Denny Welch (two stories - AP/UPI)
Matthew Kruk
dancer who gained national attention when Jerry Springer arranged
hospital treatment for him, died Wednesday at age 37. The cause of death
was not known.
Welch, who used the stage name ``Eartha Quake,'' had been
hospitalized several times in recent months and suffered from diabetes,
breathing ailments and high blood pressure.
Springer visited Welch in 1996 and helped him get medical
treatment. A wall had to be removed from Welch's home to get him out. He
was unable to walk, and up to 10 people were needed to move him.
On May 27, Welch pleaded no contest to misdemeanor allegations
that he allowed three boys to view pornographic films in his home. The
court hearing was held in his home because of his health problems.
Welch said he did not know the boys were in his house, and that
he had been bedridden and groggy from medication.
He was banned from contact with juveniles and ordered to get
counseling in his home.
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HAMILTON, Ohio, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Private funeral arrangements
have been delayed pending construction of a coffin with a 1,000-pound
capacity for Denny Welch, an 800-pound southwest Ohio man.
Welch, a former cross-dressing exotic dancer whose stage name
was ``Eartha Quake,'' died Wednesday of apparent heart failure.
Welch's mother, Rosemary Young, said her son died while being
transported to Fort Hamilton-Hughes Hospital after suffering a heart
attack.
Welch's stepsister, Mary Parks, said: ``They don't have a coffin
that could hold him. The only other option we have is just burying him
bare.''
Young's sister-in-law, who declined to be identified, told
United Press International the family doesn't want any contact with the
news media to avoid the funeral being ``turned into a big circus.''
In March, when Welch was admitted to a hospital for congestive
heart failure, his mother told reporters, ``His body was so swollen, it
looked like it was ready to burst.''