Lonnie Lee Hammargren was an American politician and neurosurgeon who served as the 31st lieutenant governor of Nevada from 1995 to 1999.
15 Facts About Lonnie Hammargren
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Lonnie Hammargren served with Governor Bob Miller, a Democrat, during Miller's second four-year term.
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Lonnie Hammargren was a neurosurgeon and was as a flight surgeon at NASA for the Apollo program from November 1965 to March 1966.
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Lonnie Hammargren operated on boxer Duk Koo Kim in November 1982, following Kim's loss to Ray Mancini; Kim died as a result of his injuries in the fight.
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Lonnie Hammargren has collected some of the skulls and brains of his former patients.
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From 1988 to 1994, Lonnie Hammargren served as a regent of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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Lonnie Hammargren was the lieutenant governor of Nevada from 1995 to 1999.
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Lonnie Hammargren lost his election bid in the primaries for that office again in 2006.
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Lonnie Hammargren built his house, Castillo del Sol, in 1969, which he filled with various artifacts relating to Las Vegas history, and regularly opened it to public tours.
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Lonnie Hammargren's home has been featured on the Travel Channel's show Vegas VIP Homes.
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Lonnie Hammargren appeared in a 2014 episode of Pawn Stars, in which he attempted to sell some of his collection to show host Rick Harrison.
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Lonnie Hammargren sold 27 items at auction for a net gain of slightly over $4,000, which he planned to use to write his autobiography.
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Lonnie Hammargren married his wife Sandy in 1989, an event which in part was filmed for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
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On March 31,2007, Lonnie Hammargren held an "Awake Wake" for himself, in which he had a mock funeral service, a New Orleans style Jazz Funeral March back to his house, and buried himself in a sarcophagus in the Egyptian tomb in his garage.
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Lonnie Hammargren died on June 13,2023, at the age of 85 from a subdural hematoma, complications from dementia and heart disease.