Pop Culture
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In the 1940s and 1950s, black entertainers were not allowed to stay at the Strip hotels where they performed, so Mrs. Harrison's boarding house provided fine accommodations for many of the era's most famous stars. During one memorable week in September 1949, she hosted singer and actor Pearl Bailey, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson after a week at the Thunderbird, singer Bob Parrish en route to Europe from Club Bingo, the Edwards Sisters, the Jubalaires, and musician and singer Arthur Lee Simpkins, all headliners at the Flamingo. Guests dined together and shared news, stories, and entertainment gossip in the Harrison living room. Sammy Davis, Jr. stayed there so often that many people thought he owned the house. In 1953, he broke the color barrier on the Strip when the Sands Hotel permitted him to stay while performing there. Afterward, the Sands became the home of the Rat Pack—Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr.—and black entertainers were no longer turned away from the hotels where they performed, though Mrs. Harrison's boarding house continued to offer a home away from home for many black visitors.
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