She made her debut on the show that New Year's Eve and when 1968 came around, was made a regular thanks to the overwhelming positive response from the audience. In late 1967, Tanya drew the attention of Mary Lee Schaefer, president of Lawrence Welk's fan club and impressed by her talents, was recommened to the Maestro to appear on his show. She also signed an exclusive performing contract with the Walt Disney Studios where at Disneyland, she had her own rock and roll band, Tanya and The Mustangs. Throughout her teenage years, she developed her talents not just in singing, but by mastering several instruments such as the piano, harmonica, cello, bass, drums and the xylophone.
A year later, she made her television debut on 'The Gene Norman Show' where she became a semi-regular. Her dad formed his own band in England while serving in World War II helped nurture her musical talents, which led her at age four began on stage at her uncle's famous restaurant in Los Angeles called 'Little Joe's'. Tanya was born in Glendale, California on May 4, 1948.the daughter of Mr and Mrs Phillip Falappino. Friends may call from 9:30.We know her as either Tanya Falan, Tanya Falan Welk, Tanya Welk or today Tanya Welk Roberts, but when she was on the show and even today in concerts, she is one terrific singer and a very lively lady with a terrfic sense of humor and fun.īut we also remember her as Lawrence Welk's "Italian Daughter In Law", who was once married to his son, Larry Welk Jr. 27, at the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart Chapel, 1750 Quarry Rd., Yardley. She was predeceased by a sister, Joan Rhinehart.Ī Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. In addition to her brother, Miss Nevins is survived by a niece and two nephews. Though her brother said she was very healthy and diet-conscious, Miss Nevins told the Evening Bulletin in 1950 that she had a sweet tooth, and shared a recipe for lime chiffon pie that she planned to bake for her brother over the Christmas holidays. Everybody has a certain amount of energy and drive, and where it is directed will determine his or her success." Miss Nevins, who never married, told another reporter that "romance and a career cannot mix. She told an Inquirer reporter that Welk hired her after she sang to him over the phone at the suggestion of her doctor, whom she saw for a cold. In 1968 she recorded an album, Natalie Nevins Sings 'I Believe' and Other Great Inspirational Songs. It became a beloved keepsake, her brother said.Īfter moving to the West Coast, Miss Nevins appeared on The Joey Bishop Show and other variety shows, and sang in nightclubs in Reno, Nev., and Las Vegas.
Patrick's Cathedral with Cardinal Francis Spellman.Ī marcher handed the men a shillelagh, and they gave it to her. Patrick's Day Parade from the steps of St. That year, she and Sullivan watched the St. In 1952, she met Ed Sullivan at a benefit in Philadelphia, and he asked her to appear on his show. In 1950, she was the star of a weekly program on WCAU-TV, Notes From Natalie, singing popular tunes to opera arias. She sang for customers at a Frankford candy store when she was 5, and in her teens was singing on local radio stations. She studied opera in New York and later in Hollywood.Īs a child, she learned to play the flute and the piano. Miss Nevins graduated from Little Flower High School in Hunting Park, earned a bachelor's degree in music from Chestnut Hill College in 1947, and took graduate courses in music and drama at the University of Pennsylvania. Though she was no longer in show business, he said, she kept up a correspondence with fans who discovered her when the Welk show was in syndication and more recently on repeat episodes on PBS stations. Nevins, was assigned, but she did not perform professionally, he said. She occasionally sang at fund-raising events at local Catholic churches, where her brother, the Rev.
She also played the flute.Īfter leaving the show, she returned home to Frankford in 1970 to care for her widowed mother. She was hired in 1965 by bandleader Welk for his weekly television variety show.įor the next four years, she displayed her talents as a soloist or in duets with Jimmy Roberts and Joe Feeney. In the early 1960s, Miss Nevins left Philadelphia for Hollywood to pursue a singing career. Natalie Nevins, 85, of Yardley, a former singer on The Lawrence Welk Show, died of complications of hip surgery Monday, Aug.