Ray Smith says he was upset when Dick Clark claimed only one of the dancers had died from AIDS when asked about it in an interview. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. One older brother survives Norman. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. A case in point is Arlene Sullivan, a popular Regular who has described her own emerging lesbian sexual orientation, which she says was masked by her dance partnerships with boys. I have a Champion Samoyed show dog. e9.size = "300x250"; California residents do not sell my data request. In front of the camera, Clark called the shots. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. The Philadelphia high school Regulars who danced on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in the late 1950s and early 1960s became national celebrities and America's first reality stars. Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. . 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. Sullivan was almost 14, the required age for the show, when she became a Regular. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began a daily two hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. 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 the ABC Television Center (stage 5) in Los Angeles (now known as The Prospect Studios) on February 8, 1964, which coincidentally was the day before the Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. 1950s/1960s POLLS. Sullivan and the other dancers often congregated in Rittenhouse Square, the historic epicenter of what is known as the City of Brotherly Loves Gayborhood. There even was chatter and fear that Clark, who died at 82 in 2012, sent members of his production staff to spy on them and report back the names of the suspected gay regulars. "Bandstand's Backyard". This version 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,[37] thus ending the show's 37-year run.[38][39]. Clark now eyed California as where the action is. And in February 1964 Clark moved to Los Angeles, where it would continue until 1989, though lacking its West Philadelphia spontaneity. When ABC picked the show up, it was renamed American Bandstand, airing its first national show on August 5, 1957. In addition to appearances by big pop stars of the day, Sullivan's on-screen romance with Kenny Rossi was a huge draw for the show. After school in the late 1950s, millions of American teenagers raced home to watch the gyrations of fellow teens on their parents tiny black-and-white televisions in the living room. As the music historian John Jackson observes, from the 1970s on American Bandstandno longer served as Clarks primary video outlet. For the next several decades, Clark would achieve high national visibility as a popular gameshow host and as the impresario of periodic primetimeAmerican Bandstandhit-song reunions (not to mention a spate of video cassettes and books) that fed on white Americas nostalgia forAmericanBandstandsdays in West Philadelphia, evoked in Barry Manilows Bandstand song with Manilows homage to The Philadelphia Way.. Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 19741978 set design. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) The dark-complexioned, wavy-haired Sullivan6bolstered American Bandstands image as a show dominated by Italian-American teens. The Slop. Handbags - Formal Wear. AB WALLET PHOTOS. Dancing with the American Bandstand Stars Fundraiser, July 15, 2009 I did get to know Annette Funicello [a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club], who came to the show. We have lived in NJ ever since. REGULARS Gallery 3. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. Once the program went national upon its move to Los Angeles, new host Dick Clark decided that integration was the most responsible move. American Bandstandsrelegation to a weekly schedule stripped it of much of its power as a potential hit song exposer, writes the music historian John Jackson. I hope you've had a good half-hour. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. In a nice way, he'd discipline us.". Weekday afternoons were spent with the kids in Philly, the kids on American Bandstand. From 1969 to 1974, "Bandstand Theme", a synthesized rock instrumental written by Mike Curb, opened each show. American Bandstand Regulars Interview Frank Spagnuola 280 subscribers Subscribe 746 Share 82K views 5 years ago This is the interview with Arlene, Kenny, Frank and Carole about their days on. She was one of the great stars of the Philadelphia years. I'm David Hirsch and, on behalf of American Bandstand, I bid you, for the last time, goodbye. But to his credit and diligence, he brilliantly created his own myth, and he stuck to it for the rest of his life. . "He presented himself as such a grown-up.". She was now working at Neiman Marcus, and couldn't take off to join the Regulars and their fans at the Philadelphia American Bandstand studio. The most memorable day for Norman and me was April 13, 1961, the day we won second place in the Pony Dance Contest. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*****.. These experienced Regulars considered an infrequent participant or a first time visitor an amateur. I wonder what they would have thought about a kid in TV Land, practicing the new steps in front of her bedroom mirror and praying to God her little brother didnt catch her at it. She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. "He made me feel that if you want something in life, you have to be serious about it.". "This man had the strongest personality that I had ever seen as a young boy," he said. He was six weeks shy of his 47th birthday. In 1988, the National Park Service listed 4548 Market Street on the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Dick Clark was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH, in 1993 as a non-performer. Numerous black and white performers who appeared on American Bandstand during its seven-year heyday in West Philadelphia are also memorialized in this building. When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. Don married Bunny. