Awards honor old style of entertainment

By Jerry Fink

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Sharp-tongued comedian Vinnie Favorito will add spice to the fifth Meatball Awards, the annual ceremony honoring vintage Las Vegas performers and performers who follow the tradition of vintage Las Vegas.

Favorito, a headliner at the Flamingo, is known for his no-holds-barred approach to comedy. Political correctness is not in his vocabulary.

Among this year’s honorees are “Defending the Caveman” star Kevin Burke, impressionist Larry G. Jones, comedian/magician Jeff Hobson, Hard Rock butler Valentino Crespo, self-proclaimed “legend in his own mind” Monti Rock III, and singer Clint Holmes and his singer/comedian wife, Kelly Clinton.

The celebration begins Sunday in the Plaza showroom with a mixer at 3 p.m., the awards ceremony and show at 4 p.m., and a sampling of meatballs from five Las Vegas restaurants at 6 p.m.

Don Manarina, a fan of old Las Vegas entertainers, came up with the idea for the show in 2002. He died of a heart attack the next year.

Grant Griffin, who has performed in Las Vegas off and on since 1956, has kept the show going through the years.

“What drives me is that nobody really does anything about vintage Vegas,” Griffin says. “Nobody really digs into the past of Vegas.”