Ladimir Kwiatkowski (July 13, 1928 – March 2, 1994), better known as Ladmo, was an American television personality who co-hosted ''

The Wallace and Ladmo Show ''The Wallace and Ladmo Show'', also known as ''It's Wallace?'' and ''Wallace & Company'', was a children's television show produced by and aired on KPHO-TV (Channel 5) in Phoenix, Arizona, from April 1, 1954, to December 29, 1989. For most of it ...

'', a daily children's variety show broadcast on KPHO in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. The program featured clowns, cartoons and short comedy skits.

Personal life

Kwiatkowski was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, to Walter and Florence Kwiatkowski. His father was a Cleveland police detective. He graduated from high school in 1947. In 1949 Kwiatkowski decided to attend

Arizona State College Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

in Tempe. He wanted to be a

sports broadcaster In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

. He played baseball with the ASU team and was considered by scouts from the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

While at ASU, Kwiatkowski met and married his wife Patsy Lou Killough (March 31, 1951). He graduated from ASU with a degree in journalism and decided to try to get a job in television. “If I get a job in television, I’m going to stay. If I can’t get a job in TV, I’m going to take the baseball offer.” Kwiatkowski had five children. He died of lung cancer in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

on March 2, 1994.

Professional career

The day after Kwiatkowski's graduation, in 1955, he went to the KPHO-TV studios and met with the general manager, Dick Rawls (the future inspiration for the character, Mr. Grudgemeyer) and they hit it off. One hour after returning home, Lad received a call to start work the next day. While working as a cameraman for KPHO, Kwiatkowski became involved with the ''It's Wallace?'' program, hosted by Bill Thompson (Wallace). He developed his Ladmo character there, as well as his trademark " Ladmo Bags," which were given out as prizes on the show. Kwiatkowski and Thompson thus began a professional partnership that lasted decades—with ''It's Wallace?'' eventually being renamed ''The Wallace and Ladmo Show''. Its final taping was on December 29, 1989, after a 36-year run, becoming one of the longest-running daily children's television shows in American broadcasting. By that time the show had won many awards, including nine

Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s. After ''The Wallace and Ladmo Show'' ended, Kwiatkowski retired from broadcasting. He remained active in various social programs and charities.After the Show
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwiatkowski, Ladimir American television personalities Male television personalities 1928 births 1994 deaths Television personalities from Cleveland Deaths from lung cancer Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni