Lawrence Welk: Did any of the male singers make you tingle a bit?
I remember as a teenager staying over my Grandmother's and being forced to watch this Christian dribble of a show, but some of the men were hunky in their own way. I remember one named Steve Smith who made me realize I had a same sex attraction.
Anyone have a favorite?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 78 | April 12, 2019 12:34 AM
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I was so in lust for Guy Hovis. He still makes my bits tingle.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 4 | April 6, 2019 12:56 AM
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Jack Imel does it for me in this picture.
And I’m a millennial! (30s) I watch it on PBS. It’s like comfort food.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 5 | April 6, 2019 12:57 AM
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Tom Netherton was a homosexualist who apparently had an affair with Kathie Lee Gifford's first husband. Welk was always commenting on the fact that he wasn't married. ("And ladiies, he's still single.") He never did marry. He died last year, still in the closet.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 6 | April 6, 2019 12:59 AM
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Neil LeVang
Wasn't the organist gay (and arrested on a morals charge, post-Welk)?
My favorite Lawrence Wlk moment: after tap dancer Arthur Duncan finished his routine, Welk applauded and said "Arthur Duncan, a wonderful dancer, and a credit to his race"
by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 6, 2019 1:03 AM
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Bob Ralston (who played, yes, the organ) got himself into trouble with underage boys.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 10 | April 6, 2019 1:04 AM
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The conductor has that certain twinkle. He’s cute.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 11 | April 6, 2019 1:11 AM
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The Happy Norwegian, Myron Floren
by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 6, 2019 1:12 AM
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Ken Delo and his magnificent hairpiece.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 14 | April 6, 2019 1:17 AM
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I was watching TLWS on the local PBS station and Miss Netherton appeared. I had to get a fire extinguisher to put out the flames coming from my TV set.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 6, 2019 1:19 AM
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My Aunt Bunny was watching with me and she had this to say:
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 16 | April 6, 2019 1:23 AM
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Tom Netherton's nether regions smelled like Wonder Bread and his bedroom smelled of poppers
by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 6, 2019 1:30 AM
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Our babysitter loved this show in the late sixties. I know it well.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | April 6, 2019 1:30 AM
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I had fantasies about a three way with the Otwell twins. Oh my.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | April 6, 2019 1:31 AM
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Yes! I’m still turned on by the thought of hairy 80’s cock.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | April 6, 2019 1:33 AM
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Bobby and Sissy were favs
by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 6, 2019 1:35 AM
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No, I wasn’t into squares.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | April 6, 2019 1:42 AM
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I love squares. They’re stealth sexy.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | April 6, 2019 1:44 AM
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I watch this shitshow on PBS every week just for the kitsch and camp. Love all the pastel costumes, and you can almost smell the Aquanet.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | April 6, 2019 1:51 AM
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OP The Lawrence Welk Show, wasn't a "Christian" show, it was just a continuation of the way most mass market entertainment was until the revolutions of the 1960s changed things. The idea was basically to be as inoffensive as possible and to be something that everyone in the family could watch together, whether they were 4 or 84.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | April 6, 2019 1:57 AM
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My dear grandmother would make us a cup of hot chocolate (with condensed milk,yum !) and toast sliced french bread slathered in butter and melted cheese,and we'd cuddle up on her love seat and watch lawrence Welk and have a little nosh. Till the day Ill die I remember the feeling of being snuggled against her side (she in her yellow quilted house coat) sipping that chocolate and smelling her talcum powder ( she liked rose scented) and feeling so incredibly safe and loved. For that memory alone Ill always love lawrence Welk.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | April 6, 2019 2:05 AM
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I can't remember the Otwell Twins but they were on The Lawrence Welk Show for 5 years. Pretty cute guys.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 28 | April 6, 2019 2:08 AM
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The King Family was where it was at!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 30 | April 6, 2019 2:12 AM
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The Otwells look like the Lost Osmonds.
R27 is my LW crush.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | April 6, 2019 3:00 AM
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I love that story, r27. Thanks for sharing it.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | April 6, 2019 3:02 AM
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I watched it as a kid because we only had one TV and and it was what my dad wanted to watch. Oh how I hated it.
