Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 Dick Clark was a TV personality known for the shows 'American Bandstand,' '$25,000 Pyramid' and 'TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes,' among others. Bandstand Diaries shares some public information and photos about Frani (page 84). In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. Does Alan Cumming Really Live in a Scottish Castle? At age 30 in 1960, already a millionaire, Dick Clark, Americas only national deejay, stood at the center of the payola storm. "This man had the strongest personality that I had ever seen as a young boy," he said. Instead of shortening or moving Bandstand, ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3pm, cut away to Who Do You Trust? Colanero danced from 1959 to 1961. His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September. He had other irons in the fire. While Bandstand fans across the country imagined a true romantic relationship between Sullivan, who secretly liked girls, and her on-screen companion, Rossi, who was straight, she says it was little more than made-for-TV puppy love. We were the first reality show, she adds. BUT he was out for Clark., Sullivan claims there were four other popular girl dancers on the show whom she knew to be lesbians, and they hung out together. . This version introduced lyrics written by Manilow and Bruce Sussman, referencing elements of the series. Clark joined Bandstand in 1956 and moved with the show to Hollywood in 1964. REGULARS Gallery 3. 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. I imitated all the dance steps, sometimes with the refrigerator door as a partner. In September 1964, Bandstand began using a new logo based on the ABC circle logo, reading "ab" in the same typeface followed by a number representing the year the show aired. "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. . JUSTINE AND BOB. In March of 1970 we moved to New Jersey. My husband and I met on a blind date and six months later on April 12, 1964 we were married. Many other Bandstand alumni from the show's Philadelphia era were overcome with a rush of memories Wednesday. A storybook ending to a tale that began with American Bandstand, albeit 40 years ago. For a time, she dated a neighborhood boy, Danny Rapp, lead singer of Danny & the Juniors, who had the hit song At the Hop., I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight, Sullivan says. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. 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.. Oddly enough, I have never checked with the other Regulars to get their feedback. View Our Classic TV Shows Directory We were like sisters. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*****.. "I put a lot of my mom's makeup on and stuffed my bra," said Gibson. But this one was different. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. It was horrible.. In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood. She is a Marco Polo member of the Society of American Travel Writers, a past president of Virginia Professional Communicators and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. 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. Bunny and Duke met several months ago and now are married. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! Give me some Thumbs UP!This is Bunny Gibson and the American Bandstand Regulars live at Sesame Park outside of Philadelphia on July 21,. In July 1956, Dick Clark, a commercial pitchman and deejay with an unsullied reputation, inherited WFIL-TV's Bandstand from scandal-tainted Bob Horn and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABC's American Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957.Clark's daily afternoon program pioneered in musical television by showcasing a range of black and white pop music . We followed their dance steps on TV and their personal lives in Teen magazines. The reality behind the scenes ofAmerican Bandstandwas quite different than what viewers saw on national television. 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. . The program was broadcast live, weekday afternoons and, by 1959, the show had a national audience of 20 million. Stewart was the owner of a TV/Radio business in Philadelphia and even though he was an older gentleman, his advertising account was a large one for WFIL-TV, so he was put on the program to appease the account. In front of the camera, Clark called the shots. 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. In 1962, ABC trimmed the shows airtime from 90 to 60 minutes. 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. [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. They were hurting him. Well, it's our last show here on Bandstand and I really want to thank the viewers who have kept American Bandstand on the air all these years. She was a senior.and luckily on the Honor Roll. I knew when couples broke up. The American Bandstand Regulars tell us what Studio B means to them today and yesterday, with special guest appearance by the American Bandstand Fan Club pre. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. [2] Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. She acknowledges that some of the other girls she knew on the show were also gay. These Regulars . Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. 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. [42], Bandstand "regulars" from the Philadelphia years, Move from ABC to syndication and the USA Network, AMERICAN BANDSTAND (1987 Closing Credits - ABC Finale), Laura Branigan - Shattered Glass & Interview - AB (1987). These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. However unethical his behavior may have been, his federal income tax records seemed to be in order. 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 previous theme was retained as bumper music. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing 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. 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. They were hurting him. American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. He molded the image of the American teenager so America would accept rock-and-roll.". I did get to know Annette Funicello [a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club], who came to the show. In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. In fact, it was dangerous. 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. She never saw much of Clark outside of the studio. It was no secret. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? Although the Regulars didnt perform in the South, Sullivans memory of a personal visit to Fort Worth, Texas, stuck with her: My friend Barbara [a fellow Regular] and I were visiting Barbaras friend there. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. Handbags - Formal Wear. 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. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. With American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia, segregation easily affected the concentrated area. 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. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. 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. Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince, Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher, Aerosmith, and John Lydon's PiLall of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. 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. My parents were always there for me. 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.. One night at a party I met a girl who was one of the stars on American Bandstand I was blown away.. 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. 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. American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. REGULARS Gallery 1. https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Rock%20%27n%27%20Rock%20West%20Coast%20.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20historical%20marker%20%281%20of%201%29.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/National%20Register%20of%20Historic%20Places.JPG, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20Regulars%20Marker.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Rock%20and%20Roll%20Hall%20of%20Fame.jpg, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder 1957-1964, American Bandstand, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Starting Local: WFIL-TV, Bob Horn, and Philadelphia's Bandstand, Going National: Dick Clark and ABC's American Bandstand, Whose Music, Whose Dances? But it was not easy on the mean streets of Philadelphia to be a Bandstand regular suspected of being gay. 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