THEY SAY A picture is worth a thousand words and one man who captures those moments in time through painting is LeRoy Neiman, a world-renowned artist whose work hangs in galleries and museums around the world. His subjects range from sport heroes such as Mohammed Ali, Wilt Chamberlain and Tiger Woods to celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Sylvester Stallone. Both he and his artwork appeared in several of the "Rocky" films.

The story of LeRoy Neiman is quite fascinating—yet it is a story he is most humble about. He says he was an artist from the time he was born, but he used his art for other things. "I was not a very good athlete, nor a good student," says LeRoy. "As a young boy I would use my art to show off or to get special favors."

Over the years, LeRoy's work evolved. He taught classic art for ten years, and says his work is a result of other art he has seen. "You start imitating other artists, then you try to find yourself. If you are lucky in the last stage of your life, you find your own style—and then you begin to surprise yourself!" There have been several artists over the years that have influenced his work, such as Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning. But one artist that LeRoy Neiman did meet was Andy Warhol. "Andy was a very creative guy. He was ahead of his time. He was a very unpredictable person. You never knew what he would say to someone. One time he made a comment over someone's scuffed shoes."

He has painted most sporting figures and events from around the world including the Kentucky Derby, and the Olympics, but his favorite subject to paint? "My favorite," he says, "was painting Mohammed Ali. He's such a beautiful looking man. Next, would be Frank Sinatra. The guy would always want to see what I was doing, so I had to be at my best! Even when I was just sketching, Frank wanted to see what I was doing."

LeRoy Neiman has gained notoriety over the years—but being noticed doesn't seem to affect him. "Being famous is a bonus and an inconvenience at the same time. The purpose of an artist is to communicate and when other people respond to what you do it's such a nice feeling and very rewarding," says LeRoy.

There is only one thing that LeRoy Neiman does not like talking about: it's his age. In fact, there are some discrepancies to the exact year—but according to government records, he just turned 85 years old. Not that it matters. But what he didn't seem to realize was that 2007 is a significant year for him. This year, LeRoy Neiman celebrates a 50 year Retrospective Exhibition of his work at Centaur Art Galleries here in Las Vegas. It is the 50 year celebration of his Femlin statuettes, which appear on the Party Joke pages of Playboy Magazine each month. But more importantly, LeRoy Neiman just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary to his wife. "It's hard to believe that in this day and age someone can be married for 50 years. But when you find that right person…"

LeRoy Neiman's life is truly serendipitous. He met his wife, Janet, who was a copywriter at an ad agency for a women's store the same day he met Hugh Hefner, who at the time, was a copywriter in a men's clothing store—and they have been friends ever since! When asked about his legacy, LeRoy Neiman responded, "I want to be known as a man of my time!"

[Ed. note: Video of LeRoy Neiman and his work: www.triplecrownofpolo.com also, video of LeRoy Neiman appearing at the Ecofest 2007 Poster Contest.]