Wayne Newton : Up Close and Personal

Though Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley are credited as two of the greatest entertainers to pass through Nevada, Wayne Newton is known as “Mr. Las Vegas” for a reason. Not only does he remain a prevalent figure in the city he helped make famous, but seeing him perform at 83 years old was the greatest honor. His show, “Wayne Newton: Up Close and Personal,” guides audiences through the journey that is his life. Exclusive ticket holders were called an hour prior to the show to enjoy a banquet dinner. Each table was lavished with care and displayed roses as centerpieces. The clinking of silverware and ambient jazz music enhanced a scene that was reminiscent of a Las Vegas showroom. Bellied laughter and scattered conversations could be overheard. The house lights brightened, and lively music played through the speakers, indicating the start of the show. Agua Caliente will continue to deliver for the rest of the year, promising a number of shows starring acclaimed musicians and comedians. There wasn’t a bad seat in the house.

“Please welcome to the stage, the legend, the midnight idol, Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton!” With a gold microphone in hand, Newton opened with “Viva Las Vegas.” He was amiable and openly gracious, saying what a thrill it was to walk out and see smiling faces. After singing “Everyday I Have the Blues,” Newton asked the audience to give a big round of applause for some of the finest sounds in the entire world. He went around and introduced each of the talented musicians playing that night, cracking jokes that exuded familiarity. Their music director and drummer was Marc Atkinson, along with Mariano Longo on keyboard, Dan De Morales on bass guitar, Todd Hunter on synth, and Ryan Bull on guitar.

Newton wrote his show for venues like Agua Caliente, where he could see people having fun. They planned to play some special music, but not before fulfilling a promise Newton made to the men in the audience, who were stuck looking at the men on stage. After he had finished writing the show, Newton realized that the men had nothing to look at. Newton aimed to fix that by finding a beautiful lady who could come out, act as a commentator for the show, and read the questions that he would answer. After many auditions, they found a lady. She was an attorney from Cleveland, Ohio, named Kathleen McCrone. “Hi everyone! What a great place we’re in; we need to stay here for a while. Thank you for this beautiful dress that you left in my dressing room. It is so tight I can hardly breathe, but it makes me feel like Ellen Griswold from ‘Vegas Vacation,’” McCrone said. On the subject of “Vegas Vacation,” Newton loved being a part of the film. He had no idea that the film would go on to develop such a lasting reputation. Newton mentioned a humbling experience he had when walking through a busy airport. A woman and her young son were passing by. The boy’s eyes enlarged the closer they got to him. He grabbed hold of his mother’s sleeve. “Mom! There’s that guy who played Wayne Newton in Vegas Vacation!” he shouted. “Vegas Vacation” had three scenes that weren’t written in the script. These takes, which were left in by the director, had Newton amplifying the humor by ad-libbing. The first was when Cousin Eddie patted the
top of Newton’s hair, per his suggestion. The second was when Newton answered a door in a karate Gi, which was supposed to be regular clothes. (He holds a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo and Butokukai.) The third scene was when Newton gave a lock of his hair to Ellen Griswold, even though the script called for him to give her a keychain with his picture on it. Newton did not think that the gesture was outrageous enough, so he took the jewelry box and switched it out. Nobody knew. When the actors cracked up, they had to do the scene over. Newton apologized to the director for the surprise, insisting that Wayne Newton would never give a woman a keychain with his picture on it. “How do you know?” asked the director. “I wrote this show, and everything you’re about to hear is the truth,” Newton said.

