Whenever I endlessly doom-scroll mindfully survey social media platforms, every Vegas-based influencer, host, or “personality” who celebrates people and places in our community gets my attention. I’m a sucker for it. They’re good fun, and usually slick and tech-savvy — but most also remind me of how much I miss the old-school, D.I.Y. local talk shows that used to be a mainstay of way off-hours broadcast television through the late 2010s.
Ed Bernstein’s interview show is a vestige of that time, and, while interesting, it’s not the off-the-rail trainwreck, with a hyper-challenged, wonky style, that truly captures a spirit I miss. What I’m talking about is an earnest, but maybe not totally talented go-getter who has overconfidently thrown heart and soul into a mish-mash of concepts, style, and execution. Awkward Vegas cheerleaders on the fringe… with a business model.
Sadly, all of my faves are long gone. Folks like the raspy-voiced, big-wigged, saucer-eyed, lavishly adorned Jintsy James (both I and newsletter editor Scott Dickensheets separately appeared on her show in its heyday). And then there’s transcendent lounge-lizard (his appearance at the 30-minute mark on the David Letterman show is legend) cum prolific show producer, Tony Sacca. Tony was glorious as a steady-eddie of subdued sycophancy, whether he was with a legend like Tony Curtis, a Doobie Brother (singular), or a “rising star” in the Las Vegas community.
The list, of course, goes on — all of them now wispy recollections as memory fades and the Internet purges. If you do happen upon one, it’s pure glory, from the over-the-top, objectively ridiculous opening credits to the awkwardness throughout. It always reminds me that Las Vegas is filled with perseverant dreamers taking their best shot to be a part of the Las Vegas conversation, and maybe, just maybe, catch some heat. Few did. But their real legacy is trying to engrain themselves into flashy Vegas with something undeniably charming: an authentic (some might argue unhinged) desire to simply entertain here in the Entertainment Capital of the World.
➕ Too new in town to be nostalgic for this 👆? In that case, try our newbie’s guide to help orient yourself. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
