Page 6 – LIFE

Lawrence Welk: America’s Unlikely “Most Popular Musician”

August 8, 2025 by Bill Syken

In a 1957 article LIFE identified Lawrence Welk as “the most popular musician in U.S. history.” It was a bold claim in the age of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, but the magazine backed up its assertion with stats about Welk’s record sales, his weekly television viewership and the $100,000 a week guarantees that the bandleader earned from his concerts. The magazine said Welk grossed $3.5 and $4 million a year —which would be about $40 million to $45 million today.

Those were big bucks for a genteel fellow whose primary instrument was the accordion. LIFE talked about the unlikeliness of Welk’s success in a story headlined “Some Champagne for the Folks“:

Until he was 21 he was a farmhand on his immigrant father’s 400-acre place in Strasburg, N.D. He is neither glamorous nor especially charming. He speaks, haltingly, with a German accent. He has no swimming pool and few worries. He has never in his life smoked a cigaret, drunk a drop of liquor or used profanity. A devout Catholic, he has been married for 27 years to a former nurse. They have three nonproblem children.

And it wasn’t just Welk’s background that was humble. The music that he and his band made was anything but revolutionary. Even while praising Welk, LIFE suggested that many of his TV viewers used the show as background noise. And Welk himself was very open about being a middle-of-the-road crowd-pleaser. He told LIFE, “Sure I like better music than what I play, but if I played what I like we’d still be eating hamburger instead of steak.”

Welk’s manner was as easygoing as his music. The photos by LIFE’s Allan Grant capture Welk in all his geniality, whether he is handing out cookies to the band, making his signature cork-popping sound with a finger in his mouth, or pulling out the accordion to entertain the fans.

At the time LIFE wrote about Welk, he had been in the business 32 years, but he still had a long road in front of him. The Lawrence Welk Show began as a local program in Los Angeles in 1951, and it started airing nationally on ABC in 1955. The show would broadcast on that network for 16 years, until 1971, and after that the show continued on in syndication for another 11 seasons, until 1982.

Welk died ten years later, in 1992, at the age of 89.

Lawrence Welk talked to the audience at the Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica, California, 1957.

Allan Grant/Life Picture Collection/Shuttertstock

Lawrence Welk made his signature cork-popping sound for the radio audience, 1957.

Allan Grant/Life Picture Collection/Shuttertstock

Bandleader Lawrence Welk played his accordion on his weekly TV show, 1957.

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Lawrence Welk was joined by family members, including his wife, for a rare appearance on his show, 1957.

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Bandleader Lawrence Welk at a recording of his weekly television show, 1957.

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At a show Lawrence Welk handed out cookies that had been brought by fans for members of his band, 1957.

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Lawrence Welk posed with a collection of the items he gave away to audiences at his band’s performances, 1957.

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Bandleader Lawrence Welk prepared for his weekly TV show, 1957.

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Bandleader Lawrence Welk prepared for an appearance, 1957.

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Lawrence Welk conducted a pre-show run-through with the Lemon Sisters in the ladies’ room, 1957.

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Lawrence Welk at a taping of his television show, 1957.

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Lawrence Welk played his trademark accordion on the set of one of his weekly TV shows. 1957.

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LIFE declared bandleader Lawrence Welk “the most popular musician in U.S. history” based on TV viewership, record sales and the fees he earned for appearances with his band, 1957.

Allan Grant/Life Picture Collection/Shuttertstock

Bandleader Lawrence Welk, 1957.

Allan Grant/Life Picture Collection/Shuttertstock

Marilyn Monroe: Intrigue at the Gala

August 6, 2025 by Bill Syken

In the 1950s the April in Paris Ball was one of the main events of the New York social season. The 1957 edition took place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and it attracted 1,300 guests who each paid $100—more than $1,100 in today’s dollars—to attend, with the money going to French and American charities. Women wore dresses specially designed for the event. The 1957 ball featured a reenactment of Marquis du Lafayette’s reception in New York in 1824—he was the last surviving general of the Revolutionary War—complete with two horses pulling a carriage through the hotel ballroom.

LIFE’s coverage focused on the spectacle, the charity and the famous guests, which included Marilyn Monroe and her husband of nearly a year at that point, playwright Arthur Miller (see photos of their wedding day here). John F. Kennedy, who was at that time a U.S. senator, also came to the gala, with wife Jackie. In hindsight Marilyn and JFK being in the same room is notable because the two reportedly had an affair when Kennedy was president.

