Jack Imel: My Years with Lawrence Welk as a Tap-Dancing Marimba Player
You could almost say that Jack Imel was born dancing. He started lessons when he was four years old and soon showed so much promise that his mother entered her cute little kid in a talent contest. He did pretty well, too, but his tap dancing was lost on the radio-listening audience. That early defeat inspired the novel idea of tap dancing and playing a marimba at the same time. Who could have dreamed that it would lead to a career in show business that endured for more than seven decades?    Jack’s unique talent took him to the Horace Heidt Show, the Navy School of Music, The Lawrence Welk Show, the Champagne Theatre in Branson, cruise ships around the world, and touring the country doing one-nighters. He became associate producer of the Welk Show on Saturday night television and produced all their summer touring performances. You might also remember Jack as the rear end of an elephant or a donkey in some of the Welk skits.    From his hometown of Portland, Indiana, to venues all around the world, Jack Imel has entertained millions of fans. So it was with a certain degree of reluctance that this tap-dancing marimba player finally decided to step out of the limelight and retire at the age of 76! He lives in Springville, California, with his lovely, high-school-sweetheart wife, Norma.