THE MAKING OF TV TREASURES
LAWRENCE WELK'S TV TREASURES, the 14th new fundraising special since 1987, will be broadcast on public television in March, 2007. Produced by Young Productions, Inc., the 2 hour program is an entertainment documentary about the Lawrence Welk Show's years on commercial television, 1955 to 1982, and chronicles the series' meteoric rise to fame and the behind-the-scenes fun and hard work.
The Lawrence Welk Show has an unmatched record in the history of American television. It began as a local show on KTLA, playing for 4 years in the Los Angeles area. In 1955, the show was scheduled as a national summer replacement program on ABC-TV. It debuted on July 2, 1955, and stayed on the network for 16 years. When ABC cancelled the Welk Show in 1971, it moved immediately into syndication, where it stayed for 11 more years, on stations in every state. When commercial syndication ended in 1982, yearly Christmas specials were produced, and in 1987, the Lawrence Welk Show began as a weekly series on public television and is now in its 20th season.
While the Lawrence Welk Show was on commercial television, over one thousand shows were produced -- 1,065 to be exact – and that’s not counting repeat performances. It was an amazing achievement in those years and is even more impressive today! LAWRENCE WELK’S TV TREASURES tells the story of those 27 years through new interviews with the Musical Family and rarely seen segments from the show.
With over one thousand programs to choose from, Laura Young, the editor of the program, and executive producer, JoAnn Young, relied on expert help for the "treasure" hunt, looking for the most entertaining and unique musical numbers from the Welk television show archive. Welk Syndication Manager, Margaret Heron, and longtime Welk star, Mary Lou Metzger, spent a month or more selecting over 325 segments that could be used on the program. They also chose a dozen or so full shows to be included in the decision making. Thanks to their insider knowledge and excellent judgment, viewers will see memorable moments and outstanding performances by their favorite members of the Musical Family, starting with the earliest days of the show.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
Segments from the first black and white program on July 2, 1955 and from the last show on February 24, 1982 will be included, and many others will mark major milestones along the way such as Jo Ann Castle's "surprise" birthday cake presentation by Mr. Welk and the 500th show, (1965) which featured a guest appearance by ALL the Lennon brothers and sisters. Also included is a 1971 appearance on the show by Fern Welk, celebrating the publication of her husband's autobiography, Wunnderful, Wunnderful, which stayed on the national bestseller list for many weeks.
One of the “priceless” moments featured in LAWRENCE WELK’S TV TREASURES is from the pen of nationally syndicated cartoonist, Joe Martin. In November, 2006, his character, “Mr. Boffo,” had something very funny to say about the Welk Show and Young Productions asked for permission to use it. Mr. Martin created a special animated version of the cartoon and it will be seen for the first time on the public television program. Also included are two hilarious cartoons by Mark Parisi and various other cartoonists over the years.
NEW INTERVIEWS
Fourteen Welk stars, in addition to Costume Designer ROSE WEISS and LARRY WELK, the son of Lawrence and Fern Welk, tell "Behind the Bubble Machine" stories of the show and how it evolved from a “band” showcase into a full-fledged variety program. The interviewed stars include: AVA BARBER, BOBBY BURGESS, JO ANN CASTLE, DICK DALE, KEN DELO, ARTHUR DUNCAN, RALNA ENGLISH, GUY HOVIS, JACK IMEL, DEE DEE & JANET LENNON, MARY LOU METZGER, ROCKY ROCKWELL, and NORMA ZIMMER. They vividly describe how the show was produced every week and tell some funny stories that the fans will enjoy hearing.
The comments from the stars also make it clear that Lawrence Welk was the undisputed head of the Musical Family and had the final say on all of the television show’s decisions. From song choices and choreography, to sets and costumes, he had the first and last word. Watching rehearsals on a television monitor in his dressing room, Mr. Welk wanted to make sure his stars were prepared and they knew he was watching. There was no “saving it” for the television cameras.
THOSE COSTUMES!
The Lawrence Welk Show was always a fashion fantasy for the women and girls of America, starting with the many crinoline petticoats peeking from under the gowns of Alice Lon. When the show moved to color in 1965, the Welk wardrobe became a real trend-setter. Rose Weiss introduced men’s suits in brighter-than-life colors and affected the theatrical wardrobes of other variety shows from Andy Williams to the Hollywood Palace.
