Date: December 2, 2024, 08:02h. 

Last updated: November 21, 2024, 09:18h.

The performers at the Sands not only electrified the stage as the opening act for iconic Sands headliners including the Rat Pack, they also took on the unique role of driving the resort’s parking lot tram in full costume.

“This image captures a nostalgic moment on a tram driven by performers, ferrying guests to their rooms at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in the 1950s,” stated an Oct. 21 post from the Facebook page D&G Vegas Adventures.

“Almost naked performers and older ladies in wool coats in Vegas!!!” commented Facebook user Larry Bittner beneath the post. “Such were the ’50s!”

“Boy, are those days gone,” agreed Greg Elvis Miller. “They’d charge you over $1,000 per person for anything like that now.”

As you are already aware of the topic of this article, you can predict the news we are about to reveal.

But we understand that D&G Vegas Adventures did not intend to spread misinformation deliberately.

The photograph, contributed to the UNLV library’s Special Collections Department by the Sands when the resort closed in 1996, was inaccurately labeled.

The title reads, “Photograph of a Sands Hotel tram driven by a performer as she transports guests near the pool, circa 1950s.”

We take pleasure in debunking misconceptions right from the outset.

Identifying the Woman

The woman operating the Sands tram was not a performer. She was an Anglo-Austrian model and actress named Mara Lane. Lane had a minor role in the Howard Hughes-produced 1954 film “Susan Slept Here,” starring Debbie Reynolds, before exiting show business ten years later. She passed away in Spain in 2014.

So, what was a Hollywood actress doing pretending to drive a Sands tram?

First and foremost, she was not actually driving it. Lane only acted as if she was because this was a publicity photo arranged by Slim Aarons. The renowned Hollywood photographer was frequently commissioned by Jack Entratter, the Sands’ GM, to promote his new resort with eccentric visuals.

And Lane was one of Aarons’ preferred models.

Entratter established the Copa Girls chorus line for the legendary Copacabana Club in Manhattan in 1945, and he extensively promoted their addition to the Sands’ entertainment lineup in 1955, when this picture was taken.

Decoding the Tram Scene

The secondmost prominent aspect that catches people’s attention in this photo — once they avert their gaze from Lane and the other unidentified faux performer — gives away the actual scenario.

It is the irritated expressions on every single passenger’s face. (And no, that isn’t Groucho Marx seated in the back.)

While we cannot assert with absolute certainty, we are 99.95% sure that these were genuine passengers on a tram that Entratter allowed Aarons to utilize for the shoot. And we are at least 72% certain that Aarons was the type of photographer who took his time to capture the perfect shot.

It’s unfortunate that Aarons did not have the budget to hire ten extras. If he had, all the passengers on the tram would have been smiling in the photo instead of appearing as though they had just received terrible news.

These weary individuals were worn out from traveling all day in the 1950s and all they wanted was to reach their hotel rooms as swiftly as possible.

Find “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Visit  VegasMythsBusted.com to read previously debunked Vegas myths. Have a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs debunking? Email [email protected].