Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and entertainer.
Newton was born to Evelyn Marie "Smith" and Patrick Newton, who was an auto mechanic. His father was of Irish-Powhatan descent and his mother of German-Cherokee ancestry. While his father was in the U.S. Navy, Newton spent his early childhood in Roanoke. He was active in show business at an early age, learning the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at the age of six. Along with his older brother he appeared with the Grand Ole Opry roadshows, performed for President and auditioned unsuccessfully for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.
Wayne's severe asthma forced the family to move to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1952. In the spring of 1958, toward the end of Wayne's junior year in high school, a Las Vegas booking agent saw a local TV show on which the two Newton brothers were performing and took them back with him for an audition. Originally signed for two weeks, the two brothers eventually performed for five years, doing six shows a day.
Newton achieved nationwide recognition on September 29, 1962, when he and his brother performed on The Jackie Gleason Show. He would perform on Gleason's show 12 times over the following two years. Many other entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin, Danny Thomas, George Burns, and Jack Benny lent Newton their support. In particular, Benny hired Newton as an opening act for his show. From 1980 to 1982 Newton was part owner of the Aladdin Hotel, in a partnership that led to a number of lawsuits and a failed attempt by Newton to purchase the entire hotel in 1983. n 1994, Newton performed his 25,000th solo show in Las Vegas. In 1999, Newton signed a 10-year deal with the Stardust, calling for him to perform there 40 weeks out of the year for six shows a week in a showroom named after him. In 2005, in preparation for the eventual demolition of the casino, the deal was, from all reports, amicably terminated; Newton began a 30-show stint that summer at the Hilton. His last show at the Stardust was on April 20, 2005. In 2001, Newton succeeded Bob Hope as “Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle.” In January 2005, Newton started a reality television show on E! called The Entertainer. The winner got a spot in his act, plus a headlining act of their own for a year. And recently during player introductions at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, Newton sang Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas." Newton was featured on the 2007 fall season of Dancing with the Stars partnered with Two Time Champion Cheryl Burke. He became the third contestant to be eliminated from the contest. In 2008, Newton received a Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a national memorial to President Wilson, commemorates "the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson." The award honors leaders who have given back to their communities.
He is performing at the MGM Grand Hollywood Theatre as of October 2008.
In 1968, Newton married Elaine Okamura, and they adopted a daughter before divorcing in 1985. Newton's brother, Jerry, was the best man at the wedding. But within a year, the two were estranged, a situation that continued for more than three decades. In 1994, Newton married the former Kathleen McCrone, a lawyer from Rocky River, Ohio. The couple has one daughter, born in 2002.
In 1992, Newton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize an estimated $20 million in debts, much of which was accumulated while suing NBC for libel; the network had reported that he partnered with the mafia to buy the Aladdin. His bankruptcy declaration included a $341,000 Internal Revenue Service lien for back taxes. By 1999, he was financially well off again. In August 2005, the IRS filed a lawsuit against Newton, alleging that he and his wife owed more than $1.8 million in taxes and penalties. One of Newton's tax lawyers disputed that, saying, "We believe the IRS owes him money."