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.
After his job with Benny ended, Newton was offered a job to open for another comic at the Flamingo Hotel, but Newton asked for, and was given, a headline act.
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. During a break in his on stage performance, he announced to the crowd that night he wanted to spend more time with his wife and new daughter as the main reasonings for cancelling the contract. Newton said the Boyd family made him a very nice offer to stay on past the demolition of the hotel and casino and to play in other Boyd venues, but Newton declined citing "another deal in the works for Vegas", but he did not mention the Hilton specifically. News crews were expecting this performance to end on time, to make their 10 pm and 11 pm shows, but the show finally ended around 11:30 pm, thus eliminating the possibility. Mr. Las Vegas went on at 7:30 that night, and sang nearly his entire repertoire and songs of other Vegas mainstays as well.
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."
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.rs, earning him the nickname Mr. Las Vegas.
Ol' Man Mose
Wayne Newton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a very crooked nose
He lived inside a log hut
And they called him ol' man Mose
One dark and dreary morning I
Knocked upon the door
He didn't make a single sound
So I ain't gonna do it no more
'Cause I believe, ol' man
I believe, ol' man i believe, ol' man
And ol' man Mose is dead
Oh, I believe, ol' man i believe, ol' man
I believe, ol' man
And ol' man Mose is dead
Now I believe that he kicked the bucket
Yeah man, a buck-buck-bucket
I believe that he done kicked that bucket
And ol' man Mose is dead
I went round to the window
And I peeked in through a crack
Inside there was an old man
Laying flat upon his back
I thought that maybe he was sleeping
And his hand hung to the floor
He didn't make a single sound
So I ain't gonna do it no more
I found out, oh yeah i found out, oh yeah
I found out, oh yeah
That ol' man Mose is dead
I done found out, oh yeah
I found out, ol' man i found out, oh yeah
That ol' man Mose is dead
I found out he kicked that bucket
Yeah man, a buck-buck-bucket
I found out he kicked that bucket
And ol' man Mose is dead
I found out he kicked that bucket
Yeah man, a buck-buck-bucket
I found out he kicked that bucket
And ol' man Mose is dead he expired
The lyrics of Wayne Newton's song Ol' Man Mose tells a tale of an old man named Mose who lived in a log hut with a crooked nose. The singer goes to visit Mose one dark and dreary morning and knocks on his door, but there is no response. The singer eventually looks through a crack in the window and sees Mose lying on his back without moving. The singer concludes that Mose is dead, and there is a repetition of the phrase "Ol' Man Mose is dead."
The song's lyrics may seem simple and straightforward, but they signify something deeper. Mose can represent mortality and how people try to deny it. The singer is curious about Mose's whereabouts, but once he realizes that Mose is dead, he accepts that there's no need to knock anymore. Perhaps the song Ol' Man Mose is a reflection of society's fear of growing old and impending death. It may be that people are afraid to confront their mortality, so they make up stories to avoid facing the hard truth.
Line by Line Meaning
One time there lived an old man
In the past, there was an elderly man
With a very crooked nose
His nose was twisted out of shape
He lived inside a log hut
The man resided in a wooden cabin
And they called him ol' man Mose
People referred to him as Old Man Mose
One dark and dreary morning I
On one gloomy morning, I
Knocked upon the door
Rapped on his cabin's entrance
He didn't make a single sound
He didn't respond or utter a noise
So I ain't gonna do it no more
I won't attempt this again
'Cause I believe, ol' man
I am confident, Old Man
I believe, ol' man i believe, ol' man i believe, ol' man
I hold a strong conviction, Old Man
And ol' man Mose is dead
Old Man Mose has passed away
Now I believe that he kicked the bucket
I have come to understand that he has died
Yeah man, a buck-buck-bucket
A slang term for death
I went round to the window
I walked towards his cabin's window
And I peeked in through a crack
I looked sneakily through a crevice
Inside there was an old man
I saw an aged man
Laying flat upon his back
He was horizontally positioned on his back
I thought that maybe he was sleeping
I presumed that he was slumbering
And his hand hung to the floor
One of his hands dangled down to the ground
So I ain't gonna do it no more
I won't attempt this again
I found out, oh yeah i found out, oh yeah
I discovered, certainly I discovered
That ol' man Mose is dead
Old Man Mose has passed away
I done found out, oh yeah
I have discovered, certainly
I found out, ol' man i found out, oh yeah
I discovered, Old Man, certainly
I found out he kicked that bucket
I have come to understand that he has died
And ol' man Mose is dead
Old Man Mose has passed away
I found out he kicked that bucket
I have come to understand that he has died
Yeah man, a buck-buck-bucket
A slang term for death
I found out he kicked that bucket
I have come to understand that he has died
And ol' man Mose is dead
Old Man Mose has passed away
He expired
He is no longer living
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LOUIS ARMSTRONG, ZILNER T. RANDOLPH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind