Dick Clark

Richard Wagstaff Clark OCCUPATION: Television Personality BIRTH DATE: November 30, 1929 DEATH DATE: April 18, 2012 EDUCATION: Syracuse University PLACE OF BIRTH: Mount Vernon, New York PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California. MORE ABOUT DICK! Dick Clark is a TV personality known for the shows American Bandstand, $25,000 Pyramid and TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, among others. Dick Clark’s American Bandstand began in 1957 and continued until 1989. The program's mix of lip-synched performances and its "Rate-a-Record" segment captivated teenagers, propelling Clark to fame. Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, the long-running special that broadcasts on December 31 each year, began in 1972, and he has created numerous other shows over the years. Early Life Television personality. Richard Wagstaff Clark was born on November 30, 1929, in Mount Vernon, New York, the son of Julia Fuller and Richard Augustus Clark. The couple had another son, Bradley, who was killed in World War II. Dick Clark began his career in show business in 1945 working in the mailroom of radio station WRUN, which was owned by his uncle and managed by his father in Utica, New York. The young Clark was soon promoted to weatherman and news announcer. Clark graduated from Syracuse University in New York in 1951, where he majored in business administration and landed a part-time job as a disc jockey at the student-radio station at Syracuse University. He also worked at radio and television stations in Syracuse and Utica before moving to WFIL radio in Philadelphia in 1952. American Bandstand WFIL had an affiliated television station (now WPVI) which began broadcasting a show called Bob Horn's Bandstand in 1952. Clark was a regular substitute host on the popular afternoon program, which had teenagers dancing to popular music. When Horn left the show, Clark became the full-time host on July 9, 1956. Largely through Clark's initiative, Bandstand was picked up by ABC as American Bandstand for nationwide distribution, beginning on August 5, 1957. The program's mix of lip-synched performances, interviews, and its famous "Rate-a-Record" segment captivated teenagers. Overnight, Clark became one of pop music's most important tastemakers. His exposure on American Bandstand, and his prime-time program, The Dick Clark Show, generated countless hits. Clark required a formal dress code of dresses or skirts for girls and coats and ties for boys that helped establish the show's wholesome appearance. The move was an early indication of Clark's innate ability to read the public's mindset, and mute potential criticism. When African-Americans were introduced among the white teenage dancers in a groundbreaking move of integration on national television, Clark was able to use his influence to stifle divisive talk amongst viewers. Payola Scandal During the 1950s, Dick Clark also began investing in the music publishing and recording business. His business interests grew to include record companies, song publishing houses, and artist management groups. When the record industry's "payola" scandal (involving payment in return for airplay) broke in 1959, Clark told a congressional committee he was unaware performers in whom he had interests had received disproportionate play on his programs. He sold his shares back to the corporation, upon ABC's suggestion that his participation might be considered a conflict of interest. Clark emerged from the investigation largely unscathed, as did American Bandstand. The program grew to be a major success, running daily Monday through Friday until 1963. It was then moved to Saturdays, and was broadcast from Hollywood until 1989. TV Personality The move to Los Angeles, the center of the entertainment industry, allowed Clark to diversify his involvement in television production. Dick Clark Productions began presenting variety programs and game shows, most successfully The $25,000 Pyramid and TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes. Among the many awards programs the company produced was the American Music Awards, which Clark created as a rival to the Grammy Awards. The special has often surpassed viewership of the Grammys, presumably because it presents performers more closely attuned to younger audiences' tastes. Dick Clark's production company also produced a number of movies and made-for-TV movies including Elvis, The Birth of the Beatles, Elvis and the Colonel, Wild in the Streets and The Savage Seven. In 1972, Dick Clark produced and hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, the long-running special that continues to broadcast on December 31 of each year. The program consists of live segments which feature Clark, his co-hosts, and different entertainment acts in and around New York City's Times Square. The performances continue until the clock counts down to midnight, at which time New York's traditional New Year's Eve ball drops, signaling the new year. The program is aired live in the Eastern Time Zone, and then tape-delayed for the other time zones so that viewers can bring in the New Year with Clark when midnight strikes in their area. For more than three decades, the show has become an annual cultural tradition in the United States for the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day holiday. In 2004, Clark was unable to appear in program due to a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed and caused difficulty of speech. That year, talk-show presenter Regis Philbin substituted as host. The following year, Clark returned to the show, with radio and TV personality Ryan Seacrest serving as the primary host. Legacy Clark has been married three times. He married high school sweetheart Barbara Mallery in 1952, and the couple had one son, Richard, before their divorce in 1961. He then married his former secretary, Loretta Martin, in 1962. The couple had two children, Duane and Cindy. They divorced in 1971. Since July 7, 1977, Clark was married to another of his former secretaries, dancer Kari Wigton. While Clark's behind-the-scenes business acumen has much to do with the fortune he amassed, he is better remembered for the charming on-air personality and ageless looks that allowed him to remain one of television's most popular hosts and pitchmen, even after American Bandstand went off the air in 1989. Five decades after he began shaping the viewing and listening habits of music fans with American Bandstand, Dick Clark was a staple in the marriage of television and rock 'n' roll. Dick Clark suffered a massive heart attack and died on April.