Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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F ront Runners barely there THE POWER OF SEDUCTION: HOW ONE DRESS KICK-STARTED MARLENE DIETRICH'S LATE-CAREER CABARET ACT. BY DIANE DESANTIS M 16 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM arlene Dietrich embodied the very notion of Sin City when she stepped into the spotlight for her Vegas stage debut at the tender age of 51. On December 16, 1953, the glamorous grandmother debuted her caba- ret act at the Sahara Hotel, wearing a sheer evening gown designed by French Oscar-winning costume designer Jean Louis. "Oh, she knew what she was doing," said Louis in a 1987 interview. The German-American actress/singer received $30,000 a week for the three-week gig that initiated a new phase in her career. From then until the mid-1970s, Dietrich worked almost exclusively as a highly paid cabaret artist, her captivating charisma and daring sex appeal hypnotizing audiences worldwide. The tours brought her back to the Entertainment Capital of the World on multiple occasions, most notably for a run in 1962, when Dietrich paired up with the great jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong, on the cusp of "Hello, Dolly" fame, to perform at the Riviera Hotel in costumes nearly as bold as the one that started it all. Jean Louis admitted that it was one of the most difficult cos- tumes he had worked on throughout his career, and divulged the secret to the garment's translucent illusion: "The dress was made of soufflé, a thin chiffon you can see through. The undergarment—the secret to the dress—was of the same material, and it was designed to reveal the bust, with darts to push the bust up." No wonder the sultry star had tongues wagging during her famous premiere, which ushered in her new life as a cabaret star—and helped solidify Las Vegas's tradition of luring tourists with live performances by highly paid celebrities. V PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AP PHOTO