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Wikipedia

Dick Clark

Richard Wagstaff Clark[1][2] (November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting 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 transmitted New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square.

Dick Clark
Clark in 1974
Born
Richard Wagstaff Clark

(1929-11-30)November 30, 1929
DiedApril 18, 2012(2012-04-18) (aged 82)
Alma materSyracuse University
Occupations
  • Television presenter
  • radio personality
  • businessman
  • television producer
Years active1945–2012
OrganizationDick Clark Productions
Spouses
Barbara Mallery
(m. 1952; div. 1961)
Loretta Martin
(m. 1962; div. 1971)
Kari Wigton
(m. 1972)
Children3, including Duane
Parent(s)Julia Barnard (1897–1973),
Richard A. Clark Sr. (1896–1989)
AwardsFull list

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 Ike & Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson and 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 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".[3]

In his off-stage roles, Clark served as chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions company (though he sold his financial interest in the company during his later years). He also founded the American Bandstand Diner, a restaurant chain modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe.[vague] In 1973, he created and produced the annual American Music Awards show, similar to the Grammy Awards.[3]

Early life

 
Clark in the 1947 yearbook for A.B. Davis High School

Clark was born in Bronxville, New York, and raised in neighboring Mount Vernon,[4] the second child of Richard Augustus Clark and Julia Fuller Clark, née Barnard. His only sibling, elder brother Bradley, a World War II P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, was killed in the Battle of the Bulge.[5]

Clark attended Mount Vernon's A.B. Davis High School (later renamed A.B. Davis Middle School), where he was an average student.[6] At the age of 10, Clark decided to pursue a career in radio.[6] In pursuit of that goal, he attended Syracuse University, graduating in 1951 with a degree in advertising and a minor in radio.[6] While at Syracuse, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi Gamma).[7]

Radio and television career

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.[6]

While attending Syracuse, Clark worked at WOLF-AM, then a country music station. After graduation, he returned to WRUN for a short time where he went by the name Dick Clay.[6] After that, Clark got a job at the television station WKTV in Utica, New York.[6] 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.[8]

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 the name Progress Broadcasting.[9][10] In 1967, he purchased KGUD-AM-FM (now KTMS and KTYD respectively) in Santa Barbara, California.[11][12]

American Bandstand

 
Clark in 1961

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.[13] 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 responsible for a similar program on the company's radio station and served as a regular substitute host when Horn went on vacation.[6] In 1956, Horn was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently dismissed.[6] On July 9, 1956, Clark became the show's permanent host.[6]

Bandstand was picked up by the ABC television network, renamed American Bandstand, and debuted nationally on August 5, 1957.[14] The show took off, due to Clark's natural rapport with the live teenage audience and dancing participants as well as the "clean-cut, non-threatening image" he projected to television audiences.[15] 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."[16]

In 1958, The Dick Clark Show was added to ABC's Saturday night lineup.[6] By the end of year, viewership exceeded 20 million, and featured artists were "virtually guaranteed" large sales boosts after appearing.[6] 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 the show had an audience of 50 million.

Clark moved the show from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 1964.[6] 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 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.[6]

In the 1960s, the show's emphasis changed from merely playing records to including live performers. During this period, many of the leading rock bands and artists 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, 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.[17][18]

During an interview with Clark by Henry Schipper of Rolling Stone magazine in 1990, it 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."[19] 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".[19] Schipper points out that Clark's performers were shocking to general audiences:

The music establishment, and 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".[19]

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 was the devil's music, it would make your teeth fall out and your hair turn blue, whatever the hell. You get through that.[20]

In 2002, many of the bands he introduced appeared at the 50th anniversary special to celebrate American Bandstand.[21] 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 the Daytime Emmy Awards.[22] 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![23]

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."[23] 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".[16] 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.[24]

Shortly after becoming its host, Clark also ended 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.[17] 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.[23] However, Clark was unable to host Elvis Presley, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones on either of his programs.[16]

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."[25] In 1990, a couple of years after 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.[19]

Payola hearings

In 1960, 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.[26]

When asked about some of the causes for the hearings, Clark speculated about some of 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.[19]

As reported by 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".[27]

Game show host

Beginning in late 1963, Clark branched out into hosting game shows, presiding over The Object Is.[28] The show was cancelled in 1964 and replaced by Missing Links, which had moved from NBC. Clark took over as host, replacing Ed McMahon.[28]

Clark became the first host of The $10,000 Pyramid, which premiered on CBS March 26, 1973.[29] 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.[29]

As the program moved back to CBS in September 1982, Clark continued to host the daytime version through most of its history, winning three Emmy Awards for best game show host.[30] 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!.[31] Clark's final Pyramid hosting gig, The $100,000 Pyramid, ended in 1988.[32]

Clark subsequently returned to Pyramid as a guest in later incarnations. 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. 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.[33]

Entertainment Weekly credited Clark's "quietly commanding presence" as a major factor in the game show's success.[29]

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 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 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 through February 12, 2000, Geraldo Rivera was actually supposed to host Winning Lines but couldn't agree on the contract, so CBS selected Clark to host.[34]

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.

