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. And whereas 135 ABC-affiliated stations carriedAmerican Bandstandon a revenue-sharing basis in 1960, the stations were bailing out of this relationship in 1963. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. ", California residents do not sell my data request. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. Millions of kids from Brooklyn to Beverly Hills ran home from school every weekday to watch them dance, imitate their styles and fantasize about their lives. Clark was determined to keep the homosexuality of popular Bandstand regulars a secret, Smith said. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. Dick Clark was a TV personality known for the shows 'American Bandstand,' '$25,000 Pyramid' and 'TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes,' among others. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". 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 says. Never, did I ever think that I would be with him, holding his hand when he passed away. They married during her Thanksgiving vacation from Northeast High School. 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. (7/21/2011) I just received this from Bunny Gibson and certainly thought it was appropriate to mention here: Anna Russo, formerly Anna Banani, went to American Bandstand 1963 until AB left Philly for Los Angeles, lost both of her legs to diabetes and is in need. He kept his distance, she says. LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song. As WFIL grew financially and the account became less important, Stewart wasn't needed and was eventually dropped from the program. Bob Horn Host (Bob Horns Bandstand), Bandstand Boogie She is a Marco Polo member of the Society of American Travel Writers, a past president of Virginia Professional Communicators and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. 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. They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. KENNY AND ARLENE. He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. There were represented American Bandstand Dancers from the beginnings in Philadelphia to the last days in Los Angeles.After this short there is the complete Sesame Street Park Parade with the Regulars dancing all along with them. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. Dick Clarks tight control on the sexual expression of his cast extended to a denial years after the show had ended. 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. American Bandstand Fundraiser Pictures, To my knowledge, no VHS tape of American Bandstand is commercially available. Sullivan and the other dancers often congregated in Rittenhouse Square, the historic epicenter of what is known as the City of Brotherly Loves Gayborhood. There even was chatter and fear that Clark, who died at 82 in 2012, sent members of his production staff to spy on them and report back the names of the suspected gay regulars. sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. 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. 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. 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. Wed stay up all night talking about boys, said Sullivan. Duke is a premier photographer of the martial arts as well as being an expert. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. We have lived in NJ ever since. 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. "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. Regardless, the music historian John Jackson calls it the gravest crisis in his professional career.1, At all events, the payola hearings spurred action by Congress. Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 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. 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. Music by Charles Albertine 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.. He was also reportedly involved in a prostitution ring and brought up on morals charges. Norman and I met in January 1959 while standing outside of the studio waiting to get inside. Both were ratings disasters. . The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. Hes a heckuva good dancer who does a mean jitterbug! Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! Charlette Russo danced on American Bandstand from 1955-1959. The "ab" logo was replaced with the iconic stylized "AB" logo (shown at the top of this page) used for the remainder of the show's run. 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 looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) He will never forget one of his first days on Bandstand. . There were even allegations that Clark conducted witch hunts, sending production staff to Rittenhouse Square, at the center of Philadelphia's gayborhood, to see if any of the young stars were there. [2] Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. She and her husband, Richard Spada, lived in Philadelphia and Lansdowne before moving to Newtown Square. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. He was six weeks shy of his 47th birthday. I hope you've had a good half-hour. Clark joined Bandstand in 1956 and moved with the show to Hollywood in 1964. By then, he was a big-time television producer. [1] John A. Jackson,American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock n Roll Empire(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), chaps. So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. Five-foot-two, brown-eyed, brown-haired Arlene and handsome Kenny, a year younger, were among the TV music shows elite, its stars, the vaunted regulars along with another couple often on camera pert, blond Justine Carrelli and suave Bob Clayton. 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. Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 03:03, The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show, Top of newscast salutes to Clark deserved, "Did the Beatles kill America's radio stars? 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. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. Wagon Train Website,