Sahara Hotel...nostalgia buffs brave sweltering heat to snatch up keep-sakes!

If you were cruising down the Vegas strip on Thursday, you probably caught sight of a throng of tourists and locals alike, perspiring profusely in the sweltering heat in a line that snaked down the street for blocks on end.


Nope!

The folks were not anxious to snap up tickets for an upcoming headlining act.

On the contrary, die-hard souvenir-seekers were waiting patiently - sometimes upwards of three grueling hours - to gain entrance to a liquidation sale held at the Sahara Hotel which I reported on a couple of days ago.

Post: 06/14/2011

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2011/06/sahara-hotelnostalgia-sale-everything.html

As I noted in my previous report, the Sahara closed its doors to the public in May and is now in the process of clearing out the inventory - in some cases - at rock-bottom prices.

And, nostalgia buffs - a few practical types, too - are out to snap up a few collectibles if only for old time's sake.

After all, the Sahara Hotel was once a former haunt of the infamous "rat pack".

Uh-huh!

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin - and a gang of swinging wannabees - once flocked to the glittering showcase in the heyday of Vegas when the "mob" ruled.

On Thursday, potential buyers paid $10.00 a pop

Within hours, beaming shoppers were later spied hauling out their spoils, with a smug look of satisfaction on their beaming faces tanned to perfection by the desert sun.

What was up for grabs?

Novel Camel Lamps - which once rested on night-stands in every suite in the once-chic Hotel - sold briskly 150 smackeroos.

Publicity stills of - Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles - were snapped up quickly, too.

"Even if the item is nailed down, it's for sale," one liquidator presiding over the event underscored in the event there were any doubts.

Meanwhile, items that could be dropped in a pocket or slipped into a take-home bag, were flying out of the Hotel left, right, and center.

For instance, lone poker chips were plucked up for two bucks, while single dinner plates were being wrapped up for five dollars a piece.

A King-size mattress - free of bed bugs, I hope - sold for $325.00.

The purchaser must have had a struggle wrestling that find out the front door, eh?

At press time, still dozens of little treasures were available on site, this week.

By the way, the liquidators have noted that there they will no longer be charging a fee into the fifth day of the sale, so budget-minded folks may want to bear that fact in mind.

The gargantuan sale continues for the next sixty days - when it is expected - that all the desirable primo items will have finally been snatched up and carried off to the four corners of the world.

Happy treasure hunting, eh?

http://www.thetattler.biz

Marilyn Monroe...crypt in Westwood tourist attraction!

After a delightful afternoon in Westwood at an art exhibition, I slipped into the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery to take a gander at the crypt of screen siren, Marilyn Monroe.

Just as I expected, fresh cut flowers adorned her resting place.

Although the Westwood Cemetery stands in the shadow of the Oppenheimer Building on Wilshire - and is postage-sized - there are a number of heavyweights interned there.

Just a few steps away from Marilyn, for instance, tourists can take a peak at Producer Ross Hunter's plaque.

And, some of the headstones are etched with hilarious epitaphs.

For instance, on Merv Griffin's understated stone the script reads,

"I will not be right back after this message."

What would you expect from the loud-mouthed comedian, Rodney Dangerfield?

"There goes the neighborhood," he chuckles from the great beyond.

Dean Martin's last words are taken from one of his hit tunes.

"Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime."

I found it ironic that a couple of plots over from Jack Lemmon, Billy Wilder hails. If you recall, the dynamic duo teamed up on the hit comedy, "Some Like it Hot".

Other luminaries such as - Walter Matthau, Louise Jordan, and Mel Torme - attract a host of fans from all parts of the country each year - pining to pay their respects.

Across town, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, fans of the great and not-so-great can whisper in awe at the tombs of - heart-throb Rudolph Valentino (we share the same birthday, May 6th), screen idol Tyrone Power, actress Fay Wray, dashing Douglas Fairbanks Jr., sex goddess Jayne Mansfield, screen tough guy Edward G. Robinson - and a multitude of others.

In fact - the grave sites have become such a ghoulish attraction in this regard - that it was only inevitable that sight-seers would be hungry to hover over the fated spot where they met their final demise, too.

So, enter - "Graveline Tours" - a company that takes you on a tour of the locations where celebrities gasped their last breath.

Along the way, you may stop outside of - "The Viper Room - to take a respectful glance at the spot where River Phoenix collapsed, for instance. Or, check out the mysterious garage on Holloway Drive, actor Sal Mineo stepped out of to meet his appointment with death.

For the longest time, I thought pilgrimages to grave sites were foolish, a waste of time. After all, weren't the precious memorials just a way to "mark" a sentient being's "time" on this mortal coil?

But, a couple of years ago, I was inclined to reconsider that notion when an eerie experience jolted me into reality.

One day, I embarked on a trip to Forest Lawn in Toronto, to pay respects at my own father's tomb.

Because "Victor's" stone had been a bit neglected over the years - what with my mother gone and myself residing in the U.S. - it had unfortunately slipped into the ground a bit out of plain view.

So, after the grounds-keeper assisted me in locating the plot, I proceeded to tidy up the vicinity of his marker and planted a flowering bush to brighten up the site a bit.

As I turned to stride off, I couldn't help but notice the stone adjacent to my Dad's was a bit neglected, too.

I felt a little pang in the deep recesses of my heart; it was as if someone was crying out to me, but who?

"Aw, what the heck," I said to myself. "Why not tidy up that stone, too?"

Shortly after I began to sweep dust and debris off the stone, I was suddenly taken aback when I spied the name etched on the marble placer for the first time.

Oh my God! It was my Aunt Louise's burial site!

A chill ran up and down my spine. Gosh, was she the one urging me from the eternal ether to take some compassion on her neglected stone, too?

Although the grave site may not be a soul's final resting place - undoubtedly - a grave site on this earthly plane is a place where a loved one may connect to a spirit that has passed.

Like humans, souls get nostalgic, too.

Walter Scott once said,

Death, the last sleep? No, the final awakening.