Dick Clark

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Dick Clark
Dick Clark backstage during the Grammy Awards telecast 2/21/90
Born November 30, 1929 (77 Years)
Bronxville, New York
For other persons named Dick Clark, see Dick Clark (disambiguation).

Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark (born November 30, 1929) is an American television personality and businessman, serving as chairman and CEO of Dick Clark Productions. He is best known for hosting long-running television shows such as American Bandstand, five versions of the Pyramid game show, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Clark was long known for his good health and continued youthful appearance, earning the moniker "America's Oldest Teenager", until he suffered a stroke late in 2004. Confined to a wheelchair and with some speech ability still impaired, Clark made a dramatic return to his New Year's Rockin' Eve show on December 31, 2005. Subsequently, he has appeared at the Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006 and the New Year's Rockin' Eve show on December 31, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

[edit] Personal life and early career

Dick Clark was born in Mount Vernon, New York, where he was raised, to Julia Fuller Barnard and Richard Augustus Clark.[1] His only sibling, older brother Bradley, was killed in World War II. Clark has been married three times. His first marriage was to Barbara Mallery in 1952; the couple had one son, Richard A. (named after his father), and divorced in 1961. Clark married Loretta Martin in 1962; the couple had two children, Duane and Cindy, and divorced in 1971. Clark has been married to his current wife, Kari Wigton, since 1977.

Clark's career in show business began in 1945 when he started working in the mailroom of radio station WRUN in Utica, New York (which was owned by his uncle and managed by his father). Clark was soon promoted to weatherman and news announcer. Clark attended Syracuse University and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He graduated from Syracuse in 1951 and began his television career at station WKTV in Utica. Clark's first television hosting job was on the Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders, a country music program. He would later replace Robert Earle (who would later host the GE College Bowl) as a newscaster.[2]

On November 22, 1963, Clark was in Dallas, Texas, as President John F. Kennedy was driven by his hotel room, from which he waved at the president. Clark was not in Dealey Plaza during the assassination of President Kennedy.

[edit] American Bandstand

In 1952, Dick Clark moved to Philadelphia and took a job as a disc jockey at radio station WFIL. WFIL had an affiliated television station with the same call sign which began broadcasting a show called Bob Horn's Bandstand in 1952. Clark was a regular substitute host on the show and when Horn left, Clark became the full time host on July 9, 1956. The show was picked up by ABC and was first aired nationally on August 5, 1957 and renamed American Bandstand. The highlight of that career was his interview with Elvis Presley

Clark also began investing in the music publishing and recording business in the 1950s. In 1959, the United States Senate opened investigations into "payola", the practice of music producing companies paying broadcasting companies to favor their product. Clark, as a major figure in both fields, was investigated and testified before Congress in 1960. Clark was not charged with any illegal activities, but he was required by ABC to divest his publishing and recording interests.

Unaffected by the investigation, American Bandstand was a major success, running daily until 1963, then weekly until 1987. A spin-off of the show, Where the Action Is, aired from 1965 to 1967, also on ABC. Charlie O'Donnell, a close friend of Clark's and an up-and-coming fellow Philadelphia disc jockey, was chosen to be the announcer, which he served for ten years. O'Donnell was one of the announcers on the 1980s versions of Clark's Pyramid game show. To this day, he continues to work with Clark on various specials and award shows.

Clark produced Bandstand for syndication and later the USA cable network until 1989, again hosting in 1987-88 before giving up the emcee reins to David Hirsch in its final year.

[edit] Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

Main article: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

In 1972, Clark produced and hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, the first of an ongoing series of specials still broadcast on New Year's Eve. The program has typically consisted of live remotes of Dick Clark in Times Square in New York City, counting down until the New Year ball comes down. After the ball drops, the focus of the program switches to pre-taped musical segments taped in Hollywood. The special is live in the Eastern Standard Time zone, and it is delayed for the other time zones so that they can ring in the New Year with Clark when midnight strikes in their area.

ABC broadcasted the event on every New Year's Eve since 1972, except in 1999, due to the airing of ABC 2000 Today, news coverage of the new millennium hosted by Peter Jennings. However, during the broadcast, Clark did get to announce his signature countdown to the new year and won a Peabody Award for his coverage.

In the more than three decades it has been on the air, the show has become a mainstay in American New Year's Eve celebrations. Watching the ball in Times Square drop on Clark's show is considered an annual cultural tradition for the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day holiday.

At the end of 2004, Clark could not appear on the program due to his stroke. In subsequent years, Clark has returned to the show, though it is now primarily hosted by Ryan Seacrest. For more information about Dick Clark's stroke, refer to the "Stroke" section of this article.

[edit] Pyramid game shows

Main article: Pyramid (game show)

Before Pyramid, Clark had two brief runs as a quiz-show host, presiding over The Object Is and then Missing Links. In a near twist of irony, on Missing Links, he replaced his former Philadelphia neighbor and subsequent TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes co-host, Ed McMahon.

