WAYNE NEWTON Biography - Musicians

 
 

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WAYNE NEWTON

Name: Wayne Newton                                                                   
Birth name: Carson Wayne Newton                                                     
Also known as Mr. Las Vegas                                                         
Born: 3 April 1942 Norfolk, Virginia United States                                   
Occupation(s): Singer, actor                                                         
                                                                                     
Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942, in Norfolk, Virginia) is an American       
singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo     
shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nickname Mr.     
Las Vegas. His best known songs include the kitschy "Daddy Don't You Walk So         
Fast" (1972), "Years" (1980), and his signature song, "Danke Schoen" (1963).         
                                                                                     
Newton was born in Norfolk, Virginia, while his father was in the U.S. Navy, but     
spent his early childhood in Roanoke. His father was Irish-Powhatan and his         
mother German-Cherokee. Newton was active in show business at an early age. He       
learned the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at the age of six. Along with his       
older brother Jerry Newton, he appeared with the Grand Ole Opry roadshows,           
performed for President Harry S Truman, and auditioned unsuccessfully for Ted       
Mack's Original Amateur Hour.                                                       
                                                                                     
Wayne's severe asthma forced the family to move to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1952. In     
the spring of 1958, toward the end of Wayne's junior year in high school, a Las     
Vegas booking agent saw a local TV show on which the two Newton brothers were       
performing and took them back with him for an audition. Originally signed for       
two weeks, the two brothers eventually performed for five years, doing six shows     
a day.                                                                               
                                                                                     
Newton achieved nationwide recognition on September 29, 1962, when he and his       
brother performed on The Jackie Gleason Show. He would perform on Gleason's show     
12 times over the following two years.                                               
                                                                                     
Many other entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin, Danny Thomas,     
George Burns, and Jack Benny lent Newton their support. In particular, Benny         
hired Newton as an opening act for his show.                                         
                                                                                     
After his job with Benny ended, Newton was offered a job to open for another         
comic at the Flamingo Hotel, but Newton asked for, and was given, a headline act.   
                                                                                     
From 1980 to 1982 Newton was part owner of the Aladdin Hotel, in a partnership       
that led to a number of lawsuits and a failed attempt by Newton to purchase the     
entire hotel in 1983.                                                               
                                                                                     
In 1994, Newton performed his 25,000th solo show in Las Vegas.                       
                                                                                     
In 1999, Newton signed a 10-year deal with the Stardust, calling for him to         
perform there 40 weeks out of the year for six shows a week in a showroom named     
after him. In 2005, in preparation for the eventual demolition of the casino,       
the deal was, from all reports, amicably terminated; Newton began a 30-show         
stint that summer at the Hilton. His last show at the Stardust was on April 20,     
2005. During a break in his on stage performance, he announced to the crowd         
that night he wanted to spend more time with his wife and new daughter as the       
main reasonings for cancelling the contract. Newton said the Boyd family made       
him a very nice offer to stay on past the demolition of the hotel and casino and     
to play in other Boyd venues, but Newton declined citing "another deal in the       
works for Vegas", but he did not mention the Hilton specifically. News crews         
were expecting this performance to end on time, to make their 10 pm and 11 pm       
shows, but the show finally ended around 11:30 pm, thus eliminating the             
possibility. Mr. Las Vegas went on at 7:30 that night, and sang nearly his           
entire repertoire and songs of other Vegas mainstays as well.                       
                                                                                     
In 2001, Newton succeeded Bob Hope as “Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle. In   
January 2005, Newton started a reality television show on E! called The             
Entertainer. The winner got a spot in his act, plus a headlining act of their       
own for a year. And recently during player introductions at the 2007 NBA All-Star   
Weekend in Las Vegas, Newton sang Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas."                 
                                                                                     
Newton is currently performing with a full band at casinos and major venues         
throughout 2007 across the United States.                                           
                                                                                     
Newton was the Grand Marshal of the 80th Annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom             
Festival in Winchester, Virginia, May 17, 2007. He canceled a sold-out show         
to join the Festival.                                                               
                                                                                     
Newton was featured on the 2007 fall season of Dancing with the Stars partnered     
with Two Time Champion Cheryl Burke. He became the third contestant to be           
eliminated from the contest.