The Lawrence Welk Show

7728 Views 50 Replies 30 Participants Last post by Fish Man, Nov 9, 2011

Cearbhaill

Discussion Starter · Oct 23, 2011

So I was watching Antiques Roadshow while sitting at the desk here and then Lawrence Welk came on.
I can't reach the clicker and have a cat in my lap and can't get up.

Now I remember this from when I was a kid and my Grandmother watched it and even though I was small I knew it was cheesey even then (but I did have Lennon Sister paper dolls).
Looking at it now OMG!
The mozzarella outfits and the provolone harmonies and the limburger dancing to the tune of "It's a Small World."
I actual fax need nachos!

So I'm wondering if all those people that appeared on the show smelled the cheese they were swimming in at the time or felt incredibly lucky to be asked to appear?

What do you think?

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1 - 20 of 51 Posts

YCantAngieRead

· #2 · Oct 23, 2011

Ha. Holy cow. That's ridiculous.

Lawrence Welk is a treasure trove of cheese. One night, I got totally sucked into a documentary that was like, Behind The Music: Lawrence Welk. All people who appeared on the show, and what they're doing now. It was complete cheese. And yet, I couldn't look away.

astrohip

· #3 · Oct 23, 2011

Every once in a while my wife and I will watch one of these. She can remember them; I don't (although I remember him--just not watching the show live).

They are *really* fun to watch.

sushikitten

· #4 · Oct 23, 2011

I'm sure they felt lucky to appear.

Ah, the memories..

Darvin

· #5 · Oct 23, 2011

Cearbhaill said:
So I'm wondering if all those people that appeared on the show smelled the cheese they were swimming in at the time or felt incredibly lucky to be asked to appear?

What do you think?

YCantAngieRead said:
One night, I got totally sucked into a documentary that was like, Behind The Music: Lawrence Welk. All people who appeared on the show, and what they're doing now. It was complete cheese. And yet, I couldn't look away.

Well???? Don't be a tease.

sieglinde

· #6 · Oct 23, 2011

I watched it when I was a kid. I think they all knew it was cheesy. I think that was Welk's taste in shows and I think that is why a lot of people liked it.

paracelsus

· #7 · Oct 23, 2011

My parents still watch it - it's run by their local PBS station every weekend. They enjoy it.

YCantAngieRead

· #8 · Oct 23, 2011

Darvin said:
Well???? Don't be a tease.

They weren't that exciting. It was more like...well, like the show itself. Entrancing. Can't look away because I can't move kinda thing.

Philosofy

· #9 · Oct 23, 2011

As a kid, I remember being amazed at how Bobby Burgess' (former Mousekateer) head could swivel so his face was always pointing at the camera. He made Linda Blair look like the tin man.

Fish Man

· #10 · Oct 23, 2011

A year or two ago, I saw an interview (which was a few years old when I saw it) with the youngest Lennon sister (probably in her 50's when the interview was taped).

When she and her sisters started on the show, she was 11 or 12.

The interviewer asked her, "Did your friends tease you about how corny and cheesy your routines were?"

She answered, "Yes, but usually only once. When I showed them the money I was being paid, they didn't tease me again!" She added, "It was really cheesy, but I felt lucky, at such a young age, especially, to be on TV and to be being paid well for it!"

(Quotes are best I can remember, obviously, not exact.)

Cearbhaill

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 23, 2011

Philosofy said:
As a kid, I remember being amazed at how Bobby Burgess' (former Mousekateer) head could swivel so his face was always pointing at the camera. He made Linda Blair look like the tin man.

He had stage training from birth, almost.
He probably still sleeps with a perma-grin.

Fish Man said:
A year or two ago, I saw an interview (which was a few years old when I saw it) with the youngest Lennon sister (probably in her 50's when the interview was taped).

When she and her sisters started on the show, she was 11 or 12.

The interviewer asked her, "Did your friends tease you about how corny and cheesy your routines were?"

She answered, "Yes, but usually only once. When I showed them the money I was being paid, they didn't tease me again!" She added, "It was really cheesy, but I felt lucky, at such a young age, especially, to be on TV and to be being paid well for it!"

(Quotes are best I can remember, obviously, not exact.)

Thanks Fish Man- Janet was my favorite.
I think the Lennon Sisters- well, this whole show- were my first exposure to music, so all in all I would have to put it in the plus column.

Fish Man

· #12 · Oct 24, 2011

Just a bit of goofy trivia.

Lawrence Welk's grandson, Lawrence Welk III who goes by "Larry Welk" has been a news helicopter pilot, cameraman, and reporter for many years.

He came to national attention when he was the areal reporter who's feed of the "low speed chase" of OJ Simpson in his white Bronco was picked up nationally.

Although a licensed pilot, typically, someone else pilots the chopper while Larry operates the camera and narrates. His camera work and commentary is all over those TruTV reality shows that show areal views of police chases. His catch phrase is "This is getting really dangerous!"

Linky

classicsat

· #13 · Oct 24, 2011

I remember watching it back then (when it was syndicated on commercial stations), barely.

But I do watch it these days on occasion. It is not that cheesy, at least in the eyes of this 1970s afficionado.

Quite generally, studio video on quad tape, from 1966 until the 1980s, looks very good on my HDTV, watching the HD from my PBS station (DPTV, WTVS), which is why I like variety shows from that era quite a lot, and partly (or mostly) why I watch The Lawrence Welk Show.

jradosh

· #14 · Oct 24, 2011

When I was young and would go to my grandparents house for a sleep-over we'd watch this show (as well as The Rockford Files, Cannon and Kolchak The Night Stalker)

MikeAndrews

· #15 · Oct 24, 2011

The most important question is why are they running these reruns? The fans were all 60+ years old in the first place. Now they have to be 120-dead.

SoBelle0

· #16 · Oct 24, 2011

Memories! We'd watch this, and Hee Haw, at my grandparent's house, too.
Sometimes we'd dance.

Kablemodem

· #17 · Oct 24, 2011

From what I remember, the show featured a lot of Polka music. Polka music is/was popular in Wisconsin. They like their cheese.

TiVo'Brien

· #18 · Oct 24, 2011

Whenever we'd visit my grandfather at just the wrong day and time, I'd have to politely sit through The Lawrence Welk Show with him. I'm amazed I was able to sit still that long. What torture that show was for a kid.

On the plus side, my grandfather used to hum the closing theme a lot. It sounded nice.

Fish Man

· #19 · Oct 24, 2011

One big effect of the show was that it caused my college educated and otherwise well-spoken grandmother, along with many others of her generation to pronounce the seventh day of the week "Sarraday".

wendiness1

· #20 · Oct 24, 2011

Oh, my this has been a staple at our house since my parents introduced my son to it when he was six. It's a rare Saturday night that he doesn't watch it - and this has been going for 15 years. He knows all the performers names and many of the musicans. He wants to go to Branson to see some of them.

Rather than fight it, I tried to find something entertaining about it. Fact is, chesse and all, the musicians are really quite wonderful. And it is fun to listen to music I grew up with. The costumes are, um, entertaining.

My son just enjoys it so much it's hard for me to dislike it.

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