Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. At the time, unless a broadcaster failed to report under-the-table income (federal income tax evasion), payola wasnt illegal in federal law. He retained his youthful looks through the 1980s, burnishing his reputation as Americas Oldest Living Teenager. Dick Clark died at age 82 in Santa Monica. Jax Spills the Tea on That "Shocking" Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza, "In those lip-syncs, I fend for myself. . ", "Forty years after 'Bandstand' debut, Clark and dancers celebrate", "ORIGINAL DANCERS WILL GRANDSTAND AT 'BANDSTAND' REUNION", "American Bandstand, Season 30, Episode 38: Laura Brannigan (Final ABC show)", "Dick Clark's On a Roll: He Tunes In to TV Trends", "Dick Clark celebrates American Bandstand's 35th", "RETRO: Fairbanks, Alaska (October 24, 1987)", "Retro: Northern Wisconsin, Sat. 4/8/1989 10/7/1989 Syndicated . He was 21 and she was 16. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. Weekday afternoons were spent with the kids in Philly, the kids on American Bandstand. Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) The program that preceded Dick Clarks American Bandstand at WFIL-TV was deejay Bob Horns locally popular Bandstand. The followed the trend of solo (open) dancing started by Chubby Checker and The Twist. Some solo dances had animal names, for example, The Pony and The Monkey; others were named for motions, for example, The Mashed Potato and The Loco-Motion. Two of the biggest record hits of the early 1960s, both of which received a huge boost from airtime onAmerican Bandstand, were Dee Dee Sharps Mashed Potato Time and Freddy Cannons Palisades Park.8, YetAmerican Bandstandsseven-year stint in West Philadelphia was about to end. Dick Clark 1929 2012, Dick Clark with Johnny Crawford. 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. Sullivans last appearance onAmerican Bandstandwas in 1960.7, In the early 1960s, a new collection of teen regulars succeeded Arlene Sullivans generation onAmerican Bandstandsdance floor. In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. No way I will get in his way! Sullivan says Bandstand host Dick Clark knew most of the cast was gay, but was determined to keep it under wraps for the sake of the show. She acknowledges that some of the other girls she knew on the show were also gay. He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. The Slop. "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. As she puts it, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand Club membership card and dancing every day on the show. Bob Horn Host (Bob Horns Bandstand), Bandstand Boogie In an online page marking her 68th birthday on Nov. 23, 2011, Bandstand "documentarian" Charles W. Amann III posted: "The name Scaldeferri and American Bandstand go hand-in-hand. American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. BUT he was out for Clark., Sullivan claims there were four other popular girl dancers on the show whom she knew to be lesbians, and they hung out together. This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952, in "Studio 'B'", which was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building in West Philadelphia.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^ , and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. She was a senior.and luckily on the Honor Roll. It became a national institution and Dick Clark a celebrity. Reply. 8-9; quote from unpaginated photo section. at 3:30pm, then rejoin Bandstand at 4pm. Don and Bunny had two daughters: Angel and Maria and four grandchildren: Lea & Christopher Di Vello, Alexis Karanzalis & Nicole Weiss. The Saturday show would run until 1960. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. He fell in love with her. . 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. 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. [8] In the fall of 1961, ABC truncated American Bandstand's airtime from 90 to 60 minutes (4:005:00pm ET), then even further as a daily half-hour (4:004:30pm ET) program in September 1962; beginning in early 1963, all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. A Philadelphia, PA 19133, BONUS PAGE 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. The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. Then it was hosted by Bob Horn and was called Bob Horns Bandstand.On July 9 of 1956 the show got a new host, a clean-cut 26 year old named Dick Clark. REGULARS Gallery 3. I said, In that case, Im staying. I was shocked. Or sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers! Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. A show where well-dressed teens gently bop around to the big hits while maintaining an appropriate distance apart hardly seems like it would be a hot bed of sexual experimentation, but American Bandstand apparently featured a crew of Philadelphia kids who had more than dancing in common. California residents do not sell my data request. But I didnt have any crushes on any of the straight girls. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. And then they leave the show, go up on the El, go home to their neighborhoods, they then had to run to their door because somebody was always waiting there to beat them up.. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, died Sunday, Dec. 8, of congestive heart failure at a Springfield hospital. The program was permanently shot in color starting on September 9, 1967. Come and join us two weeks from today for an hour version of American Bandstand on Saturday, September 19. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. 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. Id see these kids dancing and instinctively I knew I could fit in with them. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. ABC gave Bandstand color cameras and launched it on its network of 67 stations in August of 1957. