Wayne Newton, Indian boy

Wayne Newton candidly speaks about his careerNewton, performing this weekend at Harrah's Atlantic City, speaks candidly about the peaks and valleys of his long career. The folks in Hollywood should give serious thought to producing a biopic. After all, the man behind the hit songs “Danke Shoen,” “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” and “Daddy Don't Walk So Fast,” once appeared on a mafia hit list in the 1980s. Newton attributes this sad fact to a false connection allegedly reported by the news media when “Mr. Las Vegas” was in negotiations to purchase the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.

“There was no truth in fact at all,” says Newton, who turns 65 April 3. “(It was) to the point where I had to stay in the hotel with bodyguards for about six weeks because my concern was that if I went home, they would harm my family. … I mean, I'm an (American) Indian boy from Virginia. What the hell do I know about (organized crime)? I was about as far removed from the mafia as anything you could be.”