Known world wide as “Mr. Las Vegas,” entertainer Wayne
Newton is known for his signature song, “Danke Schoen,”
plus many hit singles, including “Daddy, Don’t You Walk
So Fast,” “Red Roses For a Blue Lady” and “Years.” In a
business that is, at best, volatile, and success sometimes
short-lived, Wayne has performed live, at last count, to
more than 40 million people and on television, film and
record, to many times that number. He has epitomized the
talent, glamour and energy that is 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 his 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’ll never
walk out saying, ‘He didn’t work hard for us’.
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, “That’s 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, and by the time he was six, he was doing a daily radio