At the height of Omaha’s nightlife boom, Mickey Sparano built an A-Go-Go empire that drew an eclectic roster of performers. After leaving his celebrated coaching career in 1960, he reinvented himself as a nightlife impresario, creating clubs where drag queens, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, and even pantomimers shared the stage in a whirl of lights, rhythm, and personality. His venues blended sharp business instincts with a coach’s talent for nurturing people, becoming lively hubs where performers could experiment, entertain, and carve out their own kind of spotlight.
Mickey Sparano entered Omaha’s nightlife scene in 1959, launching a rapid-fire string of venues that helped define the city’s after-hours culture. He began with Mickey’s Supper Club at 15th and Harney, followed less than a year later by Mickey’s Twist Club at 16th and Jones. Soon after came Mickey’s, a Vegas‑style club at 44th and Dodge, known for its nonstop mix of rock bands and Latin rhythms.
By the late 1960s, Sparano was operating six or seven clubs at once across Omaha and Council Bluffs, a small empire that earned him credit from the Omaha World‑Herald for bringing the go‑go craze to the city during the height of the twist dance explosion.
Sparano himself claimed he was the second person in the United States—after Los Angeles’ famed Whisky‑a‑Go‑Go, modeled on the original Paris club—to open a true go‑go venue. By 1965, he employed around fifteen go‑go dancers who worked six days a week in rotating shifts: 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 4–6:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.–1 a.m. Three dancers performed at a time, each completing six dances per set—two in each cage—before rotating out for the next trio. Some of his clubs also featured nude or semi‑nude entertainment, a practice curtailed by local crackdowns in 1965–66, though topless dancing returned in the 1970s. Through it all, Sparano’s venues remained lively, kinetic spaces that mirrored the evolving tastes and tensions of the era.
So who was Mickey Sparano?
Michael “Mickey” Sparano may be best known for his powerhouse run as the wrestling coach at Omaha South High—five straight state wrestling titles and a national Coach of the Year honor—but his influence didn’t end when he left the mat. After a brief return to NU as a coach, the former Big Seven champion shifted into private business, becoming a club manager and owner. The same charisma, discipline, and community-minded spirit that made him a father figure to his athletes carried into his nightlife ventures, where he remained a familiar, supportive presence in Omaha until his passing of Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2002.
A Brief Overview of Venues Owned by Sparano:
- Mickey’s No. 1 at 15th and Harney Streets
- opened in 1959 and closed in 1965
- One of the first venues to feature semi-nude go-go dancers in Omaha
- Later featured exotic dancers at the end of Sparano’s ownership (The name changed to “The Red Lion” and went to full-time go-go entertainment)
- Mickey’s A-Go-Go at 707 South 16th St.
- Also called Mickey’s No. 2
- Occupied the former Copacabana Club
- Featured three to five go-go dancers and was remodeled in January 1966 with “new jungle decor”
- Go-go dancers were shuttled between Mickey’s No. 1 and No. 2 during busy weekday nights in order to offer variety to patrons
- Exotics were featured in the early 1960s until a crackdown in 1965 by the police on exotic dancing
- New Mickey’s at 4423 Dodge Street
- Remodeled in October 1965; had 4 separate rooms
- Champagne-a-Go-Go Room “for the rock ‘n’ rollers” featuring two go-go cages, $10,000 in stage lights, 5 to 8 go-go dancers, and a live rock band
- Psychedelic Room “for those who only want to watch the dancers” – included Mickey’s Go-Go Girls
- Ebony Room “for persons who like to dance and listen to popular music and jazz” featuring Don Chico Five with vocalist Richetta Wilson
- Wine Room for dining
- It fit 300 patrons and employed 50 employees
- Squeeze Box Lounge at 4423 Dodge St
- Mickey’s at 4423 Dodge St was renamed The Squeeze Box Lounge in 1967 was co-owned by Norrie Egger and Mickey Sparano
- Name later changed to Mickey’s Psychedelic–featuring “psychedelic lights and posters.”
- The lounge sat 150 patrons, was open 7 days a week, and featured “Lawrence Welk type music nightly, and polkas on Sunday.”
