Alice Key was born in Kentucky, circa 1921. Her family moved to Southern California when she was still a small child. During her 2nd year at UCLA, she was recruited as a chorus girl for the Cotton Club in Culver City, California, and that started a long, successful dancing career.
In 1955, she came to Las Vegas as Public Relations Director for the Moulin Rouge Hotel, and also co-hosted the "Talk of the Town," the first all-black television show in Las Vegas. From 1966 to 1969, she was editor of the Las Vegas Voice, the city's first black newspaper. Always active in civil rights, she was the director of the Nevada Commission for the Rights of Women from 1967 to 1969, coordinator for the Nevada Careers Program for the Equal Opportunity Board of Clark County from 1969 to 1972, and from 1980 to 1983 she served as director of the Las Vegas branch of the NAACP. In 1983, Governor Bryan appointed her to the Labor Commission where she served for 10 years. In 1984, she helped organize the Barbara Jordan Democratic Women's Caucus. She continues to be active in community affairs and is currently working for the preservation and reopening of the Moulin Rouge Hotel in West Las Vegas.
Alice Key donated her collection in 1995. The main topic is civil rights and the preservation of the Moulin Rouge Hotel. The collection includes certificates and awards given to Alice Key, a little correspondence, invitations, programs, pamphlets and newspaper clippings. There is some background information on her early life as a dancer. The donor noted that the photograph collection was assembled by someone else and is not in any rational order.
Alice is writing some memoirs and will add them at a later date. Someone is also sending her newspaper columns she wrote, which she will add to the collection.
Physical Description: 1 box, 4 linear inches containing printed materials, photographs and 1 video tape.
Restrictions: None
Location of Collection: Lied Library Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
Processed by: Joyce Marshall
Date Completed: 1/26/95
Inventory and Container List
Alice Key
95-47
| BOX # | FLDR# | CONTENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Certificates and Awards, 1980-1995 |
| 2 | Correspondence, 1989-1995 | |
| 3 | Invitations, 1965-1995 | |
| 4 | Las Vegas Review Journal, "Living" section, 5/19/93 | |
| 5 | Las Vegas Review Journal, "Nevadan" section, 9/17/89 | |
| 6 | Las Vegas Review Journal, "Nevadan" section, 2/25/90 | |
| 7 | Las Vegas Voice, 7/21/66 | |
| 8 | Newspaper clippings, 1936-1986 | |
| 9 | Nevada Black History, newspaper supplement, publ. 1992 | |
| 10 | Photographs | |
| 11 | Programs | |
| 12 | Pamphlets | |
| END OF INVENTORY | ||
