Known as The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas, and Mr. Entertainment of Las Vegas, Nevada, Wayne Newton, born as Carson Wayne Newton, is a famous American singer and actor since the early 1960s up to the present.
With his famous song hits in 1972’s “Daddy, Don’t You Walk So Fast” that has reached No. 4 in the Billboard Chart, Wayne Newton has established the cornerstone of his career. With his unforgettable rendition of “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” in 1965 and signature song “Danke Schoen” in 1963, he has been remembered since then.
Early Years
Born as Carson Wayne Newton in Norfolk, Virginia, to Patrick Newton and Evelyn Smith, Wayne Newton is an Irish, German, and Native American descent. His father is half Powhatan and was a US Navy in World War II. As a boy, Wayne Newton has learned to play the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at the age of six in Roanoke.
As a child, they used to live near Newark, Ohio where he began part-time singing in local clubs, theaters, and fairs with Jerry, his older brother. Due to his severe asthma attacks, Newton’s family transferred to Phoenix in 1952 which led him to stop schooling just before his junior year. Both Wayne Newton and Jerry appeared on ABC-TV’s Ozark Jubilee and was known as the Rascals in Rhythm and performed before then-president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In the spring of 1958, a Las Vegas booking agent was impressed with the two brothers performing on a local TV show, Lew King Rangers Show, and took them for an audition. An initial contract of only two weeks has brought them five years with six shows a day. And by 1963, Wayne Newton signed with Capitol Records which made his hit “Danke Schoen” reach no. 13 in the top 100.
Entertainment Career
Together with other prominent entertainment icons like Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin, Danny Thomas, George Burns, and Jack Benny, Newton was able to stand on his own. He was also given a headline act instead of a comic at the Flamingo Hotel which made him famous. And in July 1972, his recording of “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast” was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after selling over a million copies. With his distinctive high-pitch voice, Newton has paved his way to stardom from being a young protege to a Las Vegas Legend.
In 1994, Newton performed his 25,000th solo in Vegas and signed a 10-year contract with the Stardust with an average of six shows per week. Stardust named his showroom after him to commemorate his greatness and had his last show on April 20, 2005. And from January 28 to May 2019, Newton is back in the field at the Caesars Palace resort and casino in Las Vegas with his show, Mr. Las Vegas.
Finances and Legal Problems
Despite Newton’s current net worth, he has faced serious lawsuit problems that included the failed attempt to purchase the entire Aladdin Hotel from 1980 to 1982. In fact, in 1985, Newton planned to make a subdivision in his 213-acre property at Lake Tahoe in Nevada but failed to acquire an authorization because of the disapproval of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency that led to filing a case against Newton with an unfavorable response. And in 1992, Newton filed for a declaration of bankruptcy of an estimated 20 million dollars in debt.
In 2005, Newton faced a complaint about tax evasion against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with an alleged $1.8 million unpaid tax and penalties. In 2009, the Oakland County International Airport in Waterford, Michigan disputed that Newton awes them more than $60,000 for unpaid parking fees in more than three years duration after he abandoned his $2 million Fokker F28 plane. In another account in 2009, Newton faced a lawsuit of owing $32,384 for hay delivery to his Las Vegas ranch.
Consecutively, in February 2010, Bruton Smith, the famous CEO, and owner of NASCAR track and Speedway Motorsports, Inc., filed a case against Newton for being a delinquent payer for a debt he guaranteed from the Bank of America where he, later on, bought back. Because of this incident, Smith moved to pursue the foreclosure of Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah ranch in Las Vegas.
Newton was also sued by his former personal pilot, Monty Ward for past-due collectible wages in 2006 who received a favorable verdict in 2009 but failed to collect because of the refusal of entry from Newton’s ranch. And as of January 27, 2010, the $501,388 judgment against Newton continually grows by $126. 86 per day.
Another lawsuit against Newton was filed in May 2013 by a developer who claimed he bought Newton’s home for $19.5 million in the understanding that his property will be converted into a museum after he moves out. Yet, after investing $50 million for development, Newton did not vacate his property and seized the construction efforts and sexually harassed the construction workers.
On December 17, 2012, Newton’s move to sell his Casa de Shenandoah ranch at $50.8 million was approved by Bankruptcy Court Judge Bruce Markell. By 2015, Casa de Shenandoah was sold to Lacy Harber who owned 70% of the corporation and turned it into a museum.
Wayne Newton Net Worth
With his career as a singer and entertainer, Wayne Newton’s net worth is $50 million. Despite the odds of having faced multiple charges of lawsuits that led to bankruptcy, Newton is standing by his 52-acre land outside Las Vegas with an estimated income of $10 million a year.
However, with recent updates on his whereabouts, Wayne Newton is now back on track at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with a series of live shows. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newton canceled his shows this November 2020. At such, he urges the re-opening of Caesars Palace and continues his performance of top hits, showbiz stories, and candid conversation with the audience.