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

In 1972, Dick Clark first produced New Year's Rockin' Eve, a New Year's Eve music special for NBC which included coverage of 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 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.[35][36][37]

Following his stroke (which prevented him from appearing at all on the 2004–05 edition),[38] 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 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.[36][39] Seacrest remained host and an executive producer of the special, assuming full duties after Clark's death.[40]

Radio programs

Clark's first love 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.[41]

 
Photo of Clark in 1963, pictured with the iconic RCA 77-DX microphone. Clark's ABC radio show was called Dick Clark Reports.

On March 25, 1972, Clark hosted American Top 40, filling in for Casey Kasem.[42] In 1981, he created The Dick Clark National Music Survey for the Mutual Broadcasting System.[30] 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.[30] 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 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 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 2004 stroke.[30] United Stations Radio Networks continues in operation as of 2020.

Dick Clark's longest-running radio show began on February 14, 1982. Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember was a four-hour oldies show named after Clark's 1976 autobiography. The first year, it 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 2004 stroke. Reruns from the 1995–2004 era continued to air in syndication until USRN withdrew the show in 2020.

Other television programs

 
Clark in 1990

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 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 the show was Clark's unveiling, with great fanfare at the end of each program, of the top ten records of the previous week.[43] 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 September 27 to December 20, 1959, Clark hosted a 30-minute weekly talent/variety series entitled 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 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.[43]

One of Clark's best-known guest appearances was in the final episode ("The Case of the Final Fade-Out") of the original Perry Mason TV series, in which Clark was revealed to be the killer of both murder victims in that episode : an egomaniacal actor during the production of a television show, and later, the producer of that same filmed television show in order to cover up the first murder.[44][45] He appeared as a drag-racing-strip owner in a 1973 episode of the procedural drama series Adam-12.

Clark's most humorous appearance was on an episode ("Testimony of Evil") of Police Squad! in which he asks an informant about ska and borrows his skin cream to keep himself looking young, a parody of the fact that Clark was known for his perennial youthful appearance.

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 popular series Soul Train and alternated in the Bandstand time slot. The series lasted for only a few episodes.[46] Despite a feud between Clark and Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius,[citation needed] 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.[47] In 1980, Clark served as host of the short-lived series The Big Show, an unsuccessful attempt by NBC to revive 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 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.[45] 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).[48]

In July 1985, Clark hosted the ABC primetime portion of the historic Live Aid concert, an all star concert designed by Bob Geldof to end world hunger.[49] During the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, Clark (as host and producer) filled in a void on CBS' fall schedule with Live! Dick Clark Presents.[50]

Clark also hosted various pageants from 1988 to 1993 on CBS. He did a brief stint as announcer on The Jon Stewart Show in 1995.[51] Two years later, he hosted the Pennsylvania Lottery 25th Anniversary Game Show special with then-Miss Pennsylvania Gigi Gordon for Jonathan Goodson Productions. He also created and hosted two Fox television specials in 2000 called Challenge of the Child Geniuses,[52] the last game show he hosted.[citation needed]

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.[45]

Other media appearances

Clark wrote, produced and starred in the 1968 film Killers Three, a Western drama that served as a promotional vehicle for Bakersfield country musicians Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.

In 1967 Clark made an appearance in the BatmanTV series. Clark also appears in interview segments of a 2002 film, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was based on the "unauthorized autobiography" of Chuck Barris. (Barris had worked at ABC as a standards-and-practices executive during American Bandstand's run on that network.)[53]

In the 2002 Dharma and Greg episode "Mission: Implausible", Greg is the victim of a college prank, and he devises an elaborate plan to retaliate, part of which involves his use of a disguise kit; the first disguise chosen is that of Dick Clark. During a fantasy sequence that portrays the unfolding of the plan, the real Clark plays Greg wearing his disguise.[54]

He also made brief cameos in two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In one episode he plays himself at a Philadelphia diner, and in the other he helps Will Smith's character host bloopers from past episodes of that sitcom.[55]

With Ed McMahon, Clark was a pitch man for American Family Sweepstakes until he quit over controversy from the company regarding their sales techniques.[56] Though McMahon briefly continued until the company went out of business, Clark's previous issues managing to escape the Payola scandal motivated him to be very sensitive about his public image.

Clark was noteworthy for giving an award to Cyndi Lauper in WWF's The War to Settle the Score event that appeared on MTV with Hulk Hogan, Lou Albano, and Roddy Piper. Piper appeared to disagree with Lauper's award, assaulted Albano and Lauper appeared to get caught up in it trying to defend Albano, a real life personal friend. Fortunately, Clark had left the ring at that point.[57]

Business ventures

 
Dick Clark's AB Grill in Branson, Missouri (October 2007)

In 1965, Clark branched out from hosting, producing Where The Action Is, an afternoon television program shot at different locations every week featuring house band Paul Revere and the Raiders.[6] In 1973, Clark began producing the highly-successful American Music Awards.[6] In 1987, Dick Clark Productions went public.[6] Clark remained active in television and movie production into the 1990s.[6]

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 two airport locations in Newark, New Jersey and Phoenix, Arizona, 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. Until recently, Salt Lake City, Utah had an airport location.[58] Other restaurants that have closed were located in King Of Prussia (Pennsylvania), Miami, Columbus, Cincinnai, Indianapolis and Overland Park (Kansas).

"Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater" opened in Branson in April 2006,[59] 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.[60]

From 1979 to 1980, Clark reportedly owned the former Westchester Premier Theatre in Greenburgh, New York, renaming it the Dick Clark Westchester Theatre.[61]

Personal life

 
Clark with his first wife Barbara Mallery, and son Richard A. Clark, pictured 1960.

Clark was the son of Richard A. Clark, who managed WRUN radio in Utica, New York.[62]

He was married three times. His first marriage was to Barbara Mallery in 1952; the couple had one son, Richard A. Clark, 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, to Kari Wigton, whom he married in 1977, lasted until his death. He also had three grandchildren.[63]

Illness and death

During an interview on Larry King Live in April 2004, Clark revealed that he had type 2 diabetes.[64][65] His death certificate noted that Clark had coronary artery disease at the time of his death.[66]

In December 2004, the 75-year-old Clark was hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering what was initially termed a minor stroke. Although he was expected to be fine, it was later announced that Clark would be unable to host his annual New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast, with Regis Philbin filling in for him. Clark returned to the series the following year, but the dysarthria that resulted from the stroke rendered him unable to speak clearly for the remainder of his life.

On April 18, 2012, Clark died from a heart attack at a hospital in Santa Monica, California, aged 82, shortly after undergoing a transurethral resection procedure to treat an enlarged prostate.[66][42] After his estate obtained the necessary environmental permits, he was cremated on April 20, and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.[67]

Legacy

Following Clark's death, longtime friend and House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier eulogized Clark on the floor of the U.S. Congress.[68] President Barack Obama praised Clark's career: "With American Bandstand, he introduced decades' worth of viewers to the music of our times. He reshaped the television landscape forever as a creative and innovative producer. And, of course, for 40 years, we welcomed him into our homes to ring in the New Year."[69] Motown founder Berry Gordy and singer Diana Ross spoke of Clark's impact on the recording industry: "Dick was always there for me and Motown, even before there was a Motown. He was an entrepreneur, a visionary and a major force in changing pop culture and ultimately influencing integration," Gordy said. "He presented Motown and the Supremes on tour with the "Caravan of Stars" and on American Bandstand, where I got my start," Ross said.[70]

Credits

Filmography

Television

Albums

  • Dick Clark, 20 Years of Rock N' Roll (Buddah Records) (1973)
  • Rock, Roll & Remember, Vol. 1,2,3 (CSP) (1983)
  • Dick Clark Presents Radio's Uncensored Bloopers (Atlantic) (1984)

Awards and honors

Television

Halls of Fame

Organizational

  • Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Person of the Year (1980)

References

  1. ^ . TV. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  2. ^ Dick Clark's death record at Family Search
  3. ^ a b . The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Bruce Weber (April 18, 2012). "TV Emperor of Rock 'n' Roll and New Year's Eve Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  5. ^ "Michigan Military Heritage Museum". www.gluseum.com. June 24, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q DK Peneny. "Dick Clark". The History of Rock 'n' Roll. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  7. ^ . AskMen.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  8. ^ Clark, Dick; Robinson, Richard (1976). Rock, Roll and Remember. New York City: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. ISBN 978-0-690-01184-5.
  9. ^ "KPRO, WLOB sales announced" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 28, 1964. p. 9. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 27, 1978. p. 43. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 13, 1967. p. 51. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  12. ^ Tiegel, Eliot (July 8, 1967). "Smothers Set Youthful Pace" (PDF). Billboard. p. 32. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  13. ^ Dan Deluca, Sam Wood and Michael D. Schaffer (April 18, 2012). . The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012 – via Kansas City Star.
  14. ^ . Elvis Presley News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  15. ^ Bertram, Colin. "The Dick Clark Effect: It's Everywhere". NBC Chicago. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c Geoff Boucher (April 19, 2012). "Dick Clark dies at 82; he introduced America to rock 'n' roll". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Milner, Andrew (ed.) Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Vol. I, St. James Press (2000) pp. 525–527.
  18. ^ American Bandstand 30 Year Special – 1982 (2/11) on YouTube
  19. ^ a b c d e Schipper, Henry. "Dick Clark", Rolling Stone, April 19, 1990 pp. 67–70, 126.
  20. ^ "The Legacy of Dick Clark, 'The Fastest Follower in the Business'", Rolling Stone, April 18, 2012.
  21. ^ American Bandstand 50th Anniversary clip 2002 on YouTube
  22. ^ Natalie Abrams (May 27, 2010). "Dick Clark to be Honored at Daytime Emmys". TV Guide. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  23. ^ a b c Oldenburg, Ann. "TV legend Dick Clark dies at age 82", USA Today, April 18, 2012.
  24. ^ "Dick Clark dead at 82", CBS News, April 18, 2012.
  25. ^ "Reactions to Death of Dick Clark, New Year's Eve Icon" The New York Times blog, April 18, 2012.
  26. ^ Furek, Maxim W. (1986). The Jordan Brothers — A Musical Biography of Rock's Fortunate Sons. Berwick, Pennsylvania: Kimberley Press. OCLC 15588651.
  27. ^ Goldman, Andrew (March 27, 2011). "Dick Clark, Still the Oldest Living Teenager". New York Times Magazine: MM14. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "The Object Is". TV. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  29. ^ a b c Ken Tucker (April 18, 2012). "A Dick Clark appreciation: The deceptively laid-back, conservative revolutionary". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  30. ^ a b c d "Dick Clark's Rock Roll & Remember". Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  31. ^ Duane Byrge (April 18, 2012). "Dick Clark Dead of Heart Attack at 82". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  32. ^ "Bakersfield native wins big on $100,000 Pyramid". turnto23.com. Scripps Media, Inc. July 12, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  33. ^ "Clark returns to 'Pyramid' — but not as show's host". Deseret News. November 13, 2002. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  34. ^ Adalian, Josef (February 15, 2000). "CBS will sweep away quizzer 'Winning Lines'". Variety. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  35. ^ Moore, Frazier (December 26, 2001). "Next week to be 25th New Year's Eve without Guy Lombardo". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. Retrieved January 1, 2007.
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External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host
1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host
1985–1986
Succeeded by
Media offices
Preceded by
Position created
Host of Pyramid
1973–1988
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Position created
Executive producer/host of New Year's Rockin' Eve
1973–2012
Served alongside: Regis Philbin (2005; as executive producer)
Ryan Seacrest (2006–12; as host)
Succeeded by
Ryan Seacrest
Preceded by Miss USA host
1989–1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss Universe host
1990–1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by American Bandstand host
1956–1989
Succeeded by

