Ladimir Kwiatkowski

Ladimir Kwiatkowski was a central figure on The Wallace and Ladmo Show, a daily children's variety show broadcast on KPHO in Phoenix, Arizona, featuring clowns, cartoons and short comedy skits.

Kwiatkowski was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 13, 1928 to Walter and Florence Kwiatkowski. His father was a Cleveland police detective, and the family were devout Catholics. In 1949 Kwiatkowski decided to attend Arizona State University in Tempe. He wanted to be a sports broadcaster. He played baseball with the ASU team and was considered by scouts from the Cleveland Indians.

While working as a cameraman for KPHO-TV in 1955, he became involved with the "It's Wallace?" program, developing both his Ladmo character as well as his trademark "Ladmo Bags". He went on to become one of the core cast members of the subsequent permutations of the show, later renamed "The Wallace & Ladmo Show". The show's final taping was on December 29, 1989, after 36 years, becoming the longest-running daily children's television show. By that time the show had won many awards, including nine Emmy awards.

He was married to Patsy Killough on March 31, 1951, and they had 5 children. Kwiatkowski died of lung cancer on March 2, 1994 in Tempe, Arizona.

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