Jerry's Lounge: Bell rung in as new host at Bootlegger Bistro
by Jerry Fink (Las Vegas Sun, January 6, 2006)
After five years of hosting the weekend revue "Off the Cuff" at the Bootlegger Bistro, illness has forced
Sonny King to relinquish his throne. Longtime Las Vegas entertainer Freddie Bell steps into the spotlight permanently at 10 p.m. today with " Freddy Bell's Open House," which will follow King's tradition of sharing the stage with entertainers who drop by late on Fridays and Saturdays. The show had a soft opening on New Year's Eve. "I
thought nobody would be there," Bell said. "But the place was full, and there were a lot of entertainers -- I thought everyone would be working." Bootlegger owner Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt made the hard decision to replace King, who has been unable to perform since undergoing cancer treatment in August. "We miss Sonny terribly," Hunt said. "But we need someone to host the
show on a permanent basis, and Freddie is like one of the family." Bell and King both arrived in Las Vegas in the early '50s and have been friends ever since. "Me, Sonny and a sax player by the name of Vido Musso hung together all the time," Bell said. "We were very, very close." King, a popular lounge performer, went on
to become an opening act for Jimmy Durante for 28 years. King is credited with introducing Dean Martin to Jerry Lewis. Bell, also a major act in the early days of Las Vegas lounges, has performed around the world. "We're very close," Bell said of King. "Not just show business friends." Since King's illness and long
recovery, Bell and others have substituted for him. King has been in and out of hospitals for the past four months. He is now in Sunrise Hospital. "When Lorraine first approached me, I was against the idea, but she persisted, and I decided we can't close the club because of Sonny's illnes," Bell said. He says his show will be much like King's. "I
will be carrying on the way Sonny did," Bell said. "Whatever happens, happens." He says it will take some getting used to. "This kind of show is unusual for me. I've never really played the part of a host -- I've always been an act. You go up and do your stuff -- this will take me awhile to figure out, deciding what piece of material to do and when." Bell, a comedian and singer, was performing with a rock 'n' roll band in his native Philadelphia before coming to Las Vegas in 1953 to work at the Sands' grand opening. One of his early claims to fame was recording "Hound Dog." Blues singer Big Mama Thornton first recorded the song in 1953, and it became No. 1 on the R&B charts that year. Bell made some changes in the song,
re-recorded it and made it part of his act. "It was No. 1 on American Bandstand," he said. In 1956, Elvis Presley was performing at the New Frontier. He dropped by the Sands to hear Freddie Bell and the Bellboys and was so impressed with their version of "Hound Dog" that he asked if he could record it. Elvis' "Hound Dog" became his fourth No. 1 hit.
Bell also appeared in the seminal low budget rock 'n' roll movie "Rock Around the Clock" (1956), with Bill Haley and the Comets. After being a fixture at the Sands for several years, in 1958 Bell quit Las Vegas and went on an international tour. "I was spending all my money gambling," he said. "So I said the heck with
Vegas." Then he was offered a job at the Sahara, where Louie Prima's lounge career began. He accepted the gig and stayed for 11 years. "I retired about five years ago," Bell said. "I was working at the Riviera and decided I had had enough." Although retired, he still works -- performing in Europe a couple of times a year,
as well as such cities as Chicago and New York. "We don't really call it retirement," Bell said. "I call it out of work." Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com. Copyright 2006 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
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