Wayne Newton

A lot has come and gone since Wayne Newton first set the entertainment world on fire as a precocious, big-voiced six-year-old. When Elvis Presley was still driving a truck, Wayne--almost ten years his junior--had already sung before a president, toured with a Grand Ole Opry road show and released his first record.

While the Beatles were still scrambling for their early Liverpool gigs, Wayne who was two years younger than John Lennon, was playing Las Vegas and appearing on the Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball television shows.

In a business that is, at best, volatile, and success sometimes short-lived, Wayne has performed live, at last count, to more than 30 million people, and on television and record to many times that number. He has epitomized the talent, glamour and energy that is Las Vegas--the entertainment capitol of the world--for so long that he is called "Mr. Las Vegas." And these days, having established himself both on television and in movies as a fine actor, he's getting more attention than ever.

He does it with the incredible talent and showmanship he was born with and the approach he developed as a child entertainer in Virginia. He simply works harder and digs deeper than anyone out there, sizing up audiences as he goes, tailoring shows to fit their moods, until he's given them their money's worth. The songs change and the show gets re-worked, but Wayne's basic approach is the same as it has been since the beginning, and it's something that goes to the core of who he is.

"I'm still doing the kind of shows I've always done," Wayne says, "and I can tell you one thing: People may leave one of my shows disliking Wayne Newton, but they've never walked out saying, 'He didn't work hard for us' or 'He didn't give us our money's worth.' I know what it means to save your money to go see someone perform, and I'll work as hard as I have to, to try and make sure they enjoy it."

Even at a young age, Wayne was already a veteran of show business. He was just four when he settled on a life course. His parents had taken him to see a Grand Ole Opry road show in Roanoke, Virginia and he watched wide-eyed, as Hank Williams and Kitty Wells, among others, performed. When it was over he said to his mother, "This is what I want to do." "What?" she asked. "That," he answered, pointing toward the stage.

A natural, he learned piano, guitar and steel guitar by ear with the help of a few lessons, and by the time he was six, he was doing a daily radio show before school. On weekends, he and his older brother, Jerry, appeared with the Opry road shows that came through town, and performed before movies at a local theater. He was in first grade when they performed at a USO show for President Truman, and eight when they entered a local contest and won the chance to audition for the nation's biggest amateur show.

"There are two people I know," he says with a laugh, "who flunked 'Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour' auditions: Elvis Presley and me."

That disappointment was a minor setback in a childhood that included serious health struggles. Wayne's severe bouts with asthma forced the family to move to Phoenix, where he recovered and began his career again. The stamina that would see him through this and many other difficult periods he credits to his Powahatan Indian/Irish father, who overcame his own poverty-stricken background, and his Cherokee Indian/German mother.

Throughout the rest of his school years, he performed on a local TV show (while maintaining a B average), and his friends included the likes of Dwayne Eddie and Marty Robbins. Toward the end of his junior year, a Las Vegas booking agent saw the show and took Wayne and Jerry back for an audition. They arrived with $20 between them, but the tryout led to "a two-week job" that lasted for 46 weeks, and the Newton Brothers had a foothold in Vegas. They did six shows between 5 and 11 PM, and Wayne had to find creative ways to keep the workload from taking its toll.

"I kept learning to play new instruments simply to give my voice some relief," he explains. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Wayne plays 13 instruments, many of which are worked into his shows.

Wayne went national when Jackie Gleason, for whom he performed at a Phoenix luncheon, took him to New York for an appearance on his network television show. While in New York, Wayne would also appear at the legendary Copacabana night club. He would perform on Gleason's show 12 times during the next two years.

"The Great One" was the first of many show business legends to form a friendship and fall for this young entertainment dynamo and offer a hand. Lucille Ball had him as a guest a dozen times on her show and offered him his own series, which he turned down so he wouldn't be typecast. Bobby Darin brought him his first record hits, "Heart," "Danke Schoen," "Red Roses For A Blue Lady," "Summer Wind" and "Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife." (He also scored a national #1 on "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast." Other single hits have included "Years," "She Believes In Me" and "While The Feeling's Good.") Others giving him special affection and support over the years would be Danny Thomas, George Burns and Jack Benny.

