It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. ", 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 started with "'65", then "'66", "'67", "'68" and "'69" when each year arrived. When WFIL-TV moved to a new facility on City Line Avenue (one that did not have a studio that could accommodate the show), ABC moved production of Bandstand to the ABC Television Center (stage 5) in Los Angeles (now known as The Prospect Studios) on February 8, 1964, which coincidentally was the day before the Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. 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. Sadly we also lost: But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. Sullivan, 74, wrote Diaries with Ray Smith, another dancer who was closeted during his Bandstand years. They were hurting him. AMERICAN BANDSTAND BLOG. Parents across America would never, NEVER have allowed their kids to put Bandstand on, she writes. 1950s/1960s POLLS. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. So fearful of the kids real behavior, [Clark] imposed a strict dress code: jackets and ties for boys, and nothing tight for girls. . To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. June Bouche on November 20, 2018 at 9:12 pm . When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! 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. "He presented himself as such a grown-up.". Clark joined Bandstand in 1956 and moved with the show to Hollywood in 1964. . Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. View Our Classic TV Shows Directory They were hurting him. Like the white homeowners associations' concerns about property values, WFIL's version of defensive localism built on a belief that integration would hurt the station's investment in Bandstand. 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. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. But . GALLERY 4. This story has been shared 115,637 times. Don married Bunny. Everybody knew the names of The Regulars on Bandstand. Browse 1,010 american bandstand dancers stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight. Like the rest of us, the 'Drag Race' Season 15 queen is crushing on Pedro Pascal. 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. [8] In the fall of 1961, ABC truncated American Bandstand's airtime from 90 to 60 minutes (4:005:00pm ET), then even further as a daily half-hour (4:004:30pm ET) program in September 1962; beginning in early 1963, all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. On all the music they play On the Bandstand.! WFIL reverted to the TK-10s two weeks later when ABC refused to carry the color signal and management realized that the show lost perspective without the extra cameras. I think after several decades he actually believed the myth. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. Colanero danced from 1959 to 1961. "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. Artists would sing naturally to the studio audience over a background of their own disc, while viewers at home would hear only the original recording. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. 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. If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. In their new self-published memoirs Bandstand Diaries, series regulars Arlene Sullivan, Ray Smith, and Sharon Sultan Cutler reveal that though fans loved to gossip and fantasize about the shows heterosexual pairings, many of their favorites were young gay men and women putting on a show for the cameras. Norman passed away on December 6, 1990. Clark was determined to keep the homosexuality of popular Bandstand regulars a secret, Smith said. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. "Dangerous". Clark moved the show to California in 1964, but many fans remember it as a Philadelphia phenomenon. . . Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. . . Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. Attempts continue to launch a successful game show or sitcom", "Final American Bandstand: The Cover Girls", http://nicestkids.com/nehvectors/nicest-kids/bandstands-backyard, "Remembering American Bandstand's 50th [Photos]", Son of Svengoolie - 'Good Morning, Sven' (Opening,Show #218) (verse occurs at the 1:35 mark), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Bandstand&oldid=1140855641, American Bandstand's 20th Anniversary (1973), American Bandstand's 25th Anniversary (1977), American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary (1982), American Bandstand's 33 1/3 Celebration (1985), American Bandstand's 40th Anniversary (1992), American Bandstand's 50th Anniversary (2002), The show was featured prominently in the 20022005, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 03:03. AB WALLET PHOTOS. Anna Russo, 2800 North 7th Street, Apt. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. Mickey Mouse Club She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. 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. 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. Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. Like nostalgia? 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. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. The news hit hard. American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. 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. He would dance on the show until early 1960. ". 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. American Bandstand Regulars -- Justine Carrelli, Joe Fusco, Myrna Horowitz - The 3rd Degree - 1989 Bandstands Best 3.54K subscribers Subscribe 343 127K views 10 years ago THE USE OF ANY. 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. All rock'n roll and most owned by Dick Clark himself. But for the gay kids, the abuse at home was worse: When one dancer's parents learned he was gay, she told the Post, "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." Another was thrown out of the house. .