A practice normally reserved for politicians such as Ronald Reagan, as in Ronald Reagan Airport and John F Kennedy Airport, but when a city takes the time to name a street after a celebrity, that can be taken as a strong indication of their longevity in show business and the love and respect they have garnered on the way. The road serving the main terminal of McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is named Wayne Newton Boulevard.

Wayne Newton is one such celebrity in point. Born on April 3^rd 1942 in Roanoke Virginia to parents of both Cherokee and Powhatan heritage, and the younger of two sons, by the age of five Wayne was being tutored for a musical career when he learned to play the guitar, the piano and the steel guitar.

Unfortunately Wayne suffered badly with asthma which caused his family to reassess where they would live and so in 1952 Wayne, his parents and his older brother Jerry moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

It was during his time in Phoenix that Wayne and brother Jerry appeared on the Grand Ole Oprey roadshow and had the honour of performing for president Harry S Truman. Believing they had a musical talent the brothers auditioned for Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour, but were rejected.

But by 1958, while Wayne was completing his final year in high school, both he and his brother were spotted by a Las Vegas talent agent who saw them performing on a TV program. After auditioning them himself he signed them to a show, originally for two weeks, which eventually led to the Newton Brothers performing for five years, doing six shows a day.

Wayne’s big break came when he performed on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1962 which led to his connection to other greats of that time, Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin and Jack Benny, all of whom gave their support to the up and coming talent of Wayne Newton. Jack Benny was so impressed that he later hired Wayne as the opening act to his show.

1968 saw Wayne marrying his first wife, Elaine Okamura, together they had one daughter before divorcing in 1985. Wayne’s brother Jerry performed the duty of Best Man at the wedding but just one year later the two brothers had a falling out that would see them estranged for close to thirty years during which time Jerry involved himself in bank fraud and served time in prison.

Wayne became known as ‘Mr Las Vegas’ and as such bought a part ownership in the Aladdin Hotel from 1981-1982 and two years later he married for the second time, this time to Kathleen McCrone. The couple had one daughter, born in 2002.

In 1989 Wayne landed a small role as Professor Joe Butcher in the Bond movie, 'Licence to Kill' where he starred alongside, Timoth Dalton in his second and last movie as James Bond.

During 1992 Newton filed for bankruptcy when his debts had accumulated to around $20 million and had also accrued tax back payments of $30,000. This situation was not be a long standing issue in Newton’s life and by 1999 he was back on his feet again and once again a wealthy man.

Ever the celebrity and popular performer among audiences and celebrities alike, it was in 2001, that Newton succeeded Bob Hope as “Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle.”

As with most celebrities during the new millennium, not wanting to miss out, Newton started a reality television show on E! called The Entertainer in 2005. 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 famous, "Viva Las Vegas.".

Wayne’s career has spanned forty years and there appears to be no let up in his popularity and enthusiasm through out Las Vegas and America which is underscored with his current performances, with a full band, at casinos and major venues throughout 2007 across the United States. But his current ‘piece de resistance’ must be his appearance on the new season of Dancing with the Stars along with Jane Seymour and Spice Girls', Mel B.

ABB