Lawrence Welk Is Still On: I Don't Get It

[FredLeonard]

Before Hee-Haw Gunilla Hutton was Billie Jo Bradley 2.0.
She also had a relationship with Nat King Cole, who about as far from a country singer as you could get.
Also on Hee Haw: Jeannine Riley. She was Billie Jo Bradley 1.0.
However, I committed adultery in my heart with Pat Woodell, who was Bobbie Jo Bradley 1.0. Unfortunately, she was not on Hee-Haw.

Lynn Anderson made several guest appearances on Hee-Haw and was a regular cast member of The Lawrence Welk Show for one year at the start of her career as a country singer.

 

[Tom Wells]

The Stoneman girls were very quirky looking/yet attractive. And sparkly in a certain way.

Lawrence Welk (the concept) was attrractive. Also sparkly in its own way.
He seemed to collect certain pperformers who could showcase talent in a very similar way Hee Haw did.

I remember as a tot knowing that Lawrence Welk went back into the 1930's and wondering why the band never played anything
in the 1930s or 1940s style. I do recall seeing the band do a version of the Beer Barrel Polka that was almost in the old-old style.

I haven't seen any Welk shows in years. I should see what my 9 year old thinks.....

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

Like Welk, "Hee Haw" was also usually seen in syndication on Saturdays at 7 (ET) and, at least in my neck of the woods, mostly on CBS affiliates (I've
mentioned before that WBTV Charlotte stuck out like the proverbial
sore thumb since they took Welk while the other CBS affiliates in
North Carolina preferred Buck and Roy and the cornfield).

In Southeastern New England, the syndicated versions of the two shows ended up doing a switcheroo....With Welk getting carried by CBS affiliate WPRI Channel 12 Providence, while the Crazy Characters of the Cornfield were aired on ABC affiliate WTEV Channel 6 New Bedford.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

In Southeastern New England, the syndicated versions of the two shows ended up doing a switcheroo....With Welk getting carried by CBS affiliate WPRI Channel 12 Providence, while the Crazy Characters of the Cornfield were aired on ABC affiliate WTEV Channel 6 New Bedford.

As a side-note...in 1977...the two stations swapped network affiliation, so the switcheroo with the two shows got "un-switched", and each show ended up back on its former network station.

 

[firepoint525]

I remember seeing Misty Rowe (concurrently with her time on Hee Haw, I think) in some silly syndicated sitcom in which she played a waitress. About all that I remember about it is that it came on LATE at night, and that Misty ALWAYS wore a VERY short skirt in that show! :-*

 

[FredLeonard]

I remember seeing Misty Rowe (concurrently with her time on Hee Haw, I think) in some silly syndicated sitcom in which she played a waitress. About all that I remember about it is that it came on LATE at night, and that Misty ALWAYS wore a VERY short skirt in that show! :-*

She played a waitress at Arnold's in the first season of Happy Days, when the show was still shot with one camera and they had scenes with car hops outside.

She also had a recurring role in Mel Brooks' When Things Were Rotten (as Maid Marion).

 

[rnigma1]

I remember seeing Misty Rowe (concurrently with her time on Hee Haw, I think) in some silly syndicated sitcom in which she played a waitress. About all that I remember about it is that it came on LATE at night, and that Misty ALWAYS wore a VERY short skirt in that show! :-*

Was that "Hee Haw Honeys"?

 

[FredLeonard]

Was that "Hee Haw Honeys"?

Starring the inimitable Kathie Lee - pre-Regis and pre-Hoda, even per-faultless Frank.

 

[azumanga]

Was that "Hee Haw Honeys"?

Starring the inimitable Kathie Lee - pre-Regis and pre-Hoda, even per-faultless Frank.

To be more precise, it was a sitcom spinoff of "Hee Haw", taking place at a truck stop / night club. Each episode features at least a couple of musical performances by musical guests and the cast members (which also included some Hee Haw regulars, but never Buck and Roy, or Opry veterans like Minnie Pearl). It was not successful, and was cancelled after a season in syndication.

 

[visaman]

Don't laugh, but many of the women on Welk's show were quite attractive. And they had hairstyles that I remember seeing on the girls at school back then. I can usually tell (within a year or so) when a program was taped, just by the hairstyles on the women on the show back then.

Were you attracted to any of them? I sure wasn't. There wasn't an ounce of sexiness in the whole bunch. Heck, sexy got you fired. What's the opposite of "hottie?" Goody-two-shoes. Susie Sorority. Up-with-people. Most of them came right out of Catholic girls' schools or BYU. Now, without Lawrence Welk around any more, that type does local TV news.

My dad had a thing for Jo ann Castle. He even wanted a "rinky tinky" piano like hers, but he never did get it (the piano that is)

 

[bpatrick]

Your dad reminds me of a man I once heard of (don't know his name)
who would leave the room when Welk came on but before doing so,
would tell his wife, "Call me when SHE comes on," referring to Jo Ann
Castle. (My dad would just leave the room, period. My mom liked Welk,
but when she had to make the choice between Mr. Music Maker Himself
and the gang in Kornfield Kounty she always chose the latter.)

Not only did Jo Ann play ragtime piano, I seem to recall her doing an
accordion duet with Myron Floren on one show.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

One of my earliest childhood memories involves "The Lawrence Welk Show".

Perhaps the best remembered visual element of the show may have been all those bubbles being blown from machines in the rear of the studio to visually suggest "The Champagne Music Sound".

My Mom actually bought a toy gun that shot bubbles, which must have been about 18 inches in legth. You would load it with bubble soap (or maybe dishwashing liquid), close-up the little "tank", and turn a crank on the side of the gun. Lots of bubbles would come out of it!

