Question of the Day - 24 September 2019

Interesting question and one we've never fielded before. 

By far the oldest person who ever performed on the Las Vegas Strip was George Burns. He appeared at the Circus Maximus at Caesars (predecessor of the Colosseum) up until he was 98 years old. In fact, at that age, he was in the middle of a series of shows when he fell in the bathtub and cut his head. Though the cut required only a couple of stitches, he never fully recovered and didn't perform again (to our knowledge). He'd already signed a $10 million contract to appear at Caesars on his 100th birthday in 1996, but he was too weak to collect; he died 49 days later. 

Marty Allen, one-half of the comedy duo Allen & Rossi, was, according to our research, the next oldest. He continued to perform in Las Vegas (Rampart, Downtown Grand) until he was 92, appearing with his wife, singer and songwriter Karon Kate Blackwell.  

Tony Bennett is currently tied for second oldest, but we're betting that he'll take over second by himself next year.

Don Rickles began headlining the Strip in 1959 and continued almost all the way up until he died at age 90. It's believed he played Vegas every single year from 1959 to 2017, the year he passed away. 

BB King kept performing well into his 80s, especially in Las Vegas, where he lived for the last 30 years of his life (a fact that wasn't well-known then or now). He died in May 2015 at the age of 89 at his home in Spanish Oaks.

Phyllis Diller, the first big-time female stand-up comic, made her Vegas debut in 1964. In May 2002, the Suncoast Showroom hosted her final live performance at the age of 85. She died 10 years later.

Frank Sinatra’s final Las Vegas performance took place on May 29, 1994, at the MGM Grand; he was 79. 

Bill Medley is 78. Wayne Newton is 77. Barry Manilow is 76. Gladys Knight is 75. Rod Stewart is 74. Clint Holmes is 73.