- In 1975, the name was changed to Mickey’s Nite Club and featured topless go-go dancers
- The 20s at 7301 Farnam St
- Sparano operated it 1984-1990s
- Included the separate Showgirl Lounge at the west end
- Had a separate entrance for the Showgirl side and the room sat 80 patrons
- Originally the 20s was founded in the early 1960s and featured Vegas burlesque acts, comedy, and circuit revue bands. When Sparano took over, he focused on local bands and a constant revolving lineup at the club.
- By the mid-1990s, the main room was closed most nights of the week but the Showgirls Lounge continued to operate until 2002 (partner took over operations)
- Mickey’s Razzle Dazzle at 3317 W. Broadway, Council Bluffs
- He operated it 1978-1989/early 1990s
- It included a converted house-restaurant next door called The House Bar & Grill
- In the 1980s, a limo shuttled patrons between the 20s and the Razzle Dazzle Clubs
- The San Moritz Lounge
- 5912 Ames St
- Featured exotic dancers including fire dancers, snake dancers, tassel twirlers, and pantomimes
- Featured “female impersonators” AKA drag queens
- The Pink Tiger (to be continued..)
- Mickey’s Aquarius (to be continued..)
- The Diplomat Hotel – 1511 Farnam St
- Also housed Lynn Russell’s Bunny Club upstairs
Performers Who Graced Sparano’s Stages:
- Lynn Russell
- “Miss Discotheque”
- Supervisor of go-go dancers for Sparano
- Co-Owner of Lynn Russell’s Bunny Club inside the Diplomat Hotel
- Nikki Lynne – Exotic Fire Dancer at San Moritz
- Performed topless
- Roxy – Exotic Snake Dancer at San Moritz
- Maggie Towne
- worked at Mickey’s in 1975, as well as venues in Norfolk and Grand Island, NE
- She earned $350/week
- She danced for a Muscular Dystrophy fundraiser where she earned $500 by dancing 30-hours straight
- Rusty Ray
- 1 of 6 go-go girls interviewed by the South Omaha Sun in 1965
- Preferred to be called an “Ecdysiast”
- Kay Raftis AKA Mrs. She
- 21 years old
- From Minneapolis, MN
- Married to Mike Raftis, the leader of the Wanderers Combo, whom she traveled with
- Jill DeVoll
- 23 years old
- From Papillion, NE
- Studied and worked for Arthur Murray Dance Studio
- Billy Carroll – drag queen “comedian extraordinaire” at San Moritz
- Koko Kay – drag queen at San Moritz
- Stefani Roberts – drag queen at San Moritz
- Niki DeCarr – drag queen at San Moritz
- Tony Sinclair – drag queen at San Moritz
- Baby Dumpling – exotic dancer who performed at the Diplomat
- advertised as weighing 375lbs
- Maka Ohta – Japanese “stripper-belly dancer” performed at The Bunny Club
- “Halloween” – exotic dancer who performed in a costume described as “half-bear-half-evening gown” at The Bunny Club
- Bea Ware – Exotic comedian go-go dancer at The Bunny Club
Lynn Russell’s Bunny Club
Lynn Russel was an exotic dancer employed by Sparano in the 1960s. She acted as “supervisor a-go-go” and made assignments for the other girls’ routines. Lynn was originally from Detroit, MI and married to a musician.
In 1971, Lynn and Sparano opened The Bunny Club featuring exotic & go-go dancers, comedians, and musicians. Lynn created her own troupe called Lynn Russell’s Bunnies. Lynn managed the upstairs Bunny Club while Sparano managed the Diplomat on the ground floor.
Topless dancing ended at the Bunny Club in 1971 when police began enforcing the new city ordinance against nude entertainment.
Sally Rand at Mickey’s | July 1965
Sally Rand was arrested in July 1965 after performing her nude fan dance at Mickey’s No. 1. She was arrested and released on $300 bond. According to Patrolman Prescher, Rand appeared first in a white gown, carrying two large ostrich feather fans, and began to dance slowly to organ music. Eventually she shed her gown and exposed her nude body for about 6 minutes. She was 61 years old at the time and hadn’t been arrested since 1946 in San Francisco. She had performed in Omaha prior to this event. Once she was released on bond the same night, she returned to Mickey’s for a second performance.
For her second performance, the police captain told her she could not dance nude and she reportedly wore transparent tights. She was not arrested a 2nd time.
