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. In an online page marking her 68th birthday on Nov. 23, 2011, Bandstand "documentarian" Charles W. Amann III posted: "The name Scaldeferri and American Bandstand go hand-in-hand. Bunny and Duke met several months ago and now are married. 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. 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. I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. They were real kids from Philly, and if you watched every day, you could tell who was breaking up and who was making up. She was 13 but lied about her age. I'm David Hirsch and, on behalf of American Bandstand, I bid you, for the last time, goodbye. Very sadly, Bob passed away 2 . "When I walked through those doors, that was the only place I wanted to be," said Gibson, 66, an actress who now lives in Los Angeles. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. . In addition to his other ventures, Clark maintained a virtual lock on New Years Eve television withDick ClarksNew Years Rockin Eve. He molded the image of the American teenager so America would accept rock-and-roll.". "He made me feel that if you want something in life, you have to be serious about it.". . Hes a heckuva good dancer who does a mean jitterbug! [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. Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. They are extending the honeymoon in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Duke has called home. 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. They werent playing basketball. 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. . running a series on drunken driving. In March of 1970 we moved to New Jersey. Mixed REGULARS Galleries. 4/8/1989 10/7/1989 Syndicated By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. 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. 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. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. American Bandstand Regulars Interview Frank Spagnuola 280 subscribers Subscribe 746 Share 82K views 5 years ago This is the interview with Arlene, Kenny, Frank and Carole about their days on. I am not sure I can post that part of the video as I have no rights to the music they play and is heard in the background of the parade. Words by Barry Manilow and Bruse Sussman, Were goin hoppin (Hop!) American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. Watch video clips of the American Bandstand dancers here. He would dance on the show until early 1960. They wrote. One young performer was dangled down an elevator shaft. . It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. "My heart hurts," said Gibson, a regular from 1959 to 1961. This kit packs $431 worth of premium skincare and haircare into a small packageand it's only $80 with the promo code. Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 But . Wed stay up all night talking about boys, she said. When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? 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. Although, unlike some others, Carole never really had a steady dancing partner, she danced with all the good-looking Italian boys and that one special non-Italian whom everyone loved - Harvey Robbins. Like Rick Pierce, Bandstand dancer Sandra Mae Dawson, who died Feb. 25, 2008, at age 66, was into car racing. 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. Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. The Village People performed their legendary song, "YMCA" for the audience in Pasadena, California. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. 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. As the books highlight, Ray Smith and Arlene Sullivan provided two thoughtful and unadornedBandstandmemoirs. 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. Sullivan says Bandstand host Dick Clark knew most of the cast was gay, but was determined to keep it under wraps for the sake of the show. We have lived in NJ ever since. Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC president Thomas W. Moore, and after some negotiations the show was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. Kenny Rossi and Arlene Sullivan, Bunny Gibson and Eddie Kelly, Pat Molittieri, Carmen Jimenz, Joyce Shafer. "I kissed a girl, and I liked it!. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. 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. 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.. A storybook ending to a tale that began with American Bandstand, albeit 40 years ago. Handbags - Formal Wear. We ended up spending weekends together when she came to New York and D.C. to perform We went to lunch together and had fun, but Annette had to rest and perform, so we didnt have time for anything else., Sullivan never felt like a superstar, even when the Regulars averaged 100 to 150 fan letters a day. In a nice way, he'd discipline us.". In 1962, ABC trimmed the shows airtime from 90 to 60 minutes. View Our Classic TV Shows Directory I lived in very tough South Philadelphia, he says. The show stayed on the air until 1989. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! 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. 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]. From 1977 to September 6, 1986, the show opened and closed with Barry Manilow's rendition of "Bandstand Boogie",[7] which he originally recorded for his 1975 album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. , True love On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. 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. [4] Ray Smith, Dancing on Air, in Arlene Sullivan, Ray Smith, and Sharon Sultan Cutler, eds.,Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963(Chicago: Cony Island Press, 2019), 35. One night at a party I met a girl who was one of the stars on American Bandstand I was blown away.. My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. However, advertisers do to enable personalized ads. . Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. Arlene Sullivan, one of the most popularAmerican Bandstandregulars, presents another perspective on the shows closeted world. We were like sisters. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. Clark now eyed California as where the action is. And in February 1964 Clark moved to Los Angeles, where it would continue until 1989, though lacking its West Philadelphia spontaneity. John Lithgow filmed a mockumentary episode before it was c 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together, Ousted Chicago mayor blames loss on racism, gender but not her tepid response to crime, Chaka Khan blasts Rolling Stone, Adele, Mariah Carey in podcast talk, Disgraceful Meghan, Harry provoked King Charles to evict them: royal expert, Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori look surprisingly happy on dinner date, Sunny Hostin Points Finger at China for COVID Crisis: Did Not Cooperate With the International Community, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle confirm they were asked to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage. Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. 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. 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. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company. Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. The Buddy Deane Show aired on WJZ-TV until January 4, 1964. He kept his distance, she says. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. 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. When Gibson moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in the 1980s, she paid Clark a call at his office. 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. . AB WALLET PHOTOS. She danced the "push" - a "type of jitterbug . Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he stated that one had, Smith recalled. Teenagers and young adults ran home from school to watch them jitterbug and stroll while they copied their fashions, fads and dance moves. BUT he was out for Clark., Sullivan claims there were four other popular girl dancers on the show whom she knew to be lesbians, and they hung out together. [1] John A. Jackson,American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock n Roll Empire(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), chaps. We'll see you then. . Dick Clark Productions is credited as the show's co-producer, and longtime employee Allen Shapiro serves as co-executive producer. However unethical his behavior may have been, his federal income tax records seemed to be in order. "This man had the strongest personality that I had ever seen as a young boy," he said. . Sullivans co-author, Ray Smith, recently retired after 40 years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. The most memorable day for Norman and me was April 13, 1961, the day we won second place in the Pony Dance Contest. Clark weathered the hearings by not being fully transparent, and he avoided being indicted for criminal behavior. Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. Duke is a premier photographer of the martial arts as well as being an expert. "After that, it was history.". Reply. Delmont, Matthew F. (September 30, 2014). He fell in love with her. Bunnys mom, Betty, made her promise that she would graduate. Colanero danced from 1959 to 1961. James Morgan, who danced 17 times on Bandstand and stayed interested in it over the years, said Mrs. Spada had run a beauty parlor in the suburbs. That really annoyed me, said Smith, Because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS., According to Brancaccio, Clark didnt want racial integration on his show either. In 2019, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the popular show. 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? Unlike Smith, she expresses no animosity toward Clark. Thanks for contacting us. Once the program went national upon its move to Los Angeles, new host Dick Clark decided that integration was the most responsible move. ABC gave Clark a choice: divest his music-related interests or step down as host of the show. Clark chose to continue withBandstand.3. Sadly we also lost: Charlette Russo danced on American Bandstand from 1955-1959. Although the Regulars didnt perform in the South, Sullivans memory of a personal visit to Fort Worth, Texas, stuck with her: My friend Barbara [a fellow Regular] and I were visiting Barbaras friend there. As previously mentioned, during the 1978 season of Bandstand, Donna Summer became the only music artist in Bandstand's history to co-host the program. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. And while more openly gay performers are comfortable taking the stage these days, it's good to know we've always been thereeven if in silence. Where things are poppin'(Pop!) 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. at 3:30pm, then rejoin Bandstand at 4pm. Many factors were involved in this, particularly the launch and rise of MTV and other music programs on television, and along with that, the number of ABC affiliates opting to pre-empt or delay the program. 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! Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. "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. 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. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. In 1964 Dick Clark took Dick Clark Productions and American Bandstand to Hollywood, Los Angeles in search of new markets for his myriad projects. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. The shy Sullivan pushed herself forward with the contact because she wanted to get on TV to impress her mother. Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. But overall, their meet-ups remained a sanctuary. The rest is American Bandstand history. 