Jimmy Roberts (April 6, 1923 – February 6, 1999) was an American tenor singer. He was a featured performer on the TV variety program ''

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, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 195 ...

'' during its entire broadcast run from 1955 to 1982. Born in Madisonville, Kentucky, he was serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he was hit with the "show business" bug. He first sang in public during a military play while the sets were being changed and, upon his discharge from the Army, set out for Hollywood to learn his craft at the Herbert Wall Music School. In 1954, he was hired by

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, tele ...

as a soloist when Welk's orchestra performed on local television station

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

and at the Aragon Ballroom in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, California. A year later, when the

orchestra made the move to national television on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, Roberts' natural singing talents made him nationally famous. During his tenure on the show, his signature numbers such as "

I Left My Heart in San Francisco "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a popular song, written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, with music by George Cory (1920–1978) and lyrics by Douglass Cross and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett. In 1962, the ...

" and "

My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...

" made him an audience favorite, especially among the show's female fans. He also sang duets with the show's Champagne Lady

Norma Zimmer Norma Zimmer (July 13, 1923 – May 10, 2011) was an American vocalist, best remembered for her 22-year tenure as Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady" on '' The Lawrence Welk Show''. Early years Born Norma Larsen on a dairy farm in Shoshone County, ...

. Although he receded from the national spotlight by the late 1970s, Roberts continued to perform and tour until the early 1990s. From 1983 to 1987, he worked with a talent outfit entitled "Young American Stars of Tomorrow." His piano accompanist was well-known recording artist and educator Steve Whipkey (who was in his teens). Promoter/percussionist Jay Van Hall was the host of the program, and the outfit achieved modest financial and commercial success in the Tampa Bay area, where Roberts lived. Roberts was the father of two sons, Gary and Steven, from his first marriage with Jane. He and his second wife, Vi, were married from 1985 until his death in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

from

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

in 1999, just two months before his 76th birthday.

External links

Stars of the Lawrence Welk Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Jimmy 1924 births 1999 deaths American tenors Deaths from bone cancer 20th-century American singers Lawrence Welk People from Madisonville, Kentucky Singers from Kentucky United States Army personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Florida 20th-century American male singers