Clark hit the jackpot with The $10,000 Pyramid, which premiered on CBS March 26, 1973. The show — a word association game created and produced by daytime TV legend Bob Stewart — moved to ABC from 1974 to 1980, during which time the top prize was upgraded to $20,000. After a brief 1981 syndicated run as The $50,000 Pyramid, the show returned to CBS in 1982 as The $25,000 Pyramid, and continued through 1988, save for a three month break. From 1985 to 1988, Clark hosted both the CBS $25,000 version and a daily $100,000 Pyramid in syndication.

Clark's daytime versions of Pyramid won nine Emmy Awards for best game show, a mark that is eclipsed only by the 11 won by the syndicated version of Jeopardy!. It also won Clark three Emmy Awards for best game show host.

By this time, Clark established himself as a producer/host comfortable with hard work, a trait that is as much his trademark as what has become his signature sign-off over the last five decades: For now, Dick Clark—so long accompanied by a salute. On the week-ending episodes of the ABC Pyramid, Clark would close with the line We'll see you tomorrow on Bandstand before using his signature sign-off. In converse, Clark would also plug Pyramid at the end of Bandstand during the mid-to-late 1970s.

The venerable Pyramid also provided another of Clark's (and television's) most famous signature phrases during the tense Winner's Circle bonus round: Here is your first subject. GO!

[edit] Other radio programs

Clark also had a brief stint as a top 40 radio countdown show host. In 1982, he created The Dick Clark National Music Survey for the Mutual Broadcasting System, which counted down the Top 30 contemporary hits of the week, in direct competition with American Top 40. After he left Mutual in 1985, he took over hosting duties of another show, Countdown America, whose previous host John Leader had left to create yet another similar program.

Later, Clark hosted a weekly weekend radio program distributed by his own syndicator, The United Stations Radio Networks. The program was an oldies program entitled Dick Clark's Rock, Roll, and Remember (named after his 1976 autobiography). After his 2004 stroke, United Stations began re-issuing old episodes of Rock, Roll, and Remember to affiliates.

[edit] Other television programs

Clark has been involved in a number of other television series and specials as producer and performer. One of his most well-known guest appearances was in the final episode of the original Perry Mason TV series (The Case of The Final Fadeout) in which he was revealed to be the killer in a dramatic courtroom scene.

In 1973, Clark created the American Music Awards show, which he produces annually. Intended as competition for the Grammy Awards, in some years it gained a bigger audience than the Grammys due to being more in touch with popular trends.

In 1984, Clark produced and co-hosted (with Ed McMahon) the NBC series TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes. The series ran through 1988 and continued in specials hosted by Clark (sometimes joined by another TV personality) into the 21st century, first on NBC, later on ABC and TBS. Clark and McMahon are longtime Philadelphia acquaintances, and McMahon has praised Clark for first bringing him together with future TV partner Johnny Carson when all three worked at ABC in the late 1950s. The "Bloopers" franchise stems from the Clark-hosted (and produced) NBC "Bloopers" specials of the early 1980s, inspired by the books, record albums and appearances of Kermit Schafer, a radio and TV producer who first popularized outtakes of broadcasts.

For a period of several years in the 1980s, Clark simultaneously hosted regular programs on the 3 major American television networks: ABC (Bandstand), CBS (Pyramid) and NBC ("Bloopers) and in 1993, He hosted (Scattergories). He is the only person to have ever done this.

From 2001 to 2003, Clark was a co-host of The Other Half with Mario Lopez, Danny Bonaduce, and Dorian Gregory, a syndicated daytime talk show intended to be the male equivalent of The View. Clark also produced the television series American Dreams about a Philadelphia family in the early 1960s whose daughter is a regular on American Bandstand. The series ran from 2002 to 2005.

[edit] Entertainment ventures

Clark has a stake in a chain of music-themed restaurants called Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill. There are currently two free-standing locations, one in Overland Park, Kansas and the other in Cranbury, New Jersey, as well as four airport locations in Indianapolis, Indiana; Newark, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Another location opened as part of Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri in June of 2006. Another Clark entertainment venture, Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater, opened in Branson, Missouri in April of 2006.

[edit] Stroke and appearances since

[edit] Initial news

In 2003, it was revealed that Clark had Type 2 diabetes. Then, on December 8, 2004, just one week after his 75th birthday, Dick Clark was hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering what was initially termed a minor stroke. Clark's spokeswoman, Amy Streibel, said that he was hospitalized but was expected to be fine.

However, on December 13, 2004, it was announced that Clark would not be able to host his annual New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast. Regis Philbin was announced as the substitute host. During the show on December 31, 2004, Philbin gave his best wishes to Clark and announced the signature countdown to the new year.

[edit] First statement after stroke

While having not been seen in public anywhere since his stroke, on August 15, 2005, Clark announced in a statement that he would be back in Times Square for the annual tradition, bringing on Hilary Duff and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest as co-hosts and Seacrest as co-executive producer. Also in the press release, it was announced that Seacrest would eventually take over as the sole host in the event Clark could not continue with the program.