The latter helped make sure that in a day when lounge singers didn't move up to Vegas's big rooms, Wayne Newton did. Wayne turned down $10,000 a week in the lounges to work for "Uncle Jack" as an opening act for $1,500 a week, a slot he filled for much of the next three years.

There was one more hurdle in Las Vegas, and that was headlining the main showrooms. Wayne managed that with courage--and the help of the fans he's always worked so hard for. After the job with Mr. Benny ended, Wayne was offered the chance to open for another comic at the Flamingo Hilton. He said he wanted to headline instead and the owner was so taken aback to Wayne's moxie that he said, "Yes." There was a catch, though. He offered Wayne the headlining slot in November. "In those days," said Wayne, "you could shoot a cannon in November and not hit a single soul on the strip. There just wasn't any business at that time of year. The odds-makers had predicted I was going to flop. The only thing that none of them counted on was the local people. The night we opened, the locals came out in droves and totally saved my career, for which I will always be grateful."

Wayne broke all the hotels' records, and he has been synonymous with Las Vegas ever since. In 1994, Wayne performed his 25,000th show in Las Vegas alone. With the new millennium, Wayne signed one of the largest contracts in entertainment history with the Stardust Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The contract calls for Wayne to perform 40 weeks a year, six shows a week, for the next 10 years at the newly renamed "Wayne Newton Theater." Of his new Stardust contract, Wayne commented, "This is the most exciting, productive and fulfilling time of my professional life, so far." The spectacular production of Wayne Live (which has brought him numerous "Entertainer of the Year" honors) has also coaxed reviewers and feature writers to tout it as 'The Las Vegas Experience.' Said Jim Greer in Spin magazine, "...his show is the standard by which I will henceforth judge each future concert of any genre. I'm not talking about campy or kitsch...I'm talking about full-blooded American entertainment.

Wayne sets records every time he steps on a stage, and his profile is higher than ever because of, among other things, a burgeoning acting career. He is one of a very few singers to make the crossover successfully. His charisma and talent have translated well onto the screen.

The acting skills he learned on stage, in the company of Lucy and "The Great One," and in guest spots on shows like "Bonanza," have been in full blossom in recent years. He has appeared in eight major motion pictures so far, and shows no signs of slowing down. Some of his film acting credits include hits such as "Vegas Vacation" with Chevy Chase, the James Bond thriller "License to Kill," "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane," "The Dark Backward," "The Best of the Best II" and "Night of the Running Man." Some of his television acting credits include the ABC miniseries, "North and South, Book II," "Roseanne," "Ellen," "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Renegade," "Perfect Strangers," "LA Law," and the HBO series "Tales from the Crypt." In Addition, Wayne appeared in Drew Carey's HBO special "Mr. Las Vegas," as well ad being the focus of the highly-acclaimed A&E series "Biography." Wayne received rave reviews portraying 'shock jock' Harold Wick on the hit television show "Ally McBeal." In February 1999, he received a "First American in the Arts" award as "Outstanding Guest Performance by an Actor in a Television Series" for his role on "Ally McBeal." Wayne was also seen performing with Hootie and the Blowfish at the VH-1 "Rock to Erase MS" special and is currently featured in a Miller Lite television commercial.

"I enjoy acting immensely," he says of his second career. "I think it's because I've spent my whole life being Wayne Newton, the singer. "This way," he says with a grin, "I can get all my hostilities out and I don't have to go to jail for it."

Wayne's guest appearances on TV are numerous. He is frequently asked to appear on such popular shows as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "Larry King Live," "CBS This Morning," "E! Entertainment Television," "Entertainment Tonight," and others. 1994 also saw the airing of "The Wayne Newton Concert Special" on the Family Channel.

Wayne's heartfelt patriotism has kept him before the public as well. He has entertained troops in Vietnam, in Lebanon after the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks, and most recently in the Persian Gulf. (The US Defense Department gave Wayne its highest civilian award for being the only America entertainer to perform in all three spots.)

