They wrote. ", California residents do not sell my data request. We'll see you the next time on American Bandstand. It was a local show Philadelphia, Jersey, the Lehigh Valley [Pennsylvania]. Dancing with the American Bandstand Stars Fundraiser, July 15, 2009 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. . I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. 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. The Slop. Teenagers dance on an episode of Dick Clark's television program, 'American Bandstand,' 1950s. During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which their two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked the chosen members to justify their scores. In her memoir forBandstand Diaries, she writes frankly and poignantly of her youthful struggle with her emerging identity as lesbian, a sexual orientation she would fully embrace as an adult. Sullivans co-author, Ray Smith, recently retired after 40 years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer. Bandstand Diaries shares some public information and photos about Frani (page 84). This site does not collect any information from you. "If you got in front of the camera too much, he'd call you back and tell you to circulate. View Our Classic TV Shows Directory The shy Sullivan pushed herself forward with the contact because she wanted to get on TV to impress her mother. The young dancers on American Bandstand were the reality stars of the 1950s and '60skids nationwide rushed home to watch their every move and chatter about their relationships and exploits. The news hit hard. SUBSCRIBE TO MY FEED! She was now working at Neiman Marcus, and couldn't take off to join the Regulars and their fans at the Philadelphia American Bandstand studio. //-->. Carole made the world a better place," Gibson wrote on a Facebook page called America's Original Bandstand Dancers. Briefly it was part of the USA Network with new host David Hirsh but went off the air in 1989. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. When I used to walk down the streets of Philadelphia and be recognized, Id be called a Bandstand f*****.. Bunnys mom, Betty, made her promise that she would graduate. In August 1963, ABC reassigned American Bandstand to Saturday afternoon. [Clark] was a cool professional with an agenda from the beginning, an agenda for success that made him rich; he was a millionaire by the end of the 1950s. I am not sure I can post that part of the video as I have no rights to the music they play and is heard in the background of the parade. 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. 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. In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, died Sunday, Dec. 8, of congestive heart failure at a Springfield hospital. 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. It was no secret. The show was American Bandstand, and Dick Clarks clean-cut style meant the program had parents stamp of approval. We have lived in NJ ever since. Clark joined Bandstand in 1956 and moved with the show to Hollywood in 1964. The rest, as they say, is history. Watch video clips of the American Bandstand dancers here. On September 13, 1969, the Bandstand set was given a complete overhaul and Les Elgart's big band version of "Bandstand Boogie" was replaced by the Mike Curb theme. In September 1964, Bandstand began using a new logo based on the ABC circle logo, reading "ab" in the same typeface followed by a number representing the year the show aired. "When he saw me, he said, 'I knew I'd see you again,' with a smile on his face," Gibson recalled. In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood. She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. Sadly we also lost: Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. . 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Give me some Thumbs UP!This is Bunny Gibson and the American Bandstand Regulars live at Sesame Park outside of Philadelphia on July 21,. 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. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. The bare necessitiesThis kit packs $431 worth of premium skincare and haircare into a small packageand it's only $80 with the promo code. TV Ratings - US & UK, Quiz Shows 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. Remember, these Regulars werent paid actors or dancers. And while more openly gay performers are comfortable taking the stage these days, it's good to know we've always been thereeven if in silence. . Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. Thats why Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson would never appear on the show, but movie stars Jeff Chandler, Tab Hunter, Sal Mineo came., Dancing came naturally to Sullivan, the way it did to all Regulars, she says. Everybody knew the names of The Regulars on Bandstand. On all the music they play On the Bandstand.! 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. 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. 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.. In 2014, the National Enquirer interviewed Frank Brancaccio and Eddie Kelly, other series regulars. Very sadly, Bob passed away 2 . ", 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.". Clark looked like one of the kids." (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) 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.. And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. She knew Chubby Checker and Fabian from South Philadelphia High School. The shows were usually produced in either Stage 54 or Stage 55 at ABC Television Center. 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. He is a man of God and over the years has established both karate and prison ministeries. 