[edit] Return to television

On December 31, 2005, Clark made his return to television, returning to the Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast. He looked well and was able to smile, but had noticeable difficulty speaking and his speech, including his famous countdown to the new year, was a bit slurred, and his count was apparently one second ahead, possibly due to the stroke (but also possibly due to technical difficulties).

During the program, Clark remained behind a desk, and was only shown in limited segments. On-air, Clark said, "Last year I had a stroke. It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there." He also appeared to have limited use of his right arm. But, before counting down to 2006, he mentioned he "wouldn't have missed this [the telecast] for the world."

Reaction to Clark's appearance was mixed, reported CNN.com. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of The Washington Post, in an interview with the CBS Radio Network) felt he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised him immensely for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery.[1]

[edit] Subsequent appearances

Clark also appeared on the 2006 Emmy Award telecast on August 27, 2006. Clark was introduced by American Idol judge Simon Cowell, after the show paid tribute to his successful career that has spanned decades. He was shown seated behind a podium, and although his speech was still quite slurred, was able to address the audience and introduce Barry Manilow's performance.

On December 31, 2006, Clark returned again to New Year's Rockin' Eve, alongside host Ryan Seacrest. Although Clark showed notable improvement in his speech and movement, he was still about 2 seconds behind at various times in the countdown to the new year. He skipped the number "10" in order to catch up, and by the end of the countdown, he was almost exactly on time. Shortly after midnight, Clark was seen in a heartfelt moment with host Ryan Seacrest, as Seacrest thanked him for his commitment to the show over the years and his continued willingness to be a part of the event. At this time, Seacrest picked up hosting duties for the remainder of the show.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Youthful longevity references

Before his stroke, Clark's continuous youthful appearance drew attention to the point of becoming a subject of jokes in other forms of comedy entertainment and popular culture, most notably his famous nickname of "America's Oldest Living Teenager."

  • In the comic strip The Far Side, he suddenly ages 200 years in a few seconds on a talk show.
  • In a January 1987 retrospective marking the 35th Anniversary of the Today show, a humorous look at the Today show's future in the year 2022 shows Dick Clark looking just as he did in 1987. The anchor, who had been temporally transported from 1987, remarks, "he still looks like that?!"
  • In the computer game Superhero League of Hoboken, he is discovered living in a 23rd century wasteland looking exactly the same. When the player asks how he remained so young for so long, he states "I have a portrait of me that gets older," a reference to Dorian Gray.
  • In The X-Files, during the sixth season episode "Tithonus", when a man is discovered to have not aged for over thirty years, an agent remarks, "This guy's a regular Dick Clark!"
  • In The Simpsons Halloween special Treehouse of Horror X, the story "Life's a Glitch, Then You Die" begins with Dick Clark at New Year's Rockin' Eve in Springfield (as opposed to New York) on December 31, 1999. When midnight strikes, the feared Y2K problem occurs and Dick Clark is revealed to be a robot as he malfunctions.
  • In the pilot episode of "Futurama", Clark (who voices himself) hosts "New Years Rockin' Eve 3000" in the year 2999 as a preserved head in a jar.
  • In many of Bill Hicks' early stand-up comedy acts, he is described as the antichrist as a result of apparently not aging.
  • In Friends, Ross and Monica are invited by Joey's then girlfriend (played by Elle McPherson) to dance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. They popularly perform their "routine" on the show, to which it is remarked that they should keep it for the Bloopers show.
  • In a 1995 episode of Mad About You, where the ball does not complete its drop on New Year's Eve (a contrivance to allow Paul and Jamie Buchman to kiss before midnight). Rather than being at his usual spot in Times Square, however, Clark was pictured sitting at home, regretting that he had taken the night off.
  • On the Opie and Anthony show, Jim Norton commented that after his stroke, Dick Clark was no longer the "world's youngest teenager," but the "world's chattiest cadaver."
  • In Police Squad!, Clark is seen to take a special anti-aging cream from the omniscient shoe-shine man, and he hurriedly applies it to his face in hopes that no one else is watching.
  • In a commercial for M&Ms candy in 1999, he declines doing a millennium special as he had "been around for the first millennium."
  • In a TV ad for automotive maintenance products in 2003, he is shown leaving his apartment building, greeting Tommy the doorman, and getting into his Oldsmobile Intrigue. This scene is repeated twice, once "10 years later", and once "20 years later". Tommy is noticeably older at the end of the commerical (while Dick Clark is not), but remarks "that car never ages!"

[edit] List of accolades

Dick Clark has received the following awards:

He is also an inductee at various hall of fame locations:

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.wargs.com/other/clark.html
  2. ^ Rock, Roll and Remember, by Dick Clark and Richard Robinson (New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1976)

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../d/i/c/Dick_Clark_2b95.html"