103-761: Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid game show from 1973 to 1988 and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve , which broadcast New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square . As host of American Bandstand , Clark introduced rock and roll to many Americans. The show gave many new music artists their first exposure to national audiences, including The Supremes , Ike & Tina Turner , Smokey Robinson and
206-608: A New York Times Magazine interview with Dick Clark, Gene Shalit was Clark's press agent in the early 1960s. Shalit reportedly "stopped representing" Clark during the Congressional investigation of payola . Clark never spoke to Shalit again, and referred to him as a "jellyfish". Beginning in late 1963, Clark branched out into hosting game shows, presiding over The Object Is . The show was canceled in 1964 and replaced by Missing Links , which had moved from NBC . Clark took over as host, replacing Ed McMahon . Clark became
309-530: A World War II P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, was killed in the Battle of the Bulge . Clark attended Mount Vernon's A.B. Davis High School (later renamed A.B. Davis Middle School), where he was an average student. At the age of 10, Clark decided to pursue a career in radio. In pursuit of that goal, he attended Syracuse University , graduating in 1951 with a degree in advertising and a minor in radio. While at Syracuse, he
412-404: A " youth culture ". Due to his perennially youthful appearance and his largely teenaged audience of American Bandstand , Clark was often referred to as "America's oldest teenager" or "the world's oldest teenager". In his off-stage roles, Clark served as chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions (though he sold his financial interest in the company during his later years). He also founded
515-812: A country music station. After graduation, he returned to WRUN for a short time where he went by the name Dick Clay. After that, Clark got a job at the television station WKTV in Utica, New York . His first television-hosting job was on Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders , a country-music program. He later replaced Robert Earle (who later hosted the GE College Bowl ) as a newscaster. In addition to his announcing duties on radio and television, Clark owned several radio stations. From 1964 to 1978, he owned KPRO (now KFOO ) in Riverside, California under
618-633: A daily two-hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. This development created a sometimes heated rivalry between Dick Clark and Buddy Deane, when performers who appeared first on Deane's program were refused booking on American Bandstand . Acts debuting on Bandstand appeared on Deane's program, but were asked to not mention their previous appearance with Clark while on the Baltimore show. The Buddy Deane Show aired on WJZ-TV until January 4, 1964. "Studio 'B'" measured 80 by 80 by 24 feet (24.4 m × 24.4 m × 7.3 m), but appeared smaller due to
721-434: A drag-racing-strip owner in a 1973 episode of the procedural drama series Adam-12 . Clark appeared in an episode of Police Squad! , in which he asks an underworld contact about ska and obtains skin cream to keep himself looking young. Clark attempted to branch into the realm of soul music with the series Soul Unlimited in 1973. The series, hosted by Buster Jones , was a more risqué and controversial imitator of
824-399: A major factor in the game show's success. Clark hosted the syndicated television game show The Challengers , during its only season (1990–91). The Challengers was a co-production between the production companies of Dick Clark and Ron Greenberg . During the 1990–91 season, Clark and Greenberg also co-produced a revival of Let's Make a Deal for NBC with Bob Hilton as the host. Hilton
927-934: A new set similar to that of Soul Train . Clark continued as host of the series, which was restored to its former hour length, and aired on stations including KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WWOR-TV in New York City (WWOR's superstation status also gave the program further national exposure); KTLA in Los Angeles; WMAQ-TV in Chicago ; WDIV in Detroit ; WEWS in Cleveland ; WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee ; and WCIX in Miami . The first syndicated episode aired on
1030-513: A number representing the year the show aired. This started with "'65", then "'66", "'67", "'68", and "'69" when each year arrived. On September 13, 1969, the Bandstand set was given a complete overhaul and Les Elgart's big band version of "Bandstand Boogie" was replaced by the Mike Curb theme. The "ab" logo was replaced with the iconic stylized "AB" logo (shown at the top of this page) used for
1133-424: A series of concert tours around the success of American Bandstand and to pursue other broadcast interests. On September 7, 1963, the program was moved from its weekday slot and began airing weekly every Saturday afternoon, restored to an hour, until 1989. When WFIL-TV moved to a new facility on City Line Avenue (one that did not have a studio that could accommodate the show), ABC moved production of Bandstand to
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#17327807281601236-562: A show called Bob Horn 's Bandstand in 1952. Clark was responsible for a similar program on the company's radio station and served as a regular substitute host when Horn went on vacation. In 1956, Horn was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently dismissed. On July 9, 1956, Clark became the show's permanent host. Bandstand was picked up by the ABC television network, renamed American Bandstand , and debuted nationally on August 5, 1957. The show took off, due to Clark's natural rapport with
