Many here probably remember him, but are unaware that he had two daughters: Anna 1, Anna 2.

I'm here all night folks, try the veal and tip the waitress!!!

In all seriousness though, the mention of Lawrence Welk brings back memories of when America was a better place. A time before everything on TV was 99% gay and interracial couples. I remember my folks tuning into The Lawrence Welk Show when I was a kid, I'm 52 now. If I'd known enough I might have thought it was corny, but I sure wish we had a lot more of that now than what currently occupies the airways. The America that Lawrence Welk inhabited is long gone.

Only Welk performance I am familiar with. Funny as hell when you think of the typical Welk audience.

I didn’t know that, had to watch his show growing up. It took ten years off my life.

It's one of those shows that is so hokey bad I just cant bring myself to change the channel..........like not being able to let go of an electric fence........

Cowboy chorus in yellow outfits with that one black guy on the end that can tap dance kinda bad....

Pretty clever there 5sdad !

It was required viewing every Saturday nite at my grandmother’s house when visiting. I’ve seen every show. His absolute funniest show was the one where he dances with a girl from the audience and her wig flies off. Hilarious and well worth looking this gem up on YouTube.

My old man still watches it, pbs reruns I think.

Actually I just remembered he was from ND.

My grandfather loved Lawrence Welk and had to watch him every Saturday night. I have to admit that the Lennon sisters were very easy on the eyes.

that was wonnerful wonnerful

actually i hated that show. when i saw those bubbles, i knew it was an hour of hell. same when the billy graham show or whatever it was would come on tv. not a lot of choice in those days.

For many of us....

Lawrence Welk and alcohol dont mix

For many of us....

Lawrence Welk and alcohol dont mix

Whenever they planned the dance floor during a big band instrumental, all of a sudden the Lawrence Welk show became the muppet show.

I absolutely hated that show and my mother loved it and she would play records during the day of some kind of music with no words. Also we had to watch the Academy Awards.

My aunt and uncle lived upstairs at my grandfathers house and anytime we stayed over we had to watch Lawrence Welk. Can’t say I was a fan.

the old lady was watching it a couple of days ago.

Sunday was Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom. It was followed by Disney.

It was on at my Grandma’s house all the time. The big band theme was part of her generation. I didn’t care for it much at the time, but the classy era of Lawerence Welk shames where we find ourselves today.

Yep, and it was always a mad rush to get my bath done after supper and before Wild Kingdom started.

(Groan!!!)

That one took me a moment. My grandparents used to watch him faithfully every Saturday evening Bubbles and polka music. Torture for us kids.

He was a talented musician and a talented businessman. It has been the “cool” thing to make fun of anything middle class/white for decades, now. Folks need to quit “pizzing on the graves” of their forebears, whether it be polka/country/Welk music/whatever. Have some respect for some folks that were trying to entertain with at least a modicum of dignity and “class”, and actually had some talent to back it up. Back when the “adults” ran things....

Paternal grandmother had a HUGE thing for Myron Floren. She was devout Catholic, but I'm fairly sure she lusted in her heart for that accordion dude.





For a month or 2, I wanted to be Henry Cuesta.





I got over it.


FC

Grandparents on Mom’s side never missed it. Had to endure when there.

But...it was definitely a marker of a better time. Wish it were on today...would mean things are better.

Grandparents never missed it...we kids couldn't stand it of course.

Agree with the others though, it was a better time.

In this same vein:

Molly B or Cardi B?

Discuss.

Yep. My grandparents never missed an episode.

I have watched many a Lawrence Welk show. My mom and dad loved that show. It didn't think it was a bad show. I enjoyed it. It certainly was a different time in America. We also watched Hee Haw as well. That was probably my dad's favorite TV show.

kwg

Welk, who paid the minimum union scale to his cast. "We worked at group scale, which was $110 a week, for 10 years," Kathy Lennon recalled. "After that he agreed to pay us solo scale, $210 a week.May 19, 1992

And he was cheap with the lighting too.... looked like an American soap opera or a Brit series.

I loved LW as a 6yr old in 1970.
Totally awesome show.
Always looked forward to seeing it.

LOL!!!!

It’s good for zoning-out and crapping your pants.

Or for torturing Manuel Noriega

My parents and grandmother drug me to Abilene to see him when I was a kid.

Yeah - funny recall - and a bunch of other idiosyncrasies. I was working on big band jazz at the time and watched him quite a bit for a while - even though I thought the arrangements were very "square" - because the players in that band were excellent musicians. I remember cracking up when he introduced a tune "Now we are going to play that great Duke Ellington piece - Take A Train." Thanks for the thread.

One of the instruments of torture my parents subjected me to as a young boy was the phenomenon known as the variety show.

It was awful. Worse even than the Barbara Mandrel show....

