About this item
An evocative, glamorous look at the golden years of Las Vegas, captured in more than 125 lush color and black-and-white photographs."I love that town. No clocks. No locks. No restrictions." - Marlene DietrichThe playground in the desert built by the mob and transformed by Howard Hughes, the "fabulous, extraordinary madhouse," that is Las Vegas, Nevada, has long been regarded as the Entertainment Capital of the World. During the post-war boom years, no place was as fascinating as Vegas. Distinguished by millions of colorful neon lights, the sounds of rhumba music, and the clink of silver dollars, Vegas was a recreational colony for Hollywood's most glamorous and a dream destination for thousands of ordinary Americans. Vegas Gold vividly showcases the glitz, glamour, and charm of Sin City's golden years, from the 1950s to the 1980s. An adoring ode to this ultimate adult playground, it celebrates the best of old Las Vegas - the Sands Hotel, the Stardust, Fremont Street, the Golden Nugget, the Riviera Hotel, the Desert Inn, and the Horseshoe - and its legendary headliners, including Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Elvis Presley, Liberace, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis Jr., Eartha Kitt, Noel Coward, and of course, the gorgeous Vegas showgirls. Framed by quotes and short essays that profile the marquee names that made Las Vegas the ultimate destination, the legendary years of this magical city live on in all their glory in Vegas Gold.
About the Author
Australian-born David Wills is an author, independent curator, photographic preservationist, and photo editor who has accrued one of the world's largest independent archives of original photographs, negatives, and transparencies.
Wills's books include ARA GALLANT (2010, introduction by Anjelica Huston) ; MARILYN MONROE: METAMORPHOSIS (2011) ; AUDREY: THE 60s (2012) ; HOLLYWOOD IN KODACHROME (2013, foreword by Rhonda Fleming) ; SEVENTIES GLAMOUR (2014, foreword by Paul Morrissey) ; MARILYN: IN THE FLASH (2015, foreword by Robert Wagner) ; THE CINEMATIC LEGACY OF FRANK SINATRA (2016, contributing essays by Nancy Sinatra, Tina Sinatra, and Frank Sinatra, Jr.) ; AUDREY: THE 50s (2016) ; SWITCHED ON: WOMEN WHO REVOLUTIONIZED STYLE IN THE 60s (2017, foreword by Betsey Johnson, afterword by Dame Mary Quant) ; VEGAS GOLD (2017, foreword by Wayne Newton, afterwords by Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond) ; and HOLLYWOOD BEACH BEAUTIES (2018) . He is also the coauthor of VERUSCHKA (2008) .
Wills has produced a series of photography exhibitions based on images from his archive, including Murder, Models, Madness: Photographs from the Motion Picture "Blow-Up"; and Warhology. He has contributed material to many publications and museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Phoenix Art Museum, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
His books and exhibitions have received major profiles in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, American Photo, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Interview, and Time. He has also written articles on photography and popular culture for publications including the Huffington Post, V Magazine, and Palm Springs Life.