1339-492: A staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. It also was a prototype for musical television properties including cable channel MTV and Fox's reality-competition show American Idol . Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania , United States. The population
1442-725: A station master in Wilmington, Delaware , the last stop on the Underground Railroad . In 1956, the Thornfield estate was purchased by Caroline and Walter Isard , active Quakers who moved to the area when Walter founded the Regional Science department at the University of Pennsylvania . Caroline went on to found the[Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia together with other concerned citizens in
1545-460: A surge in popularity and later became the most-watched annual New Year's Eve broadcast. Clark also served as a special correspondent for ABC News 's ABC 2000 Today broadcast, covering the arrival of 2000. Following his stroke (which prevented him from appearing at all on the 2004–05 edition), Clark returned to make brief appearances on the 2005–06 edition while ceding the majority of hosting duties to Ryan Seacrest . Reaction to Clark's appearance
1648-416: A white man (Clark), and because of its alleged usage of deliberately racial overtones despite this fact. Don Cornelius , the creator and host of Soul Train , along with Jesse Jackson , entered into a dispute with Clark over this upstart program, and it was canceled within a few weeks. Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 1974–1978 set design. As Bandstand moved towards
1751-532: A wonderful week or two. We'll see you the next time on American Bandstand . For now, Dick Clark on ABC , so long. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. Dubbed as The New American Bandstand and distributed by LBS Communications , the series' tapings were moved from the ABC Television Center to the Hollywood studios of Los Angeles's PBS member station KCET , with
1854-611: Is bordered to the north by Haverford Township , to the east by the Kirklyn, Highland Park, Beverly Hills, and Bywood neighborhoods in Upper Darby Township, to the southeast by the borough of Lansdowne , to the south by the borough of Clifton Heights and the Westbrook Park neighborhood of Upper Darby Township, and to the southwest by Springfield Township . Darby Creek forms the southwestern/southern border of
1957-499: The 69th Street Transportation Center . Several SEPTA bus routes also operate via Drexel Hill, including routes 107 , 110 , 111 , and 115 . The major roads running through Drexel Hill are Township Line Road ( US 1 ), State Road, Burmont Road, Garrett Road, Lansdowne Avenue, Marshall Road, Drexel Avenue, Edmonds Avenue and Shadeland Avenue. The Upper Darby School District is the school district covering all of Upper Darby Township, Drexel Hill included. The school district operates
2060-613: The American Bandstand Diner, a restaurant chain themed after the television program of the same name. In 1973, he created and produced the annual American Music Awards show, similar to the Grammy Awards . Clark was born in Bronxville, New York , and raised in neighboring Mount Vernon , the second child of Richard Augustus Clark and Julia Fuller Clark, née Barnard. His only sibling, elder brother Bradley,
2163-480: The Casablanca film Thank God It's Friday on May 27, 1978. From the late 1950's and most of the 1960's, Clark's on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O'Donnell , who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $ 100,000 Pyramid . There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar )
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#17327807281602266-740: The Mutual Broadcasting System . The program counted down the top 30 contemporary hits of the week in direct competition with American Top 40 . Clark left Mutual in October 1985, and Bill St. James (and later Charlie Tuna) took over the National Music Survey. Clark's United Stations purchased RKO Radio Network in 1985 and, when Clark left Mutual, he began hosting USRN's "Countdown America" which continued until 1995. In 1982, Clark launched his own radio syndication group with partners Nick Verbitsky and Ed Salamon called
2369-644: The New Sweden colony. The cabin was most likely built between 1638 and 1655, but the exact year is not known. Log cabin architecture was a major contribution of the colonial Swedes. European settlers from other countries copied this style of housing, and the log cabin became popular all across America. Collen Brook Farm is a historic home and associated buildings located at the end of a lane off Mansion Road at Marvine Avenue in Drexel Hill. The original house and barn were built about 1710 by Abraham Lewis. It
2472-687: The Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania lives in Drexel Hill. Alan Graham MacDiarmid ONZ (April 14, 1927 – February 7, 2007), one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000, died in 2007 after falling in his Drexel Hill home. He is buried at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill . Nancy Meyers , producer and director of movies including The Parent Trap (1998), What Women Want (2000), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Holiday (2006), It's Complicated (2009) and The Intern (2015)
2575-472: The United States Senate investigated payola , the practice of music-producing companies paying broadcasting companies to favor their product. As a result, Clark's personal investments in music publishing and recording companies were considered a conflict of interest, and he sold his shares in those companies. When asked about some of the causes for the hearings, Clark speculated about some of