dick, clark, other, people, named, disambiguation, richard, wagstaff, clark, november, 1929, april, 2012, american, television, radio, personality, television, producer, film, actor, well, cultural, icon, remains, best, known, hosting, american, bandstand, fro. For other people named Dick Clark see Dick Clark disambiguation Richard Wagstaff Clark 1 2 November 30 1929 April 18 2012 was an American television and radio personality television producer and film actor as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting 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 transmitted New Year s Eve celebrations in New York City s Times Square Dick ClarkClark in 1974BornRichard Wagstaff Clark 1929 11 30 November 30 1929Bronxville New York U S DiedApril 18 2012 2012 04 18 aged 82 Santa Monica California U S Alma materSyracuse UniversityOccupationsTelevision presenterradio personalitybusinessmantelevision producerYears active1945 2012OrganizationDick Clark ProductionsSpousesBarbara Mallery m 1952 div 1961 wbr Loretta Martin m 1962 div 1971 wbr Kari Wigton m 1972 wbr Children3 including DuaneParent s Julia Barnard 1897 1973 Richard A Clark Sr 1896 1989 AwardsFull listAs 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 Ike amp Tina Turner Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Stevie Wonder Simon amp 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 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 3 In his off stage roles Clark served as chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions company though he sold his financial interest in the company during his later years He also founded the American Bandstand Diner a restaurant chain modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe vague In 1973 he created and produced the annual American Music Awards show similar to the Grammy Awards 3 Contents 1 Early life 2 Radio and television career 2 1 American Bandstand 2 2 Payola hearings 2 3 Game show host 2 4 Dick Clark s New Year s Rockin Eve 2 5 Radio programs 2 6 Other television programs 2 7 Other media appearances 3 Business ventures 4 Personal life 4 1 Illness and death 5 Legacy 6 Credits 6 1 Filmography 6 2 Television 7 Albums 8 Awards and honors 9 References 10 External linksEarly life Edit Clark in the 1947 yearbook for A B Davis High School Clark was born in Bronxville New York and raised in neighboring Mount Vernon 4 the second child of Richard Augustus Clark and Julia Fuller Clark nee Barnard His only sibling elder brother Bradley a World War II P 47 Thunderbolt pilot was killed in the Battle of the Bulge 5 Clark attended Mount Vernon s A B Davis High School later renamed A B Davis Middle School where he was an average student 6 At the age of 10 Clark decided to pursue a career in radio 6 In pursuit of that goal he attended Syracuse University graduating in 1951 with a degree in advertising and a minor in radio 6 While at Syracuse he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity Phi Gamma 7 Radio and television career EditIn 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 6 While attending Syracuse Clark worked at WOLF AM then a country music station After graduation he returned to WRUN for a short time where he went by the name Dick Clay 6 After that Clark got a job at the television station WKTV in Utica New York 6 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 8 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 the name Progress Broadcasting 9 10 In 1967 he purchased KGUD AM FM now KTMS and KTYD respectively in Santa Barbara California 11 12 American Bandstand Edit Main article American Bandstand Clark in 1961 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 13 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 responsible for a similar program on the company s radio station and served as a regular substitute host when Horn went on vacation 6 In 1956 Horn was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently dismissed 6 On July 9 1956 Clark became the show s permanent host 6 Bandstand was picked up by the ABC television network renamed American Bandstand and debuted nationally on August 5 1957 14 The show took off due to Clark s natural rapport with the live teenage audience and dancing participants as well as the clean cut non threatening image he projected to television audiences 15 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 16 In 1958 The Dick Clark Show was added to ABC s Saturday night lineup 6 By the end of year viewership exceeded 20 million and featured artists were virtually guaranteed large sales boosts after appearing 6 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 the show had an audience of 50 million Clark moved the show from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 1964 6 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 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 6 In the 1960s the show s emphasis changed from merely playing records to including live performers During this period many of the leading rock bands and artists 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 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 17 18 During an interview with Clark by Henry Schipper of Rolling Stone magazine in 1990 it 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 19 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 19 Schipper points out that Clark s performers were shocking to general audiences The music establishment and 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 19 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 was the devil s music it would make your teeth fall out and your hair turn blue whatever the hell You get through that 20 In 2002 many of the bands he introduced appeared at the 50th anniversary special to celebrate American Bandstand 21 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 the Daytime Emmy Awards 22 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 23 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 23 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 16 