Richard David Maloof (January 17, 1940 – May 1, 2024) was an American musician who played

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

for the

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

orchestra.

Life and career

Richard Maloof was born and raised by Cy and Lucille Maloof, one of four children. Richard graduated from San Juan High School in Citrus Heights, then attended

Sacramento State University California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

while searching for work as a musician. He got his first break playing for Les Brown's band and later

Carmen Cavallaro Carmen Cavallaro (May 6, 1913 – October 12, 1989) was an American pianist. He established himself as one of the most accomplished and admired light music pianists of his generation. Music career Carmen Cavallaro was born in New York City, Uni ...

before joining the U. S. Army. While stationed at the

North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

(NORAD), Richard played in the NORAD Commanders Jazz Band alongside future Welk musicians Johnny Zell and Dave Edwards. During his

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

stint he got the invitation to join

, both with the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

and on his weekly

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

. That was in August 1967 and he remained until the show ended in February 1982. Starting in 1976, he had a mustache as shown on the show. Maloof also performed music for several television shows such as '' The Julie Andrews Show'' and ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'' as well as several commercials and feature films, and performed on stage for the show ''

Forever Plaid ''Forever Plaid'' is an Off-Broadway Musical theatre, musical revue written by Stuart Ross, and first performed in New York in 1989 and now performed internationally. Overview The show is a revue of the close-harmony "guy groups" (''e.g.'' The ...

''. He also served six years with the Los Angeles Pops and also taught music sight and ear training for LA's Musicians Institute. Maloof married fellow Welk star Mary Lou Metzger on June 16, 1973. They resided in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

. Richard Maloof died on May 1, 2024, at the age of 84.

References

External Links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maloof, Richard 1940 births 2024 deaths American bass guitarists American classical tubists American people of Lebanese descent Musicians from Sacramento, California Los Angeles City College alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni California State University, Sacramento alumni United States Army soldiers Lawrence Welk 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles 21st-century American tubists

Life and career

See also

References

External Links