Monday, March 13, 2006 | 7:16 a.m.
As if to erase any ambiguity about the theme of the evening, those staffing the registration table at Saturday night's United Jewish Community/Jewish Federation of Las Vegas "Champions of Freedom Dinner Gala'' donned Groucho Marx-style plastic glasses with oversized schnozzles.
Funny.
But after the laughs, the purpose of "The Million Dollar Night of Comedy'' at the Venetian's Bellini Ballroom was to honor some of the Las Vegas Jewish community's more prominent leaders.
A crowd of a little more than 700 (two more, officially) turned out to honor Jayn and Art Marshall with the Hank Greenspun Founders Award. Recognized too were Sonja and Mike Saltman, who were presented the David L. Simon Bridge Builder for Peace Award (in honor of the late Simon's own long history of philanthropy).
Greenspun founded the Las Vegas Sun newspaper. His son, Danny Greenspun, is chairman of the Greenspun Media Group, and also serves as the chairman of the board for the United Jewish Community/Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, a nonprofit organization that has served Southern Nevada's Jewish community for three decades.
Danny's wife, Robin Greenspun, was joined in service by fellow gala chairwomen Jodi Fonfa, Cari Marshall (a daughter of Art and Jayn), Dale Wynn and Lynn Weidner, who handled much of the emcee duties during Saturday's program.
The Marshalls, who founded Marshall-Rousso's chain of men's clothing stores, were married in 1953 and moved to Las Vegas from Cleveland in 1959. They were honored in tandem for their long history of service on behalf of the Las Vegas Jewish community. Jayn has been involved with the United Jewish Community/Jewish Federation of Las Vegas since its inception.
Art, also a respected banker (as a member of Nevada State Bank's board) and member of the Nevada Gaming Commission, has been involved in several philanthropic and civic activities in Southern Nevada dating to the '50s. He is currently on the UJC/Jewish Federation Board of Directors.
Among their charitable endeavors, the Saltmans founded the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV, which focuses on the practices of law and psychology in conflict negotiation.
Dignitaries on hand for the program included Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam (who were the gala's honorary chairs); UJC/Jewish Federation President and Chief Executive Meyer Bodoff; Chief Operating Officer Beth Miller and her husband, Neil; University Chancellor Jim Rogers and his wife, Beverly; campaign co-chairmen Mark Fine and Dr. Hugh Bassewitz; and guest speaker Mark Wilf, the new president of the Minnesota Vikings and brother of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf.
The evening's featured performer was veteran comic Robert Klein, who bemoaned his age (64) by saying, "The AARP has been after me for years ... I am now eligible for the early bird specials here in Vegas, the $7.99 steak special, but I have to eat it at 8:30 a.m. - and they want me to leave by 9 a.m. so I don't depress the younger customers coming in for breakfast.''
And from Weidner, who read a Letterman-esque top-10 list titled, "What Do You Get When 700 Jews Walk Into A Room?'' Listed at No. 8: "700 People Who Think 'Brokeback Mountain' is a Chiropractic Clinic in the Catskills.''
NoteMart
Oh, Allison: The Orleans Arena was all geared up for a concert tonight by Allison Krause and Union Station, who won three Grammys (including Best Country Album for "Lonely Runs Both Ways") in February. But the band has canceled or postponed a series of dates, including tonight's; the reason listed on the band's official Web site is "band illness.'' Look for the Orleans show to be rescheduled in November ...
Cirque du Japan: It's tough to describe "Matsuri,'' the Japanese production show that opened at Riviera over the weekend, in any sort of concise way. I saw this show Friday and laughed almost the entire time.
Billed as "Japan's No. 1 Show,'' "Matsuri'' is a nonstop, high-energy, acrobatic and high-volume performance of athletic numbers that are at once difficult and curious. What sells the routines is the unbridled spunk of the 30 or so performers; to borrow a line from "A Mighty Wind,'' it's the kind of infectious that's good to spread around ...
The jet set:Barry Manilow tells the Associated Press he travels by jet from his home in Palm Springs to his five-day-a-week gig at the LV Hilton because, "There's just no quiet in Vegas''- which would also be a good song title ...
A fan of AFAN: Last week Aid For Aids of Nevada (AFAN) announced pre-registration has opened for the 16th annual AIDS Walk, scheduled for April 23. The walk begins at 9 a.m. and will be 2.5 miles long, with entertainment provided on the course. Call 382-2326 or go to www.afanlv.org ...
Trouble maker: Vanity plate on a black Ford Expedition: NTRUBLE.
archive