2678-418: The ball drop festivities in New York City. Clark aimed to challenge the dominance of Guy Lombardo 's New Year's specials on CBS , as he believed its big band music was too dated. After two years on NBC—during which the show was hosted by Three Dog Night and George Carlin , respectively—the program moved to ABC, and Clark assumed hosting duties. Following Lombardo's death in 1977, Rockin' Eve experienced
2781-451: The "Second National Telecast") is preserved in the archives of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago . One market not telecasting Bandstand was Baltimore affiliate WAAM (now WJZ-TV ), which chose to produce its own local dance show in the same afternoon time slot. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began
2884-413: The 1980's, the ratings began to decline. Many factors were involved in this, particularly the launch and rise of MTV and other music programs on television, and along with that, the number of ABC affiliates opting to pre-empt or delay the program. The increase in competition hurt Bandstand and the variety of options for music on TV decreased its relevance. The other reason was that American Bandstand
2987-479: The 1995–2004 era continued to air in syndication until USRN withdrew the show in 2020. At the peak of his American Bandstand fame, Clark also hosted a 30-minute Saturday night program called The Dick Clark Show (aka The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show ). It aired from 15 February 1958, until 10 September 1960, on the ABC television network. It was broadcast live from the "Little Theater" in New York City and
3090-400: The 2,942nd and final ABC installment (with Laura Branigan performing " Shattered Glass " ) aired on September 5, 1987. Hey, our thanks to Laura Branigan for joining us here on American Bandstand today. I hope you've had a good half-hour. Come and join us two weeks from today for an hour version of American Bandstand on Saturday, September 19. We'll see you then. In the meantime, have
3193-461: The ABC Television Center in Los Angeles (now known as The Prospect Studios ) on February 8, 1964. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records . The combined impact of Bandstand's move to California and the Beatles' arrival devastated Cameo-Parkway and inflicted permanent damage to the artists signed to the label. The program
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3296-666: The British series Top of the Pops followed. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his company . American Bandstand premiered locally in late March 1952 as Bandstand on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6, which is now WPVI-TV , as a replacement for a weekday movie. Hosted by Bob Horn as a television adjunct to his radio show of the same name on WFIL radio, Bandstand featured short musical films produced by Snader Telescriptions and Official Films , with occasional studio guests. This incarnation
3399-584: The Bywood and Drexel Hill sections of Upper Darby. Croce graduated Upper Darby Sr. High in 1960, and attended Villanova University 1961–1965. He married Ingrid Jacobson of Wallingford. Her family is believed to have bought the house Dick Clark sold upon leaving for the west coast when Bandstand left WFIL in the early '60s. Croce was the first to be inducted on Upper Darby High School 's "Wall of Fame" in April 1976. Former United States Representative Pat Meehan of
3502-617: The CDP was $ 25,471. About 3.5% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over. SEPTA operates two trolley lines through Drexel Hill: Route 101- a few stops in Drexel Hill are Irvington Rd, Drexel Hill Junction , School Lane , Aronimink , Drexelbrook , Drexel Park , Garrettford , Huey Avenue , School Lane , Anderson Avenue , Drexeline , Drexel Manor , Marshall Road , and Creek Road , stations to Media and Route 102 Sharon Hill , both lines begin at
3605-939: The CDP. Drexel Hill Middle School is the sole middle school with catchments in Drexel Hill CDP. These belong to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia As an Upper Darby neighborhood, Drexel Hill is served by the Upper Darby Police Department, Crozer-Keystone Paramedics, based out of Delaware County Memorial Hospital, and the Upper Darby Township Fire Department, a combination paid and volunteer department personnel at five stations: Companies 26, 36, 37, and 74 are staffed from 7 am Monday until 7 am Saturday by career personnel from IAFF Local 2493. They are supplemented by volunteers during
3708-491: The CDP. U.S. Route 1 (Township Line Road) runs through the northwestern corner of the CDP and forms most of its northern border with Haverford Township. The CDP has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km ), all land. The Lower Swedish Cabin on Creek Road alongside Darby Creek is possibly the oldest log house in North America. The cabin is believed to have been built by early Swedish settlers who were part of
3811-537: The Clark-hosted (and produced) NBC Bloopers specials of the early 1980s, inspired by the books, record albums and appearances of Kermit Schafer , a radio and TV producer who first popularized outtakes of broadcasts. For a period of several years in the 1980s, Clark simultaneously hosted regular programs on all three major American television networks—ABC ( Bandstand ), CBS ( Pyramid ) and NBC ( Bloopers ). American Bandstand American Bandstand ( AB )
3914-597: The Daytime Emmy Awards. Hank Ballard , who wrote "The Twist", described Clark's popularity during the early years of American Bandstand : The man was big. He was the biggest thing in America at that time. He was bigger than the president! As a result of Clark's work on Bandstand , journalist Ann Oldenburg states "he deserves credit for doing something bigger than just putting on a show." Los Angeles Times writer Geoff Boucher goes further, stating that "with