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. Kelly said he avoided Rittenhouse Square, knowing if he were seen there, theyd be banished, but it was an open secret that most of the boys on the show were gay. "Two or three times during the show, Clark would introduce singers or groups who would lip-sync their latest hits." 2. In July 1956, Dick Clark, a commercial pitchman and deejay with an unsullied reputation, inherited WFIL-TV's Bandstand from scandal-tainted Bob Horn and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABC's American Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957.Clark's daily afternoon program pioneered in musical television by showcasing a range of black and white pop music . At least three factors are important to note regarding the last three years ofAmerican Bandstandin West Philadelphia: the 1960 payola scandal, the reality behind the shows happy faces, and developments in the pop music industry that affected the show and compelled its relocation in 1964 to Los Angeles in a reduced version. You want to know about the guy! EARLY BANDSTAND FASHIONS. at 3:30pm, then rejoin Bandstand at 4pm. Unlike Smith, she expresses no animosity toward Clark. As the books highlight, Ray Smith and Arlene Sullivan provided two thoughtful and unadornedBandstandmemoirs. YOUR FAVORITE LOGO SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+, "Those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other., LOS ANGELES - APRIL 1960: Host of the television show 'American Bandstand' Dick Clark appears in a scene with Michael Callan from the movie 'Because They're Young' which was released in April 1960. Soul Unlimited was not well-received among its target audience of African-Americans, ostensibly due to its being created by a white man (Clark), and because of its alleged usage of deliberately racial overtones despite this fact. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. I never had a crush on her. Out filmmaker Christopher Landon spills the spooky tea on his new movie and working with the 'White Lotus' star. While the teens, all homegrown talent, rocked onstage, two cameras homed in on them for close-ups. Dancing was a major feature of Bandstand. July 9th, 1988", "Retro Request: Sat 10/31 & 11/7 and Sun 11/1, 1987", "AB now in syndication: Jody Watley, Dan Hill, David Spade", "Clark ends long-playing spin on bandstand", "On 'Bandstand,' Dick Clark Says Goodbye", "AGELESS CLARK STILL STANDS FOR THE 'AMERICAN' BAND", "Hits Prove Hard to Find at Dick Clark Productions: Entertainment: Performance has been mediocre since the company went public in 1987. Michael Jackson, a frequent Bandstand guest, performed Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. When she heard the news of Clark's death Wednesday, Gibson immediately headed to Hollywood to be with other former Bandstand regulars at Clark's star on the Walk of Fame. Jax Spills the Tea on That "Shocking" Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza, "In those lip-syncs, I fend for myself. Bob retired after being in the shoe business and the chemical business, where he often worked 18 hour days. 1st song played on the national edition was Jerry Lee Lewis Whole Lotta Shaking Goin On.1st Guests: Billy Williams, ChordettesLast song on the ABC network was Laura Branigans Shattered Glass., See above pictureThe Stroll recorded by The Diamonds in 1958. Black music and black dances originating in Philadelphia neighborhoods contributed substantially to the success ofAmerican Bandstand; yetAmerican Bandstandsdancefloor and bleachers were racially segregated, and some of the shows most popular dances were adapted without attribution from black neighborhoods. In the meantime, have a wonderful week or two. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. I still really didnt know who I was. Clark moved the show to California in 1964, but many fans remember it as a Philadelphia phenomenon. We went downtown, and I ran to the back of the bus the way I always did in Philly but Barbara and her friend kept telling me to come to the front. He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. From that dance on we became steady dance partners until I had to leave the show on my 18th birthday, which was in August of 1961., The Pony Contest They married during her Thanksgiving vacation from Northeast High School. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. "Studio 'B'" measured 80 by 80 by 24 feet (24.4m 24.4m 7.3m), but appeared smaller due to the number of props, television cameras, and risers that were used for the show. Mixed REGULARS Galleries. The one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other," Smith told the New York Post. [1] John A. Jackson,American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock n Roll Empire(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), chaps. Nicholas Fiorentino, 67, a South Philly native now living in Cherry Hill, said it was clear even to Bandstand teenagers that Clark was going places. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. Clark continued as host of the series, which was restored to its former hour length,[22] and aired on stations including KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WWOR-TV in New York City[23] (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;[24] and WCIX in Miami.[25]. So fearful of the kids real behavior, [Clark] imposed a strict dress code: jackets and ties for boys, and nothing tight for girls. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. REGULARS Gallery 2. But this one was different. Clark claimed that the affiliates got greedy and took the time back to put their own material on where they got 100 percent of the revenue. Never, did I ever think that I would be with him, holding his hand when he passed away. , Puppy love Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? But it was not easy on the mean streets of Philadelphia to be a Bandstand regular suspected of being gay. ", Songs she liked to dance to, Mrs. Spada wrote online in June 2010, included "Little Darlin'," "Sixteen Candles," "Tears on my Pillow," "Splish Splash," "Never on Sunday," and "Let's Do The Stroll.". 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[4] had been used before. 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