"Las Vegas Stereotypes Debunked: A Woman Perched on Iconic Vegas Landmark"
Posted on: May 12, 2025, 07:21h.
Last updated on: May 12, 2025, 08:56h.
Straight-Up Shenanigans in Sin City: Busting Vegas' Oldest Trick โ The Tallest Tale
"Bloody hell, how in the name of neon lights did she manage that pose?" wondered a chatterbox in the unofficial Golden Age of Las Vegas Facebook group, after ัััะตะปัะฑะฐ photo dropped on May 4. Another fella chimed in...
"Ain't no breeze up there, so fucking helicopter or crane, I'm putting my money on crane, 'cause the cameraman would've been wobbling like a newborn colt."
But hold yer horses, y'all! The juicy details ain't as they seem, partner. You see, that ain't no photograph you're looking at, but a clever piece of artwork โ a cheeky concoction by Hermon Boernge, the artistic brainiac behind the YESCO sign company.
Disguised as a genuine snapshot, this bad boy actually co-stars the enchanting LaVeeda Varley, whom you might recognize as a siren serving shots at Las Vegas' pleasure pits back in the day. The co-conspirator in this clever caper was Kermit Wayne, YESCO's senior sign designer, who teamed up with Boernge in delightful artistic intrigue.
Now, long before Instagram filters and digital manipulation was as common as a craps table, these fellas took their artistic liberties to a whole new level. And if you ain't fooled by now, look closer โ the letters on the sign tilt like they're ready to do a damn tap dance, and the parking lot sign on the upper left is a clear example of branding trampling over realism.
And if you've got an eye for the finer details, you'll spot Boernge's signature at the bottom left, which seals the deal.
This illustrious bit of trickery was used in ads for the Las Vegas Club, and a colorized version even made its way to postcards. This pioneering example of what we'd now call pseudo-documentary art is a prime example of what young artists back then were capable of, pulling off illusions you'd be hard-pressed to spot even today.
But why the heck did they concoct this little number? Well, stick around, partner, 'cause you ain't seen nothing yet...
Livin' LaVeeda Loca: A Sinful Soap Opera
27-year-old LaVeeda Varley found herself walking down the aisle with Luther Bacon "Tutor" Scherer, a grizzled charmer 44 years her senior, on July 30, 1951. Fate brought them together at El Rancho, where he was the big cheese and she was serving up smiles with cocktails. You see, Scherer had a stake in the Las Vegas Club, which explains LaVeeda's appearances in those old photos.
Their nuptials were the social event of the season, attended by 4,000 of the city's swankiest high-rollers, and cost a cool $25,000 ($300,000 in today's money).
Fast forward to July 7, 1952, just three weeks into marital bliss and three days away from the first wedding anniversary. Varley caught her hubby taking his sweet time with another broad at their Charleston Boulevard crib.
In the heat of the moment, Varley took a shot โ at her husband's leg, mind you. He recovered, but apparently Old Man Scherer's mended injuries didn't dull his passion, as he divorced Varley and remarried a mere cocktail waitress just a year later.
Varley held her cards close to her chest and escaped without any charges, but Hank Greenspun, the grinning publisher of Las Vegas Sun, had a keen sense of humor. A week after the incident, he ran a poem in his column that took some clever jabs at Scherer's past poetic endeavors...
"Mrs. Tutor Scherer,No Annie Oakley she aimed for the groin and hit the knee."
A jab well thrown, as they say, and the cherry on top of a steamy soap opera that played out over the golden days of Sin City.
- The clever piece of artwork, disguised as a photograph, features LaVeeda Varley, a siren known for serving shots at Las Vegas' pleasure pits in the 1950s.
- The artwork, created by Hermon Boernge and Kermit Wayne, was used in advertisements for the Las Vegas Club, a casino in downtown Las Vegas.
- Despite the advancements in digital manipulation, this piece of art from the 1950s is a prime example of artistic liberties taken to new levels, as seen in the tilted letters on the sign and the clear example of branding over realism.
- tutor Scherer, the older gentleman in question, tied the knot with LaVeeda Varley in 1951 at the El Rancho, where he was a prominent figure and she worked as a cocktail waitress.
- Scherer's divorce from Varley, just a year after their wedding, was a significant social event in the history of Las Vegas' casino culture.
- LaVeeda Varley, with her mysterious charm, left the city's history marked by her connection to the glamorous Las Vegas Club and the infamous events surrounding her marriage to Tutor Scherer.