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. She and her husband, Richard Spada, lived in Philadelphia and Lansdowne before moving to Newtown Square. On May 3, 2002, Dick Clark hosted a one-off special 50th anniversary edition on ABC. LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Its original host was fired after a DWI arrest and in July 1956 a young radio DJ took over. OnAmerican Bandstandsdance floor, Sullivan was first partnered famously with Kenny Rossi (1957-58), a multitalented Italian-American student at West Catholic Boys High School, and such was her national popularity that her fan mail eventually totaled some 500 letters weekly. So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. Squeaky clean commercial pitchman and deejay Dick Clark inherited Bob Horns locally broadcastBandstandin July 1956 and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABCsAmerican Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957. from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? 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. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. A storybook ending to a tale that began with American Bandstand, albeit 40 years ago. "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. Not only does Bandstand Diaries detail Smith's and Sullivan's personal experiences, it also includes interviews with more than 40 Bandstand regulars, reveals Dick Clark's back story and . The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. 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. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. She told me she got so many letters from fans who thought I looked like her and [with our dark hair], we did look alike. Director Goran Stolevski talks assembling his gay indie's stellar soundtrack, from The Cardigans to Nelly Furtado and more. 10/7/1957 9/5/1987 ABC 60 minutes California residents do not sell my data request. These Regulars . But we were like a little family together, and we all had something in common, and we all stuck together, and that made it easier for us.. Dancing was a major feature of Bandstand. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. But it was not easy on the mean streets of Philadelphia to be a Bandstand regular suspected of being gay. He said funeral services are pending. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Id see these kids dancing and instinctively I knew I could fit in with them. In August 1963, ABC reassignedAmerican Bandstandto Saturday afternoon. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. On Bandstand, she became lifelong friends with one of the celebrity guests, straight Annette Funicello, of Mickey Mouse Club and Beach Party fame. This historical marker recalls Dick Clarks American Bandstand, which was broadcast from West Philadelphia from 1957 to 1964. But I didnt have any crushes on any of the straight girls. 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. Dick Clark took over as host in 1956, and the show made its network debut on ABC-TV on Aug. 5, 1957. He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. It became a staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. Barbara Levick was a very popular young lady who was a Regular who danced on American Bandstand in the late 50s/very early 60s. Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. She was 13 but lied about her age. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. Like Smith, she believes that if her true sexual preference and that of others on the show had become public in the days before Stonewall and todays LGBT power, Bandstand would have been taken off the air. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. I am on that stage just trying to do my own thing and turn the party. 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! Clark "was a good man, but he wasn't as friendly with us as people may think," Colanero said. Words by Barry Manilow and Bruse Sussman, Were goin hoppin (Hop!) [3] Jackson,American Bandstand, quote from unpaginated photo section. It preceded The Guy Mitchell Show. In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. No way I will get in his way! 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. 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. 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. Handbags - Formal Wear. Sullivans last appearance onAmerican Bandstandwas in 1960.7, In the early 1960s, a new collection of teen regulars succeeded Arlene Sullivans generation onAmerican Bandstandsdance floor. Give me some Thumbs UP!This is Bunny Gibson and the American Bandstand Regulars live at Sesame Park outside of Philadelphia on July 21, 1997 as recorded by OnlineTV.com and Rick Siegel.The Regulars were there to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of American Bandstand and the parties were relentless as were the memories. 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. She was one of the great stars of the Philadelphia years. Very sadly, Bob passed away 2 . 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. 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.. 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. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. At first, not knowing how to enter the show, she walked to the door the actors and singers used and announced to Bob the Cop, "I came here to dance." After Bandstand, Charlette became an accountant and was a business manager. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . Music by Charles Albertine This investigation targeted the practice of payola, and it was most likely triggered by rumors circulating that charged Dick Clark with promoting records in which he held a financial stake onAmerican Bandstandand taking kickbacks from record companies to include their records on the shows playlist. Sullivan was most frequently paired with a boy named Kenny Rossi, who was straight, but still subject to attacks for appearing on the show: 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. But back in the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes began with American Bandstand, which was broadcast West. You are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see, happened the... Now, Dick Clark presides over the turnstile suspected of being gay, happened all the,... So afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight `` he presented himself as such grown-up! At Cecil County Drag Strip, & quot ; the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag,. 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