“MR. LAS VEGAS”
∗ Born April 3, 1942 in Roanoke, Virginia; started performing at age 6 with older brother Jerry
∗ Moved with family to Phoenix in 1952 to cope with his severe bronchial asthma
∗ Lived on East Brill Street in Phoenix and went to Emerson school; attended North High School, where he was elected sophomore class president
∗ Appeared, with brother Jerry, as a regular on the “Lew King Rangers” TV show on channel 5 from 1954 to 1958, where a booking agent saw their act and took them to Las Vegas to audition
∗ Dropped out of school with two weeks left in his junior year to perform, with Jerry, a two-week gig at the Freemont Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas that extended to 46 weeks – performing six shows a day, six days a week
∗ Auditioned in Phoenix, at the invitation of channel 10 owner Tom Chauncy, for Jackie Gleason in 1962; appeared on Gleason’s CBS-TV show in September 29, 1962, the first of 12 appearances over the next two years
∗ Produced three major pop hits: “Danka Schoen” (1963), “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” (1965), and “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast” (1972); has released 165 albums
∗ Established himself as one of the most popular and highest paid entertainers in Las Vegas over five decades; performed his 25,000th Vegas show in 1994, earning him the nickname “Mr. Las Vegas”
∗ Appeared on the TV series Bonanza for two episodes in 1966 as Andy, a singing ranch hand on the Ponderosa; also acted in episodes of other TV series including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Ellen, Ally McBeal, LA. Law, Tales From The Crypt, Renegade, Vega$, and the miniseries North and South Book II; appeared as himself on episodes of Roseanne, Full House, My Wife And Kids, and hosted Wayne Newton’s Las Vegas on the Travel Channel; also appeared in the movies Licensed To Kill, Vegas Vacation, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, among others; appeared as a contestant in 2007 on the ABC-TV show Dancing With The Stars
∗ Started breeding Arabian horses in 1969 when he partnered with channel 10 owner Tom Chauncey to buy a stallion, paying a then-record $150,000; since then has produced six generations of horses, breeding over 700 foals with 96 champions as of 2014; received lifetime achievement award from Arabian Horse Breeders Association in 2007
∗ Succeeded Bob Hope as chairman of the USO’s Celebrity Circle in 2000; led 16 tours between 2001 and 2004; was the first performer to entertain US troops in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003
∗ Awarded the first star on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame; received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2000; inspired the naming of Wayne Newton Boulevard leading to the main terminal of McCarran Airport in Las Vegas; named Ambassador of Good Will for the state of Nevada
∗ Lives at Casa de Shenandoah in Las Vegas, a 52-acre estate that he starting building after purchasing five acres of desert land in 1966; it opened for public tours in 2015
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