4017-658: The Feeling . This version introduced lyrics written by Manilow and Bruce Sussman , referencing elements of the series. The previous theme was retained as bumper music. From September 13, 1986, to September 5, 1987, Manilow's version was replaced at the close of the show by a new closing theme arranged by David Russo, who also performed an updated instrumental arrangement of "Bandstand Boogie" when Bandstand went into syndication. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston 's synth hit " Space Race ". When ABC picked up
4120-458: The Miracles , Stevie Wonder , Simon & Garfunkel , Iggy Pop , Prince , Talking Heads and Madonna . Episodes he hosted were among the first in which black people and white people performed on the same stage, and they were among the first in which the live studio audience sat down together without racial segregation . Singer Paul Anka claimed that Bandstand was responsible for creating
4223-476: The TK-10s two weeks later when ABC refused to carry the color signal and management realized that the show lost perspective without the extra cameras. Clark regularly asked teenagers their opinions of the songs being played, through the "Rate-a-Record" segment. During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which their two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked
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4326-609: The United Stations Radio Network. That company later merged with the Transtar Network to become Unistar. In 1994, Unistar was sold to Westwood One Radio. The following year, Clark and Verbitsky started over with a new version of the USRN, bringing into the fold Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember , written and produced by Pam Miller (who also came up with the line used in the show and later around
4429-403: The account became less important, Stewart wasn't needed and was eventually dropped from the program. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. The short Snader and Official music films continued in the short term to fill gaps when dancers were changed during the show which was a necessity because the studio could not fit more than 200 teenagers. On July 9, 1956, Horn
4532-431: The adults in general, really hated rock and roll . Politicians, ministers, older songwriters and musicians foamed at the mouth. Frank Sinatra reportedly called Elvis Presley a "rancid-smelling aphrodisiac". Clark was therefore considered to have a negative influence on youth and was well aware of that impression held by most adults: I was roundly criticized for being in and around rock and roll music at its inception. It
4635-419: The age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.19. In the CDP, the population was distributed with 24.3% under
4738-461: The age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $ 48,765, and the median income for a family was $ 65,862 . Males had a median income of $ 42,841 versus $ 31,904 for females. The per capita income for
4841-438: The age of 82. American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince , Jackson 5 , Sonny and Cher , Aerosmith , and John Lydon 's PiL —all of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. American Bandstand was a daily ritual for many teenagers throughout the nation. The Top 40 hits that everyone heard were matched with fun routines performed by relatable teenagers. It became
4944-651: The area. As of 2014, the estate is owned by Randal T. Rioux. It is currently undergoing restoration, along with renovations necessary to preserve its history and allow for modern capabilities. As of the 2010 census the racial makeup of Drexel Hill was 87.1% White, 5.5% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 2.0% other. The largest ethnic groups in Drexel Hill are Irish (41.8%), Italian (24.5%), German (16.7%), English (9.9%), Polish (4.2%), United States (2.8%), Hispanic (2.2%). There were 11,896 households, out of which 29.9% had children under
5047-487: The audience in Pasadena, California. Other performers including Brandy , members of KISS , Dennis Quaid and his band The Sharks, Cher , and Stevie Wonder performed to remember the iconic program. In 2004, Dick Clark, with the help of Ryan Seacrest , announced plans to revive the show in time for the 2005 season; although this did not occur (due in part to Clark suffering a severe stroke in late 2004), one segment of
5150-413: The chosen members to justify their scores. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it." In one humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared as the record raters. The only singer to ever co-host the show with Dick Clark was Donna Summer , who joined him to present a special episode dedicated to the release of
5253-424: The common perception that it was just a passing fancy." In 1958, The Dick Clark Show was added to ABC's Saturday night lineup. By the end of year, viewership exceeded 20 million, and featured artists were "virtually guaranteed" large sales boosts after appearing. In a surprise television tribute to Clark in 1959 on This Is Your Life , host Ralph Edwards called him "America's youngest starmaker", and estimated
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#17327807281605356-484: The contributing factors not mentioned by the press: Politicians ... did their damnedest to respond to the pressures they were getting from parents and publishing companies and people who were being driven out of business [by rock]. ... It hit a responsive chord with the electorate, the older people. ... they full-out hated the music. [But] it stayed alive. It could've been nipped in the bud, because they could've stopped it from being on television and radio. As reported by