But at the time of the ball Monroe’s presence stirred intrigue because the actress may have been an unwitting pawn in a high-society feud.

The organizer of the April in Paris Ball was Elsa Maxwell, who had a well-developed grudge with the Duchess of Windsor, another one of the attendees. As reported by the Times-Standard newspaper, Maxwell invited Monroe with the idea of upstaging the Duchess of Windsor, who was the honorary chair of the event and the supposed star of the evening. That star status apparently dimmed when Monroe showed up fashionably late and immediately became the center of attention. “More than 30 photographers abandoned the Duchess’ table in a body,” the newspaper reported. “They were followed at a pace only slightly more sedate by some of New York’s upper crust society dowagers, waving programs for autographs.”

Among those photographers with their lens on Monroe was LIFE’s Peter Stackpole, who captured the actress chatting and dancing with Miller and also talking to Winthop Aldrich, a banker who was coming off a four-year stint as ambassador the United Kingdom. Monroe looked both glamorous and delighted with her company.

While it is entirely unfair to read too much into a single still photo taken during an hours-long party, the one photo of Stackpole’s which included the Duchess of Windsor was not nearly as festive.

The April in Paris Ball continued as a major New York social event until its last edition in 1979. After that the American Friends of the Louvre picked up the mantle, staging its own April in Paris Ball and keeping the tradition alive.

During the 1957 April in Paris Ball held at the Waldorf Astoria, Lafayette’s visit to New York in 1824 was recreated with horse and buggy.

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About 1,300 people attended the April in Paris Ball, which celebrated French-American relations and raised money for charity, New York City, 1957.

Peter Stackpole/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marilyn Monroe and her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, shared a laugh at the April in Paris Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, 1957.

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Marilyn Monroe with Winthrop Aldrich, a banker who had just completed a four-year term as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, during the April in Paris ball at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 1957. At the far right is playwright Arthur Miller, who was Monroe’s husband.

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Marilyn Monroe spoke with Winthrop Aldrich, a banker who had just completed a four-year term as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, during the April in Paris ball at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 1957.

Peter Stackpole/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The head table at the April in Paris Ball, held at the Waldorf Astoria, included (from left) American socialite Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, French Ambassador to the United States Herve Alphand, Chairman of the Ball Rosemary Warburton Gaynor, Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, and Mrs George Baker, 1957.

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Marilyn Monroe and her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, were centers of attention at the April in Paris Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, 1957.

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Marilyn Monroe danced with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, at the April in Paris Ball held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City, 1957.

Peter Stackpole/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

When Tiger Cubs Come to Stay

July 31, 2025 by Bill Syken

When you think of animals that would work as house pets, tigers generally don’t top the list. And for good reason. The website The Spruce Pets advises that no tiger species should be kept as a pet, noting that the practice is banned in most U.S. states. Among the reasons why tigers don’t make good pets: as adults the tigers “eat dozens of pounds of meat per day and need acres of expensive high-security enclosures.”

Not to mention the obvious dangers.

But in 1944 LIFE wrote about a special instance in which a woman took in three tiger cubs into her New York city apartment, and it worked out quite well—for the most part.

She took in the tiger cubs because of a situation at the Bronx Zoo, where her husband worked as a lion keeper. The zoo had a Bengal tiger named Jenny who had given birth to three cubs. As sometimes happens with tigers in captivity, Jenny refused to nurse her young. So Helen Martini, the lion keeper’s wife, stepped forward to give these young cubs the care that they needed.

As LIFE described it, taking care of the cubs kept her quite busy:

Fed every three hours, the cubs announce their mealtime with loud squalls, which grow louder as they grow hungrier. They have not learned to lap from a saucer and each has to be fed from a bottle. When she is not feeding them, Mrs. Martini is cleaning them, or putting drops in their eyes, or playing with them. Though quite tame and playful, the cubs’s long claws require her to wear leather gloves when handling them.

The tigers’ stay at the Martini home was only set to last about a month. At that point the cubs would need to transition to be a meat diet and become too much to handle around a New York City apartment.

The images of Martini caring for the cubs, taken by LIFE staff photograper Alfred Eisenstaedt, show the obvious affection she developed for these adorable creatures. But having tigers in her house came with its problems. Not only did Mrs. Martini have to wear those protective leather gloves, she also had to take the drapes off her windows before the cubs completely shredded them.

