Artists would sing naturally to the studio audience over a background of their own disc, while viewers at home would hear only the original recording. The kids designated as American Bandstand Regulars in some cases struggled with their sexual identity. In addition to his other ventures, Clark maintained a virtual lock on New Years Eve television withDick ClarksNew Years Rockin Eve. 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. Instead of shortening or moving Bandstand, ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3pm, cut away to Who Do You Trust? Acts debuting on Bandstand appeared on Deane's program, but were asked to not mention their previous appearance with Clark while on the Baltimore show. The shy Sullivan pushed herself forward with the contact because she wanted to get on TV to impress her mother. from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? Millions of kids from Brooklyn to Beverly Hills ran home from school every weekday to watch them dance, imitate their styles and fantasize about their lives. With his death, she said, it is "important that Dick is honored for what he did for rock-and-roll and for the impact he had on all the lives of his dancers from Philly to L.A.", Clark, Gibson said, led "the first teenage revolution, and we were part of it. The Bop. In 2004, Dick Clark, with the help of Ryan Seacrest, announced plans to revive the show in time for the 2005 season; although this did not occur (due in part to Clark suffering a severe stroke in late 2004), one segment of the revived Bandstanda national dance contesteventually became the series So You Think You Can Dance. 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. The young dancers on American Bandstand were the reality stars of the 1950s and '60skids nationwide rushed home to watch their every move and chatter about their relationships and exploits. Known for her perky personality, Pat Moliterri is credited with inventing the dance, the Hop, by combining elements of the Slop and the Bop.Sadly, Pat died in in the mid-seventies of a heart attack. When WFIL-TV moved to a new facility on City Line Avenue (one that did not have a studio that could accommodate the show), ABC moved production of Bandstand to the ABC Television Center (stage 5) in Los Angeles (now known as The Prospect Studios) on February 8, 1964, which coincidentally was the day before the Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. On September 13, 1969, the Bandstand set was given a complete overhaul and Les Elgart's big band version of "Bandstand Boogie" was replaced by the Mike Curb theme. 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. The show stayed on the air until 1989. Whose Culture? Known then as Carole Scaldeferri, Mrs. Spada was among the teens who jitterbugged and slow-danced their way to fame in a TV studio in Philadelphia, while host Dick Clark spun what are now oldies. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. The news hit hard. [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. On Bandstand, she became lifelong friends with one of the celebrity guests, straight Annette Funicello, of Mickey Mouse Club and Beach Party fame. 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. JUSTINE AND BOB. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Black music and black dances originating in Philadelphia neighborhoods contributed substantially to the success ofAmerican Bandstand; yetAmerican Bandstandsdancefloor and bleachers were racially segregated, and some of the shows most popular dances were adapted without attribution from black neighborhoods. We were like sisters. The Slop. [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. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Another time, a dancer was thrown onto the subway tracks. While ABC wasnt in the quiz show business, a congressional subcommittee found another reason to investigate the network. They were hurting him. Clark was determined to keep the homosexuality of popular Bandstand regulars a secret, Smith said. EARLY BANDSTAND VIDEOS. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) [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). We call him Namron and yes, if you spell his name backwards it spells, Norman. With American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia, segregation easily affected the concentrated area. Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. He had other irons in the fire. 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. 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. They were hurting him. She acknowledges that some of the other girls she knew on the show were also gay. Clark continued as host of the series, which was restored to its former hour length,[22] and aired on stations including KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WWOR-TV in New York City[23] (WWOR's superstation status also gave the program further national exposure); KTLA in Los Angeles; WMAQ-TV in Chicago; WDIV in Detroit; WEWS in Cleveland; WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee;[24] and WCIX in Miami.[25]. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. ", In a Time.com obituary for Dick Clark, who died April 18, 2012, a reporter wrote: "Lou DeSera, Carmen Jimenez, Carole Scaldeferri, Rosemarie 'Little Roe' DiCristo: they may sound like characters on The Sopranos, but they were just ordinary kids, with extraordinary luck of being in Philadelphia at the moment the old town lit the fuse for the rock explosion.". Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. The use of videotape allowed Clark to produce and host a series of concert tours around the success of American Bandstand and to pursue other broadcast interests. In 1960, in an episode that seems incredibly tame by todays standards of greed and corruption, the two major television networks, NBC and CBS were exposed as having rigged their wildly popular primetime quiz shows. And the one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other.. Bunny Gibson was a kid when Dick Clark came into her life - or, rather, when she entered his world in Studio B at 46th and Market Streets in West Philadelphia. I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. . Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) She calls it her one night out.. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. Mixed REGULARS Galleries. He fell in love with her. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began a daily two hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. We also surmise that her mother was an Italian immigrant (she refers to her Italian mom), and her father of Irish descent. She danced the "push" - a "type of jitterbug . Words by Barry Manilow and Bruse Sussman, Were goin hoppin (Hop!) Interracial couples were not allowed on camera, so they sat on the sidelines. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. As she puts it, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand Club membership card and dancing every day on the show. 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. You eventually get cancelled.. Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. 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. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". Bandstand debuted in Philadelphia in 1950 and took on its familiar format two years later. At first, not knowing how to enter the show, she walked to the door the actors and singers used and announced to Bob the Cop, "I came here to dance." After Bandstand, Charlette became an accountant and was a business manager. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. After a ten-month hiatus,[27] Bandstand moved to cable on USA Network[28][29] on April 8, 1989,[30] with comedian David Hirsch[31][32][33][34][35] taking over hosting duties. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. Fundraiser for the renovation of the original American Bandstand Studio Floor From 1974 to 1977, there was a newer, orchestral disco version of "Bandstand Boogie", arranged and performed by Joe Porter, played during the opening and closing credits. Briefly it was part of the USA Network with new host David Hirsh but went off the air in 1989. Steve Colanero, 66, a West Philadelphia transplant in Palm Beach, Fla., posted on Facebook a picture from the 1980s of himself with Clark. 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. The show was American Bandstand, and Dick Clarks clean-cut style meant the program had parents stamp of approval. Dick Clark was a TV personality known for the shows 'American Bandstand,' '$25,000 Pyramid' and 'TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes,' among others. 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. They married during her Thanksgiving vacation from Northeast High School. 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. But he vividly recalls that one of his fellow gay dancers was thrown onto the El tracks outside the studio, and another popular regular who was gay and often danced with Sullivan was dangled over an elevator shaft.. Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 19741978 set design. The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. Clark weathered the hearings by not being fully transparent, and he avoided being indicted for criminal behavior. Ray Smith says he was upset when Dick Clark claimed only one of the dancers had died from AIDS when asked about it in an interview. "Studio 'B'" measured 80 by 80 by 24 feet (24.4m 24.4m 7.3m), but appeared smaller due to the number of props, television cameras, and risers that were used for the show. He was 21 and she was 16. The typical production schedule consisted of videotaping three shows on a Saturday and three shows on a Sunday, every six weeks. West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Jersey you learned the different styles of the same dances., The Regulars did the Pony, Jitterbug, Calypso, Cha-cha and a slow dance that she says wasnt exactly a waltz: The kids didnt stand in one spot. Mrs. Spada attended West Catholic Girls High School. you could do in half time - the hop, the bop, and the stomp," she wrote. Kenny Rossi and Arlene Sullivan, Bunny Gibson and Eddie Kelly, Pat Molittieri, Carmen Jimenz, Joyce Shafer. News Shows 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. While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. SaturdayBandstandretained the proven format of the now defunct weekday show, but it sustained a crucial loss of spontaneity as a result of being taped instead of shown live. 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. Clark joined Bandstand in 1956 and moved with the show to Hollywood in 1964. It was no secret. The bare necessitiesThis kit packs $431 worth of premium skincare and haircare into a small packageand it's only $80 with the promo code. [36] Clark remained as executive producer. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. "He made sure the guys wore suits and we were dressed properly. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. . I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. "He was the commander," Colanero said. 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. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. Once a week, she goes to a hop thrown by another Bandstand original, 76-year-old Philadelphia radio and TV personality Jerry Blavat, who bills himself as The Geator with the Heater and The Boss with the Hot Sauce.. "My heart hurts," said Gibson, a regular from 1959 to 1961. Wagon Train Website,
