Mr. Las Vegas proves he's got staying power

• Who's the man making $25 million a year?
• Times change, and so do the ticket prices

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Wayne Newton A benefit for the Waikiki Community Center 8 p.m. today (doors open at 7 p.m.) Hawai'i Ballroom, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel $125 Rose Section tickets sold out; $85 platinum, $65 gold and $45 regular seats available; tickets at the door will be an additional $10 922-4422

"It's fun when I play myself, because there are certain things inherent in playing yourself," said crooner Newton, 58, in a telephone interview from a Big Island resort, where he has been quietly vacationing before his show tonight at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

In Warner Bros.' upcoming "Ocean's 11" remake, directed by Steven Soderbergh, Newton plays Newton, a Vegas luminary. The December film, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts, deals with the original Rat Pack that included Newton's real-life buddies on the Vegas strip — the late Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin.

"Don't blink," said Newton, who did his "Ocean's 11" part in an hour. "We're in this fight scene, with the celebrities at a championship match." It was a cameo, not meaty acting, but an honor nonetheless to be asked to role-play, he said.

He'll also be seen in a March film, "Who's Your Daddy," which "involves acting but I'm also heard in the musical soundtrack," he said. Further, he's awaiting the green light for an October project with Dana Carvey.

The feature films, said Newton, are part of the reason he has survived in the crapshoot that is Las Vegas. Showroom stars have become a dying breed, but Newton has survived the onslaught of the "production" revues that now populate the gambling capital. Simply put, movies and TV shows such as "Ally McBeal" keep his name and face in front of the public.

"I enjoy the acting, and at least have a say when I play myself, but these are different times," said Newton, who has a $25-million-a-year, 10-year contract with the Stardust Hotel, believed to be a record-breaker in Las Vegas (New Year's Eve will mark the end of the second year of the pact). He noted that Sinatra, Martin and Davis all combined movie work to fuel their Vegas careers, and vice versa, in their heyday.

"It's a phenomenal contract and the best working experience I've ever had," said the trouper known as Mr. Las Vegas and/or the Midnight Idol, because of his sustaining power and prowess in wooing audiences into the showrooms without tigers, water or magic — although he has previously appeared from a space ship in a rare reliance on high-tech scenery and props.

"The corporation leaves me alone; I couldn't be happier. I suppose that if I took it all seriously, I would be under huge pressure, because the town has really changed since I got my start. It's a different breed now, with a production-show mentality in most cases.

"And it's not going to change. It's a great compliment to me, when people come to my show, and tell me, 'Now I've seen Vegas.' There aren't a lot of us left, doing it with talent. Just me, Tom (Jones) and Engelbert (Humperdinck), really."

He doesn't discredit anyone else in the biz today — "there are some tremendous talents in some productions," he said — but certain aspects are missing today. "When I was climbing up the ladder, there were really only three TV networks, and if you appeared on one show, you might be reaching a third of the viewing population, maybe even 40 percent. Nowadays, TV is so fragmented, with all those cable stations, so you're lucky if you get 18 percent seeing you on TV.

"And then the recording industry has become more fickle than ever. I'm still recording; we've got 150 albums to our credit, with three more on the way. The truth of the matter is, four companies now run most of the labels, so it's tough to get on records.

"So Wayne Newton had the benefit of doing top TV shows, some early movies, to let people know who I was, what I do, what to expect in my live shows. And I thank God I came along when I did, because for the entire life of my business, I've been able to pull it all together."

Wayne Newton also has been able to control how Wayne Newton is portrayed outside of his immediate realm.

"For instance, in the first '(National Lampoon's) Vegas Vacation' film with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, writers wrote things that Wayne Newton wouldn't say in real life. And I'm there to protect Wayne Newton. You can say or do things, as a character, that may include something of a sexual nature, but when you're playing yourself and they have you doing or saying things you wouldn't be doing or saying, you have to speak up."

As an example, he said he brought up issues with "Vegas Vacation" producer Jerry Weintraub. The original script had Wayne Newton "really wooing Beverly D'Angelo. She comes to my home, where I'm supposed to tell her that I want her to have a boob job, a butt job and a nose job, and I go to a closet and show 200 women who've had these things done. In the first place, I'm a married man, and would not hit on Mrs. Griswald ... it's just not that cool, except maybe to keep it in a fantasy mode. And Jerry totally agreed; he couldn't see Wayne Newton doing that."

