For week, maybe even months, before we actually departed for the 8th International Convention of the Sons of the Desert, my friend Jon Petering kept telling me, “Buddy, I can’t wait to get on that plane.” Yes, for some odd reason one of my fellow Kroger baggers was going along with us to Las Vegas to attend the convention. It was a little odd, because he had no real interest in Laurel and Hardy, but the allure of Las Vegas and the untold pleasures he could find there was too much to resist. In the end, his favorite quote was “Buddy, there’s nothing to do here”, and he spent a lot of his time sitting in the room watching baseball.
That’s the subplot of the story. Jon was there, but it really made no difference to me. I was there to celebrate the magic of Stan and Babe once again. This was my sixth convention, and it ranks right near the top in my book. Joining Jon and me were my Dad and my sister Denise. We all stayed in the same room and there was a bit of contention on whether to split the room bill three ways or four, but other then that, we all got along swellishly.
The event began on Sunday, July 12, 1992 at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino – where I would spend my first time ever in fabulous Las Vegas. We flew out that morning and arrived in Las Vegas that afternoon. Registration was conducted in a central meeting area just up a set of escalators that I would re-visit in 2009. Whilst waiting to make my presence known, I was tapped on the shoulder and turned around to see my pal Bob Satterfield, looking decidedly thinner and with longer hair – which he later attributed to his mid-life crisis. Visiting Bob back in his room, he presented me with a somewhat late graduation present, which was well worth the wait: an amazing photo album full of autographed photos with graduation wishes from about 25 L&H and Our Gang co-stars. Someday, I’ll post the album in its entirety.
That evening we had a fun cocktail reception (where Bob received a Stan Laurel check endorsed by Stanley “Tiny” Sandford, which I carried around with me and showed off). Then we had a “Salute to Hal Roach Dinner”. Mostly what I remember about this was that Dick Bann had accompanied Hal Roach himself to the event. At this point, Hal Roach was 100 years old. This ended up being the third and final time that I saw Mr. Roach in person. Following the dinner, The Parade of Tents was presented via video presentation. The evening culminated with the opening of the cinema and the Dealers Room. I made a couple of significant purchases at some point during the week – framed and matted autographed photos of Oliver Hardy and Edgar Kennedy. I was up exceptionally late reading my new copies of The Laurel and Hardy Magazine in the bathroom in our room while everyone else slept.
Having Tommy “Butch” Bond, now sporting red hair, sign a photo for me at the cocktail mixer
I think Jon and I tried our hand at the slot machines that night. Not being a big gambler, I’d be surprised if I spent more than $20 in quarters throughout the week. I remember that night watching Sherry Han, the host of the convention and Grand Sheik of the Jitterbugs tent, playing slots with silver dollars and quickly going through 100 bucks. How I cringed!
Monday, July 13, saw a lot of standard Sons fare: the Grand Council meeting, the Dealer’s Room and Cinema, a seminar on How to Start and Maintain a Sons Tent (which interested me greatly at the time), the Trivia Contest and Tournament of Champions Trivia Contest (of which I didn’t participate), the Hal Roach All-Stars Look-a-Like & Sound-a-Like Contest, and the Pee-Wee Contest. I can’t recall if I participated in the latter – but it was something I would typcially do. All of this provided plent of time for Jon to sit back in the room.
I also brought along a ridiculous amount of copies of my new tent newsletter (for the tent that didn’t quite yet exist) Dante’s Info. I was proud of that darn thing and periodically laid numerous copies around the convention and watched people pick them up, hoping that they would gawk and think it was a literary masterpiece.
That night saw a great event at a local waterpark Wet ‘N Wild, called the Honolulu Baby Luau. A lot of folks – and I’m not honestly sure if I was one of them – participated in the waterslides, with special focus going to Bob Satterfield and Tracy Tolzmann, both of whose girth made for some very impressive splashes as they went down the speed slides.
After swimming, we had a great dinner with background music provided by Ronnie Hazelhurst and his Orchestra, playing the tunes of the Hal Roach Studios. I recall standing in line for food with Bob and celebrity guest Vera Ralston and her husband. Dwain Smith noted that Larry Semon’s cousin was also present at the event and could be recognized by the stain on his pants. It was a fine, warm evening in the 100-plus degree weather, which was almost bearable with the low humidity.
