7/2/2008:
After ten years playing at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, Lawrence Welk, native of Strasburg, North Dakota, realized that his days in the Windy City were drawing to a close. The big band craze of the 1930s and '40s was ending, Welk’s crowds were dwindling and the Trianon’s manager had refused repeated requests from the band for salary increases. And so, in 1950, Welk decided to pack up his orchestra and go on tour, hoping for more lucrative engagements in other parts of the country.
Midway through the road tour, Sam Lutz, the band’s manager, secured Welk his first big break. Lutz contacted KTLA, a local Los Angeles television station, about airing Welk’s orchestra. The station manager, having been burned by bands before, was initially hesitant to air the program, but following Lutz’s continuous pestering, finally agreed. However, there was a catch. Although KTLA agreed to put the band on the air, it refused to pay any expenses, and instead asked that Welk put up three hundred dollars of his own money to pay for the shooting costs. Lawrence agreed to the stations demands, and his orchestra made its local television debut on May 2 of 1951.
Fortunately, Welk’s on-air ‘audition’ was a complete success. The next morning while playing golf, Welk received many compliments and congratulations from complete strangers who had seen him on their television sets the night before. As for KTLA, the TV station on which Welk played; it received numerous telephone calls and letters asking to see more of Lawrence Welk. The station manager quickly informed Welk that he’d be happy to air his band the following week, and would even pay the band for its trouble.
The Lawrence Welk show grew into a successful weekly program in Los Angeles, attracting the interest of the Dodge Motor Company who was looking for a local show to sponsor. The company sent a representative to contact Welk concerning their sponsorship. However the band leader rebuffed Dodge’s advances, informing the Dodge agent that he was currently being sponsored by Chevrolet. To this, the Dodge employee simply replied, “Oh, I think we just may get you in a Dodge one of these days.”
One month later, the Dodge Motor Company and Mr. Welk signed an agreement giving Dodge exclusive sponsoring rights and Lawrence Welk his own permanent local television program. As the months passed, Welk’s show became even more successful. His ratings were high, and local Los Angeles Dodge dealerships were enjoying increased business. Welk’s success encouraged Dodge to reconsider it’s arrangement with Lawrence Welk. Instead of appearing only on local Los Angeles television, Dodge offered Welk a new opportunity; his own show to be aired nation wide, coast to coast. ABC snatched up the program and on this day July 2, 1955 the first national broadcast of the Lawrence Welk show was aired throughout the nation; a television program still seen in homes throughout the country to this day, fifty-three years following its initial broadcast.
Written by Lane Sunwall
Sources
"50 Years on National Television: The Lawrence Welk Show", North Dakota State University http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/fifty_years.html (accessed June 11, 2008).
"Lawrence Welk", Oklahoma Educational Television Authority http://www.oeta.onenet.net/welk/welk.htm (accessed June 11, 2008).
Welk, Lawrence, and Bernice McGeehan. Wunnerful, Wunnerful: The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971.