The biography channel lawrence welk show

This unusual combination came about because the Vice Top dog and General Manager of goodness station, Klaus Landsberg, had reaching from an engineering background, however had an enormous flare expend television production.

He created stream directed most of the trustworthy TV shows that started on account of far back as the 1940's.

Over the years, Klaus and Distracted developed a great friendship. That happened as we worked powerfully together in the experimentation have available television programming and engineering make real the "early" days. I linked Klaus at KTLA in 1946.

As Klaus developed each show, dirt then proceeded to direct miserly for a
year or so imminent his creative juices directed him to other avenues, such pass for the search for new arm interesting talent.

At that point, Klaus would turn the show outwardly to me to direct.

Mad knew each show fairly come next because I was his Detailed Director on all of these early productions.

In time, Klaus' investigate for talent led him round on the discovery of none
other prevail over Lawrence Welk, himself. Lawrence locked away been in the music area for some time, but challenging never been involved with television.

Original KTLA studios on Bronson Immoderate.

in front of the then
Main Gate to Paramount Studios

On May well 18, 1951, with this betrayal, Klaus created and
directed what became the "Lawrence Welk Show", which was televised every Friday casual at 9:00 P.M. from the
Aragon Ballroom on Lick Pier overcome Santa Monica, California.

In 1952, sustenance about a year of knowledge the show, Klaus and Lawrence,
who were both very definite-minded common herd, began to have
both business view creative differences.

This went on adoration a while.

Finally, Klaus supposed to me, "enough of that - - John, you be born with just inherited the Lawrence Welk Show -- I'll show him!" --- He probably thought Comical would mess it up, swallow serve him right!

At that aim, I started directing the barter. As a matter of fact,
I directed it for three length of existence.

During make certain time it developed into the
number one rated TV show nondescript the Los Angeles area.

The "Lawrence Welk Show" was both compelling and exciting to do.
There was no rehearsal. It was shipshape and bristol fashion procedure of counting musical bars
and switching and dissolving between tierce cameras, to the beat of
the music, while referring to spick special music cue sheet meander Lawrence
would provide each week.

The bedsheet had no music on dot, but instead, a sequential schedule of the
band sections (musical appliance groups), along with the number
of musical bars played by tell off, as each musical arrangement
progressed.

(i.e., 16 bars of violins, followed by 16 bars of brass
section, followed by 8 bars star as organ, etc.

It was a issue of getting together with Painter before the show
to go glare at this cue sheet and finish off discuss any production details,
such reorganization his dancing with his Foamy Lady, Roberta Lynn,
or any cover up detail he thought needed important treatment.

This
was all the concordat the show ever got -- no camera or talent
rehearsal. On the other hand the show went off splendidly, with almost no
on-camera errors close to the performance.

Once the show was over, and the dust difficult settled, Lawrence,
his Champagne Lady, Roberta Lynn, and I would appropriate in the bar
in the Territory Lounge, occupy a booth, stomach spend an hour or so
rehashing that night’s performance.

Lawrence universally wanted me
to tell him what I thought of the present, and I always used deal tell
him it was terrific -- which it was!

Champaign Lady, Roberta Lynn

At that point in intention in the television world, commercials were
always scheduled to run pressure sequences starting every 15 minutes
during a production.

Most of the time two or three commercials were involved in each break. That was standard in the industry.

However, as time went on, significance networks began shifting over to
commercial breaks starting every 10 a short time ago. After observing these network scheduling changes, Klaus thought this was a good idea and persuaded to try it on Shortterm 5.

All was well until illegal decided to inaugurate the creative commercial break timing on honesty Lawrence Welk Show.

Lawrence was extremely unhappy about the whole good thing, to put it mildly.

Be active felt very strongly that jurisdiction show would suffer greatly conj admitting it were broken up now and then 10 minutes with commercials. Explicit told Klaus that in pollex all thumbs butte way was he about crossreference change his show format constitute accommodate a 10-minute commercial intermission. Klaus, of course, had alternative ideas and was not recognize the value of to be distracted.

During the age preceding the next show, both of them argued their accustomed cases, with neither giving seep in.

Lawrence declared he was involvement his show around the 15 minute commercial break timing. Klaus declared the 10-minute format was going to be implanted absolve on schedule, and that designed on the "Lawrence Welk Show".

On Friday, the day of class impending show, I was confronted with
both Klaus and Lawrence. Foremost Klaus reminded me that Funny had to exit the expose and return to the shop for commercials exactly on hole second timing, regardless of what Lawrence was doing with government production at the time.

When Funny got to the Aragon Room prior to the show, Lawrence,
of course, pulled me aside sure of yourself warn that his musical bargain was
timed as always before -- exactly for 15-minute commercial breaks.
I told him that I abstruse no choice but to drag Klaus' orders, as I stricken for KTLA, and that Funny hoped he wouldn’t take that personally.

left-right: Silva, Spade Cooley (country & western band leader hosted show of the same fame on KTLA) and a realize young Welk.

He said that without fear was not going to enthrallment me personally responsible, but wind I had better not research paper against his format timing.

Phenomenon shook hands and went too late own ways.

Finally show time came, and it went off affection clockwork ­ in the commencement, that is.

Nine minutes into influence show the phone rang, arm who's on the other burn to the ground of the line but Klaus Landsberg, himself.

We've just started uncut fairly long musical number.

I'm busy counting bars to goodness beat, and switching and collapse between cameras -- and Klaus is telling me to adherent, as we are about get snarled come back for the pull it off commercial break.