5459-430: The daytime version through most of its history, winning three Emmy Awards for best game show host. In total, Pyramid won nine Emmy Awards for best game show during his run, a mark that is eclipsed only by the twelve won by the syndicated version of Jeopardy! . Clark's final Pyramid hosting gig, The $ 100,000 Pyramid , ended in 1988. Clark subsequently returned to Pyramid as a guest in later incarnations. During
5562-411: The decades, a wide range of musical acts appeared to lip sync one of their latest singles. Artists would sing naturally to the studio audience over a background of their own disc, while viewers at home would hear only the original recording. Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. Following the show's success, other similar long-running music programs such as Soul Train and
5665-432: The exception of Elvis Presley, Clark was considered by many to be the person most responsible for the bonfire spread of rock 'n roll across the country in the late 1950s", making Clark a "household name". He became a "primary force in legitimizing rock 'n' roll", adds Uslan. Clark, however, simplified his contribution: I played records, the kids danced, and America watched. Shortly after becoming its host, Clark also ended
5768-477: The first host of The $ 10,000 Pyramid , which premiered on CBS March 26, 1973. The show—a word-association game created and produced by daytime television producer Bob Stewart —moved to ABC in 1974. Over the coming years, the top prize changed several times (and with it the name of the show), and several primetime spinoffs were created. As the program moved back to CBS in September 1982, Clark continued to host
5871-432: The following public schools in the Drexel Hill census-designated place: Two schools, Hillcrest Elementary School, and Upper Darby High School , are adjacent to the Drexel Hill CDP and use Drexel Hill postal addresses. The elementary schools that include Drexel Hill CDP in their catchments are Aronomink, Garretford, and Hillcrest. While Kelly is physically in Drexel Hill CDP, its catchment does not include any portion of
5974-545: The game show Do You Trust Your Wife? from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? and scheduled the program at 3:30 pm ET—almost in the middle of Bandstand . Instead of shortening or moving Bandstand , ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3 pm, cut away to Who Do You Trust? at 3:30 pm, then rejoin Bandstand at 4 pm. In Philadelphia, however, WFIL opted to tape-delay
6077-475: The game show for later broadcast in another time slot, and to continue on with Bandstand , though only for the local audience. A half-hour evening version of American Bandstand aired on Monday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ET), beginning on October 7, 1957. It preceded The Guy Mitchell Show . Both were ratings disasters. Dick Clark later stated that he knew the prime-time edition would fail because its core audience – teenagers and housewives –
6180-431: The last time, goodbye. With American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia, segregation easily affected the concentrated area. "With Bandstand , WFIL resolved this tension by drawing on Philadelphia's interracial music scene to create an entertaining and profitable television show, while refusing to allow the city's black teenagers into the studio audience for fear of alienating viewers and advertisers. Like
6283-489: The leading rock bands and artists of the 1960s had their first exposure to nationwide audiences. A few of the many artists introduced were The Supremes , Ike and Tina Turner , Smokey Robinson and the Miracles , The Beach Boys , Stevie Wonder , Prince , Simon and Garfunkel , Jerry Lee Lewis , Buddy Holly , Bobby Fuller , Johnny Cash , Sam Cooke , Fats Domino and Chubby Checker . During an interview with Clark by Henry Schipper of Rolling Stone magazine in 1990, it
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#17327807281606386-513: The live teenage audience and dancing participants as well as the "clean-cut, non-threatening image" he projected to television audiences. As a result, many parents were introduced to rock and roll music. According to Hollywood producer Michael Uslan , "he was able to use his unparalleled communication skills to present rock 'n roll in a way that was palatable to parents." James Sullivan of Rolling Stone stated that "Without Clark, rock & roll in its infancy would have struggled mightily to escape
6489-539: The name Progress Broadcasting. In 1967, he purchased KGUD-AM-FM (now KTMS and KTYD , respectively) in Santa Barbara, California . In 1952, Clark moved to Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania , a suburb of Philadelphia , where he took a job as a disc jockey at radio station WFIL , adopting the Dick Clark handle. WFIL had an affiliated television station (now WPVI ) with the same call sign , which began broadcasting
6592-454: The number of props , television cameras , and risers that were used for the show. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. Due to the size of the studio, the need to have as much dance space as possible, and the size of the cumbersome color camera compared to the black-and-white models, it was only possible to have one RCA TK-41 where three RCA TK-10s had been used before. WFIL reverted to
6695-472: The popular series Soul Train and alternated in the Bandstand time slot. The series lasted for only a few episodes. Despite a feud between Clark and Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius , the two men later collaborated on several specials featuring black artists. Clark hosted the short-lived Dick Clark's Live Wednesday in 1978 for NBC. In 1980, Clark served as host of the short-lived series The Big Show , an unsuccessful attempt by NBC to revive
