View Our Classic TV Shows Directory He was a brilliant man. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. American Bandstandsrelegation to a weekly schedule stripped it of much of its power as a potential hit song exposer, writes the music historian John Jackson. But if you subscribe and leave a comment you want to see the parade, I will do it.Remember to SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED AS I UPLOAD MORE FROM MY ARCHIVES! We also surmise that her mother was an Italian immigrant (she refers to her Italian mom), and her father of Irish descent. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) Not only does Bandstand Diaries detail Smith's and Sullivan's personal experiences, it also includes interviews with more than 40 Bandstand regulars, reveals Dick Clark's back story and . Acts debuting on Bandstand appeared on Deane's program, but were asked to not mention their previous appearance with Clark while on the Baltimore show. Reply. Dancing was a major feature of Bandstand. He practiced dancing with his niece, Robin, but when he went down to the show, they wouldnt let him in because he was over the age of 18. 1950s/1960s POLLS. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. e9 = new Object(); Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. Browse 1,010 american bandstand dancers stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 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. In March of 1970 we moved to New Jersey. 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. Teenagers and young adults ran home from school to watch them jitterbug and stroll while they copied their fashions, fads and dance moves. 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. Dancing with the American Bandstand Stars Fundraiser, July 15, 2009 So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. At 74, Sullivan still dances once a week at a party thrown by another Bandstand dancer. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. REGULARS Gallery 1. There were even allegations that Clark conducted witch hunts, sending production staff to Rittenhouse Square, at the center of Philadelphia's gayborhood, to see if any of the young stars were there. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. Barbara Levick was a very popular young lady who was a Regular who danced on American Bandstand in the late 50s/very early 60s. And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. . These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. News Shows He would dance on the show until early 1960. He was 21 and she was 16. This historical marker recalls Dick Clarks American Bandstand, which was broadcast from West Philadelphia from 1957 to 1964. California residents do not sell my data request. . Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. Of Clarks behind-the-scenes behavior at Studio B, Ray Smith writes unsparingly: The irony about Clark is that he was not the goody-two-shoes he projected: he smoked, cursed, and for a while teetered on the edge of alcoholism. As the music historian John Jackson observes, from the 1970s on American Bandstandno longer served as Clarks primary video outlet. For the next several decades, Clark would achieve high national visibility as a popular gameshow host and as the impresario of periodic primetimeAmerican Bandstandhit-song reunions (not to mention a spate of video cassettes and books) that fed on white Americas nostalgia forAmericanBandstandsdays in West Philadelphia, evoked in Barry Manilows Bandstand song with Manilows homage to The Philadelphia Way.. The Buddy Deane Show aired on WJZ-TV until January 4, 1964. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. They knew what was going on, but they never asked the question., Sullivan says there were at least four other popular girl dancers on Bandstand who she quickly learned were lesbians and we all started hanging out together. Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. From the late 1950s and most of the 1960s, Clark's on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O'Donnell, who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $100,000 Pyramid. Like the white homeowners associations' concerns about property values, WFIL's version of defensive localism built on a belief that integration would hurt the station's investment in Bandstand. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. The one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other," Smith told the New York Post. WFIL reverted to the TK-10s two weeks later when ABC refused to carry the color signal and management realized that the show lost perspective without the extra cameras. He was also reportedly involved in a prostitution ring and brought up on morals charges. One market not telecasting Bandstand was Baltimore, Maryland, as local affiliate WAAM (now WJZ-TV) elected to produce a local dance show in the same afternoon time slot. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. At the time, unless a broadcaster failed to report under-the-table income (federal income tax evasion), payola wasnt illegal in federal law. For More Bunny click here to go to Bunny Gibson.com, Bunny Gibson discusses the 50th celebration of American Bandstand. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. When ABC picked the show up, it was renamed American Bandstand, airing its first national show on August 5, 1957. Hosted by Bob Horn as a television adjunct to his radio show of the same name on WFIL radio, Bandstand featured short musical films produced by Snader Telescriptions and Official Films, with occasional studio guests. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. And while more openly gay performers are comfortable taking the stage these days, it's good to know we've always been thereeven if in silence. Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes;[13] at Clark's request, the 2,751st and final ABC installment[14] (with Laura Branigan[15] performing "Shattered Glass"[16][17]) aired on September 5, 1987. They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. 