1. Don Lane started to entertain at parties he attended with his parents, usually doing a mixture of singing and comedy.
68 Facts About Don Lane
1. 2.
Don Lane played varsity football and basketball for DeWitt Clinton High School.
3.
Don Lane was commissioned as an officer and served in the artillery.
4.
Don Lane worked his act in nightclubs throughout New York, Los Angeles and the showrooms in Las Vegas.
5.
Don Lane then returned to New York and performed at weddings, nightclubs and parties.
6.
In 1964 Don Lane was offered a contract to be the headline act at The Dunes Nightclub in Honolulu, Hawaii.
7.
Don Lane was eventually sacked and Nine producer John Collins looked for replacement hosts to fill in for the rest of the season.
8.
Don Lane was offered the job after filming and sending in an audition tape for the TCN-9 executives.
9.
Don Lane planned to base his version of the show on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.
10.
Tonight with Don Lane featured comedy sketches, interviews with visiting entertainers and musical numbers often performed by Lane with the Tonight Show Orchestra.
11.
On July 7,1965, Don Lane appeared on a then-innovative live split-screen link with Graham Kennedy via the cable.
12.
Don Lane performed another duet with Kennedy at the Logies ceremony in 1967.
13.
In March 1968, Don Lane was charged with importing marijuana into Australia.
14.
Don Lane was arrested at Sydney Airport and remanded in custody.
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Don Lane strenuously claimed his innocence, claiming that the drugs were planted into his jacket pocket by a former business associate who wanted revenge.
16.
Don Lane was found not guilty on all charges, being defended by barrister Marcus Einfeld.
17.
When Don Lane's Tonight Show ended in 1969 he returned to the United States and the Las Vegas showrooms, this time appearing as a headline act.
18.
Don Lane was a regular cast member on the show, which lasted three months.
19.
In 1975, Don Lane returned to Australia and appeared at a benefit concert for the victims of Cyclone Tracy.
20.
The concert was held at the Sydney Opera House and Don Lane sang and performed a sketch with Toni Lamond.
21.
Sigley was fired that afternoon and Don Lane took his place.
22.
Don Lane was to host two specials revamping the old In Melbourne Tonight.
23.
Don Lane described the on-screen chemistry during an interview in 2003:.
24.
Lane's stint on the show was to make him the most highly paid performer on Australian television and The Don Lane Show is still the highest rated variety program in Australian television history.
25.
The Don Lane Show featured big musical numbers, notable guests and comedy sketches.
26.
Also featured was the 18-piece "Don Lane Orchestra" conducted by musical director Graeme Lyall and announcer Pete Smith.
27.
Robin Williams made his first talk show appearance on the show and Don Lane once played tennis with Charlton Heston and performed in a sketch with The Osmonds and performed duets with people such as Vic Damone, Cilla Black, Debbie Reynolds and Don Lane's idol, Sammy Davis Jr.
28.
Don Lane then received a surprise on-set visit from Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley.
29.
John Farnham was featured on numerous occasions and attributes Don Lane to helping his career:.
30.
Don Lane helped me over my nerves on being on live TV, he always had something positive to say and always gave me much-needed advice, which I still rely heavily on today.
31.
Uri Geller, Doris Stokes and broadcaster Kevin Arnett regularly appeared on The Don Lane Show discussing psychic and paranormal themes.
32.
Don Lane then walked off the set, sweeping the props from the small table, to audience applause.
33.
The Don Lane Show ended on November 13,1983, Lane's 50th birthday.
34.
Don Lane then took a final bow with "The Don Lane Show" written in lights behind him and the screen faded to black.
35.
Don Lane was a finalist for the role when the director could not get any A-listers to accept it.
36.
Don Lane's career surged again in 1991, this time in the role of a sportscaster.
37.
Don Lane hosted American NFL broadcasts twice a week and would give enthusiastic weekly reviews of all games with explanations of the rules for the Australian audience.
38.
Don Lane was flown to the United States to host live broadcasts from Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII, which was the first time an Australian broadcaster had done live coverage from a Super Bowl.
39.
In 1993 the sports department expanded at the ABC, and Don Lane hosted NCAA basketball and football for the network for the following two years.
40.
Don Lane was a colour commentator for NBL telecasts on the ABC and Foxtel.
41.
Don Lane made a guest appearance on the very last episode of The Late Show on the ABC in 1993.
42.
Don Lane closed the show singing "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week".
43.
When finished with the song, the Late Show big band played the theme for The Don Lane Show and Lane went behind the camera to film audience members, just as he ended most Don Lane Shows.
44.
Don Lane was honoured in a 1996 episode of This Is Your Life dedicated to him and his career in television.
45.
Don Lane hosted a special for Channel 9 titled The Best of Studio 9.
46.
Don Lane returned to sportscasting in 2001 to broadcast the Super Bowl on SBS.
47.
When moving to Sydney in 1987, Don Lane hosted a morning show on 2UE for two years.
48.
When first arriving in Australia and hosting his tonight show, an agent named Richard Gray saw the appeal that Don Lane had and asked him to come and do his "act" at South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club, which was one of Sydney's premier venues.
49.
Don Lane then worked in clubs all over Sydney when his show was not in season, perfecting his act and carrying on from his early nightclub experience.
50.
Don Lane in Concert was a television special in 1980 which showed Lane's 90-minute stage act live on Channel 9.
51.
The musical director for The Don Lane Show, Graeme Lyall, was under contract with the network, so any song which Lane liked was made into an arrangement for an 18-piece orchestra with three backing vocalists.
52.
Each song was arranged to accommodate Don Lane's "crooning" style by musical director Graeme Lyall.
53.
Don Lane knew how to work a room and gave us Las Vegas "pizazz" whenever he performed.
54.
Don Lane was responsible for the name of the original club entertainment awards, the "MO" Awards.
55.
Don Lane was a patron of the Australian Club Entertainment Awards, and was honored in 2006 when he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ACE Awards ceremony.
56.
Don Lane was still performing in 2005 in nightclubs all over Sydney.
57.
Don Lane released several recordings of his musical performances, including in 1976 the LP "You're Everything".
58.
Don Lane's son moved to the United States and then to Europe to further his basketball career, although he later became an entertainer in his own right using the name PJ Lane.
59.
Don Lane moved back to Sydney in 2009 after taking care of his ailing father.
60.
In 2007, Don Lane released his tell-all autobiography entitled Never Argue With a Mug.
61.
In June 2008, it was announced that Don Lane was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and had been living in a care facility for a number of years.
62.
News of Don Lane's condition was saddening for the entertainment community in Australia who viewed him as a TV legend.
63.
Don Lane performed in Sydney while Graham Kennedy held the same timeslot in Melbourne.
64.
In 2003, Don Lane was inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards Hall of Fame.
65.
Don Lane died from a dementia-related illness caused by Alzheimer's disease on October 22,2009 in Sydney.
66.
Don Lane's son opened the memorial with "They're Playing Our Song", which was his father's opening number, and earned a standing ovation for his performance.
67.
Don Lane was remembered as a generous performer who possessed a matching personality off the television screen as he did on.
68.
The memorial ended with a recording of Lane's performance of "Once Before I Go" on the final Don Lane Show, which received a standing ovation to audience tears and applause.