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. But . The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. We have lived in NJ ever since. John Lithgow filmed a mockumentary episode before it was c 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together, Ousted Chicago mayor blames loss on racism, gender but not her tepid response to crime, Chaka Khan blasts Rolling Stone, Adele, Mariah Carey in podcast talk, Disgraceful Meghan, Harry provoked King Charles to evict them: royal expert, Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori look surprisingly happy on dinner date, Sunny Hostin Points Finger at China for COVID Crisis: Did Not Cooperate With the International Community, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle confirm they were asked to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage. While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. This kit packs $431 worth of premium skincare and haircare into a small packageand it's only $80 with the promo code. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical actover the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to RunD.M.C.usually appeared in person 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. Clark pulled him within two feet of the camera and told America, "Steve is our newest regular, and he's going to lead us off with a spotlight dance. Dick Clark, in full Richard Wagstaff Clark, (born November 30, 1929, Bronxville, New York, U.S.died April 18, 2012, Santa Monica, California), American television personality and businessman, best known for hosting American Bandstand. 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. Interracial couples were not allowed on camera, so they sat on the sidelines. But he feared that if the shows secret ever came out, Middle America would change the channel. And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". Fundraiser for the renovation of the original American Bandstand Studio Floor Everybody knew the names of The Regulars on Bandstand. However, advertisers do to enable personalized ads. Known then as Carole Scaldeferri, Mrs. Spada was among the teens who jitterbugged and slow-danced their way to fame in a TV studio in Philadelphia, while host Dick Clark spun what are now oldies. I'm David Hirsch and, on behalf of American Bandstand, I bid you, for the last time, goodbye. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. Colanero danced from 1959 to 1961. Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. . during those wonderful days. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. I am not sure I can post that part of the video as I have no rights to the music they play and is heard in the background of the parade. Sullivan was raised in a rowhouse in a working-class neighborhood; we surmise from her writing that it was somewhere in Southwest Philly (she attended John Bartram High School), although Sullivan doesnt specify a home address. Remember, these Regulars werent paid actors or dancers. Very sadly, Bob passed away 2 . Dick Clarks tight control on the sexual expression of his cast extended to a denial years after the show had ended. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. The show, hosted by Dick Clark, sounds like it was both a community of welcome amongst the teens and a repressive construct from higher ups. For a brief time in 1973, Bandstand alternated its time slot with Soul Unlimited,[10] a show featuring soul music that was hosted by Buster Jones. When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. 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. "Dangerous". She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. 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. . AB WALLET PHOTOS. The previous theme was retained as bumper music. Sullivan, 74, wrote Diaries with Ray Smith, another dancer who was closeted during his Bandstand years. Bandstand debuted in Philadelphia in 1950 and took on its familiar format two years later. Clark's sunny smile and cuteness masked a strong will and iron determination. American Bandstand aired five days a week in live national broadcast until 1963, when the show moved west to Los Angeles and began a 24-year run as a taped weekly program with Dick Clark as host . He will never forget one of his first days on Bandstand. He needed a group to show up every day, she says, and nobody got paid. In fact, it was dangerous. 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. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. In other parts of the country, if you were a gay kid growing up, you were probably the only one in town who was gay, Sullivan said. A Midlothian-based freelance writer, Martha Steger has received national awards for her journalism, essays, short fiction and poetry. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. When Gibson moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in the 1980s, she paid Clark a call at his office. In the meantime, have a wonderful week or two. 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. It preceded The Guy Mitchell Show. With his death, she said, it is "important that Dick is honored for what he did for rock-and-roll and for the impact he had on all the lives of his dancers from Philly to L.A.", Clark, Gibson said, led "the first teenage revolution, and we were part of it. One show from this first season (December 18, 1957, identified as the "Second National Telecast") is preserved in the archives of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications. . They were hurting him. The Hand Jive. I had asked Norman to dance when it was a ladies choice. "He made sure the guys wore suits and we were dressed properly. .When he spoke to us off-screen, it was usually from the podium; it gave him command over his domain, and as I have learned over the years, Clark liked and wanted to be in command.4, Smith recalls the closetingof American BandstandsLGBT youths. Rossi was straightbut Sullivan, many of her female co-stars, and most of the young male dancers were not. Barbara Levick was a very popular young lady who was a Regular who danced on American Bandstand in the late 50s/very early 60s. Hundreds of kids lined up each day hoping to be one of the few lucky ones who got to dance alongside the Regulars and share part of the magic that was American Bandstand. Where things are poppin'(Pop!) The show stayed on the air until 1989. In her memoir forBandstand Diaries, she writes frankly and poignantly of her youthful struggle with her emerging identity as lesbian, a sexual orientation she would fully embrace as an adult. 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). Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song. As two or three stations grab it off, you get less clearance, therefore you get less rating, and its an endless cycle. 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