Michele's paternal grandparents, Tennessee Cochrane
and Thomas Greene, were of Irish descent and came into Oklahoma
in a covered wagon when it was still Indian territory, settling
near Stigler. They were Okie farmers who ran a general store
on the highway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Their ambitious
eldest son, Bill Greene, heard about a little town in the
Nevada desert where gambling was allowed and hit the road.
He became one of the original owners of the Golden Nugget
Casino on the first Las Vegas Strip. Micheles father, Roland,
the youngest of the family, joined his brother upon his release
from the army in the Korean war.
 |
|
 |
| Carmen, Dorita, Guadalupe |
|
Grandma Tennie |
On her mother's side, the Pallais
family of Nicaragua, poets, priests and politicians joined
with the family of Cecilia Dominguez of Chihuahua, Mexico.
Beautiful, indomitable, independent women who flew in
the face of tradition, the Dominguez girls made their
way North to pursue their dreams. Cecilia's sister, stunning
Beatriz Dominguez, would dance with Rudolph Valentino
inThe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse before a tragic,
early death.
Michele's mother Dorita, an accomplished guitarist, singer
and dancer, formed an all girl trio with her sisters,
Carmen and Guadalupe, performing in the early days of
television in Los Angeles with the legendary producer
Klaus Landsberg.
"My mother and father met in Las Vegas, Nevada at
the Golden Nugget, where she had booked a singing gig
and he was the bar manager. He saw her from across a room
and said to a friend 'Im going to marry that girl'...and
he did.
|
| Read more >> |
|
