LAS VEGAS — It wasn’t going to be easy to track down the woman who came to be known as “Miss Atomic Bomb.” All Robert Friedrichs had to go on was a stage name he found printed under an archival newspaper photo that showed her posing with other Las Vegas showgirls.
It would take him more than two decades to unravel the mystery of Lee A. Merlin’s true identity.
Friedrichs, 81, isn’t a detective. He’s a historian and a retired scientist who got his start during the atomic age, a complicated moment in American history when the line was blurred between fear and fascination with nuclear power.
Between 1951 and 1992, hundreds of nuclear tests were performed, mostly underground, in the desert outside Las Vegas. But it was the massive mushroom clouds from the above-ground nuclear blasts that captured the public’s imagination throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.
Las Vegas sought to capitalize on that craze, and in 1957 sent a photographer out on assignment to shoot a promotional ad for nuclear tourism. He got an idea to capture the lead dancer at the Sands Hotel in a swimsuit in the shape of a fluffy mushroom cloud. In the photo, the high-heeled showgirl is smiling with arms outstretched as the desert unfolds behind her like a stage.
The image played a key role in shaping Las Vegas ’ identity as a city of fantasy and spectacle. Yet little was known about the star of the photo — until now.
Friedrichs first set out to find Miss Atomic Bomb around 2000. The Atomic Museum was set to open in Las Vegas in a few years and as a founding member, he was “hoping against hope” that she was still alive and could attend the grand opening.
What started as a simple question — Who was she? — became an obsession for Friedrichs that outlasted careers and outlived friends.
Friedrichs filled stacks of binders with clues and potential leads, like one that led him “to a guy in South Dakota.” Days off were spent either combing through online newspaper archives or sifting through special collections at the library.
He tracked down the photographer from that famous photoshoot and interviewed former showgirls who confirmed Miss Atomic Bomb’s stage name. But the woman’s real name still eluded him.
Leads dried up and months turned into years.
The mystery didn’t keep him up at night, but he said when he was awake, it consumed his thoughts. He would sometimes stare at the photo, wondering if she’d ever give up the answer.
Then, last winter, something unexpected happened. He…
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