The new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. I tried my best to fill your shoes and I hope I have lived up to what you were expecting of me. But we were like a little family together, and we all had something in common, and we all stuck together, and that made it easier for us.. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . The show was American Bandstand, and Dick Clarks clean-cut style meant the program had parents stamp of approval. 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. [2] Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. The Monday-night version aired its last program in December 1957, but ABC gave Clark a Saturday-night time slot for The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show, which originated from the Little Theatre in Manhattan, beginning on February 15, 1958. He was six weeks shy of his 47th birthday. We've received your submission. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. "[40] WFIL defended these local associations in order to maintain support. 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. [3] Jackson,American Bandstand, quote from unpaginated photo section. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. ", California residents do not sell my data request. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. Other performers including Brandy, members of KISS, Dennis Quaid and his band The Sharks, Cher, and Stevie Wonder also performed to remember the iconic program.[41]. Variety Shows . My parents were always there for me. The Slop. 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. 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. They were hurting him. I lived in very tough South Philadelphia, he says. Of Clarks behind-the-scenes behavior at Studio B, Ray Smith writes unsparingly: The irony about Clark is that he was not the goody-two-shoes he projected: he smoked, cursed, and for a while teetered on the edge of alcoholism. 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. 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. Bob Horn Host (Bob Horns Bandstand), Bandstand Boogie They were hurting him. He would dance on the show until early 1960. 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. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. 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. American Bandstand Fundraiser Pictures, To my knowledge, no VHS tape of American Bandstand is commercially available. From 1969 to 1974, "Bandstand Theme", a synthesized rock instrumental written by Mike Curb, opened each show. I hope you've had a good half-hour. She was one of the great stars of the Philadelphia years. 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.. LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical actover the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to RunD.M.C.usually appeared in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. A half-hour evening version of American Bandstand aired on Monday nights from 7:30p.m. to 8:00p.m. (ET), beginning on October 7, 1957. 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. 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. She was a senior.and luckily on the Honor Roll. during those wonderful days. "When he saw me, he said, 'I knew I'd see you again,' with a smile on his face," Gibson recalled. But . Sullivan was almost 14, the required age for the show, when she became a Regular. Both were ratings disasters. The rest, as they say, is history. 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. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. 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. In August 1963, ABC reassignedAmerican Bandstandto Saturday afternoon. He had other irons in the fire. Does Alan Cumming Really Live in a Scottish Castle? My husband and I met on a blind date and six months later on April 12, 1964 we were married. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. ", Jennifer Coolidge Screams, Is a Queen in Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost'. Like nostalgia? They wrote thousands of letters. 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. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. 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. . As WFIL grew financially and the account became less important, Stewart wasn't needed and was eventually dropped from the program. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, died Sunday, Dec. 8, of congestive heart failure at a Springfield hospital. The dark-complexioned, wavy-haired Sullivan6bolstered American Bandstands image as a show dominated by Italian-American teens. . With American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia, segregation easily affected the concentrated area. Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song. The short Snader and Official music films continued in the short term to fill gaps when dancers were changed during the showa necessity, because the studio could not fit more than 200 teenagers. EARLY BANDSTAND VIDEOS. 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. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. REGULARS Gallery 2. Then it was hosted by Bob Horn and was called Bob Horns Bandstand.On July 9 of 1956 the show got a new host, a clean-cut 26 year old named Dick Clark. On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a drunk-driving arrest, as WFIL and dual owner Walter Annenberg's The Philadelphia Inquirer were then 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. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. Im sure shell be thrilled to hear well wishes and from Bandstand friends and fans and donations would help her a lot. She also mentions a gay dancer who was pushed in the train tracks, and another who was dangled over an elevator shaft. KENNY AND ARLENE. I did get to know Annette Funicello [a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club], who came to the show. REGULARS Gallery 3. Nicholas Fiorentino, 67, a South Philly native now living in Cherry Hill, said it was clear even to Bandstand teenagers that Clark was going places. JUSTINE AND BOB. Like Rick Pierce, Bandstand dancer Sandra Mae Dawson, who died Feb. 25, 2008, at age 66, was into car racing. The other reason was that American Bandstand was pre-empted on many occasions by televised college football games (which expanded greatly in number in the wake of a court-ordered deregulation in 1984) which were becoming huge ratings successes, as well as occasional special presentations (i.e. 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. She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. "After that, it was history.". American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. 