LAWRENCE WELK’S TV TREASURES highlights the stunning work of Rose Weiss, as both an outstanding costume designer and the wardrobe wizard who managed to dress 50 or more stars and musicians each week -- beautifully, on a budget, and differently for every performance, month after month, year after year.
RARELY ON LOCATION
Excerpts from dozens of musical numbers will be seen on the program, including some of the few shows shot “on location” in places such as Pacific Ocean Park, the Aragon Ballroom and Escondido, California. The Lennons sing on a ferris wheel…Tom Netherton sings from the Goodyear Blimp…and the entire cast is seen around the pool of the Welk Resort in 1965, on the FIRST color show.
PART ONE
Part One of the program tells the story of how the Welk Show's remarkable 27 year run on national television began and it ends with a montage of the Lawrence Welk band through the years, playing songs from "My Fair Lady." It is a special tribute to the extraordinary band members, some of whom (Myron Floren, Dick Dale, and Barney Liddell) were with Lawrence for ALL of the television years.
In the early days, the band members played, sang, danced and even did comedy bits on the programs but as the years went by, Lawrence Welk hired more and more singers. The talented band members gracefully shared the stage with the attractive young men and women that Mr. Welk discovered over the years.
PART TWO
Part Two talks about the almost overnight popularity of the show and the public's fascination with the Welk stars, which has never really ended. The tabloid press doesn't write about them now, but at one time, members of the Musical Family were the darlings of the fan magazine world, along with Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and The Beatles.
The headlines from those magazines are as hilarious and as blatantly untrue as are seen on the racks in supermarkets today. Love and marriage within the Musical Family is discussed and the ‘soap opera’ aspect of the show is laughed about by various performers.
PART THREE
Part Three explains how the Welk Show was produced every week, from concept to broadcast, with Producer and Director, Jim Hobson, who worked with Mr. Welk for all 27 years. Jack Imel, who was also the Associate Producer, comments on how difficult it was to give everyone a spot on the show, as the cast grew larger. The cancellation of the show on ABC is detailed, as well as the quick and ultimately very successful move into syndication.
PART FOUR
Part Four features a special segment on the humor and hi-jinks of the Lawrence Welk Show. It opens with a tongue-in-cheek “champagne music” version of the “Counter-Revolution Polka” and looks back at some of the funniest moments in Welk Show history, often a result of Mr. Welk's resistance to stopping the videotaping of the show for any reason. The camera keeps rolling after Ken Delo, dressed as Frankenstein, splits his pants and blushingly tries to introduce the next song.
As Ken Delo has so often joked, "I think Lawrence believed that if someone died on stage, we would just 'shoot high and keep going.'"
ABOUT HIS FATHER
Larry Welk, in a heartfelt interview, talks about his father’s life and career and expresses great admiration for his achievements. The Welk stars describe their feelings about “The Boss” and their emotions when the show finally ended in 1982. Their candid comments reflect their affection for Lawrence Welk and for one another.
OWNING 'TV TREASURES'
Because LAWRENCE WELK'S TV TREASURES is the first all-encompassing documentary about the legendary television series, and is so packed with interesting information and great entertainment, it is a "Collector's Item," a program that needs to be watched more than once. Viewers will be able to get the "PBS Only" DVD of the program as a thank-you gift for supporting their local public television station and it will include 11 BONUS SONGS -- FULL musical numbers -- with new interview segments from the stars to introduce them. Some of the Bonus Songs are extremely rare and have never been seen on the weekly public television series.
NEW BOOK & CD
An outstanding double disc CD (LAWRENCE WELK'S MUSICAL TREASURES) has been created as a pledge 'thank you' gift and is a beautiful new 68-page book (THE LAWRENCE WELK TREASURY OF PHOTOS) is being published by the Welk Music Group, featuring rarely seen photographs of Mr. Welk and the Musical Family through the years.
THE TEAM
LAWRENCE WELK’S TV TREASURES was produced, written and directed by JoAnn Young and edited by Laura Young. Larry Welk is the Consulting Producer and Coordinating Producers are Margaret Heron and Mary Lou Metzger. National Publicist for the Lawrence Welk Show is Susie Dowdy. OETA is the presenting station for the program and will produce the fund-raising segments, to be written by Robert L. Allen, directed by Bill Thrash and will feature Mr. Allen and Mary Lou Metzger, an unbeatable on-camera team.
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