A clarinet virtuoso whose technical mastery was often compared to that of Benny Goodman, died on December 17, 2003, in Sherman Oaks, California. "There's no greater joy than standing in front of a band and having it play to perfection," he said. He rejected cigarette and beer advertising, hired no comedians for fear of off-color jokes and deleted suggestive lyrics from the orchestra's material. He was a "quick wit"! Wunnerful!" "It is my experience that people like a certain amount of both. The Lawrence Welk Show continued on as a first-run syndicated program shown on 250 stations across the country until the final original show was produced in 1982, when Welk decided to retire. In addition to performing, which he had abandoned in the late 1980s, Mr. Welk had profitable interests in recording, music publishing and California real estate. Im willing to bet "The Lawrence Welk Show," aired Saturday nights on NET, still draws a good number of viewers. The Dinah Shore Chevy Show of January 20, 1963, was devoted entirely to masters of the piano, featuring Dinah Shore's four guests, Liberace, Peter Nero, Ray Charles and Big Tiny Little. Survivors include a son, Harry Jr., of Pittsboro, N.C.; a daughter, Lynda von Spaeth of Washington; her mother, Virginia Gregory, and a brother, Donald Gregory, both of Winchester; and a sister, Barbara Bryant of Beltsville. Not many, however, found extensive work outside of the Welk show. These records are rare and highly valued. He was an avid reader, self-taught in a variety of subjects. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. In the early 1940s, the band began a 10-year stint at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, regularly drawing crowds of several thousand. Welk was never an innovator. He had been treasurer of the Maryland Synod of the Lutheran Church of America for 26 years and treasurer of the National Lutheran Home for the Aged in Rockville for 16 years. Initially, the band traveled around the country by car. He stayed with the company through several name changes and owners. His albums continued to chart through 1973.[23]. As The Lawrence Welk Show fit into this category, ABC ended its run in 1971. These projects failed, but his fortunes improved as he led bigger bands in ballrooms and hotels in bigger towns and on radio, mostly in the Midwest. In 1955, when he was 52, his coast-to-coast television program began its long run. There was a dress code that everyone had to live up to, said Sam Lutz, Welks long-time manager, . His orchestra also performed frequently at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City during the late 1940s. Geni requires JavaScript! The Nethertons permanently settled in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1961. Frankly, Im not much of a musical expert. Even though Joe was only 12 or 13, "he could really sing.". Lawrence Welk, the band leader whose folksy charm and bubbly brand of "Champagne music" shaped one of the longest-running shows in television history, died on Sunday evening at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. After their divorce in 1984, the singers embarked on solo musical careers, with Hovis leaving music in 1990 to work as state director for Mississippi senator Trent Lott. Larry is survived by his wife Bernie, his daughters Jodie Welk and Bonnie Osbakken, wife of Robert Osbakken, son Jason Welk and his wife Carrie. The last of the original Lawrence Welk shows went on the air April 18, 1982, giving him 27 years as a first-run performer. The buoyant Mr. Welk presided over "The Lawrence Welk Show" on ABC on Saturday evenings from 1955 to 1971, when the show was dropped because sponsors said its audience was too old, too rural and too sedate. Undaunted, Mr. Welk signed up more than 250 independent television stations in the United States and Canada and kept the show on television for 11 more years. Welks band was headquartered in Chicago during the 1940s, but continued with road shows that ultimately took him in 1951 to Santa Monicas Aragon Ballroom. He died on May 17 in his Santa Monica apartment, surrounded by his family. His band was also the station band for the popular radio programming WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota. The Positive Side of Hardship. The couple has been married for over four decades and has two children together. WebOBITUARIES Henry Cuesta, 71; Clarinetist Played With Lawrence Welk's Orchestra. Netherton became a born again Christian following a sermon he heard at a Baptist church in Panama, spending a year at the Bethany Fellowship Missionary Training Center in Bloomington after his discharge from the Army. His shows always included a "champagne lady," but one left in 1959 in a dispute over the length of her hemlines. Bill was a very active member of Bethany Lutheran Church, holding such positions as: President, Elder, Sunday School Teacher, Treasurer, and Boy Scout leader. Mrs. Massie, a Washington resident for almost 60 years, was