Dick Clark

Richard Wagstaff Clark[1][2] (November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television 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 Times Square's New Year's Eve celebrations.

As host of American Bandstand, Clark introduced rock & 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.

In his off-stage roles, Clark served as chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions company (though he sold off his financial interest in 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

Early life

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.

Clark attended A.B. Davis High School (later renamed A.B. Davis Middle School) in Mount Vernon, 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).

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.

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. 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.

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

American Bandstand

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 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. 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.