TLDR: Barbara Boylan met her future dance partner at 13 years old and ended up on national television with him before either of them had finished high school. She eventually left the show for a marriage to a fellow cast member that outlasted the series itself by decades, then built a second career teaching the same skill that made her famous.
Barbara Boylan was born August 12, 1941, in Long Beach, California, and became Bobby Burgess’s first dance partner on The Lawrence Welk Show, a role built on a friendship that predated television entirely.
The two met at age 13 in dance class, where they were first paired together, years before either of them had any reason to think it would lead anywhere near a national audience.
A Dance Contest Turned Into a Full-Time Job
Boylan and Burgess made their Welk debut in spring 1961 after winning a Calcutta dance contest sponsored by Welk at the Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica, beating out roughly 11,000 other competitors.
Their win led to a series of guest appearances, and after six months of positive fan response, Welk hired the pair as full-time cast members.
She Left the Show to Marry a Fellow Performer
Boylan remained on the show until the summer of 1967, when she married Greg Dixon, a member of the show’s own vocal group, the Blenders, and retired from performing to focus on family life.
She briefly returned to the show for a few months in 1978, after her replacement, Cissy King, left, before stepping away again for good.
You can read the full story of how Cissy King came to replace her in our piece on Cissy King.
The Marriage Lasted Half a Century
Boylan and Dixon celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2017, raising two children, David and Dee Dee, together, along with numerous grandchildren. The relationship that took her off the show in 1967 turned out to be a considerably longer-running production than the series itself.
She Kept Teaching Dance for Another Two Decades
The couple settled in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, where Boylan ran her own dance studio for 23 years, passing along the same skill that had first put her on national television.
In a 2007 interview with fellow Welk alum Mary Lou Metzger for the fan retrospective show Southtown USA, Boylan discussed how she and Burgess first met, her years on the show, and her courtship and marriage to Dixon in detail.
Barbara Boylan, Frequently Asked Questions
How did Barbara Boylan get cast on Lawrence Welk?
She and childhood dance partner Bobby Burgess won a Calcutta dance contest at the Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica in 1961, beating roughly 11,000 competitors, which led to guest appearances and eventually a permanent spot on the show.
Who did Barbara Boylan marry?
She married Greg Dixon, a member of the Welk show’s own vocal group, the Blenders, in the summer of 1967, and retired from performing to focus on family life.
What did Barbara Boylan do after leaving Lawrence Welk?
She and her husband settled in suburban Denver, Colorado, where she ran her own dance studio for 23 years.
Is Barbara Boylan still married to Greg Dixon?
Yes, the couple celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2017 and have two children and numerous grandchildren.