Now I watch it with glee. But only the shows from the mid 70's on. I can't stand the black and white episodes or the ones from the Joann Castle years, what a fucking ham she was.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | April 6, 2019 4:26 AM
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The Otwell twins look like bobble head dolls
JoAnn Castle’s charm was that she was a ridiculous ham - her post-Welk troubles with drugs and men only add to the frisson
by Anonymous | reply 34 | April 6, 2019 4:56 AM
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Former mouseketeer Bobby Burgess
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 35 | April 6, 2019 4:57 AM
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I knew an old guy, who owned a clothing shop somewhere in the South in the 1960-70s. He never said who it was from the Lawrence Welk Show, but one of the guys came to town on some sort of LW show tour, ordered a bunch of clothes from his shop, messed around with his gay teenage son, who was going through "conversion" therapy, and then skipped town without paying for the clothes. Eventually, he said the LW production company paid the bill, so they wouldn't get bad publicity.
BTW, the teenage son grew into a man, who is now a gay conversion "practitioner," but surprise, surprise it didn't work, even though he now has a wife and several sons of his own. He hit me up on Grindr several times, not knowing who I was. I'm friends with one of his sons, or I would have outed him.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | April 6, 2019 5:07 AM
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WTF kind of corny, Ryan Murphy FAGGOTRY
by Anonymous | reply 37 | April 6, 2019 7:15 AM
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When did this place turn into a gay nursing home?
by Anonymous | reply 39 | April 6, 2019 7:39 AM
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Bobby Burgess went to Camp Poop Chute
by Anonymous | reply 41 | April 6, 2019 10:10 AM
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[quote]from the Joann Castle years, what a fucking ham she was.
YOWTCH.
When did queens stop loving outrageous women?
Joann Castle should be canonized as a DL saint.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 42 | April 6, 2019 10:29 AM
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I had sex with a Mouseketeer in 1976. He lived in my building on the UWS. I met him in the laundry room and we went home and fucked. I don't remember his name, but he looked more like Bobby than any other Mouseketeer I've seen pics of.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | April 6, 2019 12:33 PM
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R44, was your Mouseketeer a top or a bottom?
by Anonymous | reply 45 | April 6, 2019 12:36 PM
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We did not engage in anal sex, r45. Perhaps I should not have used the word "fucked." I had only done that once, and it hurt like hell. Later that summer, someone else made me cum hands-free, and that's how bottoms are born.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | April 6, 2019 12:41 PM
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[quote]When did this place turn into a gay nursing home?
Not interested in the subject? Then fuck off. We're not impressed with how hip you are.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | April 6, 2019 2:21 PM
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Welk gave Joanne the last name "Castle" because she was as big as a house. I could never tolerate Joe Feeney's singing. This guy - on the drums - always looked like he scored copious amounts of pussy for some reason.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 50 | April 6, 2019 2:45 PM
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If you're ever in the San Diego area, check out the Welk resort north of Escondido. The lobby of the theater has memorabilia from his career and the show. And a GIANT champagne glass.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 51 | April 6, 2019 3:34 PM
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I scored this tray at the swap meet last year!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 52 | April 6, 2019 8:48 PM
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^^That's original Champagne Lady Alice Lon. Welk fired her because something she wore on the show was too provocative. Of course, the replacement Champagne Lady, Norma Zimmer, was a good Christian woman who, unlike Alice, would never dress like a cheap slut.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | April 7, 2019 2:52 PM
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R40. Bobby is/was married to Myron's daughter. I think they had a bunch of kids.
Thst of course has nothing to do with if he's gay or not.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | April 7, 2019 3:38 PM
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Bill Paige played woodwinds on the Welk Show in the late 50s. Remember seeing a movie magazine "beefcake" spread on him. He had the hairiest chest and belly imaginable. What a hot man! Hubba hubba.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | April 7, 2019 4:07 PM
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We sort of knew Luanne Sims, one of the LW stars, when she lived in LA. She was fabulous and a very kind and generous person. Sadly, she is now RIP.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | April 7, 2019 4:16 PM
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My parents were strict Christians and we were not allowed to watch due to the suggestive nature of the program--it could lead to dancing.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | April 7, 2019 4:22 PM
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I worked with Tom Netherton years ago when he was on tour. Very nice guy. I tried hitting on him but he resisted, although I'm sure he was gay. Also worked with Cissy King and Bobby Burgess. Cissy was a hoot, lots of fun, very talented. Bobby was a nice man, very straight-laced, dedicated to his dancing and being very professional.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | April 7, 2019 5:43 PM
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Bobby Burgess looks great for someone in his late 70's.
