Antonio Morelli's Journey to Las Vegas

Through a partnership with the Junior League of Las Vegas, the Online Nevada Encyclopedia is pleased to present an exhibit showcasing the life and home of Antonio R. Morelli. The exhibit uses images from the Morelli Collection (soon to be housed at UNLV Special Collections), and from photographers Alan Sandquist, Rex Windom, and Richard Hooker.

In addition, Alan Hess, champion of Mid-Century Modern architecture, preservationist, writer, and architect, composed the essay that accompanies the images. Hess has written over fifteen books in his series on the subject of Mid-Century Modern architecture and has been instrumental in qualifying a number of structures for the National Register of Historic Places.

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Morelli House: Helen and Antonio Morelli

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Born July 22, 1904, in Rochester, New York, Anthony (“Tony”) Morelli grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, as one of nine siblings. His father took him to Italy in 1914 to be educated, first briefly at Milan’s San Celso Military Academy and then (more suited to his interests) the Royal Conservatories of Music in Milan and Parma. Returning to the United States in 1925, Morelli traveled the country as a pianist, promoted vaudeville acts, wrote music and arrangements for theater productions (including several Radio City Music Hall productions), and conducted theater and civic orchestras around the country throughout the 1930s and 1940s. When he married Helen Collins in 1935, he was the orchestra leader for the newly opened RKO Palace Theater in Albany, New York. She was secretary to Harry Rogers, a New York producer and advertising agent.

Morelli House: Aerial View of Sands Hotel 1954

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Morelli first visited Las Vegas in 1953 with the Olsen and Johnson comedy team. When he accepted Sands president and impresario Jack Entratter’s offer to become the new hotel’s musical director the following year (he had known Entratter from the Copacabana Club in New York), Morelli stepped into a newly minted realm of entertainment.

Morelli House: Antonio Morelli and Politics

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The brash young town in the middle of the desert had a glittery, nouveau riche reputation, and the casinos and hotels were known to be run by various crime syndicates. Entratter believed that Morelli’s reputation as a classically-trained musician brought a polish that would attract wealthy, educated people.

Morelli House: Antonio Morelli by an Unknown Artist

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In his twenties Morelli had adopted a courtly mustache, waxed into pencil-tip endpoints, as his trademark – a symbol of his classical training even as he worked in the very heart of mid-century popular music in Las Vegas, where he was officially known as Antonio.

Morelli House: Antonio Morelli and Jimmy Durante

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Though not a major figure in Las Vegas show business, Morelli characterized the professional mid-management personnel who helped turn Las Vegas into a smoothly functioning, highly professional, widely popular entertainment venue. His boss Jack Entratter brought in the stars who attracted the high-rolling gamblers coveted by the hotels.

Morelli House: Antonio Morelli Standing Next to the Marquee

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The big stars would usually bring their own musical directors for their acts, but Morelli wrote arrangements and rehearsed and fronted the eighteen-member regular orchestra, reportedly the largest on the Strip. The billing on the great Sands sign on the Strip read “Antonio Morelli and his Orchestra.”

Morelli House: Antonio Morelli and Friends

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Antonio Morelli worked with Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis, Florence Henderson, Red Skelton, Dean Martin, and others.

Morelli House: Dean Martin, Antonio Morelli and Frank Sinatra

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He also played a role in one of the most memorable scenes in twentieth century American popular culture: the Rat Pack appearances of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford at the Sands in 1960. In films of the performances, Morelli can be glimpsed as the tall, smiling, elegantly mustachioed bandleader behind the Rat Pack’s antics.

Morelli House: Antonio Morelli and his Orchestra

Courtesy of the Morelli Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Today only traces of Morelli’s work as a musician remain in recordings. But in his lifetime he saw himself in the role of a solid citizen bringing high culture to the rough Western city. He produced and conducted the free Las Vegas Pops concerts (called “Shirt Sleeve Symphonies”) virtually from his arrival in the city. He also composed and conducted special Easter Morning and Christmas services for the public. He later set up a scholarship for young musicians at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Through a series of happy accidents, we have today the house he built for his wife and himself, the very embodiment of Las Vegas’s optimism about the future in its mid-century boom years.

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Antonio Morelli's Journey to Las Vegas

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