Once a week, she goes to a hop thrown by another Bandstand original, 76-year-old Philadelphia radio and TV personality Jerry Blavat, who bills himself as The Geator with the Heater and The Boss with the Hot Sauce.. 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. They werent playing basketball. ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. "I kissed a girl, and I liked it!. Clark continued as host of the series, which was restored to its former hour length,[22] and aired on stations including KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WWOR-TV in New York City[23] (WWOR's superstation status also gave the program further national exposure); KTLA in Los Angeles; WMAQ-TV in Chicago; WDIV in Detroit; WEWS in Cleveland; WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee;[24] and WCIX in Miami.[25]. One young performer was dangled down an elevator shaft. Anna Russo, 2800 North 7th Street, Apt. 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. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. 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. Dick Clark, in full Richard Wagstaff Clark, (born November 30, 1929, Bronxville, New York, U.S.died April 18, 2012, Santa Monica, California), American television personality and businessman, best known for hosting American Bandstand. And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. 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. REGULARS Gallery 2. On May 3, 2002, Dick Clark hosted a one-off special 50th anniversary edition on ABC. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. during those wonderful days. His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated. Michael Jackson, a frequent Bandstand guest, performed We've received your submission. Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) . LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. I did get to know Annette Funicello [a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club], who came to the show. Norman passed away on December 6, 1990. 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. 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. "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. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. 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. In 1960, in an episode that seems incredibly tame by todays standards of greed and corruption, the two major television networks, NBC and CBS were exposed as having rigged their wildly popular primetime quiz shows. 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. As two or three stations grab it off, you get less clearance, therefore you get less rating, and its an endless cycle. Bandstand originally used "High Society" by Artie Shaw as its theme song, but by the time the show went national, it had been replaced by various arrangements of Charles Albertine's "Bandstand Boogie", including Les Elgart's big-band recording remembered by viewers of the daily version. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. The shows were usually produced in either Stage 54 or Stage 55 at ABC Television Center. The Regulars, also known as The Committee were only a part of the Bandstand story. "He was the commander," Colanero said. 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. Filmed in the cramped quarters of the WFIL Studios at 46th and Market Streets in Philly, Bandstand is such a part of Americana that Dick Clarks podium now resides in the Smithsonian. [18][19][20] Dubbed as The New American Bandstand and distributed by LBS Communications, the series' tapings were moved from the ABC Television Center to the Hollywood studios of Los Angeles's PBS member station KCET,[21] with a new set was similar to that of Soul Train. TV Ratings - US & UK, Quiz Shows 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.. For a time, she dated a neighborhood boy, Danny Rapp, lead singer of Danny & the Juniors, who had the hit song At the Hop., I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight, Sullivan says. We have lived in NJ ever since. A Philadelphia, PA 19133, BONUS PAGE Interracial couples were not allowed on camera, so they sat on the sidelines. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. No way I will get in his way! [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. But . The new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. As she puts it, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand Club membership card and dancing every day on the show. 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. and scheduled the program at 3:30pm ETalmost in the middle of Bandstand. Charlette Russo danced on American Bandstand from 1955-1959. They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. 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. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. They accepted me. What they didnt know was that Arlene and several of the other female dancers, and most of the handsome teen boys, were gay. SaturdayBandstandretained 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. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. The program was broadcast live, weekday afternoons and, by 1959, the show had a national audience of 20 million. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. It also was a prototype for musical television properties including cable channel MTV and Fox's reality-competition show American Idol. This site does not collect any information from you. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. ", "Forty years after 'Bandstand' debut, Clark and dancers celebrate", "ORIGINAL DANCERS WILL GRANDSTAND AT 'BANDSTAND' REUNION", "American Bandstand, Season 30, Episode 38: Laura Brannigan (Final ABC show)", "Dick Clark's On a Roll: He Tunes In to TV Trends", "Dick Clark celebrates American Bandstand's 35th", "RETRO: Fairbanks, Alaska (October 24, 1987)", "Retro: Northern Wisconsin, Sat. The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. Were goin hopin today July 9th, 1988", "Retro Request: Sat 10/31 & 11/7 and Sun 11/1, 1987", "AB now in syndication: Jody Watley, Dan Hill, David Spade", "Clark ends long-playing spin on bandstand", "On 'Bandstand,' Dick Clark Says Goodbye", "AGELESS CLARK STILL STANDS FOR THE 'AMERICAN' BAND", "Hits Prove Hard to Find at Dick Clark Productions: Entertainment: Performance has been mediocre since the company went public in 1987. Those "American Bandstand" days were the best for all of us teenagers who followed the program, the regulars, the dances, the performers, etc. The Bop. 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. Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 19741978 set design. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. In Philadelphia, however, WFIL opted to tape-delay the game show for later broadcast in another time slot, and to continue on with Bandstand, though only for the local audience. Or sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers! Clark was out for Clark, says Brancaccio. Arlene Sullivan, one of the most popularAmerican Bandstandregulars, presents another perspective on the shows closeted world. I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight. We sent some 15,000 fan letters each week. American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. Fundraiser for the renovation of the original American Bandstand Studio Floor ", Songs she liked to dance to, Mrs. Spada wrote online in June 2010, included "Little Darlin'," "Sixteen Candles," "Tears on my Pillow," "Splish Splash," "Never on Sunday," and "Let's Do The Stroll.". 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. Reply. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. 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. 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. ABC gave Bandstand color cameras and launched it on its network of 67 stations in August of 1957. And then they leave the show, go up on the El, go home to their neighborhoods, they then had to run to their door because somebody was always waiting there to beat them up.. 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.. 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. The typical production schedule consisted of videotaping three shows on a Saturday and three shows on a Sunday, every six weeks. 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.. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. Aura Mayari Just Wants to Live Her Zombie Apocalypse Fantasy. Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC president Thomas W. Moore, and after some negotiations the show was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957. We'll see you then. ABC gave Clark a choice: divest his music-related interests or step down as host of the show. Clark chose to continue withBandstand.3. 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. The rest is American Bandstand history. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. . With American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia, segregation easily affected the concentrated area. 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