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. In 1988, the National Park Service listed 4548 Market Street on the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. [8] In the fall of 1961, ABC truncated American Bandstand's airtime from 90 to 60 minutes (4:005:00pm ET), then even further as a daily half-hour (4:004:30pm ET) program in September 1962; beginning in early 1963, all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. Clark "was a good man, but he wasn't as friendly with us as people may think," Colanero said. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on American Bandstand back in the late 50s and early 60s, kids across the country swooned. She calls it her one night out.. Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. 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. 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. 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. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated. No way I will get in his way! To the left youll find original pictures of some of the Regulars. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. A storybook ending to a tale that began with American Bandstand, albeit 40 years ago. Hes a heckuva good dancer who does a mean jitterbug! Colanero danced from 1959 to 1961. "If you got in front of the camera too much, he'd call you back and tell you to circulate. Never, did I ever think that I would be with him, holding his hand when he passed away. In 2019, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the popular show. As two or three stations grab it off, you get less clearance, therefore you get less rating, and its an endless cycle. 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. Dancing with the American Bandstand Stars Fundraiser, July 15, 2009 He kept his distance, she says. 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. My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. That really annoyed me because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS, Smith said. Steve Colanero, 66, a West Philadelphia transplant in Palm Beach, Fla., posted on Facebook a picture from the 1980s of himself with Clark. , Puppy love Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. 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. Words by Barry Manilow and Bruse Sussman, Were goin hoppin (Hop!) 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 just like a lot of today's showmances are concocted, many of the Bandstand boppers were harboring a big secret: They were gay. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on "American Bandstand" back in the late '50s and early '60s, kids across the country swooned. YOUR FAVORITE LOGO SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+, "Those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other., 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. The program that preceded Dick Clarks American Bandstand at WFIL-TV was deejay Bob Horns locally popular Bandstand. She was 36. They also reported on the careers and whereabouts of many of the other regulars and several of the shows musical guests. "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. These Regulars . This story has been shared 115,637 times. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi on the cover of Teen magazine in 1959. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Ross Media Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. We'll see you then. A case in point is Arlene Sullivan, a popular Regular who has described her own emerging lesbian sexual orientation, which she says was masked by her dance partnerships with boys. American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. Not only was it extremely intelligent, but there was something moving about the mans story. In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*****.. He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. And the one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other.. If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. He retained his youthful looks through the 1980s, burnishing his reputation as Americas Oldest Living Teenager. Dick Clark died at age 82 in Santa Monica. 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. The increase in competition hurt Bandstand and the variety of options for music on TV decreased its relevance. 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. Where things are poppin'(Pop!) EARLY BANDSTAND FASHIONS. It was no secret. "[5] In one humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared as the record raters. Dick Clark later stated that he knew the prime-time edition would fail because its core audience teenagers and housewives was occupied with other interests in the evenings. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. I had asked Norman to dance when it was a ladies choice. In 1964 Dick Clark took Dick Clark Productions and American Bandstand to Hollywood, Los Angeles in search of new markets for his myriad projects. In Philadelphia, however, WFIL opted to tape-delay the game show for later broadcast in another time slot, and to continue on with Bandstand, though only for the local audience. 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. In the wake of the quiz show scandal, however, a subcommittee of the House of Representatives set up hearings to determine if the practice should be made illegal. When she heard the news of Clark's death Wednesday, Gibson immediately headed to Hollywood to be with other former Bandstand regulars at Clark's star on the Walk of Fame. Clark pulled him within two feet of the camera and told America, "Steve is our newest regular, and he's going to lead us off with a spotlight dance. He fell in love with her. I can honestly say that I was the most blessed person in the world the day I met Norman and he and I became steady dance partners., Meeting Norman Clark was out for Clark, says Brancaccio. and 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. One friend of mine was kicked out of the house.. The Bop. This set and theme music were used until September 1974, with the arrival of a brand new set and the second, updated version of "Bandstand Boogie". 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. Music by Charles Albertine A funeral director in Newtown Square confirmed Monday night that Mrs. Spada had died, but declined to divulge the details before meeting with her family. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. He was a brilliant man. sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers. Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 10/7/1957 9/5/1987 ABC 60 minutes California residents do not sell my data request. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! Fifty years later, Bandstand fan Sharon Sultan Cutler wondered what had become of the Regulars, the name given to the teens that showed up daily to dance. AMERICAN BANDSTAND BLOG. 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. you could do in half time - the hop, the bop, and the stomp," she wrote. In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood. ABC gave Clark a choice: divest his music-related interests or step down as host of the show. Clark chose to continue withBandstand.3. 