Murray Hertz (now executive editor of What's On magazine) told me if I kept winning the contests, pretty soon no one would enter."
To preserve the contest, Taylor said Hertz hired him for $75 a night.
"Murray emceed the bikini contests," Taylor said. "A couple of weeks later he was fogged in in L.A. and he called and had me emcee them."
He said he had several shots of tequila, went onstage, told a dirty joke and his career as an emcee was born.
During the bikini contest a couple of women took off their tops and Taylor challenged the other entrants to do the same. Thirteen of them met the challenge and one of them decided to take off her bikini bottom. Four girls dropped out of the contest, and the rest remained.
"The place went wild," Taylor said.
The next day he was taken to the city attorney, who was going to cite him for something -- but no one could figure out what.
"There was nothing in the city charter against nude dancing," he said.
And the famed Palomino Club was born.
Not only did Taylor launch nude dancing, he had the first discotheque in Las Vegas.
"Billy Jacks opened on April 1, 1972," Taylor recalled.
It was on the south end of the Strip, near the defunct Hacienda.
The club attracted every celebrity who came to town. It was such a hit that Taylor became a consultant and traveled around the country opening discos for other nightclub owners.
Today, Taylor keeps busy primarily with his DJ business. Besides the Gold Coast, he works at private parties, weddings and corporate events.
"I don't advertise. Everything is word of mouth. I wouldn't want to work too hard," he said. "I make a comfortable living. I have a nice home for me and my two dogs."
Lounging around
Piero's Trattoria, 325 Hughes Center Drive, will begin featuring late-night entertainment each Thursday beginning July 11. Christy Coffey and Her Swingin' Cats will headline.
Marcus Dagan sings from the heart. I listened to an advance copy of his new CD, "Hello Again...," and was touched by the depth of the emotions. Of the dozen songs, he wrote eight. Dagan is a Vegas resident, but like many talented musicians from here, he usually must leave town to earn a living. It seems Las Vegans take their entertainers for granted.
Lena Prima (daughter of Louis) joins John Earl & The Boogie Man Band July 12-13 at Santa Fe Station's Memphis Championship Barbecue Lounge.
The Jazzed Cafe, 8615 W. Sahara Ave., features guitarist Raj Rathor 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.
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