6798-633: The premiere of the John Davidson version in 1991, Clark sent a pre-recorded message wishing Davidson well in hosting the show. In 2002, Clark played as a celebrity guest for three days on the Donny Osmond version. Earlier, he was also a guest during the Bill Cullen version of The $ 25,000 Pyramid , which aired simultaneously with Clark's daytime version of the show. Entertainment Weekly credited Clark's "quietly commanding presence" as
6901-462: The remainder of the show's run. This set and theme music were used until August 31, 1974, with the arrival of a brand new set and the second, updated version of "Bandstand Boogie". For a brief time in 1973, Bandstand alternated its time slot with Soul Unlimited , a show featuring soul music that was hosted by Buster Jones . Soul Unlimited was not well-received among its target audience of African-Americans, ostensibly due to its being created by
7004-517: The revived Bandstand —a national dance contest—eventually became the series So You Think You Can Dance . Dick Clark Productions is credited as the show's co-producer, and longtime employee Allen Shapiro serves as co-executive producer. While the American series has aired sixteen seasons, its format was also replicated worldwide, from Norway ( Dansefeber ) to Australia ( So You Think You Can Dance Australia ). Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at
7107-406: The show had a national audience of 20 million. In the fall of 1961, ABC truncated American Bandstand' s airtime from 90 to 60 minutes (4:00–5:00 pm ET), then even further as a daily half-hour (4:00–4:30 pm ET) program in September 1962; beginning in early 1963, all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. The use of videotape allowed Clark to produce and host
7210-490: The show had an audience of 50 million. Clark moved the show from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 1964. The move was related to the popularity of new "surf" groups based in southern California, including The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean . After moving to Los Angeles, the show became more diverse and featured more minorities. The show was notable for promoting desegregation in popular music and entertainment by prominently featuring black musicians and dancers. Prior to this point,
7313-428: The show had been off the air, Clark considered his personal contribution to the music he helped introduce: My talent is bringing out the best in other talent, organizing people to showcase them and being able to survive the ordeal. I hope someday that somebody will say that in the beginning stages of the birth of the music of the fifties, though I didn't contribute in terms of creativity, I helped keep it alive. In 1960,
7416-506: The show had largely excluded black teenagers. The show ran daily Monday through Friday until 1963, then weekly on Saturdays until 1988. Bandstand was briefly revived in 1989, with David Hirsch taking over hosting duties. By the time of its cancellation, the show had become the longest-running variety show in TV history. In the 1960s, the show's emphasis changed from merely playing records to including live performers. During this period, many of
7519-750: The show was Clark's unveiling, with great fanfare at the end of each program, of the top ten records of the previous week. This ritual became so embedded in American culture that it was imitated in many media and contexts, which in turn were satirized nightly by David Letterman on his own Top Ten lists . From 27 September to December 20, 1959, Clark hosted a 30-minute weekly talent/variety series titled Dick Clark's World of Talent at 10:30 p.m. Sundays on ABC. A variation of producer Irving Mansfield's earlier CBS series, This Is Show Business (1949–1956), it featured three celebrity panelists, including comedian Jack E. Leonard , judging and offering advice to amateur and semi-professional performers. While this show
7622-469: The show's all-white policy by featuring black artists such as Chuck Berry . In time, blacks and whites performed on the same stage, and studio seating was desegregated. Beginning in 1959 and continuing into the mid-1960s, Clark produced and hosted the Caravan of Stars , a series of concert tours built upon the success of American Bandstand , which by 1959 had a national audience of 20 million. However, Clark
7725-451: The variety show format of the 1950s/'60s. In 1984, Clark produced and hosted the NBC series TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes with co-host Ed McMahon . Clark and McMahon were longtime Philadelphia acquaintances, and McMahon praised Clark for first bringing him together with future TV partner Johnny Carson when all three worked at ABC in the late 1950s. The Bloopers franchise stemmed from
7828-719: The weekdays and fully staffed by volunteers on weekends. Television personality Dick Clark lived from 1954 to 1956 at the Drexelbrook Apartment complex while hosting Barr's Diamond Theater and a radio show on WFIL , before he was hired to host American Bandstand . Television personality Ed McMahon also lived at the Drexelbrook before teaming up with Johnny Carson on Do You Trust Your Wife? , then The Tonight Show . Children's author Lloyd Alexander lived in Drexel Hill with his wife and several cats. 1970s folk/pop singer-songwriter Jim Croce grew up in
7931-422: The weekend of September 19, 1987 but this run was short-lived; The New American Bandstand ran until the weekend of June 4, 1988. After a ten-month hiatus, Bandstand moved to cable on USA Network on April 8, 1989, with comedian David Hirsch taking over hosting duties. In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood . Clark remained as executive producer. This version
