american bandstand regulars who have died

Im sure shell be thrilled to hear well wishes and from Bandstand friends and fans and donations would help her a lot. The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. They wrote. [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). She was 13 but lied about her age. .When he spoke to us off-screen, it was usually from the podium; it gave him command over his domain, and as I have learned over the years, Clark liked and wanted to be in command.4, Smith recalls the closetingof American BandstandsLGBT youths. Mrs. Spada attended West Catholic Girls High School. [42] American Bandstand was a daily ritual for many teenagers throughout the nation. I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. One market not telecasting Bandstand was Baltimore, Maryland, as local affiliate WAAM (now WJZ-TV) elected to produce a local dance show in the same afternoon time slot. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. 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. 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. 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. To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. Many other Bandstand alumni from the show's Philadelphia era were overcome with a rush of memories Wednesday. [2] Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. On May 3, 2002, Dick Clark hosted a one-off special 50th anniversary edition on ABC. I knew all their names. 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. 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. 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. 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. But I didnt have any crushes on any of the straight girls. It was a local show Philadelphia, Jersey, the Lehigh Valley [Pennsylvania]. Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 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". At 74, Sullivan still dances once a week at a party thrown by another Bandstand dancer. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. Horn, however, was disenchanted with the program, and wanted to change the show to a dance program with teenagers dancing along on camera as records played, based on an idea that came from a radio show on WPEN, The 950 Club, hosted by Joe Grady and Ed Hurst. Interracial couples were not allowed on camera, so they sat on the sidelines. 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. "I kissed a girl, and I liked it!. I lived in very tough South Philadelphia, he says. She and her husband, Richard Spada, lived in Philadelphia and Lansdowne before moving to Newtown Square. They also reported on the careers and whereabouts of many of the other regulars and several of the shows musical guests. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. From that dance on we became steady dance partners until I had to leave the show on my 18th birthday, which was in August of 1961., The Pony Contest The previous theme was retained as bumper music. On the other hand, they had each other. At age 30 in 1960, already a millionaire, Dick Clark, Americas only national deejay, stood at the center of the payola storm. 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. Zach Shallcross Struggles to Watch Himself Dancing Terribly on The Bachelor, Alison Brie on Sex Scenes: 'We Are Actors, This Is Our Job'. 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. While the teens, all homegrown talent, rocked onstage, two cameras homed in on them for close-ups. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. It also was a prototype for musical television properties including cable channel MTV and Fox's reality-competition show American Idol. 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. EARLY BANDSTAND FASHIONS. AB WALLET PHOTOS. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. We may earn a commission from links on this page. I knew when couples broke up. American Bandstand started life as a Philadelphia TV show in 1952, with Bob Horn as master of ceremonies. And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. In 2014, the National Enquirer interviewed Frank Brancaccio and Eddie Kelly, other series regulars. Once when Sullivan and Rossi visited another show regular in North Philadelphia, "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, she recalls. Like nostalgia? No way I will get in his way! Forget that. How a Beloved Tori Amos B-Side Transformed 'Of An Age'. But just like a lot of today's showmances are concocted, many of the Bandstand boppers were harboring a big secret: They were gay. 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. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. Does Alan Cumming Really Live in a Scottish Castle? On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. He was a brilliant man. He had other irons in the fire. 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. "When he saw me, he said, 'I knew I'd see you again,' with a smile on his face," Gibson recalled. [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. //-->. We were like sisters. 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. . 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. She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. Sullivan, 74, wrote Diaries with Ray Smith, another dancer who was closeted during his Bandstand years. 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. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. . "Bandstand's Backyard". His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September. In 2019, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the popular show. "He presented himself as such a grown-up.". I tried my best to fill your shoes and I hope I have lived up to what you were expecting of me. In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood. And he has the one criteria required to attract Bunny Gibson. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. 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]. They married during her Thanksgiving vacation from Northeast High School. Dick Clark was a TV personality known for the shows 'American Bandstand,' '$25,000 Pyramid' and 'TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes,' among others. e9 = new Object(); Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. She was a senior.and luckily on the Honor Roll. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. "If you got in front of the camera too much, he'd call you back and tell you to circulate. The TV exposure, plus the profiles some of the dancers were given in Teen magazine in the late 1950s, made them instant celebrities. The reality behind the scenes ofAmerican Bandstandwas quite different than what viewers saw on national television. The show stayed on the air until 1989. 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. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. 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. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. Wagon Train Website,