Larry Hooper
Encyclopedia
Larry Hooper was an American musician and vocalist. He was best known to television audiences as part of The Lawrence Welk Show
as a featured singer and pianist in Welk's orchestra.
Born in Independence, Missouri
, he joined the Welk
band in 1948 when they were doing evening performances at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York
.
His popularity was largely due to his deep bass voice, renditions of "This Old House" and "Asleep In The Deep," and his sense of humor. He also achieved success with songs like "Oh Happy Day," "Ding Dong Daddy" and "Minnie the Mermaid."
Plagued with health problems for years, he left the show on sick leave in 1969 due to a heart condition, which took him four years to recuperate from. He returned for the first show of the 1973-74 season (the "Tribute to Disney" episode, singing "Oh Happy Day"), which drew a huge emotional ovation from the audience and cast. He left the show for the final time in 1980 when his health began to fail again, and died three years later in 1983 of kidney failure.
Recently, Hooper has received new interest because of a video tape-loop played before Howie Mandel
's stand-up shows of him singing "Oh Happy Day" for 20 minutes.
The Lawrence Welk Show
The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years , then nationally for another 27 years via the ABC network and first-run syndication .In the years since first-run syndication...
as a featured singer and pianist in Welk's orchestra.
Born in Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, he joined the Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
band in 1948 when they were doing evening performances at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
His popularity was largely due to his deep bass voice, renditions of "This Old House" and "Asleep In The Deep," and his sense of humor. He also achieved success with songs like "Oh Happy Day," "Ding Dong Daddy" and "Minnie the Mermaid."
Plagued with health problems for years, he left the show on sick leave in 1969 due to a heart condition, which took him four years to recuperate from. He returned for the first show of the 1973-74 season (the "Tribute to Disney" episode, singing "Oh Happy Day"), which drew a huge emotional ovation from the audience and cast. He left the show for the final time in 1980 when his health began to fail again, and died three years later in 1983 of kidney failure.
Recently, Hooper has received new interest because of a video tape-loop played before Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
's stand-up shows of him singing "Oh Happy Day" for 20 minutes.