They wrote. The one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other," Smith told the New York Post. I said, In that case, Im staying. I was shocked. As the books highlight, Ray Smith and Arlene Sullivan provided two thoughtful and unadornedBandstandmemoirs. Sullivan, 74, wrote Diaries with Ray Smith, another dancer who was closeted during his Bandstand years. . Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 19741978 set design. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. 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. 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. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began a daily two hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. 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. Carole made the world a better place," Gibson wrote on a Facebook page called America's Original Bandstand Dancers. We only had three channels in those days. 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. LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Of Clarks behind-the-scenes behavior at Studio B, Ray Smith writes unsparingly: The irony about Clark is that he was not the goody-two-shoes he projected: he smoked, cursed, and for a while teetered on the edge of alcoholism. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. In fact, it was dangerous. 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. Music by Charles Albertine ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. 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. They also reported on the careers and whereabouts of many of the other regulars and several of the shows musical guests. , True love I imitated all the dance steps, sometimes with the refrigerator door as a partner. When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? . We'll see you then. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. Clark was determined to keep the homosexuality of popular Bandstand regulars a secret, Smith said. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. 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 . This started with "'65", then "'66", "'67", "'68" and "'69" when each year arrived. I knew when couples broke up. Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. Kenny Rossi and Arlene Sullivan, Bunny Gibson and Eddie Kelly, Pat Molittieri, Carmen Jimenz, Joyce Shafer. 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. Mrs. Spada attended West Catholic Girls High School. 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. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. They were hurting him. One older brother survives Norman. NEW PAGE! Joyce Shafer talks about herself and her dance partner, Norman Kerr, Norman was one of a kind, always making people laugh. EARLY BANDSTAND FASHIONS. 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. Aura Mayari Just Wants to Live Her Zombie Apocalypse Fantasy. My parents were always there for me. Thats all we did dance and every part of the city had its own style. You want to know about the guy! Clark pulled him within two feet of the camera and told America, "Steve is our newest regular, and he's going to lead us off with a spotlight dance. There were represented American Bandstand Dancers from the beginnings in Philadelphia to the last days in Los Angeles.After this short there is the complete Sesame Street Park Parade with the Regulars dancing all along with them. Watch video clips of the American Bandstand dancers here. The news hit hard. Dick Clark was a TV personality known for the shows 'American Bandstand,' '$25,000 Pyramid' and 'TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes,' among others. Hes a heckuva good dancer who does a mean jitterbug! 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. Not only was it extremely intelligent, but there was something moving about the mans story. . One show from this first season (December 18, 1957, identified as the "Second National Telecast") is preserved in the archives of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications. Wed stay up all night talking about boys, said Sullivan. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. Were goin hopin today She and her husband, Richard Spada, lived in Philadelphia and Lansdowne before moving to Newtown Square. "[40] WFIL defended these local associations in order to maintain support. YOUR FAVORITE LOGO SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+, "Those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other., 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. 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. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. 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. We were like sisters. Variety Shows This first national broadcast of American Bandstand was filmed in the Starlight Ballroom in Wildwood, NJ. 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. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. 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. Dick Clarks tight control on the sexual expression of his cast extended to a denial years after the show had ended. 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. And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. I think after several decades he actually believed the myth. Oddly enough, I have never checked with the other Regulars to get their feedback. [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. That really annoyed me because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS, Smith said. The increase in competition hurt Bandstand and the variety of options for music on TV decreased its relevance. However, advertisers do to enable personalized ads. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. Rossi was straightbut Sullivan, many of her female co-stars, and most of the young male dancers were not. 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 From 1974 to 1977, there was a newer, orchestral disco version of "Bandstand Boogie", arranged and performed by Joe Porter, played during the opening and closing credits. They joined Arlenes and Kennys fan clubs. After school in the late 1950s, millions of American teenagers raced home to watch the gyrations of fellow teens on their parents tiny black-and-white televisions in the living room. Wagon Train Website,