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The Mike & Carla Morning Show

The Mike & Carla Morning Show

The Mike & Carla Morning Show

Las Vegas Says Goodbye To The Tropicana Forever

Author Carla Rea
Las Vegas says goodbye to The Tropicana

The cranes have landed at The Tropicana. It’s time to say goodbye to another iconic Las Vegas property.

The Iconic Tropicana In Las Vegas Closes Its Doors Forever On April 2

It’s always sad for anyone who lives in Las Vegas, to see history leave our city, and the Las Vegas strip. The Tropicana will close its doors on April 2. Casino and gaming operations will shut down at 3 a.m. on April 2, and the last hotel guests will be checking out by noon.

Personally, it is sad for me, because I spent a lot of my early comedy career performing at The Comedy Stop, at the Trop (now the Laugh Factory).

It’s the place I met my now friend, and  brilliant comedian, Kathleen Madigan. I worked with Ray Romano, The late Richard Jeni,  Bobby Slayton, and many more. It’s the place where I caught Slash (yes, Guns n Roses Slash) sitting in with the lounge band that was playing there.

It’s also the place that closed all the shops down one night I was working there,  just so one celebrity and his girlfriend wouldn’t be bothered by onlookers. That celebrity was Mike Tyson. It was the early 90’s and he was at his peak in the boxing ring. But of course, people still had their noses pressed on the glass, and snapped pictures with their fancy cameras.

Once Known As The Tiffany Of The Strip

Yes, The Tropicana was once called the Tiffany of the Strip. It was very high end.  It was the first, and only casino the late 50’s, to have swim up blackjack tables. You could be at, or in the pool, AND play blackjack, and get a drink. Without ever having to leave the pool. Brilliant!

The equipment is now at the Tropicana, and ready to make way for a new 33,000 seat major league baseball stadium. It will soon be home to the Oakl — Las Vegas, Athletics.

The equipment is there for trash and debris removal, not for an actual demolition. At least not yet. And there is no word as to whether The Tropicana will be demolished the old fashioned way, or if there will be a flashier Las Vegas implosion.

Whatever the case, Las Vegas will now say goodbye to the “Tiffany of the Strip.”

Carla Rea is the morning show co-host on “The Mike and Carla Morning Show" on 96.3 KKLZ, in Las Vegas. She has been working with her partner and friend Mike O'Brian for the past 25 plus years. At KKLZ for 12 years. Carla Rea is a Gracie Award winner. She started out in talk radio, "when talk radio was still fun" Rea says. Prior to, and along with doing the morning show, Carla is also a comedian. You may have seen her on Conan O'Brien, Evening at The Improv, Showtime, or several comedy clubs across the country. Carla also worked as a light feature reporter at KSNV/NBC Las Vegas, going behind the scenes at various shows, and restaurants on the Las Vegas strip. As a content creator 96.3 KKLZ, Carla writes in a sarcastic, cheeky, unapologetic way on Las Vegas, movies, TV, celebrities, and this thing we call life.

6 Comedy Super Women Who Inspired Me And Many Others

I believe laughter is universally one of the most amazing things on earth. The feeling you get from a full on belly laugh, or a laugh till you pee, laugh – it’s freeing. And it’s healthy.

Comedy: What’s Funny, What’s Not, And Why

It’s definitely easier to make some people laugh, than others. I mean funny is funny, But what is funny to one person is not to another. There’s an old joke among comedians: How many comedians does it take to change a lightbulb? Three. One to change it, and two to ask each other “how long is he/she going to be up there?” Might not make you laugh, because it’s kind of an inside joke among young comedians, who are fighting to get stage time.

How about this one, my psychologist friend told me: How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb. Only one. But the bulb has to want to change. Funny!!

As a comedian, it’s about getting hundreds, or thousands, to laugh at the same thing. I’ve been doing comedy for 40 years, and that has never changed. But what is funny often changes, because of changing times, and attitudes. But to get a whole room of people laughing at what I am saying? Well, that’s my drug.

Comedy Super Women

Women’s History Month got me thinking about how I got my start in comedy, and the female comics who inspired me.

I knew I wanted to do comedy from the time I was about 8 years old. I would often wake up, and turn on the TV very low, and watch The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. That’s where I first saw that a woman could do exactly what a man could do – as a comedian. A woman name Totie Fields.

Even though I didn’t totally understand all of Totie Fields material at the time, she made me laugh hysterically! She was talking about things that women talked about at the time. And very honestly. Like no woman I had ever seen.  Then I saw Joan Rivers. And I knew.