born in Bluefield, W.Va. She graduated from Concord College in Athens, W.Va. She moved to Washington in 1934. Table Of Contents. Please enter valid email address to continue. He was stationed in the Pacific during WWII. r (born Welk), Anna Mary Mattern (born Welk), Ludwig L. Welk, Agatha Ternes (born Welk), Ogado Welk, Michael L. Welk, Eva R. Welk, Julia Anton Welk, Johann Welk, Barbara Deringer (Welk), Anna Mary Mattern (Welk), Louie Welk, Agatha Ternes (Welk), Michael L Welk, Eva R Welk, May 19 1992 - Santa Monica, Los Angeles Co., California, USA, Ludwig Welk, Christiana Welk (born Schwan), Anton Welk, Barbara Deringer (born Welk), Louie Welk, Agatha Ternes (born Welk), Shirley Jean Welk, Donna Lee Welk, Welk, Strasburg, Emmons County, North Dakota, United States, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, United States, Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California, United States, http://www.history.nd.gov/historicsites/welk, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California, United States. You can stream or download the "Mobituaries" podcast "Lawrence Welk: Death of a Square" free at art19.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welk did not miss a beat, changing the name of his show to The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk. Singer Lois Best became his first Champagne Lady, and the musicians became champagne music makers. During World War II, she worked for the War Production Board. At 24, he put together a six-piece band called the Hotsy-Totsy Boys. This stood in comparison to the contemporary American Bandstand, which catered to a teenager audience and featured the latest acts. A service summary is not available Lawrence "Larry" Welk, 83, of Aberdeen, passed away Wednesday, October 1, 2014, at ManorCare Health Services in Aberdeen. His Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, October 6, 2014, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Aberdeen, with Father Shane Stevens officiating. During this period, the networks were in the process of eliminating programming that was seen as having either too old an audience, did not appeal to urban residents, or both (the so-called Rural Purge). He came to us with those letters and said, I told you! And he told the wardrobe people never to put us in bathing suits again. Thats what kept Lawrence Welk on television for so many years. I can tell by the sound and amount of applause--or lack of it--just what it is an audience likes. Lawrence Welk Jr., the eldest child, is company president. First Republic Bank seized by regulators, then sold to JPMorgan Chase, Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end", Louisiana's health care deserts put women, babies at risk, doctors say, Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan, ISIS chief killed by Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan says, How a tall Texan became an unlikely Australian rules football star, General Mills issues Gold Medal flour recall over salmonella concerns, Investors sue Adidas over Kanye West Yeezy deal, Shaquil Barrett's 2-year-old daughter dies in drowning accident, Michael J. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. As Welk's show targeted mainly older viewers, it seldom played recent music with which the audience might not be familiar. Father of Private User; Donna Mack and Private Netherton was born on January 11, 1947, in Munich, Germany while his father, a United States Army officer, was stationed there. Giving Bill a step-son, Cody Zink, who was one of his best buddies. He was a waiter at the Congressional Hotel from 1961 to 1971 and then at the National Democratic Club until retiring in 1978. Kauffman is also a successful businesswoman, owning her own skincare line and spa. He was 89 years old. Mr. Welk had been suffering from pneumonia in recent days, said Bernice McGeehan, a spokeswoman for the Welk Group. With diligence, drive and a cheery "ah-one an' ah-two," the self-taught maestro became one of a handful of television entertainers who defined the viewing habits of a generation. In April, I was startled when a co-worker announced that Cynthia Lennon passed away. Vilmer Nelson, 70, a financial analyst who retired as secretary-treasurer of the Government National Mortgage Association, died of cardiac arrest May 15 at a hospital in Palm City, Fla. Mr. Nelson was born in Racine, Wis. [citation needed] During the 1970s and 1980s he appeared on television commercials for Rose Milk skin care lotion and Nabisco's Triscuits crackers. His musical conservatism caused occasional controversies as well. Welk responded by syndicating his show, which ultimately was picked up by more than 250 stations around the country--more than had aired his show on ABC. Anytime there was an assembly, "the nuns would press Joe into action, singing My Wild Irish Rose or The Bells of St. Marys or some song that fitted his tenor voice," Hruby said. He had been suffering from pneumonia, the spokeswoman said. