Which brings us to the obvious question: Whatever happened to the polka purveyors of yesteryear?įew Welk alumni are still performing, says Castle. And, oh yes, '(I) do a polka _ they like that.' In her shows, says Castle, she does everything from boogie-woogie to classical, from Fats Waller to ragtime. She is busy reconstructing her life, with show dates booked into '93. Eventually, she walked out on her third husband with only a suitcase.Ĭastle breaks down at the recollection, excusing herself on the phone for a minute. Her daughter, born with cerebral palsy and mentally impaired, died at age 15. 'I started not caring too much about my future career.' She took to the road, children in tow, playing fair dates, some nightclubs. Almost immediately after she left the show, Castle's first marriage disintegrated. If the moment had its exhilaration, it soon passed. But that was the first time I thought he really, really liked me.' They weren't dropping down his face or anything. I had never seen Lawrence Welk with tears in his eyes. When he looked back, his eyes were all watered. 'We were sitting in two chairs or something and he turned away and sat with his head straight ahead. 'He hid his feelings,' says Castle, who recalls the time she told Welk she was leaving the show, after 10 years, to devote more time to her children. On the other hand, yes, he was a reserved man who often seemed cold, if not cruel.

'The Lennon Sisters and I were not allowed to wear pants on the road, and people in the '60s were wearing pants. He wanted somebody the average person would love to see on the screen and enjoy.' 'He just picked nice personalities with talent to be on the show. 'You can ask me anything,' she says as we set up the interview.Īs promised, she is candid about her Welk days _ although, unlike others, who have accused Welk of everything from penny-pinching to icy coldness, she is mostly kind to her mentor. If her life sounds like a One Life to Live script, you wouldn't know it by her voice. But by 46, she had left her third husband _ who had beaten her so badly she was in a cast and on crutches _ and was sleeping on her sister's couch, wondering how she could get show dates to afford her own apartment.

Lawrence welk cast where are they now