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. From 1969 to 1974, "Bandstand Theme", a synthesized rock instrumental written by Mike Curb, opened each 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. Mixed REGULARS Galleries. The typical production schedule consisted of videotaping three shows on a Saturday and three shows on a Sunday, every six weeks. Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. Were goin hopin today Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes;[13] at Clark's request, the 2,751st and final ABC installment[14] (with Laura Branigan[15] performing "Shattered Glass"[16][17]) aired on September 5, 1987. Director Goran Stolevski talks assembling his gay indie's stellar soundtrack, from The Cardigans to Nelly Furtado and more. 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. But to his credit and diligence, he brilliantly created his own myth, and he stuck to it for the rest of his life. ABC gave Bandstand color cameras and launched it on its network of 67 stations in August of 1957. I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. . GALLERY 4. [36] Clark remained as executive producer. unsold game show pilots). "Dick Clark introduced records, and the camera followed teenagers as they selected partners to dance," writes historian Matthew Delmont. The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. She danced the "push" - a "type of jitterbug . The program that preceded Dick Clarks American Bandstand at WFIL-TV was deejay Bob Horns locally popular Bandstand. [42], Bandstand "regulars" from the Philadelphia years, Move from ABC to syndication and the USA Network, AMERICAN BANDSTAND (1987 Closing Credits - ABC Finale), Laura Branigan - Shattered Glass & Interview - AB (1987). He will never forget one of his first days on Bandstand. The Saturday show would run until 1960. 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. Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. I think after several decades he actually believed the myth. It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. The Twist the first dance to come out where people danced separately and the Monkey and Jerk came out after Id left.. She and her husband, Richard Spada, lived in Philadelphia and Lansdowne before moving to Newtown Square. (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. 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. Aura Mayari Just Wants to Live Her Zombie Apocalypse Fantasy. 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. JUSTINE AND BOB. How a Beloved Tori Amos B-Side Transformed 'Of An Age'. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. In addition to appearances by big pop stars of the day, Sullivan's on-screen romance with Kenny Rossi was a huge draw for the show. Teen idol Bobby Rydell, whose music career is still going strong 60 years after American Bandstand, wrote the books introduction; but former Regular Arlene Sullivan, who shares her memories and personal images, is a standout as well as a co-author of the book. Words by Barry Manilow and Bruse Sussman, Were goin hoppin (Hop!) They are extending the honeymoon in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Duke has called home. 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. Instead of shortening or moving Bandstand, ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3pm, cut away to Who Do You Trust? . KENNY AND ARLENE. She says she never had a crush on a straight dancer, and was close friends with celebrity guest Annette Funicello. Mrs. Spada attended West Catholic Girls High School. 4/8/1989 10/7/1989 Syndicated News Shows He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. . She was a senior.and luckily on the Honor Roll. A Philadelphia, PA 19133, BONUS PAGE Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi on the cover of Teen magazine in 1959. What they didnt know was that Arlene and several of the other female dancers, and most of the handsome teen boys, were gay. [1] John A. Jackson,American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock n Roll Empire(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), chaps. sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers. [2] Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. It preceded The Guy Mitchell Show. 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. 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. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. However, the couple will shortly be returning to Los Angeles, which will be their permanent residence. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. 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. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. I can honestly say that I was the most blessed person in the world the day I met Norman and he and I became steady dance partners., Meeting Norman From the late 1950s and most of the 1960s, Clark's on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O'Donnell, who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $100,000 Pyramid. M Marsha Early American Bandstand Wallet type photos of Dancers/Regulars Sisters Mary Rosalie Susan 50s Susan Beltrante (on left) and Mary Beltrante on the right. They just wouldnt give up where Duke has called home never forget one of his experiences in life Bandstand... But went off the air in 1989 the Honor Roll away to Who do you Trust production american bandstand regulars who have died of. August of 1957 and he met his dream girl Bandstand dancers 2014, the couple shortly. Clarks American Bandstand, ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3pm cut! 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