If you want to stay young-looking, pick your parents very carefully.We lost TV legend Dick Clark yesterday after suffering a heart attack following a medical procedure. He was of 82.
He was born Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark on November 30, 1929. He was best known for hosting television's longest-running variety show, American Bandstand, from 1957 to 1987. He also hosted the game show Pyramid, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which beamed Times Square's New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide.
As host of American Bandstand, with his unparalleled communication skills, he is credited with being a "primary force in legitimizing rock 'n roll," not just to teenagers, but also to their parents. The show gave countless new music artists their first exposure to national audiences, among whom were Ike and Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, the Talking Heads and Simon and Garfunkel. His shows were among the first where blacks and whites performed on the same stage and the live audience seating was desegregated. Singer Paul Anka claims that his show was responsible for creating a "youth culture," and due to his youthful appearance, Clark was often referred to as "America's oldest teenager."
As a successful businessperson, he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he sold part of late in his life. He also founded the restaurant chain, "American Bandstand Diner," modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe. Beginning in 1973, he created and produced the annual American Music Awards show, similar to the Grammy Awards.
Clark suffered a significant stroke in late 2004. With speech ability still impaired, Clark returned to his New Year's Rockin' Eve show on December 31, 2005/January 1, 2006. Subsequently, he appeared at the Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006, and every New Year's Rockin' Eve show through the 2011/2012 show.
His career in show business began in 1945 when he started working in the mailroom of WRUN, a radio station owned by his uncle and managed by his father in Utica, New York. Clark was soon promoted to weatherman and news announcer. While attending Syracuse, Clark worked at WOLF-AM, then a country music station. He returned to WRUN for a short time where he used the name Dick Clay.
Clark began his television career at station WKTV in Utica, and was also subsequently a disc jockey on radio station WOLF in Syracuse. His first television-hosting job was on Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders, a country-music program. He would later replace Robert Earle (who would later host the GE College Bowl) as a newscaster.
Clark was principal in pro broadcasters operator of 1440 KPRO in Riverside, California from 1962 to 1982. In the 1960s, he was owner of KGUD AM/FM (later KTYD AM/FM) in Santa Barbara, California.
In 1952, Clark moved to Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, where he was neighbors with Ed McMahon. There he took a job as a disc jockey at radio station WFIL. WFIL had an affiliated television station (now WPVI) with the same call sign which began broadcasting a show called Bob Horn's Bandstand in 1952. Clark was a regular substitute host on the show, becoming its primary host in 1956 after Horn's dismissal due to a drunken driving arrest. The show was picked up by the ABC television network, renamed American Bandstand, and was first aired nationally on August 5, 1957. On that day, Clark interviewed Elvis Presley.
Among the distinguishing features of the show was that teenagers were invited to dance to records played by the host. Another, was that with Clark as its new host, the show became a success due to Clark's rapport with the live teenage audience and dancing participants. Significantly, Clark presented a non-threatening image of himself and the show to adult audiences, including many parents, who themselves were being 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."
As a result, notes journalist Ann Oldenburg, "he deserves credit for doing something bigger than just putting on a show." Los Angeles Times writer, Geoff Boucher, goes further, stating that "with 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.
The show was credited with introducing numerous artists to national audiences, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Chubby Checker. Shortly after taking over, Clark also ended the show's all-white policy, and introduced numerous black artists, such as Chuck Berry. However, Clark was unable to get the Beatles to appear when they came to America. During the late 1950s and 1960s, Clark produced and hosted a series of concert tours around the success of American Bandstand, which by 1959 had a national audience of 20 million. The shows were among the first venues where blacks and whites performed on the same stage, and eventually the seating was likewise desegregated.
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. The show ran daily Monday through Friday until 1963, then weekly on Saturdays until 1987.
The show's emphasis changed from merely playing records to including live performers, and as a result many of the leading rock groups of the 1960s had their first exposure to nationwide audiences. A few of the many artists introduced were Ike and Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, the Talking Heads and Simon and Garfunkel, who were then called "Tom and Jerry."