This was happening when the cubs weighed around eight pounds. As adults Bengal tigers can weigh close to 600 pounds.

In short, don’t try this at home.

At five weeks old, this tiger cub weighed 6 1/2 pounds over its birth weight, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tiger cub made its way from the kitchen to the living room while staying at the home of the Bronx Zoo’s lion keeper, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tiger cub made its way around the home of the Bronx Zoo’s lion keeper; these cubs were given home care because their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Helen Martini, wife of a Bronx Zoo lion keeper, cared for three tiger cubs after their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Three tiger cubs were taken into the home of a Bronx Zoo lion keeper because their captive mother would not nurse them; they needed to be fed by bottle because they had not learned to lap from a bowl, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rajpur, a tiger cub, investigated a kitchen cabinet full of Carnation evaporated milk; he was temporarily being cared for by Helen Martini, the wife of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper, because its captive mother would not nurse her cubs, 1944.

A tiger cub trying to climb onto a couch while staying at the home of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper; the keeper’s wife was caring for the tigers because their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tiger cubs stayed at the home of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper after their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Helen Martini, wife of a Bronx Zoo lion keeper cared for three tiger cubs after their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tiger cub sucked on the finger of Helem Martini, who was the wife of the Bronx Zoo lion keeper and was looking after three tigers because their captive mother would not nurse them, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

An Early Traveler on the Path from Brooklyn to Buddhism

July 30, 2025 by Bill Syken

The trail that begins in Brooklyn and leads to an ashram in the Far East was most famously travelled by author Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote about it in her wildly popular book Eat, Pray Love. But she was of course not the first to take that journey, as Americans have been finding appeal in the ideas of Buddhism since the mid-1800s. A 1950 issue of LIFE featured a story headlined “Buddhist from Brooklyn,” which told the story of a 21-year-old man whose devotion to the religion inspired him to start a new life overseas.

His story is mostly about the praying. There is very little eating, and the topic of love does not come up.

That man’s name was Charles Randolph Buckalew Jr., and he lived in the Brooklyn, N.Y. neighborhood known as East Flatbush. The LIFE story does not indicate if he was a descendant of Charles Rollin Buckalew, who was a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania in the 1800s. The only background we learn about him is that he was the son of a bank receptionist, and that he began to read about Buddhism when he was 10 years old.

Eventually Buckalew decided to change his name to Jinaloka —which means “Light of Buddha”—and head to Sri Lanka (known then as Ceylon) to live the life of a devoted Buddhist and become ordained in the faith.

When LIFE caught up with him at the time of his ordainment, he had already been studying abroad for two years. Here was LIFE’s brief explanation of Buckalew’s decision to become a Buddhist:

With his conversion Buckalew resolved a problem that had been bothering him since his days in P.S. 115. It was hard, he felt, to reconcile Christianity with science or the morality of the times. He believes that Buddhism, with its disregard for the material things in life, will bring him peace of mind.

At the beginnings of his life at the monastery. Jinaloka’s head was shaven, and he was given a begging bowl, a razor, three long yellow robes and a needle and thread. The photos by Dmitri Kessel document the spare life upon which Jinaloka was embarking, which included eating just one meal a day. Another photo shows him scooping water from a tank and pouring it over himself as a way of taking a bath.

The story stated that Jinaloka’s plan was to stay in Sri Lanka for four years before returning home and attempting to spread the word about Buddhism in the United States. It’s not clear to what extent his designs came to fruition, but today Buddhism has a strong presence in his former borough, with Buddhist meditation centers dotting Brooklyn, for those who want to practice the religion but stay a little closer to home.