He can play thirteen different instruments, but cannot read music. Instead, he plays by ear. He was born in Virginia and lived there for five years. He started out in show business at three years old, singing at church with his mother. But after being diagnosed with bronchial asthma, Newton and his family moved to Arizona for his health. Newton and his brother went on to audition for a local contest on television. When the boys won, they got a weekly television show. Newton was eight when the show started and 13 when it finished. Their mother would soon receive a call from an agent who had been passing through and watching the show. The agent wanted to get Newton to try out in Las Vegas. In 1959, the two brothers auditioned at the Fremont Hotel. Two songs in, the gentleman overseeing the auditions rose and started for the door. He looked back at Newton, pointed, and spoke. “If we can get you a work permit, I’ll hire you guys for two weeks,” the man
said. The brothers didn’t know what a work permit meant, but they still got one. To this day, Newton has it because he’ll never know when he’s going to need it. The audience broke out into charmed laughter. Newton was allowed to work at the Fremont Hotel but was not allowed to be inside the establishment. The agreement entailed six shows a night, six nights a week. 40 minutes onstage, 20 minutes off, six times. Since he wasn’t 21 years old, Newton spent his breaks outside on the street corner. He joked about meeting some beautiful ladies out there. But those two weeks would turn into a five-year contract. Before Newton’s career took off, the first instrument he learned to play was the steel guitar. He demonstrated this by showing a clip from the archives. The footage was in black and white, and the sound quality was stellar. In the clip, Newton and his brother sang as guest performers for the contest they had previously won. Afterwards, a steel guitar was brought out, which he played as effectively as he had all those years ago. Newton revealed how he learned to play another instrument after Elvis Presley hit the music scene in 1960. He picked up a guitar, took a seat, and sang “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” The next song of the night was one of Newton’s favorites, and he wanted to dedicate it to those who may
be in love tonight. “It’s a sexy song! Anyone in love tonight?” he asked, followed by applause. “Let me talk to you for a minute here. I want to remind you, ladies and gentlemen, the person you came here with is probably going to be the person you leave the show with when it’s over. You go back to your home, your apartment, or wherever you’re staying tonight, and that person is going to remember that I asked if anyone was in love tonight, and you said nothing! Which is exactly what you are going to get later, nothing! So I’ll ask one more time, anyone in love tonight?” The audience cheered much louder the second time around. The song was “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.”

Newton had become a fan of Presley. When Presley came to Vegas, he worked down the Strip from where Newton and his brother played. Presley was only doing two shows a night. Both had the same nights off, yet their paths never crossed. That was, until Newton received an invitation to travel to Los Angeles and star on “Bonanza.” He had been sitting on set, studying his script when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. “I turn around, and put yourself in my place, there stood God,” Newton smiled. “He didn’t have his cape on, but it was Elvis.” Presley had been there that morning to film on the next stage. But after Presley’s band told him that Newton was also there, he came by to ask him a question. Presley asked if Newton knew someone named Sandy Ferra. Newton replied that he did. In fact, they were dating. “So are we,” answered Presley. “We both started to laugh hysterically and became instant friends for the rest of his life. He was one great human being, in addition to being a brilliant talent,” Newton said. According to him, Pharrell didn’t choose either of them in the end. She went on to marry Wink Martindale, and the two were together for 47 years until his passing. The performance in Rancho Mirage was extra special, as Ferra was in the crowd. She was encouraged to stand up, and was warmly thanked for attending. “I have had the honor and privilege of singing with every great singer that has come through Nevada. It would be impossible to pick one and say that’s my favorite,” Newton said, after McCrone asked who his favorite singing duet partner was. Then, he remembered one of his buddies. A member of The Wrecking Crew. Newton had once been invited to London for a royal command performance. While checking into his hotel, Newton was handed a note by the man behind the desk. It was a congratulatory letter, left by a friend who insisted Newton call him. The sender made sure to include his number, but he did not leave a name at the bottom of the note. When Newton dialed, he recognized the voice on the other end instantly. Newton’s friend was also in London to record a special for the BBC, and he wanted Newton to make a guest appearance for it. When asked when they would be taping, Newton’s friend said in eight hours. It was 1:00AM at the time of their phone call, meaning they had no time to rehearse beforehand. But Newton obliged and performed for the special that morning. He would also do the royal command performance the following week.

For the longest time, Newton never got to watch that special until he found a copy of the tape. “I wanted to share it with you tonight,” he told the room. “I deliberately have not told you his name because I won’t have to. You’ll know who it is.” The friend was Glen Campbell. Watching the tape took Newton back to the day they performed together. Though he admitted that one thing struck him: it was how intensely they were looking at each other while singing. He realized that he should explain their careful eye contact. Not only was Campbell notorious for changing lyrics, but neither of them had time to rehearse the melody together before taping. “We knew we had to end that melody together in harmony, which meant we had to be looking at each other to see what we were going to sing. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it,” Newton laughed, alongside the audience.