The only time I remember my parents using it was when they were watching Lawrence Welk! One of them would crank the gun to shoot bubbles.

I once heard an urban legend that stagehands hated cleaning-up bubble residue on the studio floor after broadcasts/tapings, and that supposedly, Welk's producers tried to get Cal Tech to develop a bubble soap that would be easier to clean-up the studio floor after the show.

 

[Limp73]

Your dad reminds me of a man I once heard of (don't know his name)
who would leave the room when Welk came on but before doing so,
would tell his wife, "Call me when SHE comes on," referring to Jo Ann
Castle. (My dad would just leave the room, period. My mom liked Welk,
but when she had to make the choice between Mr. Music Maker Himself
and the gang in Kornfield Kounty she always chose the latter.)

Not only did Jo Ann play ragtime piano, I seem to recall her doing an
accordion duet with Myron Floren on one show.

Not only did Jo Ann play ragtime...she banged out some real boogie-woogie on those piano keys...and she always smiled when she did...you know she was having fun doing so.

I did wonder until recently if Jo Ann was a member of B. Bumble and The Stingers (remember "Bumble Boogie"?) Turns out she wasn't in that studio band. According to Wikipedia,it was Ernie Freeman, a 50s favorite of mine when I was a little kid.

 

[Groove1670]

I truly love what you said, jfrancis -- "for an hour or so, I feel safe again." Both my grandparents loved Welk in their day, and for them it was appointment television. When Lawrence Welk is on my television, I feel their spirit in the room with me. And I like that. A lot.

Amen. I was close with my grandparents, and watching the old Welk shows brings back wonderful memories of them.

Was not my era, but I understand the nostalgia.

Future generations will find Woodstock silly, disco and polyester weird, and hair bands of the 80's funny.

.....and time marches on.

 

[bpatrick]

I know (have dated, in fact) a woman born in 1970 who
constantly ridicules the clothes and hairstyles of Welk's
"musical family" in the '70s. She even ridicules the idea
that guys wore leisure suits back then (I had one, and
so did my dad). (This is the same woman who never
understood why I preferred "The Paper Chase" to "Happy
Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" on Tuesday nights; I was
23 at the time and she was eight.) Someday, hopefully,
this generation will be ridiculing grunge clothes.

I may have said this before, but I think one thing that
gives people a sense of security when they tune into Welk
is that they are not going to hear any foul language and
the music is family-friendly (OK, maybe not "One Toke Over
The Line," but Welk obviously didn't know the meaning of the
word "toke"). Welk, after all, comes from a generation of
entertainers who prided themselves in providing entertainment
for the whole family (Bob Hope, at Jack Benny's funeral: "When
Jack was on the tube, you didn't have to chase the kids out of
the room."). Nothing wrong with that, as far as I can see.

 

[FredLeonard]

This was an era when most homes had one TV and everybody watched it together. What's wrong in today's world is the idea that everything on TV must be suitable for eight year olds, church ladies and anybody else with an agenda.

 

[ixnay]

(OK, maybe not "One Toke Over The Line," but Welk obviously didn't know the meaning of the
word "toke").

Neither did I (I was, as they say in England, "coming up for 10" when B&S's "One Toke..." was on the charts). And I may I have been around 30 when I finally found out. Hope you get my drift...

ixnay

 

[rwells2265]

This was an era when most homes had one TV and everybody watched it together.  What's wrong in today's world is the idea that everything on TV must be suitable for eight year olds, church ladies and anybody else with an agenda. 

By the same token, must everything on TV be programmed for today's 20-something short-attention-span "Look! A Chicken!" audience?  Must every other joke have the word "vagina" in it, or otherwise seem like the writers want to see how much they can make "church ladies" squirm?

This is just one hour of television.  I'm really not a prude - for gosh sakes, one of my favorite programs is Family Guy - and I certainly don't advocate for all TV shows to be 'sanitized for your protection' .... but is relaxing amidst the color-coordinated polyester and cheesy music while remembering my grandparents too much to ask??    I'm just glad there's SOMETHING on television aimed at the 'elderly', i.e. over 40, demographic.   

--Russell

 

[rwells2265]

(This is the same woman who never
understood why I preferred "The Paper Chase" to "Happy
Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" on Tuesday nights; I was
23 at the time and she was eight.)

You're a braver man than I am. Were I in a position to do so (read: my wife would kill me! ), I could never imagine dating anyone 15 years younger than me. I'd sooner ask out someone 15 years OLDER. Since my own tastes in entertainment, music, etc., tend to skew older, at least she'd GET it.

Someday, hopefully, this generation will be ridiculing grunge clothes.

Gawd, I hope so......... ;D

--Russell

 

[michael hagerty]

(This is the same woman who never
understood why I preferred "The Paper Chase" to "Happy
Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" on Tuesday nights; I was
23 at the time and she was eight.)

You're a braver man than I am. Were I in a position to do so (read: my wife would kill me! ), I could never imagine dating anyone 15 years younger than me. I'd sooner ask out someone 15 years OLDER. Since my own tastes in entertainment, music, etc., tend to skew older, at least she'd GET it.

Someday, hopefully, this generation will be ridiculing grunge clothes.

Gawd, I hope so......... ;D

--Russell

Well, there are more important things in male/female relationships than pop culture. ;-)

The widest gap I ever attempted was 9 years (I was 30, she was 21). After two dates, it was obvious we were from different eras. It was like living Steely Dan's "Hey 19". She didn't remember the Queen of Soul, either.

Today she'd be 48. I think there'd be more to talk about. But after 25 years of marriage (with a 3-year age difference), I won't be finding out. My wife would kill me, too, Russell.