Walter Ostanek

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walter Ostanek
Walter Ostanek Appearing at Oktoberfest Altes Muechen Haus on October 14, 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Ladislav Walter Ostanek
Also known as	Canada's Polka King
Born	April 30, 1935 Duperquet, Quebec, Quebec, CANADA
Genre(s)	Polka
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	accordion
Years active	1963-present

Ladislav Walter Ostanek (b. April 20, 1935 in Duperquet, Quebec), is a well known accordionist from St. Catharines, Ontario where his family settled as a boy.

Young Walter received his first accordion as a gift in 1944. After several years, Ostanek became a popular entertainer in Southern Ontario. Performing Cleveland-Style Polkas and Waltzes. He could be heard frequently on the radio in St. Catharines and Welland.

In 1963, Ostanek and his band, Walter Ostanek Band, would record their first of many albums. Over his career, Ostanek would become known as Canada's Polka King. He has received three Grammy Awards and he has been nominated thirteen times. His style has been compared to America's Polka King, Frankie Yankovic of Cleveland. As was the late Yankovic, Walter Ostanek is of Slovenian decent.

Ostenek hosted his own television shows (one for fourteen consecutive years), radio shows, and polka tours. He has appeared on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Phil Donahue, Tommy Hunter Show, Cleveland's Polka Varieties, and his own award-winning TV specials and telethons. He has appeared in concert with Roy Clark, the Oakridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Price, Mel Tillis, Brenda Lee, Slim Whitman, Tom T. Hall, T. G. Shepard, Tommy Hunter, Lawrence Welk, Myron Floren, Frank Yankovic and Weiss Blau.

Walter Ostanek is a member of Canada's Walk of Fame as well as the Polka Halls of Fame in Cleveland and Chicago. Currently Ostanek does two main concert sets each year: one at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the other during Oktoberfest in Kitchener, Ontario.