american bandstand regulars who have died

Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. "After that, it was history.". 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. The Bop. Thats why Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson would never appear on the show, but movie stars Jeff Chandler, Tab Hunter, Sal Mineo came., Dancing came naturally to Sullivan, the way it did to all Regulars, she says. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) Clark, known as Americas oldest teenager, knew. He debuted in Studio 3B at WFIL-TV, near the El train stop in West Philadelphia, in 1956 when he was a 13-year-old junior high school student. and scheduled the program at 3:30pm ETalmost in the middle of Bandstand. The program that preceded Dick Clarks American Bandstand at WFIL-TV was deejay Bob Horns locally popular Bandstand. American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. 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. 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. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. ". During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which their two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked the chosen members to justify their scores. We may earn a commission from links on this page. 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. Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. "He presented himself as such a grown-up.". For a brief time in 1973, Bandstand alternated its time slot with Soul Unlimited,[10] a show featuring soul music that was hosted by Buster Jones. "He made sure the guys wore suits and we were dressed properly. He had other irons in the fire. . He needed a group to show up every day, she says, and nobody got paid. When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? . The news hit hard. The show stayed on the air until 1989. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. The new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. Hundreds of kids lined up each day hoping to be one of the few lucky ones who got to dance alongside the Regulars and share part of the magic that was American Bandstand. . He was six weeks shy of his 47th birthday. Dick Clark, in full Richard Wagstaff Clark, (born November 30, 1929, Bronxville, New York, U.S.died April 18, 2012, Santa Monica, California), American television personality and businessman, best known for hosting American Bandstand. No way I will get in his way! The most memorable day for Norman and me was April 13, 1961, the day we won second place in the Pony Dance Contest. It became a staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. Clark weathered the hearings by not being fully transparent, and he avoided being indicted for criminal behavior. Clark was out for Clark, says Brancaccio. July 9th, 1988", "Retro Request: Sat 10/31 & 11/7 and Sun 11/1, 1987", "AB now in syndication: Jody Watley, Dan Hill, David Spade", "Clark ends long-playing spin on bandstand", "On 'Bandstand,' Dick Clark Says Goodbye", "AGELESS CLARK STILL STANDS FOR THE 'AMERICAN' BAND", "Hits Prove Hard to Find at Dick Clark Productions: Entertainment: Performance has been mediocre since the company went public in 1987. "[5] In one humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared as the record raters. These experienced Regulars considered an infrequent participant or a first time visitor an amateur. I wonder what they would have thought about a kid in TV Land, practicing the new steps in front of her bedroom mirror and praying to God her little brother didnt catch her at it. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. Bob retired after being in the shoe business and the chemical business, where he often worked 18 hour days. . Browse 1,010 american bandstand dancers stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. [4] Ray Smith, Dancing on Air, in Arlene Sullivan, Ray Smith, and Sharon Sultan Cutler, eds.,Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963(Chicago: Cony Island Press, 2019), 35. I lived in very tough South Philadelphia, he says. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and British series Top of the Pops. At least three factors are important to note regarding the last three years ofAmerican Bandstandin West Philadelphia: the 1960 payola scandal, the reality behind the shows happy faces, and developments in the pop music industry that affected the show and compelled its relocation in 1964 to Los Angeles in a reduced version. It also was a prototype for musical television properties including cable channel MTV and Fox's reality-competition show American Idol. 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! Whose Culture? As the books highlight, Ray Smith and Arlene Sullivan provided two thoughtful and unadornedBandstandmemoirs. They were hurting him. It became a national institution and Dick Clark a celebrity. Like the rest of us, the 'Drag Race' Season 15 queen is crushing on Pedro Pascal. The rest is American Bandstand history. The followed the trend of solo (open) dancing started by Chubby Checker and The Twist. Some solo dances had animal names, for example, The Pony and The Monkey; others were named for motions, for example, The Mashed Potato and The Loco-Motion. Two of the biggest record hits of the early 1960s, both of which received a huge boost from airtime onAmerican Bandstand, were Dee Dee Sharps Mashed Potato Time and Freddy Cannons Palisades Park.8, YetAmerican Bandstandsseven-year stint in West Philadelphia was about to end. Bunny and Duke met several months ago and now are married. We were like sisters. THIS & THAT 50s/60s. She knew Chubby Checker and Fabian from South Philadelphia High School. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. ", Meet the Global Glamazons of 'Queen of the Universe' Season 2. Who will walk away with the crown this time around? The rest, as they say, is history. Clark moved the show to California in 1964, but many fans remember it as a Philadelphia phenomenon. Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings," Bandstand star Arlene Sullivan writes in her memoir, Bandstand Diaries. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. This historical marker recalls Dick Clarks American Bandstand, which was broadcast from West Philadelphia from 1957 to 1964. The big teenybopper magazines of the era Sixteen and Teen plastered Bandstand dancers on their covers and wrote glowing, gossipy stories about their lives in Philadelphia, where Dick Clark produced the show. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. They even invented a few the Stroll, the Circle and the Chalypso. He was also reportedly involved in a prostitution ring and brought up on morals charges. 