UNLV Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame honors five who made local stages shine
If nothing else, the 2014 class of inductees to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame demonstrate how diverse the arts are in Nevada.
Tim Bavington, a visual artist whose body of work includes the striking transformation of music into color. Sue Kim, a singer and musician who, with her sisters, left South Korea and became international singing stars. And, of course, the late Joe Williams, one of the most acclaimed jazz vocalists ever.
All three artists and entertainers — along with UNLV arts supporter June Brennan and UNLV alumnus Ronnie Vannucci of the band The Killers — will be honored Thursday evening during the 11th annual Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame induction ceremony and dinner at UNLV.
The event will begin with a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. in the UNLV Student Union ballroom, and the ceremony and dinner follows at 6:45 p.m. The $75-per-person ticket includes cocktails, dinner, the induction ceremony and performances by UNLV ensembles, and all proceeds benefit UNLV’s College of Fine Arts. For tickets, visit https://netcommunity.unlv.edu/artisthalloffame or call 702-895-2455.
Bavington, Kim and Williams, the three Hall of Fame honorees, will receive the Sidney award, named for award-winning movie director and producer George Sidney, who worked with such stars as Sidney Poitier, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Ann-Margret, Lana Turner and Howard Keel. (Fans of Las Vegas cinema know that Sidney also directed Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret in 1964’s “Viva Las Vegas.”)
Sidney — who also was the first inductee into the Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame — died in 2002 at age 85. He lived in Las Vegas during the latter years of his life and was a frequent guest lecturer in UNLV film studies classes, said Jeffrey Koep, dean of UNLV’s College of Fine Arts.
“George had a lot of stories, and a lot of wisdom, to impart to students,” Koep said.
Koep recalled that, in a conversation with Sidney’s wife after the director’s death, Corinne Sidney noted that there was, at the time, no real way to “acknowledge these people who have made great contributions to the arts in Nevada.”
The hall of fame and the Sidney medal were created to do just that. Honorees aren’t required to be donors to the university, Koep noted, and aren’t even required to be engaged with the university or its students, although “a lot do say, ‘Well, I’d love to come back and work with your students.’ ”
After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in California, Bavington moved to Las Vegas and completed his master of fine arts degree at UNLV. His body of internationally recognized work includes a series of paintings for which he assigns notes of the musical scales to tones of color from a color wheel, creating visual interpretations of songs by the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and others.
Bavington’s body of work also includes large-scale sculptures, including a piece for The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, for which he converted music to vertical bands of colored steel.
“Sometimes, visual artists are not as noticed as the people you see on a stage or a screen,” Koep said, and Bavington’s work helps to serve as testament to the reality that there is “a fantastic visual arts community in Las Vegas.”
Also being honored this year is Sue Kim, who along with her sisters, Aija and Min, were The Kim Sisters, a vocal trio from South Korea who came to Las Vegas in 1959 and quickly became a popular act not only in Las Vegas but on such variety shows as “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Hollywood Palace” and Dean Martin’s variety show.
In Las Vegas, the multitalented Kim sisters — Sue Kim herself played 13 instruments, sang and danced — appeared in the “China Doll Revue” at the Thunderbird Hotel. Subsequently, they performed for 15 years at the Stardust (where Ed Sullivan discovered them and offered them a 22-appearance contract on his show), five years at the Las Vegas Hilton and 15 years at the Holiday Casino.
Just about everybody knows of honoree Williams, who sang jazz standards, blues, ballads and popular songs in a way that influenced not just singers of his own generation but generations to follow.
Williams worked with Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton before joining Count Basie’s band in 1954. After leaving the Basie band in 1961, Williams led small ensembles, and sang and acted on TV, most notably in a recurring role on “The Cosby Show.” He received a 1985 Grammy award for best jazz vocal performance for his album “Nothin’ But the Blues.”
Williams lived in Las Vegas during the latter years of his life and died in 1999. Besides being talented, “he was a very giving human being,” Koep said. Williams worked with UNLV’s jazz band, and his wife, Jillean, “has sort of continued that legacy.”
The event also will honor Brennan, recipient of the Dean’s Medal, Koep said, who has been an avid supporter of the arts at UNLV for many years.
Brennan has endowed a theater scholarship at UNLV in honor of her late husband, James. She serves on the College of Fine Arts advisory board, and supports the college’s trips to Australia where UNLV students in jazz, percussion, theater, dance, film, architecture and art perform at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. And, Koep said, Brennan regularly attends opening nights and events at UNLV and offers her time and expertise whenever asked.
“June has been involved for a long time with the college,” Koep says. “If I say, ‘Can you do this, June?’ it’ll happen.”
Honored as UNLV College of Fine Arts Alumnus of the Year will be Vannucci, a 2011 UNLV graduate and drummer for Las Vegas-born band The Killers.
Vannucci was born in Las Vegas and began drumming as a kid. He played in his junior high jazz ensemble and attended Clark High School and Western High School. He studied percussion at UNLV and, in 2002 joined Dave Keuning and Brandon Flowers in The Killers.
It’s absolutely true, Koep said, that the student musicians did, back in the day, use UNLV’s practice rooms after-hours, unbeknownst-but-not-really, to teachers and administrators.
Vannucci completed most of his work toward a music degree before 2003, with the aim of becoming an elementary school music teacher in Las Vegas. The Killers’ worldwide success put that plan on hold — the band was inducted into the hall of fame in 2008 — and Vannucci finally finished work on his bachelor’s degree in 2011 during a Killers hiatus.
“(Vannucci) loves UNLV and loves to come back and work with students,” Koep said, and always does it without making a fuss.
Besides honoring worthy people in the local arts and entertainment community, this evening’s ceremony is designed to be an affordable affair, Koep said.
“We don’t set our ticket prices high,” he said. “We like people to be able to come in and rub shoulders with people and sit close to them and say, ‘I was not far from this person. Ronnie Vannucci was at the next table.’ So our price is only $75, and it’s a good dinner, drinks, some wine, and you meet people and hear some college ensembles playing. So we think it’s a great bargain.”
PREVIEW
What: 11th Annual Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame
Where: University of Nevada, Las Vegas Student Union ballroom, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway
When: Today; cocktail reception begins at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets: $75, UNLV Foundation or call 702-895-2455.
