Drunk in love Little wonder that Las Vegas had an image as the place to “marry in haste, repent in leisure.” The post-midnight weddings between too-happy lovebirds have been roundly recounted in popular culture (think “The Hangover” and “The Hangover II”) and real life. • Pop singer and former child star Britney Spears, after an evening of excessive nightclubbing and substance-ingesting, married childhood friend Jason Alexander (no, not the “Seinfeld” star), but both parties agreed to an annulment shortly after. • Flamboyant Dennis Rodman, NBA basketball player and professional shock-star, married “Baywatch” actress/model/dancer Carmen Electra at a Las Vegas chapel at 7 a.m., only to declare later, “I was drunk.” They filed for an annulment nine days later, and the marriage was officially dissolved in six months. Electra told Time Magazine, “It’s easy to get caught up in the moment … but afterward you realize, ‘God, we did it in Vegas?’ It’s like getting a cheeseburger in a fast-food restaurant.” • In the 1970s, as Patty Duke recounts in her autobiography, “Call Me Anna,” she flew to Las Vegas in the throes of the manic state of her bipolar disorder. On the plane, she met a nice Jewish boy from Las Vegas, Michael Tell. After a whirlwind romance of a couple of days’ duration, they wed — only to part after her mood came back down to earth. But in honor of Valentine’s Day — and in Sin City’s defense — let’s remember that some of the happiest and longest-lasting marriages began in Las Vegas. • Kirk Douglas married the lovely Ann Buydens in 1954 at the Sahara Hotel. He’s now 96 — and they’re still married after 59 years. • Actress Bette Midler married performance artist Martin Von Haselberg in December 1984 at the historic Candlelight Wedding Chapel, which is now part of the Clark County Museum. They are the parents of a daughter, Sophie, and have an enduring marriage. • Another Candlelight wedding, that of Sir Michael Caine to Shakira Baksh in 1973, is approaching 40 years of connubial bliss. • Finally, actress Betty White married game show host Allen Ludden in 1963. It was her third marriage; he was a widower. Because of her previous bad luck at the altar, he had to ask her twice before she said yes. They were a famously happy couple until his death in 1981. She never remarried. But if White does get the love bug again, we’ve got plenty of wedding chapels that would gladly oblige her.
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