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. 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. "He made me feel that if you want something in life, you have to be serious about it.". A show where well-dressed teens gently bop around to the big hits while maintaining an appropriate distance apart hardly seems like it would be a hot bed of sexual experimentation, but American Bandstand apparently featured a crew of Philadelphia kids who had more than dancing in common. In fact, it was dangerous. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. 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. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. California residents do not sell my data request. . JUSTINE AND BOB. . Clark's sunny smile and cuteness masked a strong will and iron determination. Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. He kept his distance, she says. The program was broadcast live, weekday afternoons and, by 1959, the show had a national audience of 20 million. Elgart's version was released as a single in March 1954 (Columbia 40180) as well as Curb's theme (by "Mike Curb & The Waterfall") in October 1969 (Forward 124). His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated. He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. Sullivan was raised in a rowhouse in a working-class neighborhood; we surmise from her writing that it was somewhere in Southwest Philly (she attended John Bartram High School), although Sullivan doesnt specify a home address. I started going out to straight clubs.. In an interview with the New York Post, Sullivan says that she and many of the gay male dancers would congregate in the Gayborhood, Rittenhouse Square, and there were rumors that Clark sent producers to spy on them. . REGULARS Gallery 3. But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. From September 13, 1986, to September 5, 1987, Manilow's version was replaced at the close of the show by a new closing theme arranged by David Russo, who also performed an updated instrumental arrangement of "Bandstand Boogie" when Bandstand went into syndication. But for the gay kids, the abuse at home was worse: When one dancer's parents learned he was gay, she told the Post, "they put a drinking cup in front of him and said, This is your cup, and youre the only one who will use this cup." Another was thrown out of the house. "I kissed a girl, and I liked it!. 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. "My heart hurts," said Gibson, a regular from 1959 to 1961. News Shows But overall, their meet-ups remained a sanctuary. ", California residents do not sell my data request. 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. For More Bunny click here to go to Bunny Gibson.com, Bunny Gibson discusses the 50th celebration of American Bandstand. She was one of five brothers and sisters; had a huge family vacation home in Sea Isle City where Regulars visited: and dated Frank Levins and Denny Dziena. "I put a lot of my mom's makeup on and stuffed my bra," said Gibson. The typical production schedule consisted of videotaping three shows on a Saturday and three shows on a Sunday, every six weeks. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. Music by Charles Albertine This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952, in "Studio 'B'", which was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building in West Philadelphia.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^ , and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. And then they leave the show, go up on the El, go home to their neighborhoods, they then had to run to their door because somebody was always waiting there to beat them up.. Watch video clips of the American Bandstand dancers here. Two of the regulars, Arlene Sullivan and Ray Smith, published the volume asBandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963,with Sharon Sultan Cutler as a non-Bandstand-member co-author. [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. . Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. He said funeral services are pending. All rock'n roll and most owned by Dick Clark himself. While the American series has aired sixteen seasons, its format was also replicated worldwide, from Norway (Dansefeber) to Australia (So You Think You Can Dance Australia). The 1960 amendments to the 1934 Federal Communications Act put heavy constraints on payola, requiring full public disclosure when a record company or its agent pays a broadcaster to play records on the air. The 1960 amendments criminalized any action that breached the disclosure rule. Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. 1st song played on the national edition was Jerry Lee Lewis Whole Lotta Shaking Goin On.1st Guests: Billy Williams, ChordettesLast song on the ABC network was Laura Branigans Shattered Glass., See above pictureThe Stroll recorded by The Diamonds in 1958. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. Bob Horn Host (Bob Horns Bandstand), Bandstand Boogie Clark was a disc jockey at the student-run radio station at Syracuse University (1951), and he worked at radio and television stations in Syracuse and Utica . I have a Champion Samoyed show dog. Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. Wed stay up all night talking about boys, said Sullivan. "Dangerous". Hey, our thanks to Laura Branigan for joining us here on American Bandstand today. . Fiorentino was known on the show as "Nicky Blue.". Handbags - Formal Wear. The program was permanently shot in color starting on September 9, 1967. 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.. [36] Clark remained as executive producer. This site does not collect any information from you. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. TV Ratings - US & UK, Quiz Shows In the meantime, have a wonderful week or two. She was 13 but lied about her age. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. Teenagers and young adults ran home from school to watch them jitterbug and stroll while they copied their fashions, fads and dance moves. Dick Clark gave her a committee card, which all Regulars had to have to get into the building. ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. [6] Jackson,American Bandstand, 71; Jacksons description of Arlene Sullivan. Dick Clarks tight control on the sexual expression of his cast extended to a denial years after the show had ended. Dick Clark Productions is credited as the show's co-producer, and longtime employee Allen Shapiro serves as co-executive producer. We'll see you the next time on American Bandstand. This investigation targeted the practice of payola, and it was most likely triggered by rumors circulating that charged Dick Clark with promoting records in which he held a financial stake onAmerican Bandstandand taking kickbacks from record companies to include their records on the shows playlist. Sullivans last appearance onAmerican Bandstandwas in 1960.7, In the early 1960s, a new collection of teen regulars succeeded Arlene Sullivans generation onAmerican Bandstandsdance floor. Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he stated that one had, Smith recalled. 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. you could do in half time - the hop, the bop, and the stomp," she wrote. I knew when couples broke up. She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. Despite that sense of community, the show's starsgay and straight alikewere targeted in Philadelphia, and even physically attacked in some cases, just for being dancers. Variety Shows Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song. And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. Where things are poppin'(Pop!) She was 36. . They wrote. One young performer was dangled down an elevator shaft. However, the couple will shortly be returning to Los Angeles, which will be their permanent residence. And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. And he has the one criteria required to attract Bunny Gibson. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. From 1977 to September 6, 1986, the show opened and closed with Barry Manilow's rendition of "Bandstand Boogie",[7] which he originally recorded for his 1975 album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. I went to coffee shops, but I also hung out in Rittenhouse Square and so did many of the dancers. He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. 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. I never had a crush on her. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. They were hurting him. She never saw much of Clark outside of the studio. I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. ", Songs she liked to dance to, Mrs. Spada wrote online in June 2010, included "Little Darlin'," "Sixteen Candles," "Tears on my Pillow," "Splish Splash," "Never on Sunday," and "Let's Do The Stroll.". Once when Sullivan and Rossi visited another show regular in North Philadelphia, "we were leaving her apartment and were headed to the El, and I heard car doors slamming, and I looked back, and all these guys were coming up the steps, and they started beating up on Kenny, she recalls. This started with "'65", then "'66", "'67", "'68" and "'69" when each year arrived. American Bandstand Regulars -- Justine Carrelli, Joe Fusco, Myrna Horowitz - The 3rd Degree - 1989 Bandstands Best 3.54K subscribers Subscribe 343 127K views 10 years ago THE USE OF ANY. Don married Bunny. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*ggot, dancer Frank Brancaccio told the National Enquirer in 2014. In their new self-published memoirs Bandstand Diaries, series regulars Arlene Sullivan, Ray Smith, and Sharon Sultan Cutler reveal that though fans loved to gossip and fantasize about the shows heterosexual pairings, many of their favorites were young gay men and women putting on a show for the cameras. These Regulars . And while Smith knew he was gay, he was shocked to learn that most of the guys on Bandstand, so many of them, were gay, he told The Post. Many other Bandstand alumni from the show's Philadelphia era were overcome with a rush of memories Wednesday. In August 1963, ABC reassignedAmerican Bandstandto Saturday afternoon. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . In 2019, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the popular show. 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 says. By then, he was a big-time television producer. [8] On September 7, 1963, the program was moved from its weekday slot and began airing weekly every Saturday afternoon, restored to an hour, until 1989. 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. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. Jax Spills the Tea on That "Shocking" Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza, "In those lip-syncs, I fend for myself. But he feared that if the shows secret ever came out, Middle America would change the channel. Bandstand originally used "High Society" by Artie Shaw as its theme song, but by the time the show went national, it had been replaced by various arrangements of Charles Albertine's "Bandstand Boogie", including Les Elgart's big-band recording remembered by viewers of the daily version. LOS ANGELES - APRIL 1960: Host of the television show 'American Bandstand' Dick Clark appears in a scene with Michael Callan from the movie 'Because They're Young' which was released in April 1960. Don Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, along with Jesse Jackson, entered into a dispute with Clark over this upstart program, and it was canceled within a few weeks. Sullivan says Bandstand host Dick Clark knew most of the cast was gay, but was determined to keep it under wraps for the sake of the show. LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. The TV exposure, plus the profiles some of the dancers were given in Teen magazine in the late 1950s, made them instant celebrities. In addition to his other ventures, Clark maintained a virtual lock on New Years Eve television withDick ClarksNew Years Rockin Eve. I still really didnt know who I was. We sent some 15,000 fan letters each week. She also mentions a gay dancer who was pushed in the train tracks, and another who was dangled over an elevator shaft. On May 3, 2002, Dick Clark hosted a one-off special 50th anniversary edition on ABC. ", Jennifer Coolidge Screams, Is a Queen in Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost'. Dick Clark 1929 2012, Dick Clark with Johnny Crawford. Many factors were involved in this, particularly the launch and rise of MTV and other music programs on television, and along with that, the number of ABC affiliates opting to pre-empt or delay the program. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. Sullivan was almost 14, the required age for the show, when she became a Regular. 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 now working at Neiman Marcus, and couldn't take off to join the Regulars and their fans at the Philadelphia American Bandstand studio. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. He was 21 and she was 16. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! Charlette Russo danced on American Bandstand from 1955-1959. running a series on drunken driving. When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. From that dance on we became steady dance partners until I had to leave the show on my 18th birthday, which was in August of 1961., The Pony Contest Wagon Train Website,