Donn Arden Papers, MS 2001-05, Special Collections, UNLV Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Donated by Walter Craig in 2001.
Su Kim Chung, 2001-2002.
This collection is open for research.
For permission to reproduce or publish from this collection, please contact the Director of Special Collections.
Born in St. Louis, MO in 1915, Arden Carlyle Peterson began dancing at an early age. As a young boy, he took dance lessons from St. Louis theatre director, Robert Alton, who would later go on to become one of Hollywood's most noted choreographers (Pal Joey, Showboat, Easter Parade). He would remain Arden's primary inspiration throughout his career.
Shortly after high school, Arden Peterson changed his name to Donn Arden, adding the extra "N" on the advice of a numerologist who felt that 9 was a lucky number. In the early 1930s, young Arden danced by himself in a number of shows in the Midwest but was soon advised by his agent to add girls to his act; he started with four, then six, and eventually ended up with 12. With this many girls, Arden easily fell into doing the choreography work -- producing and directing soon followed. By the end of the decade, his success in staging shows led him to stop dancing altogether and at one point, he had put together house chorus lines for 12 theaters across the US.
Arden spent much of World War II staging shows for American troops. Following the war, he ended up in Paris, and in 1947, began his long and successful collaboration at the Lido with producers Pierre Louis-Guerin and Rene Fraday. Buoyed by his trademark American tempo and spice, the Lido shows were wildly successful, and Arden would be associated with them for the remainder of his life. It was during his work at the Paris Lido that Arden also met the woman who would become his lifelong friend and collaborator -- Margaret Kelly. Known to legions of dancers over the years as the formidable Madame Bluebell, only those girls who fit her exacting dancing and height requirements were admitted to the ranks of the world-famous “Bluebell Girls.”
The 1950s and 1960s saw Arden, a consummate workaholic, constantly traveling between coasts and continents to check up on shows he had running (concurrently) in Paris, New York, New Jersey, Miami, Los Angeles, and of course, Las Vegas. In New York and Miami, his work was featured at the Latin Quarter, in Los Angeles, the Moulin Rouge. It was during this time that Arden worked closely with producer Frank Sennes both at the Moulin Rouge and the Desert Inn.
In the early 1950s, Arden was partnered with fellow dancer and choreographer Ron Fletcher --together they created the Arden-Fletcher Dancers who graced a number of Desert Inn, Moulin Rouge and Latin Quarter productions. After ending his partnership with Fletcher, Arden’s directed his distinctive "Donn Arden Dancers" at the Desert Inn who danced behind the headliner of the moment, be it Betty Hutton, Danny Kaye, Jack Benny or Betty Grable. These early shows differed from the extravaganzas of later years as they generally featured lines of girls -- exquisitely costumed and gracefully elegant -- but without the special effects that would characterize his later work.
In 1958, in collaboration with Sennes and the Paris Lido, Arden brought his Paris Lido show (girls, costumes, sets and all) to the newly-opened Stardust on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. The topless showgirls were a sensation and the show went through eleven successful editions (all staged by Arden) until it closed for good in 1991.
Arden's other Las Vegas spectaculars included Hello America, a wholesome (no nudity) tribute to America that received accolades in the Congressional Record for its positive portrayal of the United States, and the dynamic Pzazz! 68 and Pzazz! 70. In the 1970s, Arden brought his talents to the MGM Grand Hotels, producing his long-running tributes to classic Hollywood -- Hallelujah Hollywood and Hello Hollywood Hello -- in Las Vegas and Reno respectively. The two shows combined ran almost 17 years.
In November 1980 Arden was two weeks from opening his newest creation, Jubilee!, when fire swept through the MGM Grand Hotel killing 85 people, and destroying all of the sets and costumes for the show. Despite this setback, Jubilee, with its sinking Titanic and collapsing Samson’s temple, opened in July 1981, and is still going strong, having celebrated its 20th anniversary in July 2001.
A demanding taskmaster, Arden required perfection from his performers, and could often be sarcastic and cruel to those who did not live up to his exacting standards. One of his most infamous lines was reputed to be “Get that fat cow off my stage.” Despite these eccentricities, he was well-loved by many of the performers who worked for him. Throughout his career, he never had a flop, and never had a show close prematurely. His employers never doubted his abilities and readily supplied him with the millions of dollars needed to design and execute shows that would live up to his expectations. It says something about both the changing values of Las Vegas entertainment and the lack of a producer of Arden's stature that no hotel today would ever entrust this kind of money and control to a single individual.
Arden died in November 1994 after a lifetime of cigarette and alcohol consumption; at his death, the lights on the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed. His name lives on, however, on the gigantic sign in front of Bally's Hotel, where "Donn Arden's Jubilee" still attracts crowds six nights a week.
The collection consists of the papers of Donn Arden, choreographer, producer and director known for creating extravagant production shows that combined spectacular scenery and disaster with sequined and feathered showgirls. The collection documents Arden’s sixty plus years in entertainment working in showrooms all over the world from Paris to Las Vegas and New York to Los Angeles from the 1930s to the 1990s. Comprised of production notes, programs, photographs, posters, sheet music, correspondence, costume design sketches, press clippings and magazine articles, the collection documents Arden’s work in a variety of nightclubs and on large production shows. In addition to documenting Arden’s work and life in show business, the collection provides insight into the planning and execution of the production show – a genre of entertainment that has largely disappeared over the years, and of which Arden was thought to be the undisputed master. As many of Arden’s shows were featured in Las Vegas, the collection also serves to document that fabled golden era of Las Vegas entertainment of the 1950s-1960s, and provides insight into how perceptions of the Las Vegas showgirl have evolved over the years.
