Mark and Lorna entertainer Mark Wayne dies

UPDATED:

Service information for Mark Wayne (Pignone):

Friday – Feb. 17th – 1:00PM

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

1501 N. Alafaya Trail

Baldwin Fairchild - Aloma

The spotlight faded to black for Mark Wayne Tuesday morning, but not before a final curtain call. The longtime entertainer who spun tales of fast times in Las Vegas with Wayne Newton and music's greats played a final show at Winter Park's Red Fox Lounge at the Mt. Vernon Inn into the early morning hours Tuesday. He passed away later that morning of an apparent heart attack, found by wife and longtime musical partner Lorna Lambey. He was 82 years old.

"Believe me we're all in shock over here," friend and Red Fox Lounge co-worker Betty Lombardi said.

Wayne had played in Las Vegas starting in the 1960s before eventually gravitating to the Florida Space Coast, where he met Lambey.

The pair, who had played at the Red Fox for more than 20 years, had gained wide fame with their interactive show. It grew so popular that it was rumored to be the inspiration for Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer's recurring Saturday Night Live skit about the Culps, an energetic husband and wife lounge act.

Wayne and Lambey played for standing-room only audiences in the small lounge since 1991, bringing an interactive, comedic style to their musical act that had fans from teens to nonagenarians. They entertained as a pair Tuesday night through Saturday.

But Monday night the spotlight was all Wayne's, for one last time.

"I can't believe what Lorna's going through," Lombardi said of Wayne's wife and longtime partner. "They were great together."

Read the Observer's December 2008 profile of Mark and Lorna here.