HOMeLas Vegas By The Numbers
From the 1931 nuptials between Clara Bow and Rex Bell, one of the first celebrity unions in Las Vegas, to Elvis Presley and Priscilla Anne Beaulieu's big day in 1967 to present day celebrities running down the aisle, Vegas has been a hotbed of high-profile weddings.
The self-proclaimed "Wedding Capital of the World," Las Vegas issues approximately 140,000 marriage licenses a year, boasts chapels up and down the Strip and has definitely lived up to its name. More and more celebrities flee to Sin City , where the allure of quickie marriages -- and quickies divorces -- is all too tempting. Below are our 10 craziest celebrity marriages in Vegas -- most we will remember and some we may want to forget.
What's Vegas without a wedding by a member of the Rat Pack? Frank Sinatra, then 50, wed Mia Farrow, then 21, in a private ceremony at the Sands on July 16, 1966. It is reported that Farrow was surprised when served with divorce papers in front of everyone on the set of "Rosemary's Baby," and the Hollywood couple's divorce was finalized in 1968.
Actor Mickey Rooney definitely has contributed to Vegas' wedding capital status, walking down the aisle in Sin City for seven of his eight marriages. His foray into Vegas weddings began in 1944 with Betty Jane Rase in 1944. That marriage lasted five years. Following their divorce, he said, "I do," to Martha Vickers in 1949. But wedded bliss didn't last long, and the couple divorced after two years. In 1952, Rooney married again, this time to Elaine Mahnken. The couple divorced after six years, and Rooney then married Barbara Ann Thompson in 1958. Their marriage, however, ended in tragedy when Thompson was murdered in 1966. Following Thompson's death, Rooney exchanged nuptials with Thompson's friend Marge Lane in 1967. The marriage was Rooney's shortest, lasting only 100 days, and in 1969 Rooney was a marrying man once again. This time it was to Carolyn Hockett, and the two divorced five years later. Rooney took his last walk down the aisle in 1978 when he married his current wife, Jan Chamberlin.
After a reported romantic 4 a.m. proposal of "marry me or I'll kill myself" by Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose, Erin Everly drove straight to Vegas to save Rose's life. The daughter of rocker Don Everly exchanged vows with Rose on April 28, 1990, at Cupid's Wedding Chapel. Just three weeks after tying the knot, Rose filed for divorce from Everly, his inspiration for his song "Sweet Child O' Mine." However, the couple reconciled only to get annulled less than a year later.
Socialite Nicky Hilton wed money manager Todd Andrew Meister at the Vegas Wedding Chapel in the wee hours of Aug. 15, 2004. In town for a celebrity poker tournament, Hilton said, "I do," at 2:30 a.m. surrounded by her headline-grabbing sister, Paris, and gal-pal actress Bijou Phillips. It was reported even Paris' dog, Tinkerbell, got in on the action, wearing a tiara and carrying the ring pillow. The marriage lasted as long as her reported wedding dress -- a thigh-length, blue halter dress -- and the couple was granted an annulment in less than two months.
With a visible "Billy Bob" tattoo on her upper arm, Angelina Jolie, then 24, wed "Pushing Tin" co-star Billy Bob Thornton, then 44, in a 20-minute ceremony May 5, 2000, at the Little Church of the West. The couple, who have been known to wear vials of each other's blood around their necks, both wore blue jeans for the ceremony. The marriage, the fifth for Thornton and second for Jolie, ended in divorce in 2003.
Outrageous basketballer Dennis Rodman, then 37, married then-26-year-old "Baywatch" beauty Carmen Electra at the Little Chapel of the Flowers on Nov. 15, 1998. After conflicting reports of the Chicago Bull's inebriation and their being madly in love, the couple put an end to the rumors and their marriage just nine days after exchanging vows.