Newton’s first break on national television was given to him by Jackie Gleason. Gleason had been on television for many years but decided to take a two-year hiatus. When he changed his mind, he refused to fly back on an airplane. He traveled to New York and took a train that went from coast to coast, stopping in major cities to plug his show. Newton would get called in and asked to sing for Gleason at a luncheon. Newton did his six shows, then jumped into a car and rode to the luncheon. Considering his bustling work schedule, Newton never had the opportunity to watch Gleason’s show. The only piece of information that he had to go off was that Gleason was Irish, and because of this, Newton closed his portion of the show by singing the song “Danny Boy.” Newton didn’t know how much Gleason had to drink when he got up from his seat and held up his hand. “Don’t go on any other show before you go on mine!” Gleason said. Three weeks later, Newton traveled to New York to sing on Gleason’s first show back since his hiatus. After taping, Newton was stopped by the stage manager and guided into Gleason’s office. Gleason asked Newton to remain in New York, promising to put him on the show every other week. Newton accepted but voiced his concerns about needing work in order to pay for a room. Gleason told him not to worry. The next day, Gleason found him a job at a New York nightclub, the Copacabana. Newton remembered how he walked onstage for the first show, and seated in front of him was Bobby Darin. After he finished singing, a waiter told him that Darin wished to meet him. Then, Darin stood up and introduced himself. “I’m Bobby Darin,” he said. “I know,” Newton replied, starstruck. “I’m a big fan.” Darin had watched Newton on the Jackie Gleason Show the previous night and asked his secretary to call around New York to find out where he was working. Darin went there to ask Newton a question. “He couldn’t know Sandy,” Newton thought. Darin asked if Newton was recording. When Newton said he wasn’t, Darin said that he would be the producer for all his records, beginning next week. True to his word, Darin produced Newton’s records for seven years until he passed away from a heart condition. Since then, Newton has recorded 165 albums and over 200 singles. He picked four songs to perform in quick succession, thinking that they would bring back fond memories of when people first heard them. These were “Red Roses for a Blue Lady,” “Summer Wind,” “A Nice Irish Son,” “Danke Schoen,” and “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast.” Newton shared that upon its release, “Danke Schoen” was a hit record. Its second wave of popularity came when “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” debuted in theaters. After the resurgence, Newton discovered that Darin was originally meant to sing it after the debut of “Mack the Knife.” Darin had been so intent on getting Newton a hit record that he parted ways with the song.

“What have you done in your life that you are most proud of?” McCrone asked. “Waking up this morning,” he chuckled. “I think I’d have to break that answer down into two categories: what I have done personally and professionally. Both are easy answers. I have been completely blessed to have two beautiful daughters and a loving wife. It doesn’t get any better than that. Professionally? I have had the privilege of traveling the entire world, and we have been in every major conflict that our country has been in since Vietnam. I was there twice, entertaining our men and women in the armed forces.” Newton confessed to how depressed he felt during his second visit to Vietnam. The warriors returning home had not been receiving the appreciation they deserved. People were making fun of them and spitting terrible jokes their way. That day, Newton promised himself that would never happen again. He asked to bring up the house lights. “If you were a part of the military, or a military family—a police officer, a doctor, or a nurse in the sense of a first responder, would you please rise up and let us give you the welcome home that you deserve?” Newton asked. The surrounding space was flooded with applause.

Another accomplishment Newton spoke of was meeting Bob Hope. They did many shows together. When Hope could no longer travel, he called Newton and asked him to take over his position as chairman at the Celebrity Circle. Newton has been chairman since 2000, and he intends to be for the remainder of his life. Newton’s brother quit show business in 1973, as it was not something he enjoyed doing. One night, he packed his things and returned to Virginia to pursue the radio business. Newton himself continued at the Fremont Hotel, doing his six shows a night for 15 weeks straight. Within the next couple of years, he played at various hotels across Nevada. But one day, he was having lunch with the entertainment director of Harrah’s. Newton commented on how many big stars passed through to play the South Shore Room, yet some of them didn’t have an opening act. “Why don’t you let me be their opening act and just pay me the same thing you’re paying me to work the lounge?” he asked, thinking the director would be interested. To this day, Newton doesn’t know what happened. The entertainment director was infuriated. He put his finger in Newton’s face, vowed that he would never play the main show, and said he was not wanted at the lounge. “You could have heard a pin drop,” Newton said. Afterwards, he figured that he was young enough to quit and go back to school to learn something. Newton called his manager to say that after he finished up his contract, that would be the last lounge he ever played. He needed to find work elsewhere.

