William H Bailey (1927 - 2014)

Born 14 Feb 1927 in Detroit, Michigan

Ancestors

Died 24 May 2014 at age 87 in Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States

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Biography

William Bailey is Notable.

William H "Bob" Bailey was an African-American singer with the legendary Count Basie and his orchestra; road manager for his cousin, singer Pearl Bailey; television variety show host; TV weatherman; Las Vegas’ first black disc jockey; nightclub owner; real estate developer; president of an economic development company; Nevada’s first black presidential appointee to a federal economic agency; civil rights leader; and the first chairman of the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.

William Bailey is a part of US Black heritage.

William H "Bob" Bailey was born on 14 February 1927 at Detroit, Michigan. He was the son of John H Bailey and Margaret Williams. He started using the name Bob when he went into show business to avoid conflict with a cousin and another performer named William Bailey.

When Bob's father lost his job at an auto factory during the Great Depression, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Bob graduated high school at the age of 16 having earned a scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, based on his grades and his vocal talent. Bailey worked his way through college by performing at a local night club where he was approached by bandleader Benny Goodman, and John Hammond, a sponsor of Count Basie. Bailey left Morehouse College to be a featured singer in Count Basie’s band.

In 1950, Bailey enrolled in the School of Radio and Television in New York and attended specialized studies at the Columbia Theater Wing. In 1951, Bob Bailey, now a singer and emcee, married fellow performer Anna Bailey at Brooklyn, New York. They lived with Anna's mother in Brooklyn.

In 1955, Bob was offered a position at the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a co-producer and Master of Ceremonies. His wife, Anna Bailey, was one of about 20 dancers from around the county to perform at the city’s first interracial hotel and casino. The Moulin Rouge, was constructed on the west side’s boundary and it stood out by providing premium guest service, full-scale entertainment, and up-tempo, exceptionally choreographed dance performances. The Black-run and staffed Moulin Rouge welcomed guests and players of color at a time when Black people were barred from casino entry unless employed there.

Although the Moulin Rouge opened on 24 May 1955 with political and media attention and played to regularly packed audiences, it faced financial pressure from creditors (and, some believe, competitors on the Strip). Unfortunately, six months later in October 1955, the Moulin Rouge unexpectedly closed its doors, leaving both Bob and Anna without work.

Bob Bailey was hired as the host of a variety show called "Talk of the Town" on KLAS Channel 8, a CBS affiliate. Talk of the Town was the first show in the nation to be entirely produced, starred in, and directed by black talent; he was the producer and director of the show. Between 1965 and 1971, Bailey was a newscaster and variety show host for ABC affiliate, Channel 13 in Las Vegas.

While attending Morehouse College, Bob befriended fellow student Martin Luther King Jr., whom he later help convince to make an appearance in Las Vegas to rally against injustice. In 1961, Nevada's Governor Grant Sawyer appointed Bailey as the chairman of the Equal Rights Commission, a post that put him at the forefront of the state’s civil rights movement. In his oral history, "Hang Tough," Sawyer recalled, "Among the spokesmen for the NAACP who would come to Carson City to put pressure on the state government were Charles Kellar, Eddie Scott, Dr. James McMillan, William H. "Bob" Bailey, and Dr. Charles West. Each in his own way was very forceful but Bob Bailey may have been the most adept at balancing a passion for justice with an understanding of how to go about getting a system to reform itself."^[1]

Bailey developed a radio training school for black youths under the federal Concentrated Employment Program (CEP), initiated the first group-training program for black card dealers at Las Vegas casinos, and installed the first on-the-job-training program for minorities at Circus Circus Hotel and Casino. He formed the Nevada Economic Development Company (NEDCO), which orchestrated and produced the nation's most successful minority business procurement conference. While under Bailey's direction, NEDCO raised over $300 million in financial capital. Bailey also helped develop the Latin Chamber of Commerce, the Minority Business Council, and the Minority Contractors Association. He served on the organizing board of the Black Chamber of Commerce (now known as the Urban Chamber). Dr Bailey continuously advocated for minority small businesses.

In 1989, Dr. Bailey won even wider recognition when he was appointed Deputy Director of the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce by President George H W Bush. During his tenure, he organized and acted as co-leaser of the first minority business matchmaker delegation to the Persian Gulf after Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Bailey included Nevadans in this historic event which was co- sponsored by the International Trade Administration and sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the White House. The delegation generated $30 million to enable minority-owned businesses to help rebuild Kuwait. Upon returning to Las Vegas, Bailey was drafted for the position of president of the National Association of Minority Businesses (NAMB). As a business leader in the African American community in Las Vegas, Bailey continued to work on behalf of racial equality all of his life.

Dr. William H "Bob" Bailey authored a book titled “Looking Up! Finding My Voice in Las Vegas” in which he chronicles his life from the projects in Cleveland to the Moulin Rouge in Las Vegas. He shares his personal trials and triumphs, his dedication to making Las Vegas a better place, and his good fortune finding Anna, the love of his life.

Bailey owned and operated many businesses including Sugar Hill Lounge and Liquor and the Golden West Shopping Center in Historic West Las Vegas. His businesses employed over 100 African Americans.

Through the years Bailey met, and worked with, the greats of the golden age of entertainment including "Count" William James Basie, his second cousin Pearl Mae Bailey, Louis Daniel Armstrong, Samuel George Davis Jr and others.

