Norma Zimmer National Fan Club Newsletter
Collection
Identifier: Welk Mss 3
Scope and Content
The Norma Zimmer National Fan Club newsletters are complete from 1978 to 2012. The newsletter was
issued quarterly. They vary as to length; however they consistently include a message from Frances
Young (president/director) and from Norma Zimmer. They also included photographs of Norma, her
family and other members of the Welk musical family. In addition there are occasional poems and other
writings as well as new fan club members, and upcoming Welk performances. In more recent years
several color photographic prints of Norma Zimmer were enclosed with each newsletter. (These snapshots
are preserved in the Institute’s general Welk Photograph Collection.)
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1978-2012
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSu Archives.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection are not held by the NDSU Archives.
History
The Norma Zimmer National Fan Club began about 1960. Frances L. Young of Allentown Pennsylvania
was the director since at least 1978 and likely longer. Its purpose was to maintain contact with the
many fans of Norma Zimmer and keep them up-to-date with her life and activities. The main medium of
communication is its quarterly newsletter. The letter seems to have been discontiuned in 2012. Frances Young died in 2017.
Biography
Norma Beatrice Larsen was born July 13, 1923 on a dairy farm at Larson, Idaho and grew up in Seattle
after her father moved the family west. She was singing in a church choir when a guest artist suggested
she travel to Los Angeles and audition for a musical group. When she turned eighteen, she did just that. In
1944 she married Randy Zimmer. She sang with a succession of top vocal groups — the Norman Luboff
Choir, the Pete King Chorale, the Ken Darby Singers, among them — and she appeared on most of the
popular television variety shows during the 1950s as well as landing a small singing part in Bing Crosby's
1950 film, Mr. Music. She provided singing voice for the white rose in the 1951 Disney film "Alice in
Wonderland". She also worked as a studio singer and performed on Welk's 1956 Thanksgiving album.
Norma Zimmer officially joined the Welk show as his Champagne Lady on New Year's Eve 1960. As the show's Champagne Lady, Zimmer sang one solo and often a duet (usually with Jimmy Roberts); she also frequently danced with Welk at the end of the show. Zimmer no longer performs publicly, though she does frequently join her fellow former castmates for many of the Welk reunion shows, broadcast on PBS.
Norma Zimmer also appeared in a number of the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades and wrote a book about her life, Norma, published by Tyndale House in 1976. Norma Zimmer passed away on May 10, 2011 in Brea, California. (Based upon biographical sketch on Wikipedia)
Norma Zimmer officially joined the Welk show as his Champagne Lady on New Year's Eve 1960. As the show's Champagne Lady, Zimmer sang one solo and often a duet (usually with Jimmy Roberts); she also frequently danced with Welk at the end of the show. Zimmer no longer performs publicly, though she does frequently join her fellow former castmates for many of the Welk reunion shows, broadcast on PBS.
Norma Zimmer also appeared in a number of the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades and wrote a book about her life, Norma, published by Tyndale House in 1976. Norma Zimmer passed away on May 10, 2011 in Brea, California. (Based upon biographical sketch on Wikipedia)
Extent
.4 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
The Norma Zimmer National Fan Club newsletters are complete from 1978 to 2012. The newsletter was issued quarterly. They vary as to length; however they consistently include a message from Frances Young (president/director) and from Norma Zimmer. They also include photographs of Norma, her family and other members of the Welk musical family. In addition there are occasional poems and other writings as well as new fan club members, and upcoming Welk performances.
Provenance
Donated by Frances Young, club director (Acc. 94-4).
Property rights
NDSU Archives owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Norma Zimmer National Fan Club Newsletter
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu