The King Sisters with Louis Jourdan at The Hollywood Palace

This week on King Sister Wednesday...
Based on the success of our Summer special/pilot in 1964 the Hollywood Palace invited the King Sisters, often with there children, to prime the pump for our series that would begin in January 1965. On this episode hosted by Louis Jourdan, the King Sisters did a truncated version of their night club act. (Along with a medley with their daughters, which would become a regular feature on the show over the course of our career).
It was this act that I would watch over and over and over again in Tahoe, Jackpot, Reno, San Francisco, or Vegas. I’m including an excerpt from my upcoming autobiography “Now They Are All Here“ that’s a glimpse into this small boy’s experiences as he watched these sparkly pretty ladies in a darkened, noisy, smoky casino.
_______________________
VEGAS
CAM Friday afternoons at Colfax Elementary couldn’t come soon enough when the King Sisters were performing in Vegas. Those engagements each lasted three weeks to a month, and I was a real momma’s boy. My heart would break every time I learned they would be heading to The Sahara or The Tropicana or The Stardust or, or, or…
The clock in class was located high above the chalkboard. It would lollygag on its way to two o’clock and then slow down exponentially ‘til it finally gave in and allowed it to be three o’clock. RIIIIING!!!! My feet could not carry me fast enough to the front gate, where Dad would be waiting with the car already packed for the weekend. We would then swing by Aunt Marilyn’s house and pick up Susannah and Adam and their baby sitter Nadine. Vegas is only a five-hour drive from LA, but as far as I was concerned, we might as well have been traveling to the far side of the moon.
As kids, when we would go to Disneyland, we made it a game to see who could spot the Matterhorn first and trumpet the siting. It was likewise with Vegas. Which of us would spy it first. It would be dark before we pulled in. We’d cross the desert, the sky an inky black with the only light being the headlights of oncoming cars, or the eerie glow emanating from the dashboard. And then finally, finally, out of that darkness, I’d see tiny jewels sparkling and quivering in the distance like a mirage. But it wasn’t a mirage. It was the dancing neon lights on the marquees. As we sped closer, the hotels rose out of the sand. “There it is!” Better than Disneyland! We would soon arrive at the Sahara or the Tropicana or the Stardust or, or, or…
In those days, the Rat Pack days, you could drive from one end of Vegas to the other in a matter of minutes. It was men in sports coats and ties and women in furs (even in the summer) and cocktail attire. Mid-century hotels relaxed on either side of highway, as if on lounge chairs themselves.
Susannah, Adam, and I would quickly change into our Sunday (Vegas?) best. Dad too, who would then attach clip on ties to Adam and me, and we’d head to the lounge. No children were allowed in the casino, but we weren’t just any old children. Those were our moms up on stage singing “Bill Bailey,” or Peggy Lee’s, “I’m A Woman,” or their tribute to sister acts.
We had a special, tiny, table right off the kitchen where no one could see us, but we could see them. Like sitting on a staircase peering down through the railings at a party and the sparkly grown-ups below, we’d nurse our Shirley Temples and Roy Rogers with a paper umbrella or a plastic giraffe balancing precariously on the rim of the glass.
As the moms would wrap up their set around midnight, the three of us would pretend we were asleep. They would gather us up in their arms, their sable fur coats smelling of tobacco from the casino and Estee Lauder from the dressing room, wearing charm bracelets that jingled like a one-horse open sleigh.
Saturday and Sunday would be spent poolside, shouting from the high dive, “Watch me Mom!” I dreaded their dinner show on Sunday night, because that would mean it would soon be time to leave. At the Sahara, the Sisters and the girl cousins had a wonderful arrangement of, “On A Clear Day,” but for decades I could not hear it without getting a huge pit in my stomach, because it meant “the leaving.” Don’t make us go home, we can skip school! Let us stay. Let me stay.
Climbing into the back seat of the car, I’d face out the rear window and watch the lights of Las Vegas sink back into the desert sand. The Tropicana, and The Stardust, and The Sahara and, and, and…
… and once again they were distant quivering gems against an inky black sky. A mirage.

[@RRolon999]

Thank you Mr Flinders!

[@trulyyours5918]

Love these ladies! So talented and beautiful.

[@josephrainonejr.4381]

Excellent!

[@funnyside6]

Thanks for the clip Cam and the except from your book. Looking forward to reading it.

[@glenhammpnd8357]

Thank you !!!!!

[@wille.g.2510]

I wish I could just sit and listen to you tell stories of You and your family's life. ❤ Truly, it means more than I can ever convey that you and yours share at least a Sliver of ... that family feeling for Sno Globe ❤ Thank You

[@SOLE2SOUL]

Amazing and incredible! Further proof that The King Sisters are the greatest harmony singers of all time! LOVED the tribute to the sister/harmony acts and Marilyn singing Les Paul's guitar parts is mind-blowing!. The sound when all 12 ladies are singing is so rich and beautiful. I was a kid when this was originally on the air but never saw it or any King Family prior to 1969 (except for randomly catching Alvino doing Brenda Lee's I'm Sorry with his talking steel guitar) but I Thank God I lived to now to be able to see you share all these clips. Thank You Cam!

[@Brendon_John_Harrison]

Nice Classic Video, Flounder! 🐠

[@andrepauli3143]

As a 34 year old guy, I definitely have a true appreciation for this era of entertainment. Part of me wishes I was around the time of the King sisters, having a beautiful and talented woman like them in my life would have made me the luckiest guy in the world.

[@vhsstillok]

My rough day just did a 180! Thanks for posting a blessing.

[@hmparentlll]

Cam….you and all the king cousins are so lucky to have all these treasured videos!!!! Thanks for posting!!!!

[@jenihansen7201]

This was great !!! Thank you so much.

[@rosymaze]

Hey, Cam! You’ll have to let us know what cons you’ll be going to. I missed you at Sci fi valley when it was the turtles reunion (I think they said it was something with your flight) I’d love to meet you.💙🐢