Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

‘Miss Dorothy’ ushers in her 90th birthday at Caesars; Pavel Chekov muses about brushes

Colosseum Usher Dorothy Brooks

Courtesy

Dorothy Brooks, shown in 2004 with Celine Dion during Brooks’ 80th birthday party, celebrated her 90th birthday party at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

Dorothy Brooks Turns 90

Colosseum usher Dorothy Brooks turns 90 today and is thrown a birthday party there before the Shania show at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, July 23, 2014. Launch slideshow »

The Kats Report bureau at this writing is not Caesars Palace, but I sure committed quite a bit of journalism at Case de Caesar over the past few days. Something weird happened there this weekend, and, no, we are not talking about Penny Pibbets’ interpretive dance as a unicorn (more on that in a bit). I locked my keys in my car.

Perplexing as it might seem in this day of alarms and battery-operated key fobs, that did happen. I think it was because I was distracted by a unicorn in a shiny green suit galloping through the parking garage.

Onward:

• The week was brightened by the smile of 90-year-old Colosseum usher Dorothy Brooks. “Miss Dorothy,” as she is uniformly known, celebrated that birthday Wednesday before the Shania Twain performance. Miss Dorothy still pulls three shifts a week at the theater and has met all of the headliners who have performed there.

“Celine Dion has sung for me twice,” she said Wednesday. “On my 80th and 88th birthday, and not many people can say that.”

Well, they could say that. But it probably would not be true.

Miss Dorothy was hired just as Celine opened the Colosseum in 2003 and has been on staff ever since. As she took a break from photo posing and cake-eating, I asked for the secret to her long and happy life.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “I never thought I’d live this long.”

• On the topic of quotes worth saving, Pavel Chekov said something pretty snicker-worthy during a phone interview this week. We are speaking actually of the actor Walter Koenig, who portrayed the young Russian ensign in the original “Star Trek” TV series. Koenig is part of the star (trek)-studded lineup at the upcoming Star Trek Convention, which is seeking out new life and civilizations at the Rio from July 31-Aug. 1.

Click to enlarge photo

In this undated photograph released by Paramount Pictures, the cast of the original "Star Trek" television series and movies are seen from left: DeForest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner, George Takei and Jimmy Doohan.

Koenig was famously cast as Chekov to appeal to a primarily younger and female demographic. He spent three seasons on the series and, after being notified that the show would be canceled in the spring of 1969, had no idea what his next job would be.

“I considered becoming a Fuller Brush man,” he said, “or selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. I never thought I’d continue a career as a cast member of ‘Star Trek’ at all.”

Melody Sweets’ Video Release at ‘Absinthe’

Rope-trick artist Chris McDaniel performs in Melody Sweets’ video-release party for the music video Launch slideshow »

• Melody Sweets’ one-off production to celebrate the release of the music video of her song “Shoot ’em Up” was at once a barnburner and a barn dance. Big ups to all of the performers — and it was a large and wide-ranging cast — who put together a wildly entertaining show without so much as a dress rehearsal. The Gazillionaire and Penny Pibbets co-hosted the show, Gaz as Cowboy Summerlin Sam, a character from 1861 who rode in “all the way from Summerlin Parkway”; and Penny playing his trusty horse Phallus. Pibbets broke the reins to perform a dancing scene as a unicorn. Pibbets also summons a unicorn in one of her monologues in “Absinthe,” punctuated by the phrase “… and it was a little saaaaalty!” See the show, and you’ll get that.

Otherwise, Paul Lopez and Misha “10 Pack” Furmanczyk reprised their roles as cowboys; Spencer “Ripley” Novich of “Vegas Nocturne” also turned up as a cowboy character; and the David Perrico-led band, too, donned cowboy gear. Mr. and Mrs. G (Ottavio and Naomi Gesmundo) fired crossbows across the theater. Rope-trick artist Chris McDaniel’s act cleared out the first row of spectators (long rope is why), and Dirty Martini and Peekaboo Pointe each performed burlesque numbers in a traditional tenor rarely seen in Las Vegas. The sound and lights weren’t always spot on, the video at the start hiccupped before it was played successfully, but it was a great time. The video is to be posted on Sweets’ website, MelodySweets.com, on Sunday. As they say, bang, bang, shoot 'em up.

• A groovy hang is happening Saturday night at budding (or re-budding) music haunt the Sand Dollar on the southeast corner of Polaris and Spring Mountain Road. Rob Lyons, who portrays Carl Perkins in “Million Dollar Quartet” at Harrah’s, is hosting a party to notify all of us about the release of his new CD, “When It Haunts You.” The gig kicks off at 10 p.m., with Martin Kaye and Ben Hale, also from “MDQ,” opening and Lyons taking over between 11:30 and midnight. Backing Lyons will be “MDQ” band mates Mark Ferratt on drums and Josh Jones on bass. The cover charge is $5, which covers a drink … so it’s really a one-drink minimum to see some Strip performers tear it up off-Strip.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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