Charles Randolph Buckalew Jr., formerly of Brooklyn, had his head shaved when he joined a Buddhist order in Sri Lanka, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In Sri Lanka Jinaloka (second from right) and his fellow Buddhists ate one meal a day, served at 11:30 a.m., which consisted of rice, vegetables, fruit and sometimes meat, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jinaloka, a young man who moved from Brooklyn, N.Y. to Sri Lanka to live as a Buddhist, ate his daily meal, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jinaloka, a former Brooklyn resident who moved to Sri Lanka for Buddhism, bathed by scooping water from a stone tank, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jinaloka, a former Brooklyn resident who moved to Sri Lanka for Buddhism, studied language in his room to help him read original Buddhist scriptures, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jinaloka, a former Brooklyn resident who moved to Sri Lanka for Buddhism, studied in his room, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Former Brooklynite Charles Randolph Buckalew Jr. moved to Sri Lanka to become a Buddhist. He changed his name to Jinaloka, which means “Light of Buddha,” 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jinaloka, a former Brooklyn resident who relocated to Sri Lanka, shared an evening prayer with his fellow Buddhists, 1950.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Building the Future: Inside General Electric, 1937

December 26, 2025July 25, 2025 by Bill Syken

As American corporations go, few have a history that runs as deep as General Electric. Its roots trace back to Thomas Edison; GE was formed in 1892 when a conglomerate built around Edison’s inventions merged with another conglomerate. GE was one of the original 12 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average back in 1896.

The company has had its hand in many technological advances over its storied history. General Electric was behind the first television broadcast in 1928. The first night baseball game, in Cincinnati in 1935, was played under GE lights. During World War II the company made the turbojets for America’s first jet aircraft. Aerospace, health care and information systems are part of a long list of fields in which the company has made a mark.

The breadth of the GE operations underlines the great variety of activity that legendary LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt documented when he gained access to the General Electric operations back in 1937. What he captured is visually amazing, and also obscure in its details; these photos were for a story that never ran in the magazine, so we don’t know precisely what is happening in every picture. But we do know what was happening in a broad sense: these workers were shaping the future.

Looking back from the vantage point of the 21st century, what stands out about this GE manufacturing operation is how physical it was. This was 1937, and there is not a computer in sight. It was at the forefront of technology, but people were doing everything with their hands.

Some of the coolest photos are the ones that Eisenstaedt took of a man handling a light bulb. It’s fitting. Not only was the light bulb one of the company’s foundational products, but those bulbs are a place where consumers today can still see the General Electric logo. Billions of lighting products carrying the GE brand are still bought every year—even if GE actually sold its light bulb business to a smart home company called Savant in 2020.

That General Electric name still means a lot—as you would expect, given its long history.

Inside a General Electric laboratory in Boston, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

General Electric’s light laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Inside a General Electric laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Inside a General Electric laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shuttesttock

Inside a General Electric laboratory, 1937.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Workers ate their meals at General Electric’s company’s cafeteria, 1937

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Le Mans: A Crown Jewel of Motorsports

July 17, 2025 by Bill Syken

The 2025 summer blockbuster movie F1, starring Brad Pitt, includes several races in Europe, which has a grand history with auto racing. During the heyday of LIFE magazine’s original run racing was pretty much the top sport on the continent, and in 1953 the magazine sent staff photographer Frank Scherschel to cover one of its marquee races, 24 Hours of Le Mans.

As its name suggests, 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance event, where victory is about who goes the furthest in the allotted time, rather than who reaches the finish line first. Drivers switch off with teammates during the round-the-clock race, which takes place on a mix of tracks and city streets. The mix of surfaces meant that Le Mans cars were designed in a way that made them look more like everyday vehicles than your average race car.

Le Mans was once characterized by Sports Illustrated as “more a happening than a neat sports competition” owing to the spread-out nature of the course and also the duration of the competition. The photos Scherschel took for LIFE reflect that. The scene looks like a music festival as must as it does a sporting event. In addition to capturing the action on the track, he took in the entire scene, including the track’s popular “La Maison du Cafe”—coffee was going to be the drink of choice for many at a 24-hour-event. Although the track also had a “Le Vin de Bordeaux” concession stand, a reminder that this was, after all, France.

Scherschel was sure to capture the most distinctive element of the race back then, which was known as the “Le Mans start.” Drivers stood opposite where their cars were lined up, and then when the starter’s pistols fired they ran to their cars, hit the ignition and pulled out. That style of start was phased out for safety reasons in 1969.

While the start has changed, the 24 Hours of Le Mans continues today, and it stands as the oldest endurance race in the world. In June 2025 the 93rd running of the race was won by a Ferrari team for the third year in a row.

The Le Mans road race, 1953.

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Alberto Ascari (second from right), who would win the Formula One season championship that year, hung out with group of racers in the dugout at the Le Mans road race, 1953.

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The Le Mans road race, 1953.

Frank Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Back in 1953 the Le Mans road race began with the drivers making a running start to their cars.

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