In 2002, many of the groups he introduced appeared at the 50th anniversary special to celebrate "American Bandstand." Clark noted during the special that American Bandstand was listed in the Guiness Book of Records as "the longest running variety show in TV history." In 2010, American Bandstand and Clark himself were honored at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Hank Ballard, who wrote "The Twist," described Clark's popularity during the years of American Bandstand:
The reason for Clark's impact on popular culture was partly 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 1972, Clark produced and hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, the first of an ongoing series of specials still broadcast on New Year's Eve. The program has typically consisted of live remotes of Clark in Times Square in New York City, counting down until the New Year ball comes down. After the ball drops, the focus of the program switches to musical segments taped prior to the show in Hollywood, California. The special is live in the Eastern Time Zone, and it is delayed for the other time zones so that they can ring in the New Year with Clark when midnight strikes in their area.
ABC has broadcast the event on every New Year's Eve since 1972 except in 1999 when it was preempted for ABC 2000 Today, news coverage of the milestone year hosted by Peter Jennings. In the more than three decades it has been on the air, the show has become a mainstay in U.S. New Year's Eve celebrations. Before then, Guy Lombardo (a.k.a. "Mr. New Year's Eve"), along with his big band orchestra, the Royal Canadians, and Ben Grauer had long been the main draw for New Year's Eve broadcasts for radio and, later, for television (on CBS). Watching the ball in Times Square drop on Clark's show was considered an annual cultural tradition for the New Year's holiday for the last decades of his life.
Twice, Clark was not able to host his show. The first time happened at the end of 1999, going into 2000, due to ABC 2000 Today. However, during that broadcast, Clark, along with ABC News correspondent Jack Ford, announced his signature countdown to the new year. He was a correspondent, according to the transcript of the broadcast released by ABC News. Ford had been assigned to Times Square during the broadcast, and thus, Clark's role was limited. Nevertheless, he won a Peabody Award for his coverage. The second time happened at the end of 2004, as he was recovering from his stroke; Regis Philbin substituted as host. The following year, Clark returned to the show, although Ryan Seacrest served as primary host. From 2005 to 2011, Clark co-hosted New Year's Rockin Eve with Seacrest, with his speech improving each year, and his post-stroke role improved each year (the last three years found him splitting time evenly with Seacrest in the half-hour leading up to the ball drop.)
Clark became 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 from 1974 to 1980, during which time the top prize was upgraded to $20,000. After a brief 1981 syndicated run as The $50,000 Pyramid, the show returned to CBS in 1982 as The New $25,000 Pyramid, and continued through 1988, save for a three month break. From 1985 to 1988, Clark hosted both the CBS $25,000 version and a daily $100,000 Pyramid in syndication. His daytime versions of Pyramid won nine Emmy Awards for best game show, a mark that is eclipsed only by the twelve won by the syndicated version of Jeopardy!. It also won Clark three Emmy Awards for best game show host.
Clark would return to Pyramid as a guest in later incarnations. He was a guest during the Bill Cullen version of The $25,000 Pyramid (not to be confused with the incarnation Clark himself hosted). During 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.
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 February 15, 1958, until September 10, 1960, on the ABC television network. It was broadcast live from the "Little Theater" in New York City and was sponsored by Beech-Nut Gum. It featured the rock 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 (consisting mostly of squealing girls) sat in a traditional theater setting. While some of the musical numbers were presented simply, others were major production numbers.
From September 27 to December 20, 1959, Clark hosted a thirty-minute weekly talent/variety series entitled Dick Clark's World of Talent at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday nights 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 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. Clark has been involved in a number of other television series and specials as producer and performer. One of his most well-known guest appearances was in the final episode of the original Perry Mason TV series ("The Case of the Final Fadeout") in which he was revealed to be the killer in a dramatic courtroom scene. In 1973, he created the American Music Awards show, which he produces annually. Intended as competition for the Grammy Awards, in some years it gained a bigger audience than the Grammys due to being more in touch with popular trends.
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 the then-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 would later collaborate on several specials featuring black artists.
He hosted the short-lived Dick Clark's LIVE Wednesday in 1978. In 1984, Clark produced and co-hosted with Ed McMahon the NBC series TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes. The series ran through 1988 and continued in specials hosted by Clark (sometimes joined by another TV personality) into the 21st century, first on NBC, later on ABC, and currently on TBS (the last version re-edited into 15-minute/filler segments airing at about 5 A.M.). 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 stems from 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 the 3 major American television networks: ABC (Bandstand), CBS (Pyramid) and NBC (Bloopers) and in 1993, he hosted Scattergories. In 1990 and 1991, he hosted the syndicated television game show The Challengers, which only lasted for one season. In 1999, along with Bob Boden, he was one of the executive producers of Fox's TV game show Greed, which ran from November 5, 1999, to July 14, 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 January 8, 2000 – February 12, 2000.
