He is pleased to see the Welk mystique being passed on to a new generation. Now making his home in Clearwater, singer Jimmy Roberts tours as a solo performer in addition to appearing with the Legends show. He always tried to please them rather that going by his own taste." He was always thinking about his audience. "And that comes from the relationship Lawrence developed with his audience. She is married to a former Lawrence Welk Show director, Jim Balden.Īccording to Balden, the good will that Welk created during his life is still strong. "It's a lot of fun because we get to bring our families and use it as a big vacation," he said.īilled as America's Favorite Dance Team, Burgess and his current partner Elaine Balden have been performing together since 1979.īesides touring with the Legends show, Balden also acts, choreographs shows and appears with Donald O'Connor's all-dance company. Keeping it all in the family, Burgess has been married to Myron Floren's daughter, Kristie, for 25 years.īurgess especially likes performing in Branson because he, Kristie and their four kids can settle in while doing two show a day, six days a week.
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"I've been very lucky to move to and from one wholesome TV family to another," he said. He spent 12 seasons on the Welk show starting in the early 1960s. "There will be Latin tunes, show tunes and some Christmas songs."Īnacani, who designs her own costumes, also promises "a real fashion show."ĭancer Bobby Burgess was an original Mousketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s. "I'm going to surprise the audience with some things that I didn't have time to do on the TV show," she said. In Anacani's live performance she will expand her repertoire. He had such charisma and he really reached out to the people." "He was always in a good mood and I have fond memories of his good humor. Welk was a very happy-go-lucky person," she said. Welk was something of a father figure to Anacani. "I try to juggle around my family life and show business and it's hard sometimes," she said. These days she spends her time as a product spokesperson for the Latin-American market, performing at conventions and taking care of her son. She joined the show in 1975 after meeting Welk at his restaurant in Los Angeles.Ī native of Mexico, she brought a Latin flavor to the show.
"They keep up with us and sometimes they know more about what's going on than I do." "People will come up to me and tell me about things that happened years ago." he said. Like followers of rock bands, he says, Welk fans keep up with the performers. "We have a very faithful audience and when we come to Lecanto it'll be like coming back to the family." "I think it's knowing the audience and being in touch with who your customers are," Floren said.
He points to Welk's uncanny ability to read his audience as the main factor in the longevity of the show and its legacy _ a trick he passed on to them. These days, in addition to touring under his own name, Floren does as many as 75 dates a year with the Legends of Lawrence Welk and performs about three times a year at Welk's Champagne Theater in Branson, Mo. That was 1950 and Floren became one of the mainstays of Welk's growing band. "He wanted to concentrate on conducting the band." "He needed someone who had more time to practice than he did," Floren said. Soon he was playing the instrument himself, and after playing in a country- western group and USO shows, he was invited to join Welk's evolving band. He was immediately enthralled with music in general and the accordion in particular. Myron Floren, originally from South Dakota, first saw the five-piece Welk polka band when he was 5. Pretty amazing for a simple farm boy from North Dakota _ as Welk often called himself.
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