Wayne Newton today: Here’s all you need to know about him
Wayne Newton got into the show business at the age of 16 and for the last six decades he has managed to create a name for himself and was popularly called “Mr. Las Vegas.”
Wayne Newton was born in Roanoke, Virginia on April 3, 1942. Hile grew up with his family, his mother Evelyn took care of the family, while his father Patrick worked as a mechanic.
At the age of 4, Wayne seems to have his life figured out as he learned how to play the guitar, piano, and steel guitar by ear.
Wayne went with his parents to watch the Grand Ole Opry show in Roanoke to see Hank Williams and Kitty Wells perform and he knew at that moment that’s what he was going to do all his life.
Newton told his mother, “That’s what I want to do.” “What?” she asked. “That,” he answered, pointing to the stage.
People knew he was going to be someone great during the radio show on WDBJ in Roanoke.
He won a local talent show the next two years and went on to audition for the biggest amateur show in the USA.
“There are two people I know of,” Wayne Newton said, “who flunked Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour auditions: Elvis Presley and me.”
Things didn’t go as he planned and it became a setback for him, but that became the least of his issues as he had health struggles. The family left for Virginia.
Wayne recalled in his autobiography Once Before I Go, “The minute winter would set in, I would get sick.”
“Maybe that’s when my parents started to pay more attention to my brother. They may have felt they should show my brother more notice since they spent so much time nursing me.”
Hopefully, he got over the health challenge and continued his career in show business.
Luck seems to be on Jerry and Wayne’s side as the brothers got their first shows in Arizona at supermarkets as part of The Lew King Ranger Show.
Wayne was younger than most other stars so it was quite easy for him to get mentors in the industry.
“What I learned from people that befriended me like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and on and on is that the one thing that will make you happy is your ability to adjust to life,” Wayne Newton said. “And you must be disciplined and treat every show like it’s your last one — because one day it will be!”
Wayne launched his solo career in the 1990s with the help of Bobby Darin.
In 2019, Wayne was in the process of setting up a show to celebrate his 60th anniversary, but it was canceled before he will actualize the dream because of covid 19.
Wayne got married for the first in 1968 to Elaine Okamura. They divorced in 1985.
During one of his las Vegas shows, Wayne met Kathleen Crone and they wedded in 1994.
Wayne has managed to build a great career and has equally amassed wealth. His net worth is estimated to be $50 million according to Celebrity Networth.
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