I was, however, surprised to hear that Dick Clark, the "world's oldest teenager," famous for hosting the American Bandstand on ABC, has passed away at the age of 82. He died of a massive heart attack:
Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Nov. 30, 1929, Richard Wagstaff Clark began his lifelong career in show business began before he was even out of high school. He started working in the mailroom of WRUN, a radio station in upstate New York run by his father and uncle. It wasn't long before the teenager was on the air, filling in for the weatherman and the announcer.
Clark pursued his passion at Syracuse University, working as a disc jockey at the student-run radio station while studying for his degree in business. After graduating in 1951, Clark went back to his family's radio station, but within a year, a bigger city and bigger shows were calling.
Clark landed a gig as a DJ at WFIL in Philadelphia in 1952, spinning records for a show he called "Dick Clark's Caravan of Music." There he broke into the big time, hosting Bandstand, an afternoon dance show for teenagers.
Lip-synching by musical acts was the rule on Bandstand, not the exception.
It's difficult to overstate just how important he was in the early days of rock. I used to watch his show all the time as a young person.
This clip is from the 30-year anniversary of American Bandstand. There are other parts of it on YouTube:
No comments:
Post a Comment