Is There Film or Video of the Classic Lido de Paris from the Stardust?

Back in the ’80s we visited Vegas 2 or 3 times a year and our favorite show was the “Lido” at the Stardust. Always went to see it every time. I think it was the best ever Vegas show. Is there a film or video of the show that a person can buy or rent so I can relive that magical time again?

Those of us who frequented Vegas from the late 1950s all the way into the ’90s remember Lido de Paris as a permanent fixture at the Stardust.

It opened on July 2, 1958, the same night as the Stardust debuted on the Las Vegas Strip, and when it closed on February 28, 1991, its 32 years of continuous performances made it, at the time, the longest-running consecutive stage show in American history; its 22,000 performances were seen by around 19 million showgoers.

Directed by the legendary Donn Arden, the original Paris production dated back to 1928; the Vegas version continued the tradition of spotlighting the quintessential showgirls, once described as “long of limb, sinuous of step, and bountiful of bosom.”

Illusionists Siegfried & Roy were part of the show in the early 1970s, working for $1,800 a week. Bobby Berosini and his orangutans headlined Lido in its later years, then also headlined the show, Enter the Night, that replaced Lido.

Anyway, in our search, we came up with Lido posters, programs, postcards, magazine ads, room card keys (featuring a nearly naked Valerie Perrine, who also performed in the show), matchbooks with the Lido marquee, Lido commemorative casino chips, and tons of photographs, all available on eBay, Etsy, and Card Cow Vintage Postcards, but no film or video for sale of the show.

The only video we found were three short clips on YouTube: a blurry 20-second clip from a two-minute “promo video from an unknown documentary” about the Stardust; a one-minute showgirl romp; and a quick 30-second collage of a few scenes from the show.

If anyone is aware of any other footage of Lido de Paris, please let us know.

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Annie Jan-27-2018

Lido Show Commercial

On my first night in Vegas at 2 AM, I came upon a movie shoot for a commercial for the Lido being filmed outside the Stardust Sports Book. Dancers dressed as waiters were energetically dancing to music with lyrics that began, "On ee On ee Lido de Paree-o." The dancers held drink glasses on trays as props with the  glasses glued to the trays. The commercial played for years on the Stardust house channel in the rooms, and, I think, on local Vegas TV channels. 

I was fascinated that they actually mispronounced the title of their own show by singing the French "de" as "day" instead of the correct "duh." This was my first introduction to Vegas's relaxed attitude toward correct usage. 

No one would have ever imagined back then that every one of those classic Vegas shows like "The Lido Day Paree" at the Stardust, "The Folies Bergere" at the Trop or "Jubillee" at Bally's would ever be cancelled. 

But then no one ever imagined back then that the Stardust itself would soon be cancelled.

Question of the Day - 27 January 2018

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