At the invitation of President Ronald Reagan, Wayne drew 350,000 people to the rain-soaked grounds of the Washington Monument for the July 4th concert. He also has a penchant for helping others. He is highly visible as a contributor of time, energy and talent to telethons and fund raisers for various causes. He serves on the board of many charitable and philanthropic organizations, including the National Association for Missing and Abused Children.

All of this--the wide appeal, the longevity, the patriotism, the selfless service--has made Wayne Newton a favorite of his many fans. He is one of the most widely acclaimed and honored entertainers in history. Wayne has been the recipient of many prestegious awards, some of which include, "Medal for Distinguished Public Service," the "Jimmie E. Howard Award," "Founders Award of St. Jude's Hospital," the "VFW Hall of Fame Award," the "Humanitarian Award of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Research Center and the "American Legion's Exceptional Citizen Award." He has also been awarded the National Jaycees' "Ten Outstanding Young Men of America." There is also a Wayne Newton star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Wayne was honored to co-host with Mrs. Sinatra the "Inaugural Frank Sinatra Las Vegas Celebrity Golf Classic." He also completed a month-long, sold out Australian tour. This tour was so successful, Sydney's "Sun Herald" writer Peter Holmes stated in his "Year In Review," "As for live highlights, Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton, Blitzed the crowd...delivering the people of Sydney a memorable gig." Holmes went on to name Newton as the #1 live music event of 1998. In 1999, Wayne was voted "Entertainer of the Year" by both Nevada Magazine and Casino Player Magazine. Said Melissa Cook of Casino Player Magazine, "...he consistently offers the best in entertainment value. ...Wayne Newton is in a class and category all his own." Wayne is very proud of his Native American heritage and had the distinguished honor of hosting the first ever "Native American Music Awards," where he was voted "Native American Entertainer of the Year." In November of 1998, he was bestowed the honor of being knighted "Sir Wayne Newton," and this past December was given an honorary doctorate from William Woods University. In February of 2000, Wayne was awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the First American's in the Arts, and in October of 2000, he was inducted into the American Gaming association's "Gaming Hall of Fame."

Wayne Newton has recoreded 157 albums to date, including the recent 6 CD box set, "The Wayne Newton Dynasty Collection," and is currently working on a new triple disc set. In addition, more television and movies starring Wayne are in negotiation. After 5 decades of performing, he shows no signs of slowing down, which is great news to the multitude of fans that pack his sold out shows all over the world.

The people of Las Vegas and Nevada whom he so dearly loves have given him their highest honors as well. He is one of only two people in Las Vegas history to receive the city's Medal of Honor, he has been named Ambassador of Goodwill for the state, and he has seen Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport's main thouroghfare renamed "Wayne Newton Boulevard." Wayne was the 1999 recipient of the "Ellis Island Medal of Honor." The medal is presented to outstanding American citizens who have distinguished themselves among their specific ethnic group and are recognized for their significant contribution to this country. In 1999 Wayne was also made an "Honorary Green Beret" at an event April of '99 at Ft. Bragg. On October 5, 1999, at a ceremony in Washington DC, Wayne received the "American Legend" award, along with Sen. John H. Glenn and Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist. This honor is given to the few individuals who have, "in their endeavors made a mark on the 20th Century, paving the way for the new millennium." Another honor was that of being named one of the "top 3 entertainers of the century in Nevada and around the world" (along with Frank Sinatra and Elvis) by the Reno Gazett-Journal. Wayne's most recent honor was being named the Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle. Wayne now leads USO tours overseas to perform for our men and women in the Armed Forces. Newton says,"It is without a doubt, the highlight of my career." Wayne's extraordinary life is the outgrowth of one thing: his willingess and ability to give his all whether performing or not. Hand him a microphone, however, and magic happens. He is the entertainer's entertainer. A born showman who combines a host of God-given talents with an exceptional and disciplined work ethic and boundless stamina.

In his 1989 autobiography, "Once Before I Go," Wayne talked about what he was striving to accomplish. He wanted to be, he said, "a man who dares to dream and pursue it, using my head for myself and my heart for others. To leave the world a better place than I found it. I guess that's what I hope to do."

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