Tuesday the 14th saw the Celebrity Panel & Autograph session at 10am that morning. This convention had more celebrity guests than any other convention other than Hollywood ’80. Participating in the Q&A were Tommy “Butch” Bond, Lois Laurel Hawes, Jerry Tucker, Jacquie Lyn, Anthony Caruso, Jay R. Smith, Trudy Marshall, Eugene “Pineapple” Jackson, and Dorothy deBorba. Other celebs that were not present at the Q&A were Diosa Costello, Vera Ralston, and Della Lind. Two guests had been slated to attend but did not end up coming: Felix Knight and Vivian Blaine. Postings regarding encounters with some of the celebrities begin here.
Jay R. Smith, Jacquie Lyn, and Dorothy deBorba during the Q&A session
Jerry Tucker, Pineapple Jackson, and Tommy Bond
Trudy Marshall and Lois Laurel
There was a Laurel and Hardy Olympics in Toyland event that afternoon, but I don’t think I participated. This might have been when Jon and I spent a very brief time at the slots. There was also a screening of The Bullfighters going on, and although I didn’t watch it, I was able to meet celebrity Diosa Costello my one and only time after the screening. I never saw her again at the convention or any other time.
We went directly from the theatre area to the banquet room, where there was some bizarre Murder Case Crime Scene, where one was to guess who the killer of ‘Bozo’ was. I really had no idea what was going on, but it was fun to see various Sons, Tony Hawes in particular, play characters who were suspects of the ‘murder’. I think Bob, also not knowing what was going on, took part in this also.
Bob in costume with Kathy Luhman, following the Crime Scene event. Randy Skretvedt and I are in the background.
The banquet that night was hosted by Bill Cassera’s The Midnight Patrol tent had a cops and robbers theme and everyone came dressed accordingly – but not me as per usual. After the banquet, Bob drove my Dad, Denise, Jon, Jimmy, and me into Vegas and we visited a couple of the casinos. It was a nice chance to look around although none of us gambled. Jon kept his ideas peeled for legal prostitutes. As we weaved our way through the blaring neon, my Dad jokingly asked Bob, “Yeah, but where do people go to gamble?”
With the display of one million dollars at the Binion’s Horseshoe Casino
Thank goodness we had at least one group shot: Dad, me, Jon, Denise, and Jimmy with the million bucks
Bob working his way though the lights of Vegas
Denise participates in some late night antics with paper cups
The final full day of the convention came on Wednesday, July 15. The first activity I can recall was the screening of Pack Up Your Troubles, which included a talk from Jacquie Lyn and featured a print that included footage that I had never seen before. This was about the only Laurel and Hardy film I actually watched during this convention. There was an auction that afternoon, and I purchased an original lobby card from The Dancing Masters and had Trudy Marshall sign in that evening at the Jitterbugs banquet, which featured live big band music.
In between the auction and the banquet was the final Grand Council meeting where we voted for the next convention. I declared my soveriegty by voting on behalf of my own tent instead of the Towed in a Hole Tent. Although I actually voted for Harlem, Georgia, the convention bid for 1994 was won by Tarrytown, New York and the Founding Tent.
The standard Farewell Brunch and Passing of the Pineapple was held on Thursday morning. My Dad, Denise, and Jon departed for the airport and took along the long piece of artwork that I had brought to exhibit in the Al Kilgore art gallery. I, however, didn’t leave from Vegas. I was continuing my vacation by participating in some of the post-trips and celebrations in California. So I loaded up my loot in Bob’s car and we began our drive back to his place in San Bernardino.
Jimmy and Denise at the Farewell Brunch, with standard foliage head garb. My pal David Rodriguez is behind Jimmy.
Denise gets around with her plant heads. Here is John Duff sprouting something besides hair on his head.
With my artwork contribution and the world’s worst mullet
It had been a fabulous convention and I so wish that I had captured more photos. I had also recently begun a journal, which was mostly so that I could journal my experiences on this trip – but alas, that invaluable book no longer exists.
The 1992 trip will continue in California…
Follow the trail of celebrities from this convention here…
Thank you very much for posting this. I’m glad that the Terrible Cat has not gone astray…
Peter
December 12th, 2011