2020 Paley Archive Elements 3840x1536 Banner2

PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE: A TRIBUTE TO THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW {LONG VERSION}

Summary

One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s Inside Media series. Held at The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, this evening honors “The Lawrence Welk Show,” a series of musical/variety programs featuring bandleader Lawrence Welk and his "Champagne Orchestra." Craig Hitchcock (executive director, The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles) offers opening remarks before introducing the evenings’ moderator, Mary Lou Metzger (singer, “The Lawrence Welk Show”). Metzger introduces the panelists: JoAnn Young (PBS producer); Jack Imel (associate producer, “The Lawrence Welk Show”); Peggy Lennon (member, The Lennon Sisters); Welk’s son Larry Welk; Rose Weiss (costume designer, “The Lawrence Welk Show”); dancer Bobby Burgess; Bob Havens (trombone player, “The Lawrence Welk Show”); Bob Ralston (pianist, “The Lawrence Welk Show”); Dick Dale (singer, “The Lawrence Welk Show”); singer Ken Delo; dancer Arthur Duncan; singer Ralna English; Welk’s daughter-in-law Tanya Welk-Roberts; and singer Norma Zimmer. Topics of discussion include: Young on her 1986 interview with Welk; her personal appreciation for his career; Larry Welk on his efforts to syndicate “The Lawrence Welk Show” and how it eventually got broadcast on PBS; the show’s enduring popularity; Larry Welk on “discovering” the Lennon Sisters and how he introduced them to his father; Lennon recounting an experience she had in Chicago during her time on the show; Lennon on growing up in the public eye; Imes on Welk’s performing style and relationship with his audience; Imes on the show’s weekly production process and Welk’s level of involvement; Weiss on the process of designing costumes for each episode; Weiss on the show’s transition from black-and-white to color; costuming decisions that Weiss regrets; Burgess on choreographing his dances for “The Lawrence Welk Show”; the show’s affinity for polka and how Burgess learned to dance for them; the rehearsal process for the shows’ dancers; Lennon on the “innocence” that pervaded the show; the show’s transition from a live broadcast to a taped one; Dale and Havens on working with comedian Jack Benny, who appeared on “The Lawrence Welk Show”; Larry Welk on the quality of the show’s band; Ralston on his experience with “The Lawrence Welk Show” band; Imel on George Cates, Welk’s musical director, and his contributions to the show; how Welk picked members of his band; the current state of big band music; the 2001 “Welk Musical Family” reunion in Branson, Missouri; the concept of the “musical family” and how it endured long after the end of “The Lawrence Welk Show”; Duncan on his career how he got on to “The Lawrence Welk Show”; English on her relationship with ex-husband and fellow “Welk musical family” member Guy Hovins; Welk-Roberts on her children; and Delo on his current projects and his success in comedy on Australian television. Following the panel are live musical performances, including: Ralston performing a version of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”; English singing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” accompanied by Ralston and bassist Richard Maloof; Havens, Ralston, and Maloof performing an instrumental version of “Goody Goody”; Imel performing “Old Bones” accompanied by Ralston and Maloof; Metzger, Lennon, Welk-Roberts, English, and Zimmer singing “May You Always” accompanied by Ralston and Maloof; and a rendition of “Good Night, Good Luck, Until We Meet Again” sung by members of the panel and the audience. Clip packages are interspersed throughout, including: a series detailing Welk’s life and the history of the show; a look at some of the show’s orchestra and its many guest stars; the relationship between Welk and his band; an excerpt from a 2001 reunion of the “Welk Musical Family” honoring the performers of “The Lawrence Welk Show,” including the “Champagne Ladies”; and Welk’s other television appearances, such as his appearances on “This is Your Life” and “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”

Details

  • NETWORK: N/A
  • DATE: October 26, 2010 7:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 2:31:00
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: 104262
  • GENRE: Seminars
  • SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
  • SERIES RUN: N/A
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Craig Hitchcock … Host
  • Mary Lou Metzger … Moderator, Performer
  • Jack Imel … Performer, Panelist
  • Peggy Lennon … Performer, Panelist
  • Rose Weiss … Performer, Panelist
  • Bobby Burgess … Performer, Panelist
  • Bob Havens … Performer, Panelist
  • Bob Ralston … Performer, Panelist
  • Dick Dale … Performer, Panelist
  • Ralna English … Performer, Panelist
  • Tanya Welk-Roberts (See also: Tanya Falan Welk) … Performer, Panelist
  • Norma Zimmer … Performer, Panelist
  • Richard Maloof … Performer
  • JoAnn Young … Panelist
  • Larry Welk … Panelist
  • Ken Delo … Panelist
  • Arthur Duncan … Panelist
  • Jack Benny
  • Johnny Carson
  • George Cates
  • George Gershwin
  • Guy Hovins
  • Lawrence Welk