Wunnerful! Wunnerful!

Today is the King of Champagne Music's birthday! That's right--Lawrence Welk was born on this day in 1903. That would've made him 107! I remember watching him at my Godmother's house and watching his wunnerful dancers as he directed his orchestra with, "Ana one, ana two". His show ran from 1955 to 1982. Twenty-seven years!

Here are a few tidbits about the wunnerful Maestro of Magic that you may not know:

• His accent is a mix of Russian and German.
• His first band was Lawrence and the Hotsy Totsy Boys.
• Bob Barker had his Beauties, Heff has his Bunnies and Lawrence had his Champagne Ladies, but unlike the others, the Champagne Ladies actually had talent--each was the featured singer in his band.
• He developed and lived at The Welk Resort and Champagne Village.
• He was married for 61 years, had 3 kids, loved to play golf and was a minister in the Universal Life Church.
• His company the Welk Group, known as Teleklew, owns real estate, record labels and his syndicated show.

So, how do you celebrate Lawrence Welk's birthday? By blowing bubbles, drinking champagne and watching this clip of the Lawrence Welk show, of course! Check out his wunnerful facial expressions!