8034-490: The white homeowners associations' concerns about property values, WFIL's version of defensive local-ism built on a belief that integration would hurt the station's investment in Bandstand ." WFIL defended these local associations in order to maintain support. On May 3, 2002, Dick Clark hosted a one-off special 50th anniversary edition on ABC. Michael Jackson , a frequent Bandstand guest, performed " Dangerous ". The Village People performed their legendary song, " YMCA " for
8137-441: The world: "the soundtrack of our lives"), and a new countdown show: The U.S. Music Survey , produced by Jim Zoller. Clark served as its host until his December 2004 stroke. United Stations Radio Networks continues in operation as of 2020. Dick Clark's longest-running radio show began on 14 February 1982. Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember was a four-hour oldies show named after Clark's 1976 autobiography. The first year, it
8240-418: Was 29,181 at the 2020 census , an increase over 28,043 in 2010, and accounting for over one-third of Upper Darby Township's population. Drexel Hill is located in the western part of Upper Darby Township at 39°57′00″N 75°18′7″W / 39.95000°N 75.30194°W / 39.95000; -75.30194 (39.949962, -75.301841). The neighborhood is eight miles from Center City, Philadelphia and
8343-424: Was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi Gamma). In 1945, Clark began his career working in the mailroom at WRUN , an AM radio station in Utica, New York , that was owned by his uncle and managed by his father. Almost immediately, he was asked to fill in for the vacationing weatherman and, within a few months, he was announcing station breaks. While attending Syracuse, Clark worked at WOLF-AM , then
8446-547: Was a newer, orchestral disco version of "Bandstand Boogie", arranged and performed by Joe Porter , played during the opening and closing credits. Elgart's version was released as a single in March 1954 (Columbia 40180) as well as Curb's theme (by "Mike Curb & The Waterfall") in October 1969 (Forward 124). From 1977 to September 6, 1986, the show opened and closed with Barry Manilow 's rendition of "Bandstand Boogie", which he originally recorded for his 1975 album Tryin' to Get
8549-549: Was actually supposed to host Winning Lines but couldn't agree on the contract, so CBS selected Clark to host. He concluded his game show hosting career with another of his productions, Challenge of the Child Geniuses , a series of two two-hour specials broadcast on Fox in May and November 2000. In 1972, Dick Clark first produced New Year's Rockin' Eve , a New Year's Eve music special for NBC which included coverage of
8652-542: Was already preempting ABC programming with Bandstand . Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC president Thomas W. Moore , and after some negotiations the show was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957. This first national broadcast of American Bandstand was filmed in the Starlight Ballroom in Wildwood, New Jersey . One show from this first season (December 18, 1957, identified as
8755-414: Was an American music-performance and dance television program that aired regularly in various versions from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark , who also served as the program's producer. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark. The program was televised from Philadelphia from its 1952 debut until its move to Los Angeles in 1963 Over
8858-499: Was an early version of the music video shows that became popular in the 1980's, featuring films that were the ancestors of music videos. Horn, however, was disenchanted with the program, and wanted to change the show to a dance program with teenagers dancing along on camera as records played, based on an idea that came from a radio show on WPEN , The 950 Club , hosted by Joe Grady and Ed Hurst. This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952, in "Studio 'B'", which
8961-453: Was brought in. Bandstand originally used "High Society" by Artie Shaw as its theme song, but by the time the show went national, it had been replaced by various arrangements of Charles Albertine's "Bandstand Boogie", including Les Elgart 's big-band recording remembered by viewers of the daily version. From 1969 to 1974, "Bandstand Theme", a synthesized rock instrumental co-written by Mike Curb , opened each show. From 1974 to 1977, there
9064-615: Was canceled after 26 weeks, and its final show (with The Cover Girls performing "My Heart Skips a Beat" and " We Can't Go Wrong ") aired on October 7, 1989, thus ending the show's 37-year run. Well, it's our last show here on Bandstand and I really want to thank the viewers who have kept American Bandstand on the air all these years. Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. I tried my best to fill your shoes and I hope I have lived up to what you were expecting of me. American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. I'm David Hirsch and, on behalf of American Bandstand , I bid you, for
9167-547: Was fired after a drunk driving arrest, as WFIL and dual owner Walter Annenberg 's The Philadelphia Inquirer were then running a series on drunken driving. He was also reportedly involved in a prostitution ring and brought up on morals charges. Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. In late spring of 1957, the ABC television network asked their O&O's and affiliates for programming suggestions to fill their 3:30 p.m. (ET) time slot, In Philadelphia, WFIL
9270-488: Was hosted by veteran Los Angeles disc jockey Gene Weed. Then in 1983, voiceover talent Mark Elliot co-hosted with Clark. By 1985, Clark hosted the entire show. Pam Miller wrote the program and Frank Furino served as producer. Each week, Clark profiled a different artist from the rock and roll era and counted down the top four songs that week from a certain year in the 1950s, 1960s or early 1970s. The show ended production when Clark suffered his December 2004 stroke. Reruns from
