He kept a garden and at one time raised horses on a ranch in Simi Valley, Tim Feeney said. When he wasn”t singing, Feeney loved to fish and golf.
He entered and won several singing contests at the University of Nebraska, where he was starting quarterback.Ī tape of his singing was sent to Welk in 1956, resulting in a guest spot on the Los Angeles-based show. His last performance was in Syracuse, N.Y., in December.įeeney was born to an Irish-American family in Grand Island, Neb., and as a child sang in the church choir. He performed at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Disneyland, in part to support a big family. He sang for five presidents at the White House and for Pope John Paul VI in 1975 at the Vatican, according to his Web site. ‘The Lawrence Welk Show’ was mocked as television’s most wholesome program but bandleader Lawrence Welk stayed busy covering up scandals behind the scenes The once-popular show ran between 1955 to 1982, including 27 seasons on the ABC network, and still remains popular in reruns. The family believes Feeney, who they said never smoked, may have contracted cancer from decades of performing in smoky casinos and nightclubs, his son said.įrom 1957 to 1982, Feeney was the featured tenor on Welk”s show, which offered easy listening “champagne music.” The shows are still broadcast on public television stations.įeeney had a rich career away from the show. The elder Feeney lived in San Marcos in San Diego County. He was 76.įeeney died of emphysema at a hospice in Carlsbad, son Tim Feeney said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Joe Feeney, a tenor who crooned “Danny Boy” and other standards for 25 years on “The Lawrence Welk Show,” died Wednesday.
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