VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Vegas icons Lorraine, Blackie Hunt separate

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 10:53 a.m.

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt is separating from Charles "Blackie" Hunt , her husband of more than 30 years, she confirmed to VegasBeat on Monday afternoon.

"All I can say to you is that this is a very personal and difficult situation," Hunt told us by phone on Monday during a break from activities in Carson City.

"I will have no other comment. My personal life is my personal life and I intend to keep it that way."

Calls to her husband were not immediately returned Monday.

The couple have three adult children, Ron Mancuso, Jackie Sullivan and Kevin Hunt, and three grandchildren.

She was first elected to her state post in 1998 after serving as a Clark County commissioner. Her husband is a revered Vegas entertainment icon; his former group, The Characters, was inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame last year.

The couple are also known for being the longtime proprietors of the Bootlegger Bistro, a popular Las Vegas Boulevard restaurant and nightclub.

The club, which opened on Tropicana and Eastern avenues in 1972 and moved to its current location in 2001, is a favorite haunt of such vintage Vegas entertainers as Sonny King, Buddy Greco, Mary Kaye, Marty Allen, Robert Goulet, Keely Smith and Bob Anderson.

Coming in

One of New York City's most notorious bars, Hogs & Heifers, is coming to Las Vegas.

Hogs is known as the dive in the Meatpacking District famous for its collection of celebrity bras hanging above the bar, which have been donated by such patrons as Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore and Daryl Hannah.

The bar has also had a series of legal issues regarding patrons dancing on the bar, which was in violation of Gotham's arcane and outdated cabaret laws.

Also, Hogs served as the inspiration for the bar in the movie "Coyote Ugly," which was in turn the basis for the bar at New York-New York.

The Hogs folks have never been particularly thrilled about that.

Regardless, Douglas Lein, the marketing manager for economic development for Las Vegas, told VegasBeat that all systems are go and potential downtown locations for the new bar are being scouted.

Hot movie

Shooting has started in New York on the big-screen version of the campy "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," the stage version of which is at The Rio.

Former New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre stars as Tony; Mila Kunis from "That '70s Show" plays Tina.

Producers hope to prompt "Rocky Horror"-type audience participation to substitute for the stage version's interactivity.

VegasBits

Mealtime: When Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were patronizing high-end places when they were in Las Vegas over the weekend, what were the kids eating? We hear they placed a $200 takeout order from In-N-Out Burger at Tropicana Avenue and Industrial Road on Saturday. Willis also shopped at the Forum Shops at Caesars store Kids Castle, barely missing fellow patrons Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ...

Clubbers: R. Kelly, Macy Gray and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were dancing the night away late Saturday at OPM (Forum Shops) after Kelly's concert ...

Booked: In an event designed to promote reading, Harrah's comic magician Mac King will host two free shows for teens at Henderson libraries. He'll be at the Paseo Verde Library at 7 p.m. today and the Gibson Library on July 30 at 7 p.m. ...

Guest: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman appeared with Bill O'Reilly on O'Reilly's highly rated Fox News Channel program, "The O'Reilly Factor," on Monday afternoon. They discussed the controversial "Hunting for Bambi" video ...

Seen: Comedian Eddie Griffin and Oakland Athletics outfielder Jermaine Dye enjoyed cocktails together late Friday night at Venus at The Venetian. Dye is on the disabled list with a separated shoulder ...

Shake it: Prana hosted a birthday party over the weekend for "Chippendales" lead dancer Bryan Cheatham. Female patrons who happened to be in the place were thrilled to stumble across the merry guys ...

Guest: "Midnight Fantasy" (Luxor) comic Carole Montgomery will appear Wednesday night on the popular Comedy Central show, "Tough Crowd," with host Colin Quinn ...

Know 'em all: Ghostbar VIP host Marko Greisen has put together the guest list for his 29th birthday bash at Palms next week. About 2,000 invites went out. As of Monday afternoon, 534 had RSVP'd "yes." Rapper Warren G will perform and "CSI" actor Gary Dourdan will man the turntables.

From Sun wires

The Dixie Chicks have hatched a plan to re-enter the political fray with an activist message designed not to offend anyone: vote.

The Texas trio announced Monday that they've joined forces with the Rock the Vote campaign to urge young people to participate in elections.

The country stars endured a vitriolic backlash earlier this year after singer Natalie Maines made a remark about President Bush at a London concert shortly before the Iraq war.

After sales of the band's discs plummeted, Maines apologized for the phrasing of her remark but has continued to say she had the right to criticize Bush and his policies.

Archer released: Author Jeffrey Archer walked out of prison Monday, paroled after serving two years and two days of his four-year sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Archer, 63, had been convicted of lying during his successful 1987 libel action against the Daily Star, which claimed he had hired a prostitute.