What Wayne Newton does, typically, is deliver a solid show, often running two hours, in which he uncorks his hits ("Danke Schoen," "Red Roses for a Blue Lady"), plays a gamut of musical instruments (banjo, guitar, trumpet, violin, etc.), kisses a woman in the audience, receives a lei or a bouquet from an admirer, interrupts his songs or his patter to pose for a picture or sign an autograph, makes reference to his Native American heritage, kibitzes with his 21-piece orchestra and demonstrates his extraordinary ability to command his audience into a standing ovation.

Newton has a fondness for Hawai'i, with personal stakes rooted in his past. One of his early gigs, as a multi-talented up-and-coming star, was at The Royal Hawaiian hotel's Monarch Room. His first wife was a flight attendant (they have a daughter, Erin, now 25) who was from the Islands. He vacations here regularly and has a retinue of friends here.

"When Jeff (Apaka) called, to ask if we could come over and do a benefit, we said sure, if the schedule allowed," Newton said. Thus, tonight's performance is a fund-raiser for the Waikiki Community Center.

"Wayne has been very supportive," Apaka said.

The private, nonprofit human services agency wanted to put a new wrinkle in its fund-raising endeavors by attracting a certified star to help boost the kitty. Proceeds will specifically enable the center to maintain its 'round-the-clock child-care services for single parents and/or workers who have jobs in Waikiki, as well as adults and seniors in inter-generational programs.

"We also hope to use funds for a new mentoring program for latch-key children of the elementary age," Apaka said.

Newton's brief stop here — he ended an engagement at the Stardust in August and begins another in the weeks ahead — is his first getaway in 10 months.

"It's been a busy, a grueling zoo," Newton said of the recent past. "I've been to four funerals in the past six weeks, losing some very close friends. Because of the industry I'm in, my contemporaries are 15 to 20 years older than I am, and the fact is, attrition has taken its toll."

He certainly misses his peers.

"It's not as much fun as it was before. I miss the times, when before or after a show, we'd get together and party, often get into trouble together," he said of his showroom colleagues. "Now, the whole picture has changed."

He has put things in perspective and he has prioritized his life somewhat. Like watching his daughter emerge and develop.

"For a while, I was a single parent, sharing some of the strains of dropping her off at school, picking her up, checking my dad (since deceased) in and out of the hospital. I would often feel sorry for myself, and one day, while trying to stay awake and sitting at a stop light, I saw a bumper sticker that stuck in my mind. It said, 'Get Revenge — Live Long Enough to be a Problem for Your Children.'"

Newton plans to get his own brand of revenge and live a long life. "Not that Erin's a problem, but I often hit her with criticism. She's in the throes of setting up her own business on the Internet, selling picture frames for pets, and she tested them last year by making personalized picture frames for my wife and me last Christmas, watching for our reaction. They're actually quite nice."

Retirement? It's not on the immediate horizon, Newton said.

"I would leave it (entertainment) before it leaves me, but I'm never one to stick my head in the sand. As long as I fill the rooms with people who buy my records and see the movies I do, I will be right there singing. I'm feeling really good; at the risk of sounding corny, I think I'm the luckiest guy alive."

Who's the man making $25 million a year?

• Real name: Carson Wayne Newton
• Birth date: April 3, 1942
• Ethnicity: Cherokee and Powhatan Indian
• Current gig: Headliner at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas; makes $25 million a year
• First gig: Paid $5, at age 6, when he sang
• Early act: The Rhythm Rascals, and later, the Newton Brothers, with his brother Jerry
• First single: "Heart (I Hear You Beating)," in 1963
• First gold record: "Danke Schoen," in 1963
• Hobby: Breeds Arabian stallions
• End quote at all of his shows: "You can take of a man's money, but when it's all said and done, you've only taken his money. When you take of a man's time, you've taken a part of his life. I'd like to thank you for giving me a part of your life tonight."

Times change, and so do the ticket prices

Folks balked more than 30 years ago when entrepreneur Jack Cione presented Wayne Newton, then a hot new singing sensation with a big hit disc, "Danke Schoen," at his near-the-airport Dunes Supper Club on Nimitz Highway (it's Gussie L'Amour's now).

"People raised a big stink ... in the early '70s when I charged a $3 cover to see a hot new singing sensation (Newton)," Cione recalled.

Newton was booked for a two-week engagement, Cione said. In the same era, Cione had Sophie Tucker and Pearl Bailey for similar cover charges for shorter engagements.

In comparison, Newton's performance tonight at the Sheraton Waikiki's Hawai'i Ballroom boasts admission up to $125.

"My wife and I plus a few of our close friends are going to the show," said the veteran showman and impresario. "I paid plenty more than $3 ... but it's worth seeing Wayne Newton live in Hawai'i," Cione said.

Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, e-mail at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com