I always heard Welk was pretty damn tight with a buck, but musicians were always glad to work for him. Better to work for a cheap bitch than not having a steady gig.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | April 7, 2019 5:49 PM
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Natalie Nevins. She always made me laugh when she appeared on PBS reruns. Extraordinarily prim and proper. Check out that 1960s nose job.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 60 | April 7, 2019 7:03 PM
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I was backstage with Myron Floren while on tour on South Shore/Cohasset, Massachusetts. We were in a small bathroom talking about some last minute details of the show. Myron has to piss. He whips it out right while I was standing there. By the way Myron, I can see your Norwegian dick. Thanks for the view. You go, Myron.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | April 7, 2019 7:16 PM
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Would Bobby have lived in NY in 1976?
by Anonymous | reply 62 | April 7, 2019 7:19 PM
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Welk used to introduce Joanne Castle as the "rag time piano girl"; and friend quipped that she played a Tampax piano.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | April 7, 2019 7:33 PM
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60 Natalie was fired for lying about why she needed a day off. Returned to Philadelphia to care for her ill mother and to be near her brother, a priest She died at 85 in 2010,
by Anonymous | reply 64 | April 7, 2019 7:36 PM
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Lawrence Welk was a sadistic fuck with repressed feelings for penis
by Anonymous | reply 66 | April 7, 2019 8:32 PM
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[quote]Welk fired her because something she wore on the show was too provocative.
Yeah—she showed her knees. Welk said that kind of "cheesecake" was unacceptable and showed her the door.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | April 7, 2019 8:39 PM
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How did "cheesecake" become synonymous with "sexy"?
by Anonymous | reply 68 | April 7, 2019 8:41 PM
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He also made lady cast members who were in the family way hide their pregnant bellies. Usually it was via flowing, diaphanous, caftan-like getups or standing behind set decor such as potted plants. Occasionally he took more drastic measures, such as making Jo Ann Castle perform in a bunny costume for an Easter-themed episode.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 69 | April 7, 2019 8:47 PM
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[quote]How did "cheesecake" become synonymous with "sexy"?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 70 | April 7, 2019 8:48 PM
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It was long before GG, r70.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | April 7, 2019 8:51 PM
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R69 that poor Morman, Sandi Griffiths was perpetually in the family way. They were always trying to hide her baby bumps.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | April 7, 2019 10:07 PM
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Sandi first appeared on the Welk show with her BYU classmate Sally Flynn, as the singing duo Sandi and Salli. Sally left to pursue a Broadway career and later married Clay Hart, another Welk show regular.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 73 | April 8, 2019 12:35 AM
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Weren't there many Champagne Ladies? I seem to recall a reunion event where all the past Champagne Ladies appeared together.
In the Sixties, I remember all the gossip magazines my mom bought always had some dirt on the Lennon Sisters.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | April 8, 2019 1:55 AM
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The Welk band had a number of Champagne Ladies in the 1930s and '40s. But during the show's long run on national television, I think Alice Lon and Norma Zimmer were the only two Champagne Ladies. The show ran 16 years on ABC, from 1955 to 1971, and then for 11 years in first-run syndication, from 1971 to 1982.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | April 8, 2019 2:05 AM
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[quote]Lawrence Welk was a sadistic fuck with repressed feelings for penis
"Repressed" is right. Once he did a guest shot on The Mike Douglas Show, and Bette Midler was also a guest. He wouldn't go near her, saying he was afraid she would give him crabs.
She told him he should be so lucky.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | April 8, 2019 2:12 AM
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"And ladies, he's still single."
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 77 | April 12, 2019 12:22 AM
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Would you look at the hair on that rascal @R77!!!
by Anonymous | reply 78 | April 12, 2019 12:34 AM
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