My father was an entertainer, who actually used to work with some of these funny women. He, and my amazing mom, both encouraged me and supported me. Always telling me I  could be whatever I wanted to be

So I started writing material – or things I thought were funny – around 10 years old. I knew I was going to be a comedienne (the word for a female comedian. Which is rarely ever used anymore, because comedy is very gender neutral now – thank God).

For Comedians

I loved making people laugh! Probably some psychological reason for that, as an overweight kid – which I found out later in life. But it was good for me. And I’ve had such a great career because of comedy. And because I took a negative – kids picking on the chubby girl –  and turned it into a wonderful positive: making jokes about the bullies to their face – and they laughed. What a high!

It felt great the first time I got laughs on the playground, the first time I performed a set in high school in the talent show, and the first comedy club I worked. And on TV shows, and specials, and on radio. Even though radio is far less immediate in response, I have a radio partner, and producer, who are great laughers! And listener, who are a great audience.

Along with my amazing, and funny mom –  here’s to the women of comedy that inspired ME. I was lucky enough to work with some of them, and I am forever grateful!

  • 1. Totie Fields

    Totie Fields was hilariously funny. Her delivery, her attitude, her style – it was spot on. And at the time, she was a bit raunchy – and it was great! Ed Sullivan, Laugh-In, The Tonight Show, Mike Douglas Merv, Carol Burnett – you name it, she did every show. She was huge. And her panty hose bit. As a young woman – freaking hilarious!! She worked at The Sahara in Las Vegas regularly, and people truly loved her. Sadly, she was a diabetic, and at that time, it wasn’t quite as treatable as it is now. Totie had one of her legs amputated, but continued to perform. Breast surgery, phlebitis, heart attacks. She died at 48 years old. Many don’t remember her because she wasn’t with us nearly long enough. Ask any comedian – she was one of the best.

    The Sahara sign in Las Vegas, at night

     

  • 2. Phyllis Diller

    Not only was she funny, but Phyllis Diller made herself look funny, as well. The goofy outfits, the makeup. Her voice was that kind of scratchy, and when she laughed it was this hilarious cackle! She joked about marriage, her mother in law, and her husband “Fang.” It was the first time a woman had really done it the way she did. Biting, but loving. Oh, and that long cigarette holder – classic! She paved the way for more of those character comedians – like Judy Tenuta, Larry the Cable Guy.

    Black and white picture of Phyllis Diller looking silly from the side of a door.

     

  • 3. Elayne Boosler

    I saw Elayne Boosler on The Tonight Show for the first time, and thought “cool – comedy is changing for women!” She was so very real! But she wasn’t on with Johnny Carson. Legend has it, he didn’t like her the one time she did the show with him. Told his people never to have her on again. Elayne was the first “club comic” I really knew, and followed. She broke ground, as the time. for the REAL women of comedy. and she started with so many of the other comedy club greats: Richard Belzer, Richard Lewis, Seinfeld, Carol Leifer.

    Comedian Elayne Boosler in a white tank tom

  • 4. Paula Poundstone

    Paula Poundstone was funny, and quirky – and I loved it! She gave off this free, and honest feeling onstage. And she has a cadence that pulls you in, and has you waiting for her next words. Paula was the first female to host a White House Correspondents Dinner. Her spontaneity is quietly mindblowing, and her material is so distinct, that you would often know it was Paula, even if you just saw it written out. Paula Poundstone is definitely one of my comedy (s)heroes!

    Paula Poundstone in suit with yellow tie

     

     

  • 5. Joan Rivers

    Everyone knew Joan Rivers. To me, she was probably the definitive “female” comic, at the time, and in many ways the definitive comedian. She made it ok to do any type of humor. She would sometimes pick on a physically disabled person. One once said that she loved it, because it made her feel just like everyone else! She came back after her husband’s very sad suicide, with a freshness. She never really had to change with the times – although she did – but it seems more like she changed the times, when it came to comedy. She got away with so much, because she was so strong in her material, and her delivery, and her conviction. She inspired a lot of comedians – female and male alike. She was one of a kind, and will forever be just that.

    Joan Rivers standing behind Carla Rea

     

  • 6. Kathleen Madigan

    Kathleen Madigan is a friend. I’ve known her for 30 years. There are some comedians that even another comedian will watch, and say, “why am I even doing this?” Madigan is so naturally funny, that it’s almost scary. There’s the expression “some people say things funny, and some people say funny things.” There is a difference – especially in comedy. But Kathleen has it covered. And she does both! I truly have never seen, or worked with another comedian who so easily makes everything funny. She inspired me from the first time I saw her, to now. And she helped me a lot along the way. Her material is non-gender specific, and she does it better than anyone!

    Kathleen Madigan and Carla Rea standing next to each other with arms around each others shoulders

     

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