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 . Many local Philadelphia teenagers became household names by appearing and dancing on American Bandstand on a regular basis from the '50s to the early '60s: As Bandstand moved towards the 1980s, the ratings began to decline. Thankfully we've come a long way since those sad days. Mickey Mouse Club Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. [42] American Bandstand was a daily ritual for many teenagers throughout the nation. Interracial couples were not allowed on camera, so they sat on the sidelines. In 1964 Dick Clark took Dick Clark Productions and American Bandstand to Hollywood, Los Angeles in search of new markets for his myriad projects. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? Handbags - Formal Wear. Attempts continue to launch a successful game show or sitcom", "Final American Bandstand: The Cover Girls", http://nicestkids.com/nehvectors/nicest-kids/bandstands-backyard, "Remembering American Bandstand's 50th [Photos]", Son of Svengoolie - 'Good Morning, Sven' (Opening,Show #218) (verse occurs at the 1:35 mark), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Bandstand&oldid=1140855641, American Bandstand's 20th Anniversary (1973), American Bandstand's 25th Anniversary (1977), American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary (1982), American Bandstand's 33 1/3 Celebration (1985), American Bandstand's 40th Anniversary (1992), American Bandstand's 50th Anniversary (2002), The show was featured prominently in the 20022005, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 03:03. Sullivan and the other dancers often congregated in Rittenhouse Square, the historic epicenter of what is known as the City of Brotherly Loves Gayborhood. There even was chatter and fear that Clark, who died at 82 in 2012, sent members of his production staff to spy on them and report back the names of the suspected gay regulars. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing ABC gave Clark a choice: divest his music-related interests or step down as host of the show. Clark chose to continue withBandstand.3. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. She was now working at Neiman Marcus, and couldn't take off to join the Regulars and their fans at the Philadelphia American Bandstand studio. NEW PAGE! Although, unlike some others, Carole never really had a steady dancing partner, she danced with all the good-looking Italian boys and that one special non-Italian whom everyone loved - Harvey Robbins. To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. Both were ratings disasters. Millions of kids from Brooklyn to Beverly Hills ran home from school every weekday to watch them dance, imitate their styles and fantasize about their lives. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*****.. The kids designated as American Bandstand Regulars in some cases struggled with their sexual identity. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Ross Media Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. At the time, being open about their sexuality would have meant the end for these young performers with stars in their eyes. .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. "Saturday Bandstand retained the proven format of the now defunct weekday show, but it sustained a crucial loss of spontaneity as a result of being taped instead of shown live. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on American Bandstand back in the late 50s and early 60s, kids across the country swooned. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. Goes from a daily to a weekly Saturday show in Philadelphia: 9/7/1963, Broadcast from Los Angeles: Begins 2/8/1964, Produced by Anthony Tony Mammarella and Dick Clark, Dick Clark Host [Clark] was a cool professional with an agenda from the beginning, an agenda for success that made him rich; he was a millionaire by the end of the 1950s. "If you got in front of the camera too much, he'd call you back and tell you to circulate. "He was the commander," Colanero said. That really annoyed me, said Smith, Because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS., According to Brancaccio, Clark didnt want racial integration on his show either. Soul Unlimited was not well-received among its target audience of African-Americans, ostensibly due to its being created by a white man (Clark), and because of its alleged usage of deliberately racial overtones despite this fact. It was a local show Philadelphia, Jersey, the Lehigh Valley [Pennsylvania]. I kissed a girl, and I liked it! Sullivan, now 74 and long out of the closet, reveals in a fascinating self-published book, Bandstand Diaries billed as The Book Youve Waited Over 50 Years to Read!. My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. This kit packs $431 worth of premium skincare and haircare into a small packageand it's only $80 with the promo code. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began a daily two hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. 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. We were like sisters. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. Kelly said he avoided Rittenhouse Square, knowing if he were seen there, theyd be banished, but it was an open secret that most of the boys on the show were gay. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. Jax Spills the Tea on That "Shocking" Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza, "In those lip-syncs, I fend for myself. Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. //-->. The news hit hard. Don married Bunny. It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. After dispelling rumors of his death, which circulated on social media on Thursday, Blavat's representative confirmed in a Facebook post on Friday morning that he had died at 3:45 a.m. at. Primary video outlet to come to the catchphrase `` it 's only $ 80 the... Bandstand was a brilliant man picked the show up, it was about the music and the.. Dancer on American Bandstandno longer served as Clarks primary video outlet tell you to.. Still dances once a week at a party thrown by another Bandstand dancer Dick Clarks American Bandstand a. & Photographs Online Catalog first aired 5 August 1957 in the late 50s/very early.... So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways Clark on,. Up on morals charges stock photos and images american bandstand regulars who have died stock photos and images available, or a. 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