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 24 Shortly after becoming its host Clark also ended 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 17 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 23 However Clark was unable to host Elvis Presley the Beatles or the Rolling Stones on either of his programs 16 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 25 In 1990 a couple of years after 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 19 Payola hearings Edit In 1960 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 26 When asked about some of the causes for the hearings Clark speculated about some of 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 19 As reported by 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 27 Game show host Edit Main article Pyramid game show Beginning in late 1963 Clark branched out into hosting game shows presiding over The Object Is 28 The show was cancelled in 1964 and replaced by Missing Links which had moved from NBC Clark took over as host replacing Ed McMahon 28 Clark became the first host of The 10 000 Pyramid which premiered on CBS March 26 1973 29 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 29 As the program moved back to CBS in September 1982 Clark continued to host the daytime version through most of its history winning three Emmy Awards for best game show host 30 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 31 Clark s final Pyramid hosting gig The 100 000 Pyramid ended in 1988 32 Clark subsequently returned to Pyramid as a guest in later incarnations 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 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 33 Entertainment Weekly credited Clark s quietly commanding presence as a major factor in the game show s success 29 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 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 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 through February 12 2000 Geraldo Rivera was actually supposed to host Winning Lines but couldn t agree on the contract so CBS selected Clark to host 34 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 Dick Clark s New Year s Rockin Eve Edit Main article Dick Clark s New Year s Rockin Eve In 1972 Dick Clark first produced New Year s Rockin Eve a New Year s Eve music special for NBC which included coverage of 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 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 35 36 37 Following his stroke which prevented him from appearing at all on the 2004 05 edition 38 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 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 36 39 Seacrest remained host and an executive producer of the special assuming full duties after Clark s death 40 Radio programs Edit Clark s first love 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 41 Photo of Clark in 1963 pictured with the iconic RCA 77 DX microphone Clark s ABC radio show was called Dick Clark Reports On March 25 1972 Clark hosted American Top 40 filling in for Casey Kasem 42 In 1981 he created The Dick Clark National Music Survey for the Mutual Broadcasting System 30 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 30 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 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 amp Remember written and produced by Pam Miller who also came up with the line used in the show and later around 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 2004 stroke 30 United Stations Radio Networks continues in operation as of 2020 Dick Clark s longest running radio show began on February 14 1982 Dick Clark s Rock Roll amp Remember was a four hour oldies show named after Clark s 1976 autobiography The first year it 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 2004 stroke Reruns from the 1995 2004 era continued to air in syndication until USRN withdrew the show in 2020 Other television programs Edit Clark in 1990 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 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 the show was Clark s unveiling with great fanfare at the end of each program of the top ten records of the previous week 43 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 September 27 to December 20 1959 Clark hosted a 30 minute weekly talent variety series entitled 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 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 43 One of Clark s best known guest appearances was in the final episode The Case of the Final Fade Out of the original Perry Mason TV series in which Clark was revealed to be the killer of both murder victims in that episode an egomaniacal actor during the production of a television show and later the producer of that same filmed television show in order to cover up the first murder 44 45 He appeared as a drag racing strip owner in a 1973 episode of the procedural drama series Adam 12 Clark s most humorous appearance was on an episode Testimony of Evil of Police Squad in which he asks an informant about ska and borrows his skin cream to keep himself looking young a parody of the fact that Clark was known for his perennial youthful appearance 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 risque and controversial imitator of the popular series Soul Train and alternated in the Bandstand time slot The series lasted for only a few episodes 46 Despite a feud between Clark and Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius citation needed 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 47 In 1980 Clark served as host of the short lived series The Big Show an unsuccessful attempt by NBC to revive the variety show format of the 1950s 60s In 1984 Clark produced and hosted the NBC series TV s Bloopers amp 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 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 45 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 48 In July 1985 Clark hosted the ABC primetime portion of the historic Live Aid concert an all star concert designed