SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! She calls it her one night out.. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. 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. These experienced Regulars considered an infrequent participant or a first time visitor an amateur. I wonder what they would have thought about a kid in TV Land, practicing the new steps in front of her bedroom mirror and praying to God her little brother didnt catch her at it. Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. Anna Russo, 2800 North 7th Street, Apt. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. Handbags - Formal Wear. This incarnation was an early version of the music video shows that became popular in the 1980s, featuring films that were the ancestors of music videos. He kept his distance, she says. They wrote thousands of letters. American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) From 1969 to 1974, "Bandstand Theme", a synthesized rock instrumental written by Mike Curb, opened each show. They joined Arlenes and Kennys fan clubs. The 1960 amendments to the 1934 Federal Communications Act put heavy constraints on payola, requiring full public disclosure when a record company or its agent pays a broadcaster to play records on the air. The 1960 amendments criminalized any action that breached the disclosure rule. 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. American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. They knew what was going on, but they never asked the question., Sullivan says there were at least four other popular girl dancers on Bandstand who she quickly learned were lesbians and we all started hanging out together. This set and theme music were used until September 1974, with the arrival of a brand new set and the second, updated version of "Bandstand Boogie". I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. 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. Director Goran Stolevski talks assembling his gay indie's stellar soundtrack, from The Cardigans to Nelly Furtado and more. Cameraman Vince Gasbarro said: "Horn was old-looking. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. It was horrible.. Dick Clark took over as host in 1956, and the show made its network debut on ABC-TV on Aug. 5, 1957. Score: 4.4/5 (45 votes) . As she puts it, being a Regular entailed holding a WFIL-TV Bandstand Club membership card and dancing every day on the show. Everybody knew the names of The Regulars on Bandstand. Brancaccio says thats what attracted him to it. 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. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. 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.. 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. . Yes, yes, I know. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? Like nostalgia? In July 1956, Dick Clark, a commercial pitchman and deejay with an unsullied reputation, inherited WFIL-TV's Bandstand from scandal-tainted Bob Horn and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABC's American Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957.Clark's daily afternoon program pioneered in musical television by showcasing a range of black and white pop music . . running a series on drunken driving. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. Clark was determined to keep the homosexuality of popular Bandstand regulars a secret, Smith said. This development created a sometimes heated rivalry between Dick Clark and Buddy Deane, when performers who appeared first on Deane's program were refused booking on American Bandstand. 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. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. SWIMSUITS of the regulars. I am on that stage just trying to do my own thing and turn the party. 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.. 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. He would dance on the show until early 1960. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. 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. Despite that sense of community, the show's starsgay and straight alikewere targeted in Philadelphia, and even physically attacked in some cases, just for being dancers. That really annoyed me because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS, Smith said. The big teenybopper magazines of the era Sixteen and Teen plastered Bandstand dancers on their covers and wrote glowing, gossipy stories about their lives in Philadelphia, where Dick Clark produced the show. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on "American Bandstand" back in the late '50s and early '60s, kids across the country swooned. ", California residents do not sell my data request. Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. Millions of kids from Brooklyn to Beverly Hills ran home from school every weekday to watch them dance, imitate their styles and fantasize about their lives. 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. The Slop. California residents do not sell my data request. We were like sisters. One market not telecasting Bandstand was Baltimore, Maryland, as local affiliate WAAM (now WJZ-TV) elected to produce a local dance show in the same afternoon time slot. We went downtown, and I ran to the back of the bus the way I always did in Philly but Barbara and her friend kept telling me to come to the front. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . ABC gave Bandstand color cameras and launched it on its network of 67 stations in August of 1957. ", "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. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. We ended up spending weekends together when she came to New York and D.C. to perform We went to lunch together and had fun, but Annette had to rest and perform, so we didnt have time for anything else., Sullivan never felt like a superstar, even when the Regulars averaged 100 to 150 fan letters a day. He molded the image of the American teenager so America would accept rock-and-roll.". Well, it's our last show here on Bandstand and I really want to thank the viewers who have kept American Bandstand on the air all these years. Michael Jackson, a frequent Bandstand guest, performed Sadly we also lost: To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. I never had a crush on her. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. When Gibson moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in the 1980s, she paid Clark a call at his office. He fell in love with her. His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September. He was 21 and she was 16. These Regulars . View Our Classic TV Shows Directory (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images), Spice on Her Favorite 'Drag Race' Season 15 Moment and Her Sweet Reunion With Sugar, "I did win the hearts of these girls somehow and the love was just so felt. However unethical his behavior may have been, his federal income tax records seemed to be in order. 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 says. It got me out of my shell, but I learned I was a regular teenager who happened to dance on a show that unexpectedly became very popular. Charlette Russo danced on American Bandstand from 1955-1959. We would roar, roll over with pain from laughing so hard. After a ten-month hiatus,[27] Bandstand moved to cable on USA Network[28][29] on April 8, 1989,[30] with comedian David Hirsch[31][32][33][34][35] taking over hosting duties. Were goin hopin today They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. Clark, known as Americas oldest teenager, knew. Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. 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. 1950s/1960s POLLS. EARLY BANDSTAND VIDEOS. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. But this one was different. 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. When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. American Bandstand, abbreviated AB, is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions that aired regularly from 1952 to 1989,[1] and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. Browse celebrity nostalgia on our website. "[5] In one humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared as the record raters. The Hand Jive. Hey, our thanks to Laura Branigan for joining us here on American Bandstand today. It was no secret. At age 30 in 1960, already a millionaire, Dick Clark, Americas only national deejay, stood at the center of the payola storm. "[40] WFIL defended these local associations in order to maintain support. From that dance on we became steady dance partners until I had to leave the show on my 18th birthday, which was in August of 1961., The Pony Contest . [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. Clark's sunny smile and cuteness masked a strong will and iron determination. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) They wrote. "He wasn't no Bob Horn," Fiorentino said. Variety Shows The new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. Sullivan was raised in a rowhouse in a working-class neighborhood; we surmise from her writing that it was somewhere in Southwest Philly (she attended John Bartram High School), although Sullivan doesnt specify a home address. But overall, their meet-ups remained a sanctuary. On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a drunk-driving arrest, as WFIL and dual owner Walter Annenberg's The Philadelphia Inquirer were then And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. American Bandstand first aired 5 August 1957 in the 3-4:30 afternoon slot. If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. 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. . Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. That really annoyed me, said Smith, Because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS., According to Brancaccio, Clark didnt want racial integration on his show either. [6] Jackson,American Bandstand, 71; Jacksons description of Arlene Sullivan. The use of videotape allowed Clark to produce and host a series of concert tours around the success of American Bandstand and to pursue other broadcast interests. 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. 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. 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. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. In 2014, the National Enquirer interviewed Frank Brancaccio and Eddie Kelly, other series regulars. Don Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, along with Jesse Jackson, entered into a dispute with Clark over this upstart program, and it was canceled within a few weeks. 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. . A half-hour evening version of American Bandstand aired on Monday nights from 7:30p.m. to 8:00p.m. (ET), beginning on October 7, 1957. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on American Bandstand back in the late 50s and early 60s, kids across the country swooned. Sent to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from 's. 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