Showbiz innovator who brought big-name acts to Las Vegas dies at 94

By Ed Koch

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 | 11 p.m.

Stan Irwin may have had his roots in old-time Vaudeville, but after he got to Las Vegas in 1946 he became renowned for being a forward-thinking entertainment innovator, decades ahead of his time.

When Las Vegas was firmly the domain of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Irwin, working closely with fellow Sahara Hotel executive Herb McDonald, brought The Beatles to town for two historic concerts at the old Las Vegas Convention Center.

In the late 1960s when Elvis Presley’s career was on the downswing, Irwin offered Presley’s manager Col. Tom Parker $75,000 a week for the King to perform at the Sahara. Parker refused the offer but several years later Elvis became a Vegas legend with record-setting attendance marks at the Las Vegas Hilton.

A graveside memorial service has been scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Feb. 23 at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, Calif., for the Las Vegas icon Irwin, who died Jan. 21 in Los Angeles at age 94.

During his lengthy career in show business, Irwin was a comedian, actor, manager, songwriter and longtime vice president and executive producer of entertainment for the Sahara (now SLS Las Vegas).

Irwin, who booked Johnny Carson into the Sahara in 1964, produced the first two years of the “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” After leaving Las Vegas in the late 1970s for Hollywood, Irwin served as manager of entertainer Pearl Bailey.

“My father was a man of insight — an innovator way ahead of his time,” said Irwin’s son, Lanny Irwin, of Salt Lake City. “When no other Las Vegas hotel would touch The Beatles, my father knew they would be a tremendous success and booked them into the Convention Center. In doing so, he brought theatre-in-the-round to Las Vegas.

“Dad was an honest man who delved into the show business world with complete integrity.”

Some of the many innovations Irwin is credited with include introducing big name acts to Las Vegas lounges (among them, Buddy Hackett, Shecky Greene and Don Rickles), producing the first televised variety show from Las Vegas (“Fabulous Las Vegas” at the Riviera Hotel swimming pool in 1957 for CBS), presenting the first ice show in Las Vegas (starring Olympic gold medalist Sonia Henie at the Sahara) and producing Las Vegas’ first all-magic show (at the Frontier).

Irwin also produced an all-black version of “Hello Dolly” starring Bailey.

Actually, when Irwin brought The Beatles to Southern Nevada, he initially booked them into the Sahara’s Congo Room. But when ticket sales skyrocketed, he was forced to move the show to the much larger Convention Center. The Beatles stayed in suites on an upper floor of the Sahara tower.

Irwin was part of the locked-arm human brigade that stood between the swarm of screaming young fans and the cars that took the Fab Four from the Sahara to the Convention Center where they performed before above capacity crowds of 8,408.

For having brought The Beatles to Las Vegas, Irwin and Herb McDonald were inducted into the Las Vegas Rock Reunion Hall of Fame on May 1, 2011.

Irwin also performed other deeds that made him part of Las Vegas folklore.

For example, when singer Judy Garland was at a low point in her career because of drug and alcohol abuse and not in condition to perform on the big showroom stage, Irwin helped her out by booking her into the Sahara lounge for 2 a.m. shows.

During his long gaming entertainment career, Irwin also held the title of vice president and executive producer for the Sahara Lake Tahoe, the Mint Hotel and the Thunderbird Hotel when they were Del Webb properties.

Away from entertainment, Irwin served a term in the Nevada Assembly.

Born March 28, 1920, in New York City to a Vaudevillian family, Stan began preparing for a career as a stand-up comic in his teens.

A pilot by his early 20s, Irwin served in the Army Air Corps as a flight instructor during World War II. He returned to New York after the war, where he struggled as a comedian working the Catskill Mountain resorts.

When a friend suggested he take his act to a burgeoning entertainment hot spot called Las Vegas, Irwin responded that he did not know where Las Vegas was.

Nevertheless, in 1946, Irwin signed an 11-day contract to perform as a comic and emcee at the Club Bingo, which later was purchased by gaming legend Milton Prell and transformed into the Sahara in 1952. By then, Irwin was firmly entrenched as director of entertainment production for the Strip resort.

After Carson took over “The Tonight Show” in 1962, he hired Irwin as the show’s executive producer. Two years later, Irwin left the show, returned to Las Vegas and long served as Carson’s road manager.

As the Sahara’s entertainment boss, Irwin brought in several major stars for their Las Vegas debuts, including Marlene Dietrich, Bob Newhart, Paul Anka, Bobby Darin and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

As a songwriter, Irwin wrote the lyrics (Lan O'Kun, the music) for “That's What God Looks Like to Me” for Frank Sinatra in the 1970s. Twenty years earlier, Irwin and Louie Prima wrote the Prima-recorded song “Banana Split for My Baby.”

As a handsome actor in the 1950s, Irwin appeared in an episode of the action-drama series “M-Squad” starring Lee Marvin. In the 1968 cartoon show “Bully for Lou,” Irwin did the voice of the late Lou Costello opposite Bud Abbott.

After leaving Las Vegas, Irwin went into a number of entertainment-related fields including satellite communications, home video productions and special event productions. He also was a longtime entertainment gaming consultant. In more recent years, Irwin was a consultant for the American Heart Association.

In addition to his son, Irwin is survived by his longtime companion Margie Irwin; his ex-wife Ruth Irwin; a daughter, Jody, and her husband Max Cornia; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Ed Koch is a former longtime Las Vegas Sun reporter.