by Bob Geldof to end world hunger 49 During the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike Clark as host and producer filled in a void on CBS fall schedule with Live Dick Clark Presents 50 Clark also hosted various pageants from 1988 to 1993 on CBS He did a brief stint as announcer on The Jon Stewart Show in 1995 51 Two years later he hosted the Pennsylvania Lottery 25th Anniversary Game Show special with then Miss Pennsylvania Gigi Gordon for Jonathan Goodson Productions He also created and hosted two Fox television specials in 2000 called Challenge of the Child Geniuses 52 the last game show he hosted citation needed 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 45 Other media appearances Edit Clark wrote produced and starred in the 1968 film Killers Three a Western drama that served as a promotional vehicle for Bakersfield country musicians Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens In 1967 Clark made an appearance in the BatmanTV series Clark also appears in interview segments of a 2002 film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which was based on the unauthorized autobiography of Chuck Barris Barris had worked at ABC as a standards and practices executive during American Bandstand s run on that network 53 In the 2002 Dharma and Greg episode Mission Implausible Greg is the victim of a college prank and he devises an elaborate plan to retaliate part of which involves his use of a disguise kit the first disguise chosen is that of Dick Clark During a fantasy sequence that portrays the unfolding of the plan the real Clark plays Greg wearing his disguise 54 He also made brief cameos in two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air In one episode he plays himself at a Philadelphia diner and in the other he helps Will Smith s character host bloopers from past episodes of that sitcom 55 With Ed McMahon Clark was a pitch man for American Family Sweepstakes until he quit over controversy from the company regarding their sales techniques 56 Though McMahon briefly continued until the company went out of business Clark s previous issues managing to escape the Payola scandal motivated him to be very sensitive about his public image Clark was noteworthy for giving an award to Cyndi Lauper in WWF s The War to Settle the Score event that appeared on MTV with Hulk Hogan Lou Albano and Roddy Piper Piper appeared to disagree with Lauper s award assaulted Albano and Lauper appeared to get caught up in it trying to defend Albano a real life personal friend Fortunately Clark had left the ring at that point 57 Business ventures EditSee also Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark s AB Grill in Branson Missouri October 2007 In 1965 Clark branched out from hosting producing Where The Action Is an afternoon television program shot at different locations every week featuring house band Paul Revere and the Raiders 6 In 1973 Clark began producing the highly successful American Music Awards 6 In 1987 Dick Clark Productions went public 6 Clark remained active in television and movie production into the 1990s 6 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 amp Fun and Dick Clark s AB Diner There are currently two airport locations in Newark New Jersey and Phoenix Arizona 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 Until recently Salt Lake City Utah had an airport location 58 Other restaurants that have closed were located in King Of Prussia Pennsylvania Miami Columbus Cincinnai Indianapolis and Overland Park Kansas Dick Clark s American Bandstand Theater opened in Branson in April 2006 59 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 60 From 1979 to 1980 Clark reportedly owned the former Westchester Premier Theatre in Greenburgh New York renaming it the Dick Clark Westchester Theatre 61 Personal life Edit Clark with his first wife Barbara Mallery and son Richard A Clark pictured 1960 Clark was the son of Richard A Clark who managed WRUN radio in Utica New York 62 He was married three times His first marriage was to Barbara Mallery in 1952 the couple had one son Richard A Clark 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 to Kari Wigton whom he married in 1977 lasted until his death He also had three grandchildren 63 Illness and death Edit During an interview on Larry King Live in April 2004 Clark revealed that he had type 2 diabetes 64 65 His death certificate noted that Clark had coronary artery disease at the time of his death 66 In December 2004 the 75 year old Clark was hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering what was initially termed a minor stroke Although he was expected to be fine it was later announced that Clark would be unable to host his annual New Year s Rockin Eve broadcast with Regis Philbin filling in for him Clark returned to the series the following year but the dysarthria that resulted from the stroke rendered him unable to speak clearly for the remainder of his life On April 18 2012 Clark died from a heart attack at a hospital in Santa Monica California aged 82 shortly after undergoing a transurethral resection procedure to treat an enlarged prostate 66 42 After his estate obtained the necessary environmental permits he was cremated on April 20 and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean 67 Legacy EditFollowing Clark s death longtime friend and House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier eulogized Clark on the floor of the U S Congress 68 President Barack Obama praised Clark s career With American Bandstand he introduced decades worth of viewers to the music of our times He reshaped the television landscape forever as a creative and innovative producer And of course for 40 years we welcomed him into our homes to ring in the New Year 69 Motown founder Berry Gordy and singer Diana Ross spoke of Clark s impact on the recording industry Dick was always there for me and Motown even before there was a Motown He was an entrepreneur a visionary and a major force in changing pop culture and ultimately influencing integration Gordy said He