Cook E Jarr has died

[The Boz]

Philly guy, loved seeing him at different places over the years. Was a cheesy, good time even as times changed for these lounge acts. His afternoon shows at Harrahs Carnival Court were always a good time.

Not many like him left, Big Elvis Pete is one of the last and he has been out recently with an illness.

https://www.casino.org/vitalvegas/be...k-e-jarr-dies/

[The Boz]

[redietz]

Philly guy, loved seeing him at different places over the years. Was a cheesy, good time even as times changed for these lounge acts. His afternoon shows at Harrahs Carnival Court were always a good time.

Not many like him left, Big Elvis Pete is one of the last and he has been out recently with an illness.

https://www.casino.org/vitalvegas/be...k-e-jarr-dies/

Oh boy, this one hits home. Thanks for posting, Boz. I am very, very sad to have lost this guy. My compadres and I, who are from the same neck of the woods, brought him TastyCakes as a tribute the last couple times we saw him at Paris in the lounge. He was a fabulous, old-school guy who interrupted his Monday night performances with complaints and/or cheers regarding whatever his Monday Night wagers happened to be.

He was one-of-a-kind, truly. Just a real piece of Las Vegas Americana. I loved this guy and his career.

[mcap]

Real Las Vegas content in the las vegas subforum.

[kewlJ]

I gotta say that I have never even heard of Cook E. Jarr. My time in Vegas began in late 2009 and while it looks like Cook E Jarr overlapped into that period, lounge singer and acts were just not something I was all that interested in. Probably my loss. That kind of thing is a part of Vegas that has and is disappearing. I can appreciate those of you that have been around and frequented this town longer than I, missing some of your "good old days".

One of the unique things about Vegas is how it re-invents itself every few years. And while that is exciting, it is hard to see some of the things from yesteryear disappear. I have been here long enough that I have started to see some of that.

[redietz]

In case anyone is wondering, that's me on the right.

[theywontpayontuesday]

It's an interesting video wondering when this video happened and thinking about who the people were.

[Dan Druff]

This was from a t-shirt, showing all the places he performed over his 48 years in the business in Vegas:




I didn't realize he had landed back at Paris for 2 years. Surprised the suits at Caesars were willing to give him a shot at age 73. Probably knew someone there.

I had heard of him, but didn't ever go see him. Now I regret it. That happens to me a lot. I hear some performer died, and I think, "Well, crap, I should have made the effort to see him before."



On a side note, how dumb is it that Caesars Palace ruined Cleopatra's Barge, and made it "Caspian's Lounge"? Cleopatra's Barge had been in operation since 1970, and was one of the few iconic old school things left in Caesars Palace. It wasn't there originally (it started as "Nero's Nook" in 1966, before being converted into Cleopatra's in 1970), but it was 53 years old when it shut down in late 2023.

Caspian's Lounge is just a generic, boring, wannabe-upscale lounge. Blah. Sucks seeing the personality sucked out of a lot of these strip hotels.

[Dan Druff]

Let's look at the places he's performed, and what they are now:

1969: Caesars (same)

1982: Sands (wrecked, rebuilt as Venetian)

1983: Sahara (same, but rebranded to SLS for a few years)

1984: Maxim (after losing gaming license, became Westin Las Vegas)

1985: Dunes (wrecked, rebuilt as Bellagio)

1987: Silver Slipper (wrecked, never rebuilt)

1989: El Rancho (wrecked, eventually becoming part of the site of Fontainebleau)

1990: Bourbon Street (wrecked, now a parking lot)

1990: Palace Station (same)

1990: Bally's (rebranded to Horseshoe)

1991: Hacienda (wrecked, now Mandalay Bay)

1993: Tropicana (wrecked, nothing rebuilt yet)

1994: Continental (rebranded to Terrible's, then Silver Sevens)

1995: MGM Grand (same)

1997: Rio (same)

1998: Casino Royale (same)

1999: Harrah's (same)

2011: Bill's Gambling Hall (renovated/rebranded to Cromwell)

2015: Paris (same)

[redietz]

I tried to get one of these shirts via Facebook, but no luck. I'm thinking one of the retro "thrift" stores a block from Esther's Kitchen may have some. Next time I'm in town, I'll check them out. EBay has a bunch of Cook E. Jarr 45s, but I didn't see any shirts like this.

I loved when he would interrupt his act on Mondays to inquire about the score and props (game would be on TVs with no sound). He was betting a couple hundred on this and a couple hundred on that. Enough to be serious, but not exorbitant. Now whether he picked his amounts based on an audience acceptance sweet spot, I don't know, but I actually believed he bet what he said.

He was a true AC/Philly guy.

[Dan Druff]

I love how 11 of the first 13 casinos where he performed (1969-1994) have either been wrecked or rebranded at some point. Only Caesars and Palace Station are unchanged. Sahara rebranded and then returned. Bally's and Maxim rebranded. The other 8 are gone.

Very Vegas.

People forget how much everything has changed, because aside from the construction boom of the early-mid 90s, everything else occurs one by one, and you just kind of accept what's there now as what Vegas is. I didn't think I'd get used to calling the old Bally's "Horseshoe", especially given what Horseshoe used to be, but now in my mind Horseshoe is clearly the old MGM/Bally's, and not Binion's anymore.

