Robert Wilkie Burgess (born May 19, 1941) is an American dancer and singer. He was one of the original Mouseketeers.[1] Later, he was a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show.[2][3]
Growing up in Southern California, Burgess started performing at age five, which included dancing, singing and playing the accordion. At the age of 13, in 1955, he was selected as one of the original Mouseketeers by Walt Disney to appear on his new ABC television series, The Mickey Mouse Club, giving young Burgess his first taste of celebrity.[4] He also guest starred on The Donna Reed Show as a suitor of Mary Stone (Shelley Fabares). Burgess attended Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach for his elementary and junior high school. By the time Burgess turned 11, he had appeared in at least 75 television programs.[5][6]
After Disney
When the series ended in 1959, Burgess returned to a normal teenager's life, and graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School.[7] He then began attending Long Beach State University where he became a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. While there, he and his childhood friend (and dancing partner) Barbara Boylan entered a Calcutta dance contest held by Lawrence Welk and his orchestra based on the hit song of the same name. They won the contest and first prize was an appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show, which appeared nationally on ABC.[8]
After their initial appearance, Burgess and Boylan continued to guest on the maestro's show for the next few weeks, either dancing to Calcutta or to the orchestra's next hit song Yellow Bird. The positive fan response led to Welk hiring the dance couple as permanent members of the show, which was described by the maestro as having created a job for themselves. Over the course of the show's run, first on ABC and later in syndication; Burgess had three dance partners: Barbara Boylan from 1961 to 1967, who was also a temporary fill-in for a few shows in 1979, Cissy King (1967–78), and Elaine Balden (1979–82). He did song-and-dance numbers with Arthur Duncan and Jack Imel and co-hosted, with Mary Lou Metzger, wraparound segments on The Lawrence Welk Show'sPBS reruns in 2010.[9]
Later life
Burgess still dances when he is touring with Elaine Balden, and at his own dance studio, where he instructs young students. He is the cotillion instructor at Miraleste, Palos Verdes and Ridgecrest Intermediate Schools.[10]
Personal life
Burgess married Kristie Floren, the daughter of Welk accordionist Myron Floren, on Valentine's Day (February 14), 1971. The couple live in Hollywood Hills and are parents to four children.[8]
References
^Hollis, Tim; Ehrbar, Greg (2006). Mouse tracks: the story of Walt Disney Records. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 13. ISBN978-1-57806-849-4. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
^Newcomb, Horace; Communications, Museum of Broadcast (2004). Encyclopedia of television. CRC Press. p. 1329. ISBN978-1-57958-411-5. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
^"Lawrence Welk Dancer Taps into Nostalgia : Champagne Music: Bobby Burgess, who danced with the show for 20 years, will perform in two TV specials". Los Angeles Times. March 1991.
^Burgess, Bobby "Ears & Bubbles: Dancing My Way from The Mickey Mouse Club to The Lawrence Welk Show" Theme Park Press, 2014. Pp. 1–160. ISBN978-1941500071
^ ab"Alumni Feature: Bobby Burgess" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 75, no. 2. Summer 1988. pp. 4–6.
^Bobby Burgess profile, welkshow.org. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
^"About Town: Former Mouseketeer makes learning social graces fun at Miraleste Intermediate cotillion". January 5, 2014.
June 02, 2023
bobby, burgess, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, poten. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Bobby Burgess news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Robert Wilkie Burgess born May 19 1941 is an American dancer and singer He was one of the original Mouseketeers 1 Later he was a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show 2 3 Bobby BurgessBurgess in 1969BornRobert Wilkie Burgess 1941 05 19 May 19 1941 age 82 Long Beach California U S NationalityAmericanOccupation s Singer dancer Contents 1 Early life 2 After Disney 3 Later life 4 Personal life 5 ReferencesEarly life EditGrowing up in Southern California Burgess started performing at age five which included dancing singing and playing the accordion At the age of 13 in 1955 he was selected as one of the original Mouseketeers by Walt Disney to appear on his new ABC television series The Mickey Mouse Club giving young Burgess his first taste of celebrity 4 He also guest starred on The Donna Reed Show as a suitor of Mary Stone Shelley Fabares Burgess attended Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach for his elementary and junior high school By the time Burgess turned 11 he had appeared in at least 75 television programs 5 6 After Disney EditWhen the series ended in 1959 Burgess returned to a normal teenager s life and graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School 7 He then began attending Long Beach State University where he became a member of Sigma Pi fraternity While there he and his childhood friend and dancing partner Barbara Boylan entered a Calcutta dance contest held by Lawrence Welk and his orchestra based on the hit song of the same name They won the contest and first prize was an appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show which appeared nationally on ABC 8 After their initial appearance Burgess and Boylan continued to guest on the maestro s show for the next few weeks either dancing to Calcutta or to the orchestra s next hit song Yellow Bird The positive fan response led to Welk hiring the dance couple as permanent members of the show which was described by the maestro as having created a job for themselves Over the course of the show s run first on ABC and later in syndication Burgess had three dance partners Barbara Boylan from 1961 to 1967 who was also a temporary fill in for a few shows in 1979 Cissy King 1967 78 and Elaine Balden 1979 82 He did song and dance numbers with Arthur Duncan and Jack Imel and co hosted with Mary Lou Metzger wraparound segments on The Lawrence Welk Show s PBS reruns in 2010 9 Later life EditBurgess still dances when he is touring with Elaine Balden and at his own dance studio where he instructs young students He is the cotillion instructor at Miraleste Palos Verdes and Ridgecrest Intermediate Schools 10 Personal life EditBurgess married Kristie Floren the daughter of Welk accordionist Myron Floren on Valentine s Day February 14 1971 The couple live in Hollywood Hills and are parents to four children 8 References Edit Hollis Tim Ehrbar Greg 2006 Mouse tracks the story of Walt Disney Records Univ Press of Mississippi p 13 ISBN 978 1 57806 849 4 Retrieved July 10 2010 Newcomb Horace Communications Museum of Broadcast 2004 Encyclopedia of television CRC Press p 1329 ISBN 978 1 57958 411 5 Retrieved July 10 2010 Lawrence Welk Dancer Taps into Nostalgia Champagne Music Bobby Burgess who danced with the show for 20 years will perform in two TV specials Los Angeles Times March 1991 Perello Paul September 18 2014 An Interview With Bobby Burgess Ret July 13 2019 17 07 CST https www laughingplace com w articles 2014 09 18 an interview with bobby burgess Corres Stahl Scarlett August 16 2014 Ears and Bubbles The Story of Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess URL Ret July 13 2019 16 57 CST https www micechat com 77564 ear bubbles the story of mouseketeer bobby burgess Burgess Bobby Ears amp Bubbles Dancing My Way from The Mickey Mouse Club to The Lawrence Welk Show Theme Park Press 2014 Pp 1 160 ISBN 978 1941500071 Ruhl Ashleigh Local Dancer Bobby Burgess Pens Ears amp Bubbles www Gazettes com a b Alumni Feature Bobby Burgess PDF The Emerald of Sigma Pi Vol 75 no 2 Summer 1988 pp 4 6 Bobby Burgess profile welkshow org Retrieved July 10 2015 About Town Former Mouseketeer makes learning social graces fun at Miraleste Intermediate cotillion January 5 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bobby Burgess amp oldid 1147047917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