presented Motown and the Supremes on tour with the Caravan of Stars and on American Bandstand where I got my start Ross said 70 Credits EditFilmography Edit Jamboree 1957 Himself Because They re Young 1960 Neil Hendry The Young Doctors 1961 Dr Alexander Killers Three 1968 Roger The Phynx 1970 Himself Spy Kids 2001 Financier Bowling For Columbine 2002 Himself Documentary Television Edit ABC 2000 Today Times Square correspondent Adam 12 1972 as drag strip owner Mr J Benson in the season 4 episode Who Won American Bandstand host Branded guest starred as J A Bailey in season 2 episode The Greatest Coward on Earth Burke s Law as Peter Barrows the son of a murdered financier in season 1 episode Who Killed What His Name The Challengers host Futurama himself as a head in a jar season 1 episode 1 Space Pilot 3000 Happening 1968 69 producer It Takes Two 1997 host The Krypton Factor 1981 host Lassie 1966 as J H Alpert in the episode The Untamed Land Missing Links 1964 host Miss Teen USA 1988 1991 1993 host Miss Universe 1990 1993 host Miss USA 1989 1993 host Final Draw 1994 FIFA World Cup 1993 host New Year s Rockin Eve 1972 2004 host 2006 2012 co host producer Perry Mason 1966 Season 9 episode 30 The Case of the Final Fadeout The Object Is 1963 1964 host The Partridge Family guest star season 1 episode 13 Star Quality Pyramid host 1973 1988 guest The 25 000 Pyramid 1970s Pyramid 2002 The Saturday Night Beech Nut Show 1958 1960 host Scattergories host Stoney Burke 1963 Sgt Andy Kincaid in the episode Kincaid TV s Bloopers amp Practical Jokes co host producer Where the Action Is 1965 67 host Police Squad himself episode Testimony of Evil Dead Men Don t Laugh Wolf Rock TV producer Winning Lines host The Fresh Prince of Bel Air himself two episodes Albums EditDick Clark 20 Years of Rock N Roll Buddah Records 1973 Rock Roll amp Remember Vol 1 2 3 CSP 1983 Dick Clark Presents Radio s Uncensored Bloopers Atlantic 1984 Awards and honors EditTelevision Five Emmy Awards Four for Best Game Show Host 1979 1983 1985 and 1986 Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award 1994 Peabody Award 1999 Halls of Fame Hollywood Walk of Fame 1976 National Radio Hall of Fame 1990 71 Broadcasting Magazine Hall of Fame 1992 Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame 1992 Television Hall of Fame 1992 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1993 Disney Legends 2013 Organizational Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Person of the Year 1980 References Edit Dick Clark on TV July 19 2010 Archived from the original on June 4 2011 Retrieved September 2 2010 Dick Clark s death record at Family Search a b Dick Clark Biography The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Archived from the original on November 16 2018 Retrieved April 20 2012 Bruce Weber April 18 2012 TV Emperor of Rock n Roll and New Year s Eve Dies at 82 The New York Times Retrieved April 18 2012 Michigan Military Heritage Museum www gluseum com June 24 2019 Retrieved January 1 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q DK Peneny Dick Clark The History of Rock n Roll Retrieved April 20 2012 Dick Clark AskMen com Archived from the original on December 9 2010 Retrieved September 2 2010 Clark Dick Robinson Richard 1976 Rock Roll and Remember New York City Thomas Y Crowell Co ISBN 978 0 690 01184 5 KPRO WLOB sales announced PDF Broadcasting December 28 1964 p 9 Retrieved June 2 2018 Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting March 27 1978 p 43 Retrieved June 2 2018 Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting November 13 1967 p 51 Retrieved June 2 2018 Tiegel Eliot July 8 1967 Smothers Set Youthful Pace PDF Billboard p 32 Retrieved June 2 2018 Dan Deluca Sam Wood and Michael D Schaffer April 18 2012 Dick Clark legendary host of American Bandstand dies at 82 The Philadelphia Inquirer Archived from the original on April 21 2012 Retrieved April 19 2012 via Kansas City Star Dick Clark Elvis 1961 Interview American Bandstand Compare Dick Clark Dick Clark s Elvis Collection Sold at Auction Elvis Presley News Archived from the original on January 22 2009 Retrieved December 31 2009 Bertram Colin The Dick Clark Effect It s Everywhere NBC Chicago Retrieved January 4 2020 a b c Geoff Boucher April 19 2012 Dick Clark dies at 82 he introduced America to rock n roll Los Angeles Times Retrieved April 19 2012 a b Milner Andrew ed Encyclopedia of Popular Culture Vol I St James Press 2000 pp 525 527 American Bandstand 30 Year Special 1982 2 11 on YouTube a b c d e Schipper Henry Dick Clark Rolling Stone April 19 1990 pp 67 70 126 The Legacy of Dick Clark The Fastest Follower in the Business Rolling Stone April 18 2012 American Bandstand 50th Anniversary clip 2002 on YouTube Natalie Abrams May 27 2010 Dick Clark to be Honored at Daytime Emmys TV Guide Retrieved April 22 2012 a b c Oldenburg Ann TV legend Dick Clark dies at age 82 USA Today April 18 2012 Dick Clark dead at 82 CBS News April 18 2012 Reactions to Death of Dick Clark New Year s Eve Icon The New York Times blog April 18 2012 Furek Maxim W 1986 The Jordan Brothers A Musical Biography of Rock s Fortunate Sons Berwick Pennsylvania Kimberley Press OCLC 15588651 Goldman Andrew March 27 2011 Dick Clark Still the Oldest Living Teenager New York Times Magazine MM14 Retrieved September 24 2022 a b The Object Is TV Retrieved April 20 2012 a b c Ken Tucker April 18 2012 A Dick Clark appreciation The deceptively laid back conservative revolutionary Entertainment Weekly Retrieved April 20 2012 a b c d Dick Clark s Rock Roll amp Remember Retrieved April 20 2012 Duane Byrge April 18 2012 Dick Clark Dead of Heart Attack at 82 The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved April 20 2012 Bakersfield native wins big on 100 000 Pyramid turnto23 com Scripps Media Inc July 12 2016 Retrieved December 31 2019 Clark returns to Pyramid but not as show s host Deseret News November 13 2002 Retrieved January 4 2020 Adalian Josef February 15 2000 CBS will sweep away quizzer Winning Lines Variety Retrieved December 31 2019 Moore Frazier December 26 