A heated court case ensued which would conclude with Omaha’s indecent exposure law being ruled unconstitutional. The city then chose to write a new ordinance to try and curb nude entertainment where liquor was sold.
Mickey Sparano’s A‑Go‑Go clubs ultimately became more than a string of venues — they formed a vibrant ecosystem that shaped Omaha’s nightlife for more than a decade. His stages offered steady work for dancers, drag performers, musicians, and specialty acts, creating a rare space where experimentation and spectacle could thrive side by side. Even as laws shifted, tastes changed, and crackdowns came and went, Sparano adapted, keeping his clubs lively, profitable, and unmistakably his. What remains is the legacy of a man who understood entertainment as both craft and community, and who left an indelible mark on the city’s cultural history through the performers who brought his venues to life.
Sources
- Sparano-Mickey – Omaha South High School Alumni Association
- Gone But Not Forgotten: Anthony Greco’s Roaring 20’s Club – Omaha Exploration
Newspapers
- The Kearney Daily Hub. “Go Go Dancer Wants Child With Her.” Omaha, NE. April 28, 1975
- The South Omaha Sun. “Up and Down the Street.” Emil Vohoska. Page 88. November 11, 1965
- The South Omaha Sun. “‘I Don’t Need A Costume…Just a Bikini’.” February 25, 1965
- The South Omaha Sun. “Up and Down the Street.” Emil Vohoska. November 11, 1965
Omaha World Herald Articles:
- “Omaha After Dark – New Mickey’s Offers Go-Go Plus Three Others.” Page 34. October 8, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Divas Give Opera Hefty Problem; Remodeled.” Page 8. January 28, 1966
- “Omaha After Dark – ‘A-Go-Go Girls on Their Way Out’.” January 21, 1966
- “Omaha After Dark – Entertainers Now ‘Club-Hopping’.” Page 32. January 8, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Sinatra Jr., Leads Youth From Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Page 39. April 2, 1965
- “Do Strippers Bring ‘Em In? Chamber Says ‘No,’ Clubs Say ‘Yes’.” Page 35. July 18, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – New Night Club Aimed at the Psychedelic Set.” Page 33. November 3, 1967
- “Mickey Keeps ’80s Pace at the 20s.” Peter Citron. Page 35. February 21, 1989
- “Omaha After Dark – Nightclubs Brace for New Year’s Eve Revelers.” December 29, 1967
- “Police, Clubs to Draw Veil; Sally Rand Watched, but Not Arrested.” Page 6. July 13, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Singer’s Blue Note Ban Ends Bright.” Page 36. October 29, 1965
- “Girls on the A-Go-Go.” Gary Johansen. Page 146-147. December 26, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Belly Dancers Follow ‘Exotics’ at Mickey’s.” August 6, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Earl Investment Company Buys Mickey’s No. 1.” January 29, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Comedian’s Mom Botched the Bit.” November 19, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – Club Owner May Rekindle Battle Over ‘Exotics’.” August 20, 1965
- “Omaha After Dark – New Mickey’s Offers Go-Go Plus Three Others.” October 8, 1965
- “Peter Citron: Notes of Struggling Night Club Comic.” Page 45. June 3, 1971
- “Judge to Rule Friday in Topless Test Case.” September 2, 1971
Omaha World Herald Advertisements:
- Mickey’s A-Go-Go on 16th and Jones Streets. April 2, 1965
- Mickey’s at 15th and Harney Streets. Page 33. November 3, 1967
- Mickey’s at 15th and Harney Streets. February 1, 1979
- Mickey’s at 15th and Harney Streets. May 14, 1980
- The New Mickey’s at 44th and Dodge Streets. December 29, 1967
- The New Mickey’s at 44th and Dodge Streets. March 15, 1968
- Maka Ohta at the Diplomat Hotel and Lynn Russell’s Bunnies. June 7, 1971
- Wanted Ads for Lynn Russell’s Bunny Club. April 14, 1971
- San Moritz Ad for Drag Queens. September 3, 1971
- San Moritz Ad for Nikki Lynne. April 17, 1971
- San Moritz Ad for Roxy. May 9, 1971
- San Moritz Ad for Nikki Lynne. March 25, 1971
- San Moritz Ad. March 23, 1971
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