Newton’s manager found them a job in Buffalo, New York. He would open for Jayne Mansfield for two weeks. Then, after that, he would open a new club located in Sydney, Australia. When he stepped onstage for opening night, seated there was Jack Benny. Benny came backstage after the show to sing his praises. Benny told Newton that he was going on tour across Australia. His opening act was Shirley Bassey, a young woman from Great Britain. Benny realized that when his tour was over, Bassey would return to Great Britain. He would not have an opening act when he got home. Benny asked Newton if he would consider being his opening act. Newton said that he would swim across the Pacific to be Benny’s opening act. That sealed the deal, and Benny promised to have a contract for Newton to sign the next morning. He went to exit the dressing room, only to turn around and say that their first stop would be in Lake Tahoe. “What were the chances?” Newton laughed. It broke his heart to tell Benny the full story. Newton had been playing there on and off for two years, and they made it clear that they never wanted him in their main showroom. “If they don’t want you, then they don’t want me,” Benny said, without hesitation. Newton was Benny’s opening act for the next five years. Within that time, Newton never heard him say an unkind word to an employee or a fan. “That’s the kind of person I aspire to be,” Newton said. “Benny had the ability to get a look on his face without saying a word that could steal the entire show. Instead of articulating it, here is a small clip of my first time on the Jack Benny Show.” The clip was of an adorably young Newton singing “Saints Go Marching,” all while soloing on the trumpet, violin, and banjo. When the video finished, Newton revealed a violin and played the same breathtaking solo heard within the clip.

“If you had to tell us one thing as an audience about Frank Sinatra that none of us would know, what would it be?” McCrone asked. Sinatra had three loves in his life: his family, his friends, and his music. He had been a friend to Newton long before he even realized it. Each time Sinatra visited Las Vegas to raise money for the University of Nevada or a different charity, he always made sure that Newton had the time and room to perform. His wife would explain, several years later, that it was Sinatra’s way of looking out for Newton. To ensure that he survived the industry and didn’t go down the wrong path. When reflecting on the years Sinatra was his friend, Newton realized that no one’s life goes like that. It’s mountains and valleys for all of us. “Every time in my life when I considered it my lowest, the first phone call I got was from Frank Sinatra, saying, ‘How can I help? What can I do? Who can I call?’ The most that I could wish for everybody in this room is that you have a friend like he was to me in your life because they do make a world of difference. I will always be grateful and love my friendship with Frank Sinatra.” Sinatra would say things that didn’t make sense to Newton at the time, but as he aged, he understood. “Wayne, always tell the truth. Just don’t always tell it,” Sinatra would say.

“That’s where this introduction comes into play,” Newton smiled, reaching out his hand for McCrone to take. “Everything I have told you about this gorgeous lady is true. She’s from Cleveland, Ohio. She’s an attorney, and her maiden name was Kathleen McCrone. Her married name is Kathleen McCrone Newton. This is my wife of 31 years. I did good, huh? Thank you, sweetheart! Is there anything you’d like to say?” “I’ve got my eyes on you, Sandy,” she smirked. Ferra was seen bursting into laughter within the crowd.

Newton couldn’t discuss the Rat Pack without mentioning Dean Martin. “How many of you think that the drinking thing with Dean was part of his showman persona? I’m so sorry to disappoint you, but he loved to drink!” Martin wasn’t a bad drinker. He didn’t go looking for fights or hit someone’s wife. He loved to have a good time, and Newton was grateful for their friendship. When Martin started his variety show on television, he asked Newton to be one of the first performers. This meant that Newton had to rehearse in Los Angeles for five days in a row with an orchestra. Martin did not show up once during those five days. When it came time to do the show, the producer told Newton to do the melody. Martin would catch up. Newton told everyone to look out for three things while watching the next tape. Since he had asthma, he mentioned how challenging it was to sing with someone who was smoking at the same time. If Newton is singing to someone, he’s looking at them while he sings. In the tape, Martin looked everywhere, but it wasn’t to hurt Newton’s feelings—that’s where the cue cards were. Newton did something near the end that was a surprise to Martin and the producer. One could tell by the expression on Martin’s face. While they sang an Al Jolson melody, Newton got on one knee and sang the final verse. Martin followed suit, a flustered smile on his face. The next tape Newton shared was a duet between him and Sammy Davis Jr. “I thought it would be fun for Sammy and me to do a song together for you tonight. Would that be okay?” Newton asked. He bridged the past to the future by singing over his young self. It was touching to see how much Newton aged since then. The vibrancy in his smile never vanished. It was apparent that his young self endured, despite everything. Together they sang, “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.”

“The only thing that matters in life, for any of us, is the hearts and souls that we touch along the way. I cannot begin to tell you how many times you have touched my heart and soul. You can take a person’s money. But when it’s all said and done, when you take a person’s time, then you have taken a part of their life. I’d like to thank you for giving us a part of your life and allowing us to share it with you. This song is for you.” He ended the night with “My Way,” against a backdrop of footage showcasing his long career.