[The Boz]

The first I heard of/saw Cook E Jarr was at Bally’s AC around 81-82 For those who don’t remember until 1983 you could drink and gamble at 18 in Atlantic City. I was a high school student in the early 80’s and made frequent trips to AC taking friends for cash and gas money. Many late nights and early mornings spent driving back to Central PA as the only sober guy and actually heading to school before the first bell.

Anyways Cook E was much younger, finding his way after his recording career didn’t take off and did a show at a lounge, maybe the later Blue Martini and we sat there and watched him drinking beers between Blackjack sessions. I didn’t really think much of it until the 90’s when I found him in Vegas and thought “This is the guy I saw in high school”. I became a fan and watched his act over the years and travels around Vegas. The crowds got older as I did and in the end, like Big Elvis, it’s a mostly 60+ crowd.

As RED said, his last gig was at Napoleon’s at Paris for a few years. Known mostly for its dueling piano show, they brought Cook E in to do a Monday night 6-8 show. Druff touched on that it may have been a favor to him as he was definitely slowing down by this point and the crowds weren’t exactly big. His voice was going and it was basically a glorified karaoke session but the man still had it as an entertainer, never taking himself too seriously.

I’m glad I got to see him one last time and occasionally wondered how he was doing. He did have a guy running a FB fan page that occasionally posted updates on him but it was vague and more memories than anything.

Here’s another video from Paris for those who are interested.

[theywontpayontuesday]

Those were the days, just a lot of things weren't cool back then, they were for older generations a little poorer in the end then they all poofed one by one.

[coach belly]

In case anyone is wondering, that's me on the right.

I'm wondering...Where the white women at?

Are you hiding the group's pro date...tewlj?

[redietz]

Al, the guy next to me, always did a fine job recruiting female companionship. He's the same guy from this video:




Now that I think about it, Cook. E. Jarr would have been right at home in this video.

[accountinquestion]

This was from a t-shirt, showing all the places he performed over his 48 years in the business in Vegas:




I didn't realize he had landed back at Paris for 2 years. Surprised the suits at Caesars were willing to give him a shot at age 73. Probably knew someone there.

I had heard of him, but didn't ever go see him. Now I regret it. That happens to me a lot. I hear some performer died, and I think, "Well, crap, I should have made the effort to see him before."



On a side note, how dumb is it that Caesars Palace ruined Cleopatra's Barge, and made it "Caspian's Lounge"? Cleopatra's Barge had been in operation since 1970, and was one of the few iconic old school things left in Caesars Palace. It wasn't there originally (it started as "Nero's Nook" in 1966, before being converted into Cleopatra's in 1970), but it was 53 years old when it shut down in late 2023.

Caspian's Lounge is just a generic, boring, wannabe-upscale lounge. Blah. Sucks seeing the personality sucked out of a lot of these strip hotels.

I suppose one could argue those nostalgic for such a thing don't go there but it is amazing how these corporate types have no appreciation for nostalgia.

[accountinquestion]

Al, the guy next to me, always did a fine job recruiting female companionship. He's the same guy from this video:




Now that I think about it, Cook. E. Jarr would have been right at home in this video.

I like how much you lean in the picture afraid you'll be left out.

"Hey guys I don't want to go back to Mars"

[redietz]

Al, the guy next to me, always did a fine job recruiting female companionship. He's the same guy from this video:




Now that I think about it, Cook. E. Jarr would have been right at home in this video.

I like how much you lean in the picture afraid you'll be left out.

"Hey guys I don't want to go back to Mars"

Really, what is wrong with you? I realize you are famous for your mind reading and teaching classes in body language, but other than that, what is wrong with you?

Did you think you had some keen insight? I mean, really, what tales you must tell your anonymous self at night, reveling in your observational humor and brilliance. It's no wonder you're so in demand by "women who attended college." LOL.

I was going to take the photo, since I've had many photos published in newspapers, but some bystander volunteered at the last second, so I got myself in the frame.

This is why posting here is a complete, utter waste of time. You try to post something worthwhile, and some anonymous moron takes brain dead shots for no reason in a thread about a man who died.

[accountinquestion]

Lol redietz. If you're going to be such an insufferable pompous douchebag then I'd suggest growing a thicker skin.

I ignore you and preface things with "take this with a grain of salt" but you go out of your way at any little perception of me being wrong or ignorant to be such an over the top blowhard.

So wah wah. Maybe boz can chime in for you after he fucks with Tasha first.

Truth be told that video has under 5k views. I have employees at my company who have music videos with far far more views than that but I'd fall over dead before I considered bragging about it.

I'll stop abusing you though. I am sadistic. Just stay in your lane.

And btw "trying to post something worthwhile" should not include posting a random picture of yourself.

[Dan Druff]

I suppose one could argue those nostalgic for such a thing don't go there but it is amazing how these corporate types have no appreciation for nostalgia.

They killed the iconic Buck, Winnie, and Chip statue in Harrah's a few years ago, and replaced it with.... an empty space.

It's not just nostalgia, it's that these items give the casinos personality. Was the Buck/Winnie statue tacky? Yes. Was it also the most memorable thing in Harrah's? Also yes.

I'm not one of those "mob did everything better" guys. It's nice to know I'm not going to get beaten up in the back room or buried in the desert for advantage playing or card counting. It's nice being able to play poker and not be hassled by mobsters "asking" to buy a piece of me (where the answer can never be no), which was commonplace in the '70s and '80s.

But the corporate guys really have no soul.