Eleanor, a devout Catholic, named her daughter two derivatives of Mary -- Marilyn Marie.
Marilyn was born to entertain. Her angelic soprano voice stood out in church, where she was
frequently asked to sing solo before the choir. As a young teen, she taught dance class for her
peers.
In the mid-50s, the Johnsons left Minnesota and made the cross-country trek to Long Beach,
California.
Marilyn, her blond curls piled atop her head and long legs stretched out across the back seat of
the family Oldsmobile, remembered a dreadful pass through the stifling heat of a place called
Las Vegas. “Dad, get us out of here!” she implored, not knowing she’d make the desert valley her home for more than six decades.
At a statuesque 5’10” and with movie-star looks, Marilyn turned heads. A talent agent entered
her in the Miss Hollywood contest of 1956, which she won. Months later, she captured the talent
prize in the Miss California contest with her singing. The next year, Marilyn was signed as the lead singer in the show that would open a new hotel on the Las Vegas Strip -- the Tropicana. “I remember walking through the empty casino after rehearsal, the night before the opening, and thinking it would never look like this again,” she recalled years later.
Marilyn caught the attention of Ash Resnick, a dashing gambler from New York, who was 20
years her senior and a confirmed bachelor.
Ash was smitten. Their first date, a party at Lake Mead, was a disaster. The boat broke down. Marilyn suffered a severe sunburn and was unable to work. Ash turned up at her apartment, where she lived with her cat and roommate and best friend, Betty Jean Hansen, with roses, orange juice, and a five and a half carat diamond, which he tossed onto her bed.
“I’ve never done this before. Don’t say anything,” he said as he left. Marilyn, terrified of this man she did not know, turned down the proposal. Her colleagues in the Tropicana show told her Ash, who was returning to New York, stood outside McCarran Air Field trying to give away the ring.
Not one to be easily dissuaded, Ash mounted an offensive aimed at Marilyn’s parents. Among
the many gifts he sent them in Long Beach was a side of beef from his meat-packing plant in
New York.
Eleanor, the devout Catholic, fell in love with the Jew from New York. Her daughter was not far
behind.
The Resnicks had two weddings in June of 1958, one in New York and a Catholic ceremony in
Las Vegas for Marilyn’s parents, who moved to be near their daughter. Ash and Marilyn’s first daughter, Dana, was born in 1959. Lara, who Marilyn named for the heroine in the popular movie Dr. Zhivago, followed in 1967.
Marilyn was among the most involved women in the small Las Vegas community. She sang the
National Anthem at championship boxing matches, founded the Kidney Foundation of Nevada
and was a prolific fundraiser for Temple Beth Sholom’s Hadassah and Sisterhood chapters.
While they socialized and traveled with the biggest names in sports, entertainment and
business, Marilyn and Ash taught their daughters inclusion through their actions.
In the 80s, Marilyn discovered country western dancing and opened her own nightclub with her
friend, Barbara Smith Reed. Patrons stood in line for hours to gain entry to the honky tonk
called Rockabilly’s.
But her greatest pleasure was spending time with her cats and her family -- especially her six
grandchildren -- Ashlyn, Beau, Chandler, Dane, Colby and Ryleigh, and most recently, with her
two great-grandsons, Atlas and Elijah. Marilyn joined Ash, her grandson Colby Lee Sauer, and her parents in eternity on June 14.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Homeward Bound, Heaven Can Wait, or the
animal rescue organization of your choice.
Services will be held Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 9 a.m., at Palm Eastern Mausoleum, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., Celebration of Life to follow. Email [email protected] to RSVP.
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