The Donn Arden Papers encompass Arden’s work in nightclub shows at the Moulin Rouge, Latin Quarter, Riviera, the Painted Desert Room of the Desert Inn Hotel/Casino and other nightclubs throughout the United States. The bulk of the collection, however, documents his work on large-scale production shows in Las Vegas and Reno including Lido, Hello America, Pzazz! 68, Pzazz! 70, Hallelujah Hollywood, Hello Hollywood, Hello and Jubilee. There is little production information from his European shows, but there are a number of programs and press clippings on his shows at the Paris Lido (dating from the late 1940s to the early 1980s), and some material from his Italian shows. There are also a number of programs and some production information from Arden’s work on ice and water shows, particularly Holiday on Ice.
Much of the correspondence in the collection is not work-related, and there is little correspondence from the early part of Arden’s working life (1930s-1950s). The majority of the correspondence is from former dancers and dates from the 1970s and 1980s. There are also a small number of fan letters for both Hallelujah Hollywood and Jubilee that provide insight into how audience members felt about Las Vegas production shows.
Audiovisual materials in the collection include a small number of rehearsal discs with music from different shows, and video and audio tapes from Jubilee! and Hello Hollywood Hello. The bulk of the collection’s photographs were separated into UNLV Photo Collection 0328; those that remain include casting shots of performers who auditioned for Arden’s shows, photographs of celebrities autographed to Arden, and a photograph album of Arden in Paris (ca early 1950s) with collaborators Miss Bluebell and Ron Fletcher.
Artifacts in the collection include a small number of trophies honoring Arden for his work in the entertainment world. Some sixteen scrapbooks dating from the early 1950s to the 1970s capture the essence of Arden’s career with press clippings, photographs, programs, and other ephemera.
Please note that most of the original loose press clippings have been photocopied onto acid-free paper; the originals are restricted due to their age and fragility. Two additional boxes following the regular series contain these originals and duplicates of other collection materials.
This collection is organized into seven series: Personal, Nightclubs, Shows, Audiovisual Materials, Photographs, Artifacts and Scrapbooks.
Photographs have been separated and placed in UNLV Photo Collection 0328.
The following collections in Special Collections, UNLV Libraries, contain related materials about other Las Vegas show producers and other Las Vegas hotel/casinos with shows:
Matt Gregory Papers, 96-22
Harold Minksy Papers, 87-97
Dunes Hotel Collection, 93-08
Sands Hotel Collection, 2000-12
This series consists primarily of material documenting Arden’s personal life but also includes information about people who worked closely with Arden, and general information on dance, production shows, and showgirls. This series is divided into the following sub-series: 1.1 Donn Arden and 1.2 Collaborators and Miscellaneous
Material documenting Arden’s personal life such as correspondence, telegrams, invitations, high school ephemera, and biographical press clippings and magazine articles.
Material documenting the lives of Donn’s Arden’s lifelong collaborator Margaret Kelly (Miss Bluebell) and that of Las Vegas producer Frank Sennes. Series also contains general information on dance, production shows and showgirls.
This series is comprised of materials documenting Arden’s work in a number of nightclubs around the United States in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey and Las Vegas. Nightclubs include the Latin Quarter, Moulin Rouge, Riviera, and the Painted Desert Room at the Desert Inn Hotel/Casino. Also includes documentation on the Arden-Fletcher Dancers, Arden’s line of dancers with dancer/choreographer Ron Fletcher.
This series consists of materials documenting Arden’s work on large-scale production shows and includes costume design sketches, cast lists, fan letters, magazine articles, production notes, programs, press clippings, reviews and sheet music. This series is divided into the following sub-series: 3.1 Foreign, 3.2 Ice and Water, and 3.3 United States.
Material documenting shows produced outside of the U.S. including the Lido in Paris and various shows throughout Europe. Paris Lido materials date from the late 1940s to the 1980s, but those from the 1960s and 1970s are incomplete. Lido show programs and clippings in the collection are arranged in chronological order by their premiere year.
This series consists of audiocassette tapes and VHS videotapes of select Arden shows such as Hello Hollywood Hello, Jubilee, and Lido. There are also a number of rehearsal discs used for the Lido and Hello America shows.
This series consists primarily of headshots of individuals and groups auditioning for roles in Arden productions. Photographs span a number of decades but are undated. The series also contains a photo album and loose photographs of Arden in Paris with Ron Fletcher, Miss Bluebell and others in the late 1940s-1950s. Please note that additional photographs are available in UNLV Photo Collection 0328.
This series is comprised of trophies and plaques from various organizations honoring Arden for his work in the entertainment business.
This series is comprised of scrapbooks that contain press clippings, photographs, programs and telegrams for Arden production shows in Las Vegas and Paris, and in numerous nightclubs around the United States.