", A musical about the 'Miracle' Cubs? A few, burned by previously unsuccessful attempts by some to write books about the program, were reluctant to share their memories with her. My husband and I met on a blind date and six months later on April 12, 1964 we were married. "He was the commander," Colanero said. After that, management at WFIL-TV/Channel 6 (46th & Market) in Philadelphia installed the clean-cut Dick Clark to take over the teen dance party show and renamed it "American Bandstand." Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963 I started going out to straight clubs.. Photo taken on October 27, 1981. New York: Ballantine, 1985. 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. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. Don Travarelli, from South Philly, watched American Bandstand in 1961 and spotted Bunny Gibson dancing. London: Omnibus Press, 2006. It was horrible.. His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated. Id see these kids dancing and instinctively I knew I could fit in with them. Norman had a very, very unique sense of humor, which made him so popular with all that knew him. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. Sharon Sultan Cutler, of Chicago, talks about "Bandstand Diaries," the book she co-authored with Ray Smith and former American Bandstand participant Arlene Sullivan remembering the shows early days. ofGreaterPhiladelphia. In the wake of the quiz show scandal, however, a subcommittee of the House of Representatives set up hearings to determine if the practice should be made illegal. Emphasizing this sentiment, Philadelphian John Oates (of musical duo Hall & Oates) said, The show had such an impact on the music business, it set the tone and the pace for teenage style and attitude and everything else across America., Jordan McClain is Assistant Teaching Professor of Communication at Drexel University. Thats why Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson would never appear on the show, but movie stars Jeff Chandler, Tab Hunter, Sal Mineo came., Dancing came naturally to Sullivan, the way it did to all Regulars, she says. Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram Sadly we also lost: 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. Clark was determined to keep the homosexuality of popular Bandstand regulars a secret, Smith said. Philadelphia. These 14- to 18-year olds like Arlene and Kenny, Justine and Bob . It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. The Hand Jive. Jerry Lee Lewis was the first guest on the national show and it would over the decades feature the TV debuts of such stars as Prince, the Jackson 5, Aerosmith, Sonny and Cher and dozens of other performers. "This man had the strongest personality that I had ever seen as a young boy," he said. The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. Really enjoyed reading your article Larry , I also grew up in the 50s watching American Bandstand, your article brought back so many memories of the good ole days growing up. The two sides were "Drive in Movie " and "Dream Girl." Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. The show epitomized many important aspects of ever-evolving American popular culture: mass communication, popular music, youth culture, dance and fashion trends, as well as race and gender relationships. At the height of its popularity, it was watched daily by 20 million people (by contrast, "Dancing With the Stars" drew 13 million viewers weekly last season), with an estimated half of them adults; its teenage dancers got as many as 45,000 fan letters a week. 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. . The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. They joined Arlenes and Kennys fan clubs. Asked By : Francisco Allen Dick Clark, affectionately known as the "world's oldest teenager," has died. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. [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. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*****.. Most of us would love her to do a Spotlight Dance once again and tell us know how she is doing today. Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram, Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Back, (Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. He was 21 and she was 16. 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. 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. Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. American Bandstand - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia Oddly enough, I have never checked with the other Regulars to get their feedback. Were goin hopin today May, 1961. He practiced dancing with his niece, Robin, but when he went down to the show, they wouldnt let him in because he was over the age of 18. Lowell. New book keeps memories of 'American Bandstand' alive Titled "The Rise of the Salesman" and written by Smith, it captures the wildly successful and influential career of Clark from "American Bandstand" host to media mogul: "Dick Clark may not have known much about music, but he knew how to cultivate it, spread it, and make it work for the masses.". In 1964 Dick Clark took Dick Clark Productions and American Bandstand to Hollywood, Los Angeles in search of new markets for his myriad projects. Hundreds of kids lined up each day hoping to be one of the few lucky ones who got to dance alongside the Regulars and share part of the magic that was American Bandstand. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. At least three factors are important to note regarding the last three years ofAmerican Bandstandin West Philadelphia: the 1960 payola scandal, the reality behind the shows happy faces, and developments in the pop music industry that affected the show and compelled its relocation in 1964 to Los Angeles in a reduced version. "We all did. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) However unethical his behavior may have been, his federal income tax records seemed to be in order. He molded the image of the American teenager so America would accept rock-and-roll.". Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? She also mentions a gay dancer who was pushed in the train tracks, and another who was dangled over an elevator shaft. These Regulars . So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. Dick Clarks tight control on the sexual expression of his cast extended to a denial years after the show had ended. As music styles evolved, American Bandstand incorporated more emerging genres. From its earliest days, the show featured young people dancing to a rock-and-roll soundtrack or other popular genres of the day. American Bandstand Day: Dick Clark receives a proclamation designating Market Street as Bandstand Boulevard. When American Bandstand became the most popular daytime television program in the late 1950s, a group of ordinary Philadelphia high school students who loved to dance suddenly became a national phenomenon. He will never forget one of his first days on Bandstand. Or sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers! American Bandstand Regulars Interview - YouTube 4/8/1989 10/7/1989 Syndicated Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. 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. While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. Ohio, great article, in the late 1950s i wouldnt miss watching the show for anything , I still have some of those records that bring back a lot of memories, my boyfriend and i won a lot of dance contests at Marietta high dancing to the "Mashed Potatoe" by Dee Dee Sharp and the Twist by Chubby Checker: really love your column in the Marietta Times every Monday , keep up the great articles. Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years 1956 to 1963 LGBT identities were hidden on the shows dancefloor. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. 8 Surprising Facts About The Legendary Dance Show American Bandstand "So many of the regulars who jitterbugged on the show way, way back were there. A case in point is Arlene Sullivan, a popular Regular who has described her own emerging lesbian sexual orientation, which she says was masked by her dance partnerships with boys. The Bop. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model.