Peter Lind Hayes (06/25/1915-08/21/1998) and Mary Healy (08/14/1918-02/03/2015)
were the original celebrity owners of 3538 Pueblo Way in Paradise Palms. The
couple bought their Palmer & Krisel-designed Model 12A home, just one of
five built in the neighborhood, brand new in 1963 and owned it until 2000 when
Mary sold it two years after Peter’s passing. Healy and Hayes were staples of
the Las Vegas strip, and divided their time between their home in Las Vegas’ Paradise
Palms and New Rochelle, NY, before permanently calling Las Vegas home in the 1970s.
Paradise Palms home of Peter Lind Hayes & Mary Healy
Hayes began his career in Vaudeville at the age of 6,
appearing alongside his mother, entertainer and night club owner Grace Hayes. By
age 16, Hayes appeared at New York’s Palace theater, and by 1939 worked his way
into nightclubs, including his mother’s namesake lodge in Los Angeles. Hayes
began to appear in films alongside Betty Grable, Lana Turner and Lucile Ball,
before meeting and marrying Mary Healy in 1940.
Hayes & Healy sharing the Vaudeville marquee
Healy began her career in the 1930s, being crowned Ms. New
Orleans in 1935, and after being signed by 20th Century Fox, appeared
in 1938’s Josette before having major roles in Second Fiddle and Stardust.
It was on a national tour following Second Fiddle that she met Hayes. After
marrying, the duo performed nearly exclusively together during their 50-year
career.
Their major film roles include Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Geisel’s
musical fantasy The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T and Zis Boom Bah, which
also starred Hayes’ mother, Grace. In the 1950s, the couple had a major presence
in television, on the CBS series Inside the USA with Chevrolet, where
they were the original singers of “See the USA in your Chevrolet” before Dinah
Shore’s well-known 1952 version. They were stars of CBS’ interview show The
Stork Club, The Peter Lind Hayes Show and the variety show Star
of the Family.
They starred in the early sixties semi-autobiographical
comedy Peter Loves Mary, in which they played a show-biz couple who move
to the suburb of New Rochelle to raise a family. In 1962 they were replacement
guest hosts for The Tonight Show, after Jack Paar and before the slot
was filled by Johnny Carson. They also hosted a breakfast radio program from
their New Rochelle home, and made game show appearances on The Match Game, Password
and What’s My Line.
Hayes & Healy on The Stork Club
Promotional photo for The Peter Lind Hayes Show
Peter Lind Hayes’ mother, Grace, owned and operated the
Grace Hayes Lodge, originally known as the Red Rooster, which stood near what
is now the south entrance of the Mirage on Las Vegas Boulevard in the 1940s and
1950s (Grace Hayes lived in a ranch home, one of the last residences on Las
Vegas Boulevard behind the lodge, well into the 1980s before Steve Wynn bought
her home and relocated her to a penthouse at the Golden Nugget). Hayes and
Healy were frequent visitors to Las Vegas, and in 1957 were signed to a $20,000
per week ($182,400 per week in 2020 dollars) engagement at the Sands.
Grace Hayes Lodge, Las Vegas Boulevard
They went on to play the Sands 14 times over the years, as
well as the Last Frontier and Flamingo. During the 1970s the couple became popular
on Las Vegas’ social scene, maintain an active lifestyle during their semi-retirement.
Peter Hayes never really retired, always jokingly referring to himself as an
out of work actor. In 1979 the couple was honored at the Greater Las Vegas
Chamber of Commerce’s Entertainment Personalities of the Year Awards,
recognizing their 40 years in entertainment.
In 2006, Healy was honored at the Nevada Entertainer/Artist
Hall of Fame ceremony at UNLV inducted along with singer Wayne Newton, fellow
Paradise Palmer Fred Apcar and architect John Klai II. Hayes and Healy were also
writers, authoring 25 Minutes From Broadway and Moments to Remember
With Peter and Mary -- Our Life in Show Business From Vaudeville to Video.
Hayes also co-wrote the song Come to Me with Johnny Mathis in 1957.
25 Minutes from Broadway - Interrupted by Mary Healy
Like many entertainers of the early years of television,
much of the work of Hayes and Healy was ephemeral, with considerable amounts of
their work on late night talk shows and other appearances lost to time. The
couple was known for helping to propel and launch the career of numerous other
entertainers, and was so well known in the mid-century they had a White House
performance under their belt and were also the subjects of a Norman Rockwell
painting.
Hayes passed in 1998
at the age of 82 in Las Vegas, and two years later Healy sold their long-time Las
Vegas Paradise Palms home to relocate to California, where she passed at 96 in
2015. Healy was a strong supporter of the Las Vegas community, donating
generously to UNLV over the years, and was an active member of the Variety Club
along with Hayes.
