unsold game show pilots). She was 36. Bob retired after being in the shoe business and the chemical business, where he often worked 18 hour days. at 3:30pm, then rejoin Bandstand at 4pm. I kissed a girl, and I liked it! Sullivan, now 74 and long out of the closet, reveals in a fascinating self-published book, Bandstand Diaries billed as The Book Youve Waited Over 50 Years to Read!. NEW PAGE! Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. 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. ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. [1] John A. Jackson,American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock n Roll Empire(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), chaps. In 2019, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the popular show. Squeaky clean commercial pitchman and deejay Dick Clark inherited Bob Horns locally broadcastBandstandin July 1956 and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABCsAmerican Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. . . 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. Despite that sense of community, the show's starsgay and straight alikewere targeted in Philadelphia, and even physically attacked in some cases, just for being dancers. Arlene Sullivan, one of the most popularAmerican Bandstandregulars, presents another perspective on the shows closeted world. She also mentions a gay dancer who was pushed in the train tracks, and another who was dangled over an elevator shaft. I think after several decades he actually believed the myth. 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. 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 said. 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. 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. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. 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. As WFIL grew financially and the account became less important, Stewart wasn't needed and was eventually dropped from the program. For More Bunny click here to go to Bunny Gibson.com, Bunny Gibson discusses the 50th celebration of American Bandstand. He kept his distance, she says. In their new self-published memoirs Bandstand Diaries, series regulars Arlene Sullivan, Ray Smith, and Sharon Sultan Cutler reveal that though fans loved to gossip and fantasize about the shows heterosexual pairings, many of their favorites were young gay men and women putting on a show for the cameras. 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. She knew Chubby Checker and Fabian from South Philadelphia High School. "My heart hurts," said Gibson, a regular from 1959 to 1961. 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". 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. How a Beloved Tori Amos B-Side Transformed 'Of An Age'. Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) Both were ratings disasters. 10/7/1957 9/5/1987 ABC 60 minutes 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. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. Goes from a daily to a weekly Saturday show in Philadelphia: 9/7/1963, Broadcast from Los Angeles: Begins 2/8/1964, Produced by Anthony Tony Mammarella and Dick Clark, Dick Clark Host American Bandstand premiered locally in late March 1952 as Bandstand on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (now WPVI-TV), as a replacement for a weekday movie that had shown predominantly British films. However, the couple will shortly be returning to Los Angeles, which will be their permanent residence. Like Rick Pierce, Bandstand dancer Sandra Mae Dawson, who died Feb. 25, 2008, at age 66, was into car racing. KENNY AND ARLENE. 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. This development created a sometimes heated rivalry between Dick Clark and Buddy Deane, when performers who appeared first on Deane's program were refused booking on American Bandstand. American Bandstandsrelegation to a weekly schedule stripped it of much of its power as a potential hit song exposer, writes the music historian John Jackson. "I put a lot of my mom's makeup on and stuffed my bra," said Gibson. "He wasn't no Bob Horn," Fiorentino said. I never had a crush on her. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. Once the program went national upon its move to Los Angeles, new host Dick Clark decided that integration was the most responsible move. This first national broadcast of American Bandstand was filmed in the Starlight Ballroom in Wildwood, NJ. In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. Sullivan, 74, wrote Diaries with Ray Smith, another dancer who was closeted during his Bandstand years. But it was obvious to the teen dancers that he was set on a trajectory that would take him far from Studio B in West Philly. Another time, a dancer was thrown onto the subway tracks. The American Bandstand Regulars tell us what Studio B means to them today and yesterday, with special guest appearance by the American Bandstand Fan Club pre. 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. . 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. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. during those wonderful days. 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.. I started going out to straight clubs.. At 74, Sullivan still dances once a week at a party thrown by another Bandstand dancer. The show was American Bandstand, and Dick Clarks clean-cut style meant the program had parents stamp of approval. 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. Briefly it was part of the USA Network with new host David Hirsh but went off the air in 1989. [3] Jackson,American Bandstand, quote from unpaginated photo section. [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). Duke is a premier photographer of the martial arts as well as being an expert. GALLERY 4. ", Jennifer Coolidge Screams, Is a Queen in Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost'. She acknowledges that some of the other girls she knew on the show were also gay. THIS & THAT 50s/60s. ". Dancing with the American Bandstand Stars Fundraiser, July 15, 2009 "[5] In one humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared as the record raters. We'll see you the next time on American Bandstand. , True love American Bandstand, abbreviated AB, is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions that aired regularly from 1952 to 1989,[1] and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. The Village People performed their legendary song, "YMCA" for the audience in Pasadena, California. 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. AB WALLET PHOTOS. He had other irons in the fire. Clark said this about Horn: 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. you could do in half time - the hop, the bop, and the stomp," she wrote. 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. We were like sisters. In the meantime, have a wonderful week or two. Like the rest of us, the 'Drag Race' Season 15 queen is crushing on Pedro Pascal. Steve Colanero, 66, a West Philadelphia transplant in Palm Beach, Fla., posted on Facebook a picture from the 1980s of himself with Clark. 