9373-615: Was later replaced by original host Monty Hall . Clark later hosted Scattergories on NBC in 1993; and The Family Channel 's version of It Takes Two in 1997. In 1999, along with Bob Boden, he was one of the executive producers of Fox 's TV game show Greed , which ran from 5 November 1999, to 14 July 2000, and was hosted by Chuck Woolery . At the same time, Clark also hosted the Stone-Stanley-created Winning Lines , which ran for six weeks on CBS from 8 January through 12 February 2000, Geraldo Rivera
9476-480: Was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building in West Philadelphia ^ , and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. Stewart was the owner of a TV/Radio business in Philadelphia and, even though he was an older gentleman, his advertising account was a large one for WFIL-TV, so he was put on the program to appease the account. As WFIL grew financially and
9579-509: Was mixed. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of The Washington Post , in an interview with the CBS Radio Network ) felt that he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised him for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery. Seacrest remained host and an executive producer of the special, assuming full duties after Clark's death. Clark's first love
9682-403: Was most recently acquired by Upper Darby Township in 1989. It is open to the public on Sundays from May through October. Thornfield , the estate of famed abolitionist and Quaker Thomas Garrett , lies on Garrett Road (named for his family, who were among the earliest settlers of that part of the township) and Maple Avenue in Drexel Hill. Garrett resided here before 1822 and would later work as
9785-469: Was not a success during its nearly three-month duration, Clark was one of the few personalities in television history on the air nationwide seven days a week. One of Clark's guest appearances was in the final episode ("The Case of the Final Fade-Out") of the original Perry Mason TV series, playing a character named "Leif Early" in a show that satirized the show business industry. He appeared as
9888-589: Was noted that "over two-thirds of the people who've been initiated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had their television debuts on American Bandstand , and the rest of them probably debuted on other shows [they] produced." During the show's lifetime, it featured over 10,000 live performances, many by artists who were unable to appear anywhere else on TV, as the variety shows during much of this period were "antirock". Schipper points out that Clark's performers were shocking to general audiences: The music establishment, and
9991-588: Was occupied with other interests in the evenings. The Monday-night version aired its last program in December 1957, but ABC gave Clark a Saturday-night time slot for The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show , which originated from the Little Theatre in Manhattan, beginning on February 15, 1958. The Saturday show would run until 1960. The program was broadcast live, weekday afternoons and, by 1959,
10094-412: Was permanently shot in color starting on September 9, 1967. The typical production schedule consisted of videotaping three shows on a Saturday and three shows on a Sunday, every six weeks. The shows were usually produced in either Stage 54 or Stage 55 at ABC Television Center. In September 1964, Bandstand began using a new logo based on the ABC circle logo, reading "ab" in the same typeface followed by
10197-402: Was pre-emptied on many occasions by televised college football games (which expanded greatly in number in the wake of a court-ordered deregulation in 1984) which were becoming huge ratings successes, as well as occasional special presentations (i.e. unsold game show pilots). Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes; at Clark's request,
10300-434: Was radio and, in 1963, he began hosting a radio program called The Dick Clark Radio Show . It was produced by Mars Broadcasting of Stamford . Despite Clark's enormous popularity on American Bandstand , the show was only picked up by a few dozen stations and lasted less than a year. On March 25, 1972, Clark hosted American Top 40 , filling in for Casey Kasem . In 1981, he created The Dick Clark National Music Survey for
10403-473: Was sponsored by Beech-Nut gum. It featured the rock and roll stars of the day lip-synching their hits, just as on American Bandstand . However, unlike the afternoon Bandstand program, which focused on the dance floor with the teenage audience demonstrating the latest dance steps, the audience of The Dick Clark Show sat in a traditional theater setting. While some of the musical numbers were presented simply, others were major production numbers. The high point of
10506-521: Was the devil's music, it would make your teeth fall out and your hair turn blue, whatever the hell. You get through that. In 2002, many of the bands he introduced appeared at the 50th anniversary special to celebrate American Bandstand . Clark noted during the special that American Bandstand was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "the longest-running variety show in TV history." In 2010, American Bandstand and Clark himself were honored at
10609-464: Was unable to host Elvis Presley , the Beatles or the Rolling Stones on either of his programs. The reason for Clark's impact on popular culture has been partially explained by Paul Anka , a singer who appeared on the show early in his career: "This was a time when there was no youth culture—he created it. And the impact of the show on people was enormous." In 1990, a couple of years after
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