"He made me feel that if you want something in life, you have to be serious about it.". They were real kids from Philly, and if you watched every day, you could tell who was breaking up and who was making up. Read the review. . http://dickclark.com My mother thought I was nuts. The first book party was in November in where else? Emphasizing this sentiment, Philadelphian John Oates (of musical duo Hall & Oates) said, The show had such an impact on the music business, it set the tone and the pace for teenage style and attitude and everything else across America., Jordan McClain is Assistant Teaching Professor of Communication at Drexel University. Norman and I met in January 1959 while standing outside of the studio waiting to get inside. Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September. KENNY AND ARLENE. First called Bandstand, the program premiered October 6, 1952, hosted by Philadelphia radio DJ Bob Horn (1916-66). 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. They wrote. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. . May, 1961. Photo taken on October 27, 1981. Mixed REGULARS Galleries. . He danced on the show until Christmas 1959. American Bandstand (TV Series 1952-1989) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Im sure shell be thrilled to hear well wishes and from Bandstand friends and fans and donations would help her a lot. 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.. 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. Early in 1964, the show moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, where it remained through its final season in 1989. 1 (2012): 89-113. After that, management at WFIL-TV/Channel 6 (46th & Market) in Philadelphia installed the clean-cut Dick Clark to take over the teen dance party show and renamed it "American Bandstand." I lived in very tough South Philadelphia, he says. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. "It is with much sadness that we have lost one of the most loving and beautiful souls - Carole Scaldeferri Spada has passed away," Bunny Gibson, who identified herself as a "Bandstand buddy," posted on Facebook. "But more than worth it.". NEW PAGE! Lowell. Writes Sullivan in the book, "A few years ago at a fancy party on Fifth Avenue in New York, a man in a tux in his late sixties came over and told me he grew up on a ranch in Wyoming. The couple first honeymooned on the Chattanooga Choo Choo, the famed railway that was immortalized by Glenn Miller and was the first to run South to North. She was 13 but lied about her age. In 1960, he attended Penn State as an English major. He said funeral services are pending. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. 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!. To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. I still really didnt know who I was. But he feared that if the shows secret ever came out, Middle America would change the channel. (7/21/2011) I just received this from Bunny Gibson and certainly thought it was appropriate to mention here: Anna Russo, formerly Anna Banani, went to American Bandstand 1963 until AB left Philly for Los Angeles, lost both of her legs to diabetes and is in need. So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. But it was not easy on the mean streets of Philadelphia to be a Bandstand regular suspected of being gay. Via this network, which advertised itself as WFIL-adelphia, the show reached almost six million viewers in the Delaware Valley, the nations third-largest market at the time. We would roar, roll over with pain from laughing so hard. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Ross Media Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fabian and Bobby Rydell Hang With American Bandstand Regulars By Rick SiegelFabian, the teenagers heart throb from the 50's, hob knobs along with the America. . 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. The program moved production in 1964 from Philadelphia to Hollywood, months after it began airing once per week. However, the couple will shortly be returning to Los Angeles, which will be their permanent residence. The rest, as they say, is history. . While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. Like Smith, she believes that if her true sexual preference and that of others on the show had become public in the days before Stonewall and todays LGBT power, Bandstand would have been taken off the air. 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. This is the official Facebook of American Bandstand. .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. There were quite a few Regulars crossing over at that time. Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. The guy who had been in charge of the show before he took over was the subject of a scandal a DUI, I think so Clark wanted to be the clean-cut guy, and he was. In the early 1960s, a new collection of teen regulars succeeded Arlene Sullivan's generation on American Bandstand's dance floor. . I said, In that case, Im staying. I was shocked. Yes, yes, I know. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. Squeaky clean commercial pitchman and deejay Dick Clark inherited Bob Horns locally broadcastBandstandin July 1956 and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABCsAmerican Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. 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. As she puts it, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand Club membership card and dancing every day on the show. However, musicians such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Sam Cooke all made national appearances on American Bandstand during the late 1950s. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963 shares the fascinating story of how Dick Clark's American Bandstand and its millions of viewers catapulted its teenage dancers (called "the Regulars") to fame. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? On a sociological front, the show helped popularize rock and roll and make it acceptable to many adults (i.e., parents). She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. The show was American Bandstand, and Dick Clarks clean-cut style meant the program had parents stamp of approval. we were like a little family together, and we all had something in common, and we all stuck together, and that made it easier for us.. Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. 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. 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. Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy, TheEncyclopedia Self - Interview 1 episode, 1965 . [6] Jackson,American Bandstand, 71; Jacksons description of Arlene Sullivan. Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. . But to his credit and diligence, he brilliantly created his own myth, and he stuck to it for the rest of his life. Frani Giordano is still loved by American Bandstand fans almost 60 years after she stopped going to the show in 1960. Dancing was a major feature of Bandstand. ABC gave Clark a choice: divest his music-related interests or step down as host of the show. Clark chose to continue withBandstand.3. I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. They even invented a few the Stroll, the Circle and the Chalypso. Thanks for contacting us. After working in insurance in Philadelphia, and studying acting and dance, Ray moved to New York City . I didnt know what I was doing and decided I cant do this, and I called my dad and asked him to come get me, she says. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. I can honestly say that I was the most blessed person in the world the day I met Norman and he and I became steady dance partners., Meeting Norman I imitated all the dance steps, sometimes with the refrigerator door as a partner. The soft, almost cooed vocals of singer Katie Haley bring a pop veneer. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. They joined Arlenes and Kennys fan clubs. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life.
Michael Saylor House In Florida,
Uab Hospital Food Truck Schedule,
Articles A