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 1 in the PBS rankings. In another episode, the Lennon Sisters and Norma Zimmer performed the Orlons' #2 pop hit "The Wah-Watusi" with the bass singer Larry Hooper wearing a beatnik outfit. Welk was raised on a farm in Strasburg, North Dakota, the child of German immigrants who made their way to the United States by way of the Ukraine. (1974). ", Once he confided to an interviewer that he was something of a "rhythm man" and that he was even "a Dixieland man at heart.". In a 1971 episode, Welk infamously billed the Brewer & Shipley single, "One Toke over the Line" (performed as a duet by Gail Farrell and Dick Dale), as a "modern spiritual"; social conservatives of the era saw it as subversive. Memorial has been established at: Bethany Lutheran Church In 2015, Welk Music Group sold the Vanguard and Sugar Hill labels to Concord Bicycle Music while retaining ownership of the Ranwood catalog. Dudley "Big Tiny" Little, Jr. (August 31, 1930 March 3, 2010)[1] was an American musician who appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1959. Larry was born May 1, 1931 in Strasburg, ND to Louie and Katherine (Mattern) Welk. The show became a local hit and was picked up by ABC in June 1955. He rose from an immigrant farm family in a German-speaking hamlet in North Dakota to become one of the nation's favorite showmen. In 1971, after two decades on the air, ABC cancelled "The Lawrence Welk Show," a musical variety series led by the German-accented bandleader and accordionist Lawrence Welk. In November 1928 he recorded four sides for Gennett spread over two days (one side was rejected), and in 1931 he recorded eight sides for Paramount (in two sessions) that were issued on the Broadway and Lyric labels. Welk left school during fourth grade to work full-time on the family farm. He went to where the jobs were leaving St. Louis to take a job in Kansas City, MO, selling material handling equipment, then later to Wichita for Oliver Handling. When she left the government, Mrs. Massie became the volunteer executive director of the D.C. Women's Commission for Crime Prevention, which was organized by the D.C. State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs and the D.C. Federation of Women's Clubs. Lawrence Welk was married for 61 years, until his death in 1992, to Fern Renner (August 26, 1903 February 13, 2002), with whom he had three children. One of his sons, Lawrence Welk Jr., married fellow Lawrence Welk Show performer Tanya Falan; they later divorced. Welk had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren Whenever a Dixieland tune was scheduled he enthusiastically led the band. Originally produced in black and white, in 1957 the show began being recorded on videotape, and it switched to color for the fall 1965 season. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. WebHe latterly lived in Shingle Springs, California, with his friend and band mate, Brandy Lane. The musical numbers were brief. By 1946, the band had become popular on the West Coast at the Aragon Ballroom in Ocean Park, Calif. I had a flash of insight, an absolutely firm feeling that the boys and I had come home, and that television was the thing we had been looking for. In 1975 he appeared on "The Dating Game", choosing from three bachelorettes. Nebraskans have always been proud of Joe Feeney, the hugely talented Irish tenor from Grand Island. It was in Pittsburgh, where his shows were played on the radio, that Welks music was described as light and frothy--like champagne. Welk got more letters than you could believe afterwards from people asking him how he could have allowed our legs to be shown on television, Lennon said. He is survived by his wife, the former Fern Renner, who was a nurse; a son, Lawrence Jr., known as Larry, a business adviser to his father; two daughters, Shirley Fredricks and Donna Mack; 10 grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. But a spokesman for one of Mr. Welk's sponsors said he threatened to cancel his other two shows if the network didn't take Mr. Welk. It takes us back to the happy years when we would tune in each Saturday night, surrounded by grandparents, aunts and uncles. Welk, whose bubbling music makers were a television staple for 40 years, made his debut in an era when Arthur Godfrey, Groucho Marx, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Jackie Gleasons Honeymooners were at the top of the Nielsen ratings. Enter your email below to receive a grief support message from us each day for a year. