The Devolution of a Diva
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Cher in Concert
The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace,
Las Vegas

CHER has a long history in Las Vegas. In 1969, she and Sonny were the opening act for Pat Boone at the Frontier Hotel, where they morphed from a folk-rock hippie couple into the wisecracking lounge act that became the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour for CBS television. In 1972, on break from the top-rated variety series, she walked off the stage of the Flamingo Hotel and filed for divorce from Sonny, citing involuntary servitude. In 1975, having divorced Sonny, she married druggie rocker Greg Allman in a Las Vegas chapel, only to annul the marriage nine days later. In 1979, she performed solo at Caesar’s Palace. “Las Vegas is my gig,” she told Rolling Stone at the time. “That’s how I pay my rent and my kids’ school. It’s not my favorite thing to do. It’s like a play; there are lines, and it’s the same every night.”