2001 Next week to be 25th New Year s Eve without Guy Lombardo Pittsburgh Post Gazette Associated Press Retrieved January 1 2007 a b Memmott Carol December 27 2011 Dick Clark Rockin it on New Year s since 1972 USA Today Retrieved March 2 2012 Terry Carol Burton New Guy Lombardo Dick Clark sees New Year s tradition The Milwaukee Sentinel Archived from the original on September 22 2015 Retrieved December 19 2012 de Moraes Lisa December 14 2004 Dick Clark Hands Off The Big Ball Drop The Washington Post p C1 Archived from the original on August 21 2018 Retrieved December 31 2011 Clark Outing Cheers Stroke Survivors CNN Associated Press January 4 2006 Archived from the original on January 11 2006 Retrieved December 31 2009 Oldenburg Ann October 23 2013 Ryan Seacrest extends New Year s Rockin Eve deal USA Today Retrieved November 6 2013 Beyond American Bandstand Dick Clark s career highlights from Philly to Hollywood The Washington Post Associated Press April 18 2012 Archived from the original on December 9 2018 Retrieved April 20 2012 a b Alan Duke Chelsea J Carter April 19 2012 Only God is responsible for making more stars than Dick Clark CNN Retrieved April 20 2012 a b Brooks Tim Marsh Earle 2003 The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable Shows 1946 present 8th revised and updated ed Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0 345 45542 0 The case of the Final Fade Out IMDb Retrieved June 14 2022 a b c Lynn Elber April 18 2012 Dick Clark TV and New Year s Eve icon dies at 82 Associated Press Archived from the original on April 21 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 Top 10 Things You Didn t Know About Soul Train NewsOne February 2 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 Dick Clark s Live Wednesday TV com Retrieved April 20 2012 Dick Clark is Thriving on Three Major Networks NY Times com Dick Clark Dies of Massive Heart Attack Secret Service Resignations Amidst Scandal CNN April 18 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 THE TV COLUMN Washington Post September 16 1988 Retrieved November 5 2019 Pop Will Eat Itself on The Jon Stewart Show on YouTube de Moraes Lisa Smart Kids Finish First The Washington Post Retrieved December 31 2019 Dick Clark A Big Screen Tribute Retrieved April 19 2012 Dharma amp Greg Mission Implausible TV com Retrieved April 19 2012 The Fresh Prince of Bel Air The Philadelphia Story Overview Archived from the original on June 28 2013 Retrieved April 19 2012 Ed McMahon Delivered Checks for PCH True or False LiveAbout Retrieved July 30 2022 Dick Clark presents Cyndi Lauper with an award in Madison Square Garden retrieved July 30 2022 1 Archived December 26 2007 at the Wayback Machine Tornado damaged theater to reopen April 14 Springfield News Leader April 5 2012 Archived from the original on June 3 2015 Retrieved April 19 2012 Jeanna Contino April 18 2012 The Eventful Life of Dick Clark BUnow Bloomberg Archived from the original on April 25 2012 Retrieved April 19 2012 Kanwar Tanuja April 18 2012 Westchester Native Dick Clark Dead at 82 The Rivertowns Daily Voice Retrieved July 19 2012 TV Star Clark Buys Inland Empire Station KPRO San Bernardino Sun Telegram June 20 1965 page D 4 Dick Clark dead at 82 The TV legend s life in photos slides 6 7 11 amp 12 New York Daily News April 18 2012 Retrieved November 18 2016 Dick Clark dies at 82 Patriot Ledger Quincy Massachusetts April 2012 Retrieved August 16 2015 CNN Larry King Live Interview With Dick Clark CNN April 16 2004 Retrieved August 16 2015 a b Dick Clark death certificate autopsyfiles org accessed November 16 2016 Rene Lynch April 19 2012 Dick Clark dies at 82 He was a symbol of hope to stroke victims Los Angeles Times Retrieved January 29 2017 Kasperowicz Pete April 18 2012 GOP lawmaker Dick Clark should be remembered as model of free enterprise TheHill Retrieved July 9 2020 Celebrities react to the death of Dick Clark Archived from the original on April 21 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 Celebrities react to the death of Dick Clark NPR Associated Press April 18 2012 Archived from the original on April 19 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 Dick Clark National Radio Hall Of Fame 2017 Archived from the original on January 10 2017 Retrieved January 9 2017 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dick Clark Wikiquote has quotations related to Dick Clark Dick Clark s personal radio web site Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Papers at Syracuse University Dick Clark at the National Radio Hall of Fame Dick Clark at IMDb Dick Clark at the TCM Movie Database Dick Clark Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Dick Clark in the Hollywood Walk of Fame Directory Dick Clark s Rock Roll and Remember newspaper comic strip series Dick Clark interviewed on the Pop Chronicles recorded March 11 1968 Dick Clark collected news and commentary at The New York Times Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia web page Dick Clark at The Interviews An Oral History of Television FBI file on Dick Clark Reuters review of 2008 documentary The Wages of Spin 2 Awards and achievementsPreceded byRichard Dawson Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host1979 Succeeded byPeter MarshallPreceded byBob Barker Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host1985 1986 Succeeded byBob BarkerMedia officesPreceded byPosition created Host of Pyramid1973 1988 Succeeded byJohn DavidsonPreceded byPosition created Executive producer host of New Year s Rockin Eve1973 2012 Served alongside Regis Philbin 2005 as executive producer Ryan Seacrest 2006 12 as host Succeeded byRyan SeacrestPreceded byAlan Thicke Miss USA host1989 1993 Succeeded byBob GoenPreceded byJohn Forsythe Miss Universe host1990 1993 Succeeded byBob GoenPreceded byTony Mammarella American Bandstand host1956 1989 Succeeded byDavid Hirsch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dick Clark amp oldid 1153184371, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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