Entertainer, Portland native Imel dies at 84
BRANSON MO NEWS: Lawrence “Jack” Imel, an entertainer who gained national fame on “The Lawrence Welk Show,” died April 30at age 84.
During a 1995 interview with The Journal Gazette, Imel credited his mother – and Fort Wayne – with setting the stage for his entry into show business.
He was born June 9, 1932, to Jennings and Opel Imel in Portland, Indiana. As the only child of a grocer, Imel was given a lot of advantages, including tap and marimba lessons.
After a 9-year-old Imel failed to earn a spot on a talent show at radio station WOWO-AM in Fort Wayne, his mother decided to add music to the act.
Not long after, Imel came home from school to find a xylophone – an instrument he could play while tap dancing.
Imel creditedDorothy Durbin of Fort Wayne with getting him his first booking: a Fort Wayne labor hall. The next week, she booked him twice.
When he was 11, Imel switched from xylophone to marimba, and after high school graduation studied at Arthur Jordan Music Conservatory in Indianapolis.
In 1952, Imel married Norma Jean Denney, his high school sweetheart, and enlisted in the Navy.
In 1957, as he was leaving the service, Imel auditioned for Lawrence Welk, who invited him to …
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