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Son of Ludwig Welk and Christina Welk When we told him wed stay if hed pay us double scale, he told us, No act is worth a penny over scale to me. . The album Calcutta! Welk was born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. A quiet audience just kills me.. Lawrence Welk's big band performed across the country, but particularly in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. He settled in the Washington area in 1946 and graduated from American University, from which he also received a master's degree in accounting. Faced with making a choice between missionary service and a career in entertainment, Netherton chose to follow the same path taken by his idol, Pat Boone, and became a Christian singer. Good taste also was important to Mr. Welk. ABC put "The Lawrence Welk Show" on the air July 2, 1955. His reward came from his audiences, who could not wait to hear a succession of Champagne Ladies, accordionists and talented instrumentalists often forced to submerge their abilities in the routine Welk arrangements. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Welk recalled in a 1978 interview with The Times how he once was spotted at a coffee shop in Macksville, Kan., and asked to make an unscheduled appearance at the towns combined elementary and high school. In 1951, Welk settled in Los Angeles. Lawrence Welk was married for 61 years, until his death in 1992, to Fern Renner (August 26, 1903 February 13, 2002), with whom he had three children. Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 May 28, 2021) was an American musician, accordionist, Welk was married for 61 years, until his death in 1992, to Fern Husband of Fern Veronica Welk They make fun of my weekly ritual. His autobiography, the aptly titled "Wunnerful, Wunnerful," traces "champagne music" to a broadcast from a Pittsburgh hotel in which a radio announcer reported the message of Mr. Welk's fan mail: "They say that dancing to your music is like sipping champagne. [2], Apart from his long-time attachment to the Welk program, Netherton recorded both Christian and secular music albums while still on the program and after. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. and Carousel. Survivors include his wife, Harriet Nelson of Palm City; a daughter, Julianne Nelson of Lancaster, Pa.; a brother, Earl Nelson of Racine; and a sister, Ruth Creighton of Santa Maria, Calif. Minnie Reardon Massie, 81, a retired official of the National Bureau of Standards and a past president of the D.C. State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, died of congestive heart failure May 14 at Naples (Fla.) Community Hospital. She was such a blessing to him in his later years. After Welk and his band went on television, she appeared as a guest on the show, where she sang Latin American songs and favorites that were popular when she was traveling with the Welk band. Welk was a reluctant farm boy who left his home near Strasburg, N.D., when he turned 21 for a career as an itinerant accordionist. Bill retired from being the President of Lift Truck Center after 53 years. On the other hand, mothers across America hoped their daughter could find a nice young man like Tom Netherton. [citation needed], As of late 2007, Netherton had been living in Goshen, Indiana where he performed for holiday programs and entertaining local senior citizens at Greencroft Senior Center. Bill was raised in Leachville, Arkansas until his early teens. He was ever gracious to his fans and was the proud patriarch of his so-called musical family of studio musicians, dancers, singers, entertainers and support crew members, serving as a gentle but firm disciplinarian and preacher of conservative values. Follow Jeff on Twitterand like the Cops & Courts Beat fanpage below: I am the Cops & Courts Reporter for the Grand Island Independent. From 1955 through 1982, he also hosted The Lawrence Welk Show. Her marriage to Allen Massie ended in divorce. Although Mr. Welk's musical style continually was cited for a frothy lightness characteristic of champagne, the bandleader himself was said to neither smoke nor drink. Grandchildren include: Andrew and Lucas (sons of Jason and Carrie Welk), Alysha and Drew (from Bonnie and Robert Osbakken), Alexandra Kahnke, Brittany Schwinger and Ben Fischer from Warrren. It was safe-and-sane TV entertainment, predictable and stable and wholesome. Welk had become famous for his "champagne music," so-called because fans likened it to drinking champagne light and bubbly. In 1927, he graduated from the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a businessman and the only son of Welk Sr., he took after his fathers business when he Lawrence said, I cant do it. Welk to this day can be heard cuing his band with his uh-one and uh-two signature countdown on weekly rebroadcasts of his television shows on PBS outlets throughout the country. Survivors include a son, Samuel Jr., two daughters, Berrita Renee and Renee Antoinette Parker, and a brother, William, all of Washington; and a granddaughter. A registered nurse, she received her nursing degree from the Garfield Hospital nursing school here. Larry attended country school, and worked with his 5 brothers and 4 sisters on the family farm until joining the military. Lawrence "Larry" Welk, 83, of Aberdeen, passed away Wednesday, October 1, 2014, at ManorCare Health Services in Aberdeen.