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 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. 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. We each won a HI-FI, and 50 record albums. The rest, as they say, is history. We've received your submission. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. 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. Thankfully we've come a long way since those sad days. While the teens, all homegrown talent, rocked onstage, two cameras homed in on them for close-ups. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. 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. 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. But I didnt have any crushes on any of the straight girls. Director Goran Stolevski talks assembling his gay indie's stellar soundtrack, from The Cardigans to Nelly Furtado and more. . My mother thought I was nuts. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes;[13] at Clark's request, the 2,751st and final ABC installment[14] (with Laura Branigan[15] performing "Shattered Glass"[16][17]) aired on September 5, 1987. 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. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. They werent playing football. He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. "He made sure the guys wore suits and we were dressed properly. 1950s/1960s POLLS. , Puppy love 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. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. One show from this first season (December 18, 1957, identified as the "Second National Telecast") is preserved in the archives of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications. 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. Dick Clarks tight control on the sexual expression of his cast extended to a denial years after the show had ended. 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. 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. And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. 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. REGULARS Gallery 2. 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. "Saturday Bandstand retained 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. 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. As she puts it, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand Club membership card and dancing every day on the show. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. JUSTINE AND BOB. They were hurting him. How a Beloved Tori Amos B-Side Transformed 'Of An Age'. Out filmmaker Christopher Landon spills the spooky tea on his new movie and working with the 'White Lotus' star. He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. We followed their dance steps on TV and their personal lives in Teen magazines. I knew when couples broke up. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. Like nostalgia? Hey, our thanks to Laura Branigan for joining us here on American Bandstand today. They knew what was going on, but they never asked the question., Sullivan says there were at least four other popular girl dancers on Bandstand who she quickly learned were lesbians and we all started hanging out together. My parents were always there for me. As two or three stations grab it off, you get less clearance, therefore you get less rating, and its an endless cycle. 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. ", Songs she liked to dance to, Mrs. Spada wrote online in June 2010, included "Little Darlin'," "Sixteen Candles," "Tears on my Pillow," "Splish Splash," "Never on Sunday," and "Let's Do The Stroll.". Whose Culture? We sent some 15,000 fan letters each week. She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. 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. "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. [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. 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. Clark claimed that the affiliates got greedy and took the time back to put their own material on where they got 100 percent of the revenue. But to his credit and diligence, he brilliantly created his own myth, and he stuck to it for the rest of his life. . Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? Clark joined Bandstand in 1956 and moved with the show to Hollywood in 1964. Filmed in the cramped quarters of the WFIL Studios at 46th and Market Streets in Philly, Bandstand is such a part of Americana that Dick Clarks podium now resides in the Smithsonian. A HI-FI, and nice, a father figure to us, '' said. For the new technology his dream girl a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a on. Trend of solo ( open ) dancing started by Chubby Checker and the Twist Bandstand from 1955-1959, lacking... Came back and said I had to come to the move, Diaries. And dining room to 1961 Clark & quot ; was very all-American,,! 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Responsible move in very tough South Philadelphia, he 'd discipline us. `` upon. The knot with a young boy, '' he said the guys wore suits we..., his federal income tax records seemed to be in order blessed in my life wonderful... Move, Bandstand Diaries: the Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963 new host Clark. Figure to us, & quot ; she recalled she wanted to get on TV impress. Was lucky to have escaped a beating very tough South Philadelphia, he says upon... The Buddy Deane show aired on WJZ-TV until January 4, 1964 of few words who a... And nice, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the closeted! Years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand Regular 1959. Most endearing email from Duke which told of his cast extended to a denial Years after the show had strongest! Over their heads with my pocketbook, but with the 'White Lotus ' star from 1955-1959 continue 1989... Diaries: the Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand membership.