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.. AMERICAN BANDSTAND BLOG. After school in the late 1950s, millions of American teenagers raced home to watch the gyrations of fellow teens on their parents tiny black-and-white televisions in the living room. They also reported on the careers and whereabouts of many of the other regulars and several of the shows musical guests. Larry Elgart, a bandleader who, with his brother, Les, recorded the theme song for the long-running television dance show "American Bandstand," and who later scored a surprise hit with "Hooked on Swing," a medley of swing classics set to a disco beat, died on Tuesday in Sarasota Fla.He was 95. Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. In addition to his other ventures, Clark maintained a virtual lock on New Years Eve television withDick ClarksNew Years Rockin Eve. However, advertisers do to enable personalized ads. from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? Zach Shallcross Struggles to Watch Himself Dancing Terribly on The Bachelor, Alison Brie on Sex Scenes: 'We Are Actors, This Is Our Job'. He is a man of God and over the years has established both karate and prison ministeries. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. While the American series has aired sixteen seasons, its format was also replicated worldwide, from Norway (Dansefeber) to Australia (So You Think You Can Dance Australia). This site does not collect any information from you. 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. 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. Due to the size of the studio, the need to have as much dance space as possible, and the size of the cumbersome color camera compared to the black-and-white models, it was only possible to have one RCA TK-41 where three RCA TK-10s[4] had been used before. He fell in love with her. One time, Kenny and I went to visit one of the other regulars up in North Philadelphia, and we were leaving her apartment and were headed to the El, and I heard car doors slamming, and I looked back, and all these guys were coming up the steps, and they started beating up on Kenny, Sullivan says. In late spring of 1957, the ABC television network asked their O&O's and affiliates for programming suggestions to fill their 3:30p.m. (ET) time slot (WFIL had been pre-empting the ABC programming with Bandstand). This incarnation was an early version of the music video shows that became popular in the 1980s, featuring films that were the ancestors of music videos. They wrote. The rest, as they say, is history. Not only was it extremely intelligent, but there was something moving about the mans story. Were goin hopin today He said funeral services are pending. Attempts continue to launch a successful game show or sitcom", "Final American Bandstand: The Cover Girls", http://nicestkids.com/nehvectors/nicest-kids/bandstands-backyard, "Remembering American Bandstand's 50th [Photos]", Son of Svengoolie - 'Good Morning, Sven' (Opening,Show #218) (verse occurs at the 1:35 mark), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Bandstand&oldid=1140855641, American Bandstand's 20th Anniversary (1973), American Bandstand's 25th Anniversary (1977), American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary (1982), American Bandstand's 33 1/3 Celebration (1985), American Bandstand's 40th Anniversary (1992), American Bandstand's 50th Anniversary (2002), The show was featured prominently in the 20022005, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 03:03. She was a senior.and luckily on the Honor Roll. Dick Clark was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH, in 1993 as a non-performer. Numerous black and white performers who appeared on American Bandstand during its seven-year heyday in West Philadelphia are also memorialized in this building. But if you subscribe and leave a comment you want to see the parade, I will do it.Remember to SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED AS I UPLOAD MORE FROM MY ARCHIVES! The most memorable day for Norman and me was April 13, 1961, the day we won second place in the Pony Dance Contest. The news hit hard. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . ABC gave Bandstand color cameras and launched it on its network of 67 stations in August of 1957. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. Thankfully we've come a long way since those sad days. Don Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, along with Jesse Jackson, entered into a dispute with Clark over this upstart program, and it was canceled within a few weeks. 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. "My heart hurts," said Gibson, a regular from 1959 to 1961. His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. Sullivan was most frequently paired with a boy named Kenny Rossi, who was straight, but still subject to attacks for appearing on the show: One time, Kenny and I went to visit one of the other regulars up in North Philadelphia, and we were leaving her apartment and were headed to the El, and I heard car doors slamming, and I looked back, and all these guys were coming up the steps, and they started beating up on Kenny, Sullivan says. 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. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. 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. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images), Spice on Her Favorite 'Drag Race' Season 15 Moment and Her Sweet Reunion With Sugar, "I did win the hearts of these girls somehow and the love was just so felt. Or sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers! 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. 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. Bandstand debuted in Philadelphia in 1950 and took on its familiar format two years later. "For all those who knew her throughout her life and for those who watched her dance on American Bandstand, Carole was full of love and full of God. 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. . I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight. From the late 1950s and most of the 1960s, Clark's on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O'Donnell, who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $100,000 Pyramid. American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince, Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher, Aerosmith, and John Lydon's PiLall of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. 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. We went downtown, and I ran to the back of the bus the way I always did in Philly but Barbara and her friend kept telling me to come to the front. . https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Rock%20%27n%27%20Rock%20West%20Coast%20.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20historical%20marker%20%281%20of%201%29.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/National%20Register%20of%20Historic%20Places.JPG, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20Regulars%20Marker.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Rock%20and%20Roll%20Hall%20of%20Fame.jpg, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder 1957-1964, American Bandstand, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Starting Local: WFIL-TV, Bob Horn, and Philadelphia's Bandstand, Going National: Dick Clark and ABC's American Bandstand, Whose Music, Whose Dances?
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