Better than Aerosmith in Augusta Maine I bet in 78.
LW probably didnt pass the fugg out on stage after the 3rd song like ST did..

LOL!!!

I always believed, and have heard repeatedly that Lawrence Welk was as queer as they come. But I believe that of almost everyone who appears on television. Seems to me that the entire TV industry is/was built by the queers.

And there were TV shows that I liked as a kid. But I think all of the TV heroes did some strange stuff to get their part in any show...

Rock stars much the same in my view...

Country stars too, maybe....

Mine didn't either.

My old grandad would say "I'll watch it til that tap dancing "n" comes on, then I'll go to bed."

He did too! He wouldn't watch it.

I imagine he would shoot the TV now, if he were still around to see what a chitshow it's become.

For as lame as it was/is, I got to admit it was a better time in the world.

Funniest part is Welk calling it a "Spiritual".

Hey, it did contain the words "Sweet Jesus".

If she had done her show nekkid you'd be howling at the moon over her.

Always hated the show as a kid. My grandmother always insisted on watching it when she babysat.

Had two choices with Nana

when Guiding Light came you had to go outside play with the ants or take a nap

But just STFU

hard to sleep all hopped up on red Kool-Aid, rainy days you were screwed.

Whatever you do, don’t pet the dog. He’ll hump your leg with a fury.

Music like this is why I watched it along with my folks:

Whew...

I thought this was going to be another Jimmy Olson scoop that Lawrence Welk had passed away.

You ever do the elephant walk in college? lol

Hey, I've passed thru his home town in the Southern part of Norda Koda... right near the Souda Koda state line... many times...

and then near Temecula CA, south of I 15, on old US 395, there is still an entire Retirement Village founded by Lawrence Welk, for all his faithful fans...
The town is named for Whatever "Golden Valley" is in Spanish/ Mexican....

Anyone remember "Sing Along with Mitch Miller".... another one of those time period shows, we'd sit and watch with our folks on prime time..
When in even large metro areas, you had like 3 channels available on the TV....

I miss those 'simpler" times.... when we put communism into perspective....

heck, I still even miss the good old Family 56 Chevy.....

I watched it at my grandparents house,my grandfather called L..W. ,"THAT ANNOYING BASTARD!" On sundays we all watched Mutual Of Omaha s Wild Kingdom,and Disney.I remember Nation Geographic specials,and Jaques Cousteau ones too.i still remember watching ,Cannon,Banacheck,Mannix
with my grandfather,but not,Barnaby Jones,"If that mumbling old bastard s a detective ,i m a cotton picker!" T.V. was very different in those days.

Want to see a one-eared elephant?

I can't find Buffalo Gals. That was great!

Welk's band played here, the old Cobblestone.

Still wondering how they ever came up with that name.

Actually, since we always just called it "The Cob", I thought that it should have been faced more along the lines of the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

Bet the Radon levels in there are off the meter.

Cobblestone walls, John, my first reelection of the place is being stuck in the huge parking lot. That's all trees now.

They must have torn off the top floor. Living quarters, and the Circus lounge.

Richard, I actually had that figured out.

Richard, I actually had that figured out.

Some good times back then! opps! did I jack the thread?

Did Welk vote for Biden?

Anyone know?

And how many times?

Nana, is that you?

I'm 70, and of course it's very easy to say that the America of the Lawrence Welk era was a better place, especially when it comes to the fact that queers, trannies, Negroes, and Communists weren't being thrown in our faces every day. It was a time when the crime rate was very low, especially in the rural area I grew up in. But, there is also a flip side, and today's quality of life is much better, people are receiving much better medical care now, and there are many things about the current time period we're living in that I wouldn't want to give up.

However, as a whole, the America of the 1960's was a time period that I could very easy live in again if it were possible.

I agree, and second the idea.

Molly B is a certified looker...

Tank you,tank you ,tank you !!

And bubbles lol

Larry W Elk.

100% agree. For those who need a little help, Molly B is the singer/trumpet/tenor-Saxopohone/keyboard player in the VFW re-opening/Polka scene of Clint Eastwood's "The Mule".

Kardi B is the "artist" responsible for "WAP".

My Great grandpa went to school with Lawrence Welk in Strasburg ND till 3rdgrade.

I read his wiki page, pretty interesting. Born in 1903 to homesteaders. Quit school after grade 4 to help work the farm. Couldn't speak English at all until he was 21, he spoke German and never became comfortable speaking English. Left the farm at 21 and worked his way to the top.

And then along came the tap dancer....

My parents always felt sorry for Jo Ann the piano player because she had a special needs child.

Here’s the hair flying off. So funny.

https://youtu.be/juFhqO9A69E

Sometimes the spoof is more real that what is being spoofed.