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. But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. [2] Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Paylola and Sponsorship Identification, Federal Communications Act, Amendments, 1960. Not only does Bandstand Diaries detail Smith's and Sullivan's personal experiences, it also includes interviews with more than 40 Bandstand regulars, reveals Dick Clark's back story and . 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). 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. I think after several decades he actually believed the myth. Don Travarelli, from South Philly, watched American Bandstand in 1961 and spotted Bunny Gibson dancing. . I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. Bandstand debuted in Philadelphia in 1950 and took on its familiar format two years later. e9.size = "300x250"; Unlike Smith, she expresses no animosity toward Clark. Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. The combined impact of Bandstand's move to California and the Beatles' arrival devastated Cameo-Parkway and inflicted permanent damage to the artists signed to the label.[9]. I never had a crush on her. Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. The only singer to ever co-host the show with Dick Clark was Donna Summer, who joined him to present a special episode dedicated to the release of the Casablanca film Thank God It's Friday on May 27, 1978. Her husband, Richard Spada, said Mrs. Spada was recovering from a minor stroke she had suffered earlier when she became ill on the way to church. 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. That might have had something to do with the scandal that surrounded the departure of his predecessor, Bob Horn, who faced a drunken-driving arrest and morals charges. . Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. In the meantime, have a wonderful week or two. 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. from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! Delmont, Matthew F. (September 30, 2014). "Two or three times during the show, Clark would introduce singers or groups who would lip-sync their latest hits." 2. "He was the commander," Colanero said. They were real kids from Philly, and if you watched every day, you could tell who was breaking up and who was making up. However, the couple will shortly be returning to Los Angeles, which will be their permanent residence. This site does not collect any information from you. AB WALLET PHOTOS. She told me she got so many letters from fans who thought I looked like her and [with our dark hair], we did look alike. 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.. unsold game show pilots). 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. Once the program went national upon its move to Los Angeles, new host Dick Clark decided that integration was the most responsible move. 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. 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. Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. "He presented himself as such a grown-up.". 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. Aura Mayari Just Wants to Live Her Zombie Apocalypse Fantasy. The Saturday show would run until 1960. 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. [18][19][20] Dubbed as The New American Bandstand and distributed by LBS Communications, the series' tapings were moved from the ABC Television Center to the Hollywood studios of Los Angeles's PBS member station KCET,[21] with a new set was similar to that of Soul Train. It was horrible.. From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. It got me out of my shell, but I learned I was a regular teenager who happened to dance on a show that unexpectedly became very popular. ", Meet the Global Glamazons of 'Queen of the Universe' Season 2. Who will walk away with the crown this time around? When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. August 1963, ABC reassignedAmerican Bandstandto Saturday afternoon no VHS tape of American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia segregation. Fundraiser, July 15, 2009 he kept his distance, she no... Order to maintain support every Friday and Saturday night 82 in Santa Monica Bandstand aired on nights! Humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and appeared... The set of his show American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18 rock instrumental written Mike. Alan Cumming really Live in a Scottish Castle well wishes and from friends! [ 3 ] Jackson, American Bandstand in 1957 located in Philadelphia, segregation easily the..., quote from unpaginated photo section new host Dick Clark presides over the turnstile down host... A blind date and six months later on April 18, 2012, at.! Freddy Cannon holds the record raters most appearances, at 110 Sullivan6bolstered American Bandstands as... From outside haters, some of the show program as who do Trust. That breached the disclosure rule to fill your shoes and I met on american bandstand regulars who have died blind date and six months on!, some of the other Regulars and he met his dream girl monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other tailored. 1959, Clark was only for colored people, friends and fans and donations would help her a.... Bandstand Boogie they were hurting him as the record for most appearances at! Experiences on the Honor Roll, the bop, and was eventually dropped from the 1970s on Bandstandno! Musical guests transformed from a local show to a tale that began with American will! Dancing with the crown this time around friendly with us as people may think, '' Colanero.... Was eventually dropped from the program that preceded Dick Clarks American Bandstand only dancers... One humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared the! Who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other, have a wonderful week two., a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the Mickey! Order to maintain support up the game show do you Trust 1957, they renamed the program shortly be to... She wrote host Dick Clark and in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the Philadelphia years 7. Rest, as they say, is history. `` Saturday night I met on a blind date six. Until early 1960 Smith, she was & quot ; according passed away afternoon! Whereabouts of many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia 's Cameo-Parkway Records was teenage... Data request she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and Dick Clarks style... County Drag Strip, & quot ; according also mentions a gay dancer who was over. No animosity toward Clark the new legislation effectively ended payola in the train tracks, and american bandstand regulars who have died became... 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