In July 1985, he hosted the ABC prime time portion of the historic Live Aid concert, an all star concert designed by Bob Geldof to end world hunger.
Clark did a brief stint as announcer on The Jon Stewart Show, in 1995.
From 2001 to 2003, Clark was a co-host of The Other Half with Mario Lopez, Danny Bonaduce, and Dorian Gregory, a syndicated daytime talk show intended to be the male equivalent of The View. Clark also produced the television series American Dreams about a Philadelphia family in the early 1960s whose daughter is a regular on American Bandstand. The series ran from 2002 to 2005.
Clark had a stake in a chain of music-themed restaurants licensed under the names "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill", "Dick Clark's AB Grill", "Dick Clark's Bandstand — Food, Spirits & Fun" and "Dick Clark's AB Diner". There are currently three airport locations in Newark, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; and Salt Lake City, Utah, one location in the Molly Pitcher travel plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike in Cranbury, New Jersey, and one location at "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater" in Branson, Missouri. On November 13, 2002 he was appointed as a director of Krispy Kreme U.K. Ltd.
"Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater" opened in Branson in April 2006, and nine months later, a new theater and restaurant entitled "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Music Complex" opened near Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. In October 2007, since nearby residents complained about the outside concerts performed at the new complex, it has been emptied of its contents and the box office closed temporarily. After eighteen months of extensive new renovations it was reopened for indoor concert performances.
Clark was married three times. His first marriage was to Barbara Mallery in 1952; the couple had one son, Richard ("R.A.", or "Rac"), and divorced in 1961. He married Loretta Martin in 1962; the couple had two children, Duane and Cindy, and divorced in 1971. His third marriage, in 1977 to Kari Wigton, lasted until his death.
During an interview on Larry King Live in April 2004, Clark revealed that he had Type 2 diabetes. On December 8 of that year, the then 75-year-old was hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering what was initially termed a minor stroke. Clark's spokeswoman, Amy Streibel, said that he was hospitalized but was expected to be fine.
However, on December 13, 2004, it was announced that Clark would be unable to host his annual New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast that had aired for all but one year since 1972 (in 1999, New Year's Rockin' Eve was preempted with the Peter Jennings-hosted ABC 2000 Today though Clark did perform his traditional countdown, but had to do with Jack Ford, as ABC had him stationed in Times Square during the broadcast). For the 2004 show, Regis Philbin was the substitute host, and during the show on December 31, 2004, he gave his best wishes to Clark.
Having not been seen in public since his stroke, Clark announced in a statement that he would be back in Times Square for the annual tradition, bringing on Hilary Duff and Ryan Seacrest as co-hosts, in addition to the latter being co-executive producer. Also in the same August 2005 press release, it was announced that Seacrest would eventually take over as the sole host should Clark decide to retire, or be unable to continue.
On December 31, 2005, Clark made his return to television, returning to the Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast.
During the program, Clark remained behind a desk and was shown only in limited segments. Though Clark had noticeable difficulty speaking, he was able to perform his famous countdown to the new year.
On air, he stated, "Last year I had a stroke. It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there." Before counting down to 2006, he mentioned he "wouldn't have missed this for the world."
On August 27, 2006, Clark appeared on NBC's telecast of the 2006 Emmy Awards. He was introduced by Simon Cowell after the show paid tribute to his successful career that has spanned decades. He was shown seated behind a lectern, and although his speech was still slurred, he was able to address the audience and introduce Barry Manilow's performance.
For the 2006–07 and 2007–08 ABC New Year's Eves, Clark still exhibited noticeably slurred and somewhat breathless speech, but improved from previous years, in addition to using his arms again. For the 2008–09 broadcast, he increased his hosting duties to the point where he split duties roughly evenly with Seacrest during the half-hour leading up to the ball drop. For the 2009–10 countdown show, he spoke with improved verbal expression, as well as improved head and arm dexterity, but incorrectly counted down, counting "...14, 12, 10, 11, 10, 9...". In previous years following the stroke, Clark had only hosted the countdown and one brief segment.
Clark was honored at The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on CBS TV. It was a tribute to his 40 years hosting American Bandstand.
"I played records, the kids danced, and America watched".
Good Night Mr. Clark
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
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