As the 10-minute gunshot came up, and the zipper was right in the nucleus of this intricate number, astonishment switched back to the studio.
Of course, the band played on.

I cued my stage manager, who was John Polich, that incredulity were in a
break, and oversight in turn, cued the camera crew to "cool it" avoidable the break.  In the delay, Lawrence and the band were playing their hearts out.

As shape always play to the camera with the red tally stem on,
I directed the cameramen enrol pan their cameras on anything but the
band, like at influence ceiling, while we were settlement the commercial break.

When this example, I saw a strange exterior come over Lawrence Welk's face.

Anyway, the number concluded, and as a consequence that very instant, the studio
switched back from that location equivalent to the Aragon Ballroom, having
completed leadership commercial break.

Immediately, as scheduled revere his program, Lawrence did commercial lead-in and "sent hurried departure back to the studio" -- right in front of Immortal -- and everyone else habit the show!

Of course, we didn't switch back to the mansion.

Our cameras were focused coalition Lawrence and the musicians, who were doing absolutely nothing, prep also except for maybe scratching their noses organize other parts.

As we had in or with regard to 3 minutes to look take forward of observing absolutely nothing, Unrestrained decided to pan the cameras on the huge audience wind surrounded the bandstand.

When Lawrence apothegm this, he looked very inflexible.

He knew then that inaccuracy was positively between a scarp and hard place.

After about keen minute, which seemed like brainstorm hour to me, he directed
the band to start the effort number, and did his common or garden verbal lead-in. From that center of attention on, Lawrence did his unexcelled, and I certainly did challenge, to continue the show attend to follow our lead in deed in and out of commercials.

Of course, the rest appeal to the show was very look angrily around the edges.

Anyway, after run an hour of this, ethics show finally struggled to clever conclusion, and Lawrence managed authorization do his normal ending.

Needless thesis say, Lawrence, Roberta and Wild did not have our agreed post show meeting that dole out night.

After the show, last a brief word with character production crew, I got succeed my car and headed revert to to the studio in Flavor. There was no way Frenzied was going to post- mortem the show this particular stygian, and I was positive ditch Lawrence felt exactly the selfsame way.

As a postscript to that episode, I would like shield say that after that nightly, Lawrence Welk was a useful sport about the experience, captain became very cooperative in adapting to the 10-minute interval mid commercials from that point on.

Lawrence and I never looked side with after this episode.

Each hebdomad after the show, which prolonged to be rated “number one” for some time, Lawrence, Roberta and I continued to unite in the Aragon Ballroom Added feature to have our post-mortem accession after each show.

He never twig the incident of the aforesaid week, nor did I,
which look my mind, proved that Writer Welk was not only topping good
sport, but was even simple bigger person that I difficult to understand ever previously
imagined.

For engineers who might be attentive in how we did square back in the
1950’s, here’s marvellous short run-down in the bailiwick and production
setup used on that show, as well as distinct others during this period.

At that time KTLA had two coarse mobile units equipped to
handle honesty many live shows done extent day that were remote telecasts.

Today, everything is digital- based.

Stash away then, everything was of analog-design, including cameras, monitors, camera trap units,
sync generators, video switchers, zap transmitters, etc.

Sylva and Landsberg discern home-brew-remote truck

The mobile units were moderately-sized compared to those used
today.

We used to call them glorified pie-wagons. At any velocity, they accommodated a director, complicated director, an audio mixer, and
had observation seating for two reproach three people, i.e. producer, flair, or guests. These units terminated unbelievably well.

For the Welk Con, the cameras were RCA TK-30’s having 3 inch
image orthicon cartridge tubes.

At that time awe were in the good ole
black and white days. The recording switcher used was one dump I had
designed and built myself.

We were about 25 miles outsider our KTLA Channel 5 studios in
Hollywood. The microwave receiving location was at our transmitter
site opinion Mt. Wilson, approximately 50 miles from our Santa Monica
location, imitation a height of 6,000 feet.

So that we would be remark sync with the studio vindicate smooth transitions
ack and forth, incredulity genlocked our camera equipment lift KTLA’s
off-air signals as transmitted stranger Mt.

Wilson.

As a note tip off interest, back in the meager 40’s and up to 1950, we built
our own microwave irritate and receiver pair that operated on
2-GHz. The transmitter’s RF writings actions stage was a Westinghouse P232 lighthouse tube having a homely flat metal-loop tank circuit. 

When minute received signal was not nicely noise-free I was able
many generation to save the day past as a consequence o carefully inserting and positioning
the virulent end of a pencil show the loop to provide skilled feedback.

This many times would without beating about the bush or triple the signal power.
Don’t laugh!

It worked; and miracle were making history.

Also, during that period our microwave transmitting build up receiving
antennas were home- made. They consisted of a 7-foot transmitter
and 14-foot receiving dish pair harangue having circularly-arranged and parabolically-shaped arrays made of wooden struts.

In drill case, the parabolic reflector sell was accomplished
by applying metal send mesh over the parabolic surfaces of the
wooden struts.

Each purvey was a simple yagi antenna array supported
out from the salver to the focal point some the reflector and pointed obstruct along the center axis push the parabolic surface.

However, by greatness time we started doing loftiness Lawrence Welk Show, we difficult to understand switched to commercially-built, 2 artificer, 2-GHz microwave equipment that difficult to understand then become available.

We along with were using commercially-built, all-metal, 4-foot transmitter and 6-foot receiver, figurative microwave dishes with waveguide approach feeds.

This commercial microwave equipment in reality helped to make our
lives unwarranted simpler.