Columnist Joe Delaney: Newley deserved better shake from audiences in Las Vegas

Anthony Newley took his final bow last week in Florida after a long bout with cancer. ... The terse CNN announcement was the first thing I heard as I turned on the TV set in my Atlantic City hotel room. ... My first thought was of the excitement in the late Dave Victorson's voice when he told me that Newley would be Caesars' first headliner when the hotel opened in 1966.

Newley was a hit on Broadway with his musical, "The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd" and had decided to continue in it, thus forcing Victorson to come up with a replacement. ... Andy Williams, now ensconced in Branson, Mo., became Caesars' first star and had a 10-year run there, thanks to the Osmond family, which appeared with him here.

It was several years later that Newley made his Caesars headliner debut. ... Opening night was an immense success, with a capacity crowd and standing ovations throughout his 90 minutes onstage.

Up, then down

Newley was so impressive that comedian Jackie Gayle, an inveterate talker, sat with me in complete silence, saying later that he had never been so impressed with an artist. ... I just had to share this with my wife Roberta that Sunday. ... Sunday's dinner show had been sold out to the John Deere Tractor Co. for its world's best salesmen.

Victorson got us in. ... It was an unmitigated disaster. ... The John Deere salesmen were on the penultimate leg of an around-the-world trip; their plane from Hawaii was six hours late. ... They were ushered into the showroom as-is, dead leis around their necks, Hawaiian shirts and shorts, over-served, tired and hungry.

Newley was well into his first song when they came storming in. ... Service was prompt but the group was rude, rowdy and totally unprepared for an artist with the talent and finesse of an Anthony Newley.

After the show

Tony was near tears when I visited him backstage, very close to canceling the rest of the engagement. ... Victorson and I talked him out of doing this. ... The magic was gone and never returned. ... Newley was at home in a legitimate theater situation and a winner in films, but always found the nightclub or showroom ambiance disconcerting. ... Caesars now owed him a number of weeks at a headliner's salary.

Ed Torres, then chief executive officer at the Riviera, wanted Newley as a co-star to perform with Burt Bacharach and a large orchestra. ... A deal was struck in which Caesars and the Riviera would quietly share his headliner's fee.

Newley was unaware of this clandestine agreement. ... During this time, I had produced and directed a telethon for Easter Seals. ... Mimi Hines, of Ford & Hines, like Martha Raye, was a comedian first but could also sing a ballad with the best at that time.

At the telethon

When Newley and Leslie Briccusse, his collaborator, heard Mimi sing one of their songs on TV in the dressing room, they hopped a cab to the Sahara and offered to contribute heavily if we kept Hines singing their songs. ... They sat on the stage at her feet as she sang more of their hits. ... The net result was contributions by them in excess of $5,000.

"Candy Man," as sung by Sammy Davis Jr., was the most successful Newley and Briccusse song, a multimillion-record seller for Sammy. ... Davis, Tony Bennett and the late Joe Williams were successful singing the Newley songbook. ... Shecky Greene and Rich Little, imitating Tony singing "Who Can I Turn To," enjoyed better response than Tony did onstage here.

"Pop Goes The Weasel," a novelty record, written by others, was the one Newley recording hit. ... Tony really loved Las Vegas but his affection for the city and its people was never returned in kind by LV audiences.

In conclusion

Would it all have been different if he had closed the Broadway show early and actually opened as Caesars' first headliner? ... Tony never forgot that unruly John Deere audience and neither did the Delaneys. ... That Thursday opening at Caesars was one of the finest nights of our nearly 33 years with the Sun and the audience that Sunday made it one of the worst.

Newley and I were thwarted in our efforts to produce a documentary on the troubles in Ireland. ... Tony was a warm, incredibly multitalented artist whose immense talents deserved better in Las Vegas. ... Rest well, Tony. ...

We'll see you here next Thursday.

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