Dr. William H "Bob" Bailey passed away on 24 May 2014 of Parkinson's disease at Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.^[2] He is interred at the Palm Northwest Mortuary and Cemetery, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.^[3]

Education

• B.A. in business law at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
• Attended the School of Radio and Television in New York City.
• Engaged in specialized studies at the Columbia Theater.
• Attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for classes in real estate and land law.
• Sponsored by U.S. Senator Alan Bible, Bailey was in the first graduating class of the Institute of Minority Business Education at the Howard University School of Business in Washington, D.C.
• In 1987, Bailey received a Doctorate of Humane Letters from National University, San Diego, California.

Censuses

1930 U.S. Census, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan^[4]

• John H Bailey, Head, Negro, 35, Georgia, Married at age 23, Laborer, Auto Plant, Rents home for $35 month, not a veteran
• Margaret Bailey, Wife, Negro, 29, Georgia, Married at age 16
• Fannie Bailey, Daughter, Negro, 10, Georgia
• William H Bailey, Son, Negro, 3, Michigan
• William Crumby, Lodger, Negro, 37, Kentucky, Married at age 27, Cook, Hotel
• Celia Crumby, Lodger, Negro, 46, Kentucky, Married at age 36, Laundress, Private family
• Julia Crumby, Lodger, Negro, 10, Kentucky
• Ambrose Walker, Lodger, Negro, 45, Ohio, Widowed, Porter, Office

1940 U.S. Census, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio^[5]

• John H Bailey, Head, Negro, 47, Georgia, H2 schooling, Porter, Wholesale and retail dairy
• Margaret Bailey, Wife, Negro, 39, Georgia, H2 schooling
• William H Bailey, Son, Negro, 13, Michigan, 7 yrs schooling

1950 U.S. Census, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio^[6]

• John H Bailey, Head, Negro, 59, Georgia, Married, Porter, Dairy Company
• Margaret Bailey, Wife, Negro, 52, Georgia, Married
• William H Bailey, Son, Negro, 23, Michigan, Single, Singer, Show Business
• Fannie Byrd, Daughter, Negro, 31, Georgia, Separated, Stock Girl Clerk, Department Store

Honors

• Bailey was been inducted into KLAS Channel 8's Wall of Fame for producing and directing Talk of the Town.
• On 27 May 1999, the Nevada legislature honored Bob Bailey and his wife, Anna L. Bailey, for outstanding and meritorious service to the state.^[7]
• In the Fall of 2005, a new middle school in Las Vegas was named after Bailey for his contributions to community building and education both in the state of Nevada, and nationwide.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Grant Sawyer. Hang Tough! Grant Sawyer: An Activist in the Governor's Mansion. Reno: University of Nevada Oral History Program, 1993.
2. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKLT-VL2Z : Thu Mar 07 17:49:28 UTC 2024), Entry for William or Bob Bailey and Anna, 26 May 2014.
3. ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal; Dr. William H "Bob" Bailey; (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/lvrj/name/william-bailey-obituary?id=9400052); accessed 26 April 2024.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X799-R8W : Sun Mar 10 08:37:11 UTC 2024), Entry for John H Bailey and Margaret Bailey, 1930.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940", Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW5C-9JS : Fri Mar 08 22:31:52 UTC 2024), Entry for John H Bailey and Margaret Bailey, 1940.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1950", Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XBM-3H2N : Wed Mar 20 18:23:52 UTC 2024), Entry for John H Bailey and Margaret Bailey, 9 April 1950.
7. ↑ Nevada State Legislature, 70th Session 1999 Bills, (https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/70th1999/bills/ACR/ACR75.pdf)
8. ↑ William H Bailey Middle School, About Us, Who was Dr. William H (Bob) Bailey?; (https://www.bobbaileymiddleschool.com/m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=445309&type=d&pREC_ID=836440) accessed 26 Apr 2024.

• "Looking Up: Finding My Voice in Las Vegas" by Dr. William H. "Bob" Bailey, published by Stephens Press, 2009; ISBN: 1935043048, 9781935043041; Length: 242 pages.
• The History Makers, The Digital Repository for the Black Experience, William "Bob" Bailey, accessed 26 April 2024 (https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/william-bob-bailey-41).
• The Online Nevada Encyclopedia, Bob Bailey, by Claytee White; Updated: 2010-02-25 (https://nshe.nevada.edu/tasks/sites/Nshe/assets/File/BoardOfRegents/Agendas/2013/feb-mtgs/board/BOR-10a(2).pdf)
• Nevada Equal Rights Commission, NERC Commission, Dr. Bob Bailey (https://detr.nv.gov/NERC/Bailey/)
• Count Basie And His Orchestra Feat. Bob Bailey - Blue And Sentimental, YouTube, Okmusix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s2DdYBCLDI)

See also:

• FamilySearch Record: GRS2-438 William H Bailey
• Find A Grave: Memorial #130416245 William H "Bob" Bailey (no gravesite)
• William H. (Bob) Bailey oral history interview, 1997 November 19. OH-00071. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, (Nevada.http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1bh0c)
• Dr. William H. Bailey oral history interview, 1999 February 17. OH-00072. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. (http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1b42b)
• William Bailey, 1978 March 16. OH-00097. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. (http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f19g94)
• Las Vegas Sun "Bob Bailey will be remembered as civil rights leader, ‘a true community servant’ " by Ed Koch, published May 26, 2014 (https://lasvegassun.com/news/2014/may/26/bob-bailey-will-be-remembered-leading-civil-rights/); accessed 28 Apr 2024.