Remember, these Regulars werent paid actors or dancers. He molded the image of the American teenager so America would accept rock-and-roll.". during those wonderful days. Like nostalgia? These Regulars went on to receive mail, have fan clubs, feature magazine articles and dancer contests just like the previous groups. , True love and 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. One friend of mine was kicked out of the house.. "It is with much sadness that we have lost one of the most loving and beautiful souls - Carole Scaldeferri Spada has passed away," Bunny Gibson, who identified herself as a "Bandstand buddy," posted on Facebook. I knew when couples broke up. They are extending the honeymoon in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Duke has called home. Throughout the rest of the 1950s, "American Bandstand" featured a number of famous acts including the debut of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (November 22, 1957), Jerry Lee Lewis (March 18, 1958), and Dion and the Belmonts (August 7, 1958). From its earliest days, the show featured young people dancing to a rock-and-roll soundtrack or other popular genres of the day. Huge DiscountsThere are savings on everyday items you already buy, and savings on the things youve been waiting for a sale on to spoil your pet with. A show where well-dressed teens gently bop around to the big hits while maintaining an appropriate distance apart hardly seems like it would be a hot bed of sexual experimentation, but American Bandstand apparently featured a crew of Philadelphia kids who had more than dancing in common. Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. When she was 10 years old, the woman now known as Sharon Sultan Cutler would rush home from school in the town of East Meadow on Long Island in New York. 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. He held nothing back. They werent playing football. 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. Bunnys mom, Betty, made her promise that she would graduate. . The show stayed on the air until 1989. The History of American Bandstand. Particularly during the show's prime Philadelphia years (1952-63), Philadelphia youth culture became American culture through American Bandstand. I never had a crush on her. Let the good times roll! I purchased this from Historic Photos. . The Bop. Learning how American Bandstand made rock n roll respectable. He retained his youthful looks through the 1980s, burnishing his reputation as Americas Oldest Living Teenager. Dick Clark died at age 82 in Santa Monica. But this one was different. Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 News Shows His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated across-the-nation program and its name was changed from "Bandstand" to "American Bandstand," airing five days a week. I did notice the studio was not as full, allowing the Regulars much more camera time. . Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. We would roar, roll over with pain from laughing so hard. In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. . Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi on the cover of Teen magazine in 1959. As the books highlight, Ray Smith and Arlene Sullivan provided two thoughtful and unadornedBandstandmemoirs. 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. American Bandstand - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia 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. 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. 28 talking about this. Most of those kids recruited from area high schools and compelled to "retire" from the show when they turned 18 are now in the 70s and their lives have had ups and downs. Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The followed the trend of solo ("open") dancing started by Chubby Checker and "The Twist.". The TV exposure, plus the profiles some of the dancers were given in Teen magazine in the late 1950s, made them instant celebrities. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. Pat Molittieri Gallery - Marsha'S Vintage New York: Popular Library, 1976. Famously, Buddy Holly made his last television appearance on the program, miming "It's So Easy" and "Heartbeat" on August 7, 1958, just months before the . Making Philadelphia Safe for WFIL-adelphia: Television, Housing, and Defensive Localism in Postwar Philadelphia. Journal of Urban History, 38, no. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. 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. 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. Sullivans co-author, Ray Smith, recently retired after 40 years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer. Fundraiser for the renovation of the original American Bandstand Studio Floor Several teens belonged to a select group of taste-making gatekeepers who helped monitor dress code and admission. (noted 9/12/21) . Ripley W.va, Great article Larry love your antiques blog . Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. "This man had the strongest personality that I had ever seen as a young boy," he said. Music by Charles Albertine We followed their dance steps on TV and their personal lives in Teen magazines. In the early 1960s, a new collection of teen regulars succeeded Arlene Sullivan's generation on American Bandstand's dance floor. ". We sent some 15,000 fan letters each week. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. On a sociological front, the show helped popularize rock and roll and make it acceptable to many adults (i.e., parents). As music styles evolved, American Bandstand incorporated more emerging genres. Kelly said he avoided Rittenhouse Square, knowing if he were seen there, theyd be banished, but it was an open secret that most of the boys on the show were gay. Clark suffered a heart attack while at St. John's. Bunny and Duke met several months ago and now are married. Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy, TheEncyclopedia . I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. 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. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. 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. She was one of the great stars of the Philadelphia years. Whose Culture? 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. He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. They were real kids from Philly, and if you watched every day, you could tell who was breaking up and who was making up. Bob Horn Host (Bob Horns Bandstand), Bandstand Boogie 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. The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. He is a man of God and over the years has established both karate and prison ministeries. Bob Clayton died November 6, 2016. The Philadelphia high school Regulars who danced on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in the late 1950s and early 1960s became national celebrities and America's first reality stars. The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. Many other Bandstand alumni from the show's Philadelphia era were overcome with a rush of memories Wednesday. 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. Wed stay up all night talking about boys, she said. Early in 1964, the show moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, where it remained through its final season in 1989. Elmhurst Blotter: Man charged with battery for allegedly punching a security guard at a bar, Hinsdale police blotter: multiple thefts reported by patients at Hinsdale Hospital, Glenview police blotter: Harwood Heights woman charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. 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. ", In a Time.com obituary for Dick Clark, who died April 18, 2012, a reporter wrote: "Lou DeSera, Carmen Jimenez, Carole Scaldeferri, Rosemarie 'Little Roe' DiCristo: they may sound like characters on The Sopranos, but they were just ordinary kids, with extraordinary luck of being in Philadelphia at the moment the old town lit the fuse for the rock explosion.". This is the interview with Arlene, Kenny, Frank and Carole about their days on American Bandstand and their experiences with the Golden Boys. Most of us would love her to do a Spotlight Dance once again and tell us know how she is doing today. While ABC wasnt in the quiz show business, a congressional subcommittee found another reason to investigate the network. 1 (2012): 89-113. A few, burned by previously unsuccessful attempts by some to write books about the program, were reluctant to share their memories with her. . Like Rick Pierce, Bandstand dancer Sandra Mae Dawson, who died Feb. 25, 2008, at age 66, was into car racing. See more of American Bandstand Dancers on Facebook American Bandstand (TV Series 1952-1989) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. At the time, unless a broadcaster failed to report under-the-table income (federal income tax evasion), payola wasnt illegal in federal law. And more than 250 fans too, a number of them quite young, who had just heard of the show and were curious. Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. Known as the Regulars, they became the nation's first reality stars. She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. LGBT identities were hidden on the shows dancefloor. This historical marker recalls Dick Clarks American Bandstand, which was broadcast from West Philadelphia from 1957 to 1964. Clark felt such conventions helped boost the perception of rock-and-roll, which in the 1950s was a controversial genre often disliked by older generations. New book keeps memories of 'American Bandstand' alive . 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. She would gobble down some cookies and milk and turn on the TV. Anna Russo, 2800 North 7th Street, Apt. They even invented a few the Stroll, the Circle and the Chalypso. Clark and producer Tony Mammorella (1924-1977) dubbed this group The Committee, led from 1954 to 1956 by future DJ Jerry Blavat (1940-2023). ofGreaterPhiladelphia. In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. It was shot live from Studio B at Forty-Sixth and and Market Streets, where the two .

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