Pete
Lofthouse performed with the Welk Orchestra from
1953 to 1965. He was born in Toronto in 1919 and
received a ministerial degree from Pasadena College.
Lofthouse began his musical career with the Ben
Pollack orchestra in the 1940's playing alongside
vaudevillian Benny Davis and clarinetist Bill Wood.
Afterward, he played with the Jan Savitt Orchestra
and the Phil Harris
orchestra before finally landing with the Lawrence
Welk Show in 1953.