ROUVAUN edited by Pat Haun
Welsh/Irish/German Jim Haun was born in Bingham, Utah. At 4 years old Haun was enrolled in
Franchon and Marcon Musical School in Salt Lake City. His first instructor was Mrs. Grace
Evans of Salt Lake City. He continued his studies with her until he was 14. Starting at the age of
5, Haun sang in church, over radio and television, at private parties, with the Salt Lake City
Tabernacle Choir and with Conductor Eugene Jelesnik's symphony orchestra. From the age of 7
to 10, Haun sang at Saltair on the shore of the Great Salt Lake. Radio station KSL remembers his
participation in the Evans Sisters show. At age 10, he toured the sate of Utah to help sell war
bonds. His most popular number then, according to Mrs. Evans, was "Without a Song". He
would also go over to the Bushnell General Hospital in Brigham City every Sunday and sing for
wounded WWII personnel. (In 1969, the hospital turned into a school for Indians under the
Bureau of Indian Affairs). Haun met "Pat" (Priscilla) Dunn and together they attended Woodrow
Wilson Grade School, Irving Junior High School, and South High School in Salt Lake City. Haun
later married Pat in 1952. In 1957, Haun studied under the late, great Mario Chamlee, former
Met tenor of the Caruso era and successor to Caruso at the Metropolitan Opera. He also studied
with Mario Silva, Mario Lanza's former coach. Haun's father passed away when he was 16 and he
was virtually on his own from that time on. His father worked for the Kennecott Copper
Company. From 1952 to 1954 Haun was in the U. S. Infantry on the front lines in Korea and
also toured with the Army's Special Services Division in the Far East. He was proud of his Army
Special Achievement Award.. When he got out, he and Pat went to Hollywood where he studied
with Chamlee and studied with the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and sang with the
Beverly Hills Opera Company. On February 7, 1967. Jim Haun aka Rouvaun joined the Las
Vegas scene. Without fanfare, Rouvaun was dropped into the star spot of the 100-person Frederic
Apcar French stage spectacular Casino de Paris. He was an overnight sensation. Rouvaun is
pronounced Rove-On. The name was decided upon after a session with a numerologist. It fit
handsomely on the giant Dunes show panel. The letters were five feet tall. Rouvaun stopped now
and then to take another look at the sign and shake his head in disbelief. Before his Dunes
engagement, Rouvaun never had received show billing. In Vegas, where the big gamble for the
big stake is commonplace, the Dunes management made the biggest long shot, long-odds toss of
the dice in the history of the Strip when it took this untried singer of songs and put him on top of
his show, reportedly the most costly stage production since time began. Grooming? Build-up?
Preparation? Oh, Rouvaun had plenty of time to get ready. Like he saw the arrangements for his
act the first time just six hours before he made his debut. Six hours of band rehearsal. This is all.
Besides singing, he had to adapt to the staging which necessitated dialogue, a score of
minutely-timed cues, on-stage costume changes and curtain speeches. But it was a jack-pot.
Rouvaun had the critics dancing in the streets. TV producers issued lucrative invites and so it
came to pass that a star of first magnitude was born. After hearing him at the Dunes, one major
recording company executive wrote the Dunes President: "Rouvaun may well turn out to be the
eighth wonder of the world." Rouvaun was almost six feet tall, weighed about 170 pounds and
had a neck size that swells up to a full 17 when he is hitting the big notes. He is blonde, blue-eyed,
has expressive hands and the appeal of a Steve McQueen. In school, he played guard on the
basketball team. In sports in 1969, his preference was for the Baltimore Colts in football, and the
Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball. His singing idol of the past is Mario Lanza. Today it's the
handsome Robert Goulet. Stan Kenton is his jazz favorite. He loves sleek foreign cars, fishing and
target shooting. He likes to do seascapes and landscapes in oil. Rouvaun closed his first
triumphant 6-month Dunes engagement in mid-June 1967, and returned to Dunes in December of
1967 to star again for an additional half-year in the all-new Casino de Paris. When he closed, he
embarked on a series of big-city and foreign concerts, TV appearances, night club engagements
and recording sessions with RCA. Rouvaun's three RCA albums, The Sound of Rouvaun, Walk
Into My Life, and From The Heart of a Man, climbed steadily up the charts. His RCA recording
producer, Joe Reisman, says he will be conducting a steady series of waxing sessions which
indicates that within the next several years there will be at least a dozen albums on the market.
Rouvaun made his national TV debut on the Ed Sullivan show, and according to the Ashley
Famous booking agency, "Rouvaun has had precious little rest since them." Several months ago
he made a special guest appearance on the Jack Benny Birthday TV Special which added further
impetus to his career. Just before returning to the Dunes for his third record-shattering starring
appearance in Casino de Paris, Rouvaun enjoyed seeing his name in lights at the Ambassador
Hotel in Los Angeles. His Coconut Grove appearance had critics dancing in the streets, and the
big nightly crowds on their feet with standing ovations, we are told. Later, having appeared three
times at the Cocoanut Grove, Rouvaun held the record for attendance at his performances. "
Rouvaun's final appearance at the Dunes hotel was solo in concert for two weeks during the
usually shuttered 2 weeks prior to Christmas. He was a smash hit. After his Dunes stint, his Las
Vegas appearances were at the Las Vegas International (now Hilton) and Fremont Hotel. He
toured South Africa twice, Australia, played Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cave in
Vacouver, BC., Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Palmer House in Chicago, Fairmont in San
Francisco, Washington Plaza Hotel in Seattle, Sheraton in Houston, Balanese Room in Galveston,
any many concert and symphony halls around the country.

ROUVAUN SURE HIT AT DUNES HOTEL
Taken from a 1968 Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine written by Phil Solomon
" A little over a year ago, Major Riddle and Charles Rich, Dunes Hotel execs took a gamble on an
unknown singer and made him a star overnight in the French spectacular, Casino de Paris. The
singer was James Haun, who became Rouvaun for a show business career. Today, he is the
brightest young singing find in the nation and should be the biggest thing of our time. His
popularity picked up and now is jam packing the twice a night Casino de Paris show. Just 15
months ago, Rouvaun was working for a lumber firm in Los Angeles and in his spare time he
studied music, spending quite a bit of his income for vocal lessons. It wasn't easy for a father of
three children. In a short span of time Rouvaun is a relaxed singer with an impact of responsibility.
He was at the right place at the right time for star billing. Getting top billing was a dream and
never did he think that his career would start at the top in the entertainment capital of the world.
The two men behind Rouvaun are Norman Kaye, formerly of the Mary Kaye Trio and millionaire
Richard Tam. The odds were against all of them. Many show critics that have seen Rouvaun work
compare him with Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza. The writers fail to realize that Rouvaun is a
tenor, which matters very little. He sure can sing up a storm. The new discovery is polished now
and can sing classics or pops with the best in show business. He went from rags to riches. Riddle
and Rich have Rouvaun signed through 1970. If all the options are picked up the new vocalist will
reach the $25,000 a week class. It's hard to believe that a new star was born overnight, but it's
true and very deserving. This new Casino de Paris is the best of the lot and figures to do capacity
business for the entire stay. We recommend it as a must see show." ................Phil Solomon..

Editor's Note:
Tragically, Rouvaun passed away in Las Vegas at the height of his career in 1975 at the age of 43.
He died of massive internal hemorrhaging stemming from a ruptured esophagus. He contracted a
rare blood disease while touring in South Africa. He recorded a total of six albums for RCA
during his career.