|
Joe Feeney,
Irish Tenor (1957-1982)
Lawrence Welk's Popular Irish Tenor
Joe Feeney, was an Irish Tenor on
the Lawrence Welk Show from 1957 to 1982. Feeney was
born in Grand Island, NE on August 14, 1931. Feeney studied music at St. Benedict's College in
Atchinson, Kansas where he appeared in many college
productions and Omaha, Nebraska radio stations.
Feeney also won a
spot on the Arlene Francis Show "Talent Patrol"
before joining the Lawrence Welk show in 1957,
replacing Gene Pursell, a and, a few years later, Canadian tenor Maurice Pearson. Feeney
stayed with the show until 1982.
In 2004, a jury found
Joe Feeney's brother, John Feeney, guilty of child
molestation while he was a priest for the Catholic
Church in the 1970's and 1980's. A jury also found the
Catholic Diocese of Green Bay responsible for negligence
for not investigating multiple complaints against
Feeney.
After getting remarried and moving
to Mexico in 2000 to avoid IRS tax liens, Joe Feeney passed away in April 2008 at the age of
76 from emphysema.
|