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The new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. Support+971+2+5530548 Email: sales@mazoutdft.com. Sullivans co-author, Ray Smith, recently retired after 40 years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer. It was like a high school reunion and some people even had tears in their eyes. They also reported on the careers and whereabouts of many of the other regulars and several of the shows musical guests. Most of those kids recruited from area high schools and compelled to "retire" from the show when they turned 18 are now in the 70s and their lives have had ups and downs. She also mentions a gay dancer who was pushed in the train tracks, and another who was dangled over an elevator shaft. 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. Forget that. "For all those who knew her throughout her life and for those who watched her dance on American Bandstand, Carole was full of love and full of God. "It is with much sadness that we have lost one of the most loving and beautiful souls - Carole Scaldeferri Spada has passed away," Bunny Gibson, who identified herself as a "Bandstand buddy," posted on Facebook. And he has the one criteria required to attract Bunny Gibson. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. Really enjoyed reading your article Larry , I also grew up in the 50s watching American Bandstand, your article brought back so many memories of the good ole days growing up. When she was 10 years old, the woman now known as Sharon Sultan Cutler would rush home from school in the town of East Meadow on Long Island in New York. Were goin hopin today In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. , True love and 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. One friend of mine was kicked out of the house.. Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram, Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Back, (Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Many subsequently became celebrities (albeit temporarily), appearing in other media, receiving fan mail, and starting fashion trends. Menu. Throughout its run the show featured various types of popular music, such as rock-and-roll, R&B, Motown, British rock, psychedelic rock, disco, new wave, and more. In the early years of American Bandstand, African Americans were rarely seen on television. Known for her perky personality, Pat Moliterri is credited with inventing the dance, the Hop, by combining elements of the Slop and the Bop.Sadly, Pat died in in the mid-seventies of a heart attack. Clark felt such conventions helped boost the perception of rock-and-roll, which in the 1950s was a controversial genre often disliked by older generations. At the height of its popularity, it was watched daily by 20 million people (by contrast, "Dancing With the Stars" drew 13 million viewers weekly last season), with an estimated half of them adults; its teenage dancers got as many as 45,000 fan letters a week. While the teens, all homegrown talent, rocked onstage, two cameras homed in on them for close-ups. In a fine introduction to this book one of those people, singer Bobby Rydell, recalls his first appearance on the show in 1959 and the many that followed, as well as a "short but sweet" romance with one of the teen dancers, writing: "To appear on 'American Bandstand' was everyone's dream.". 28 talking about this. . Ohio, great article, in the late 1950s i wouldnt miss watching the show for anything , I still have some of those records that bring back a lot of memories, my boyfriend and i won a lot of dance contests at Marietta high dancing to the "Mashed Potatoe" by Dee Dee Sharp and the Twist by Chubby Checker: really love your column in the Marietta Times every Monday , keep up the great articles. At 74, Sullivan still dances once a week at a party thrown by another Bandstand dancer. They were on the cover of "Dick Clark's American Bandstand " and have done many Documentaries R.I.P. The TV exposure, plus the profiles some of the dancers were given in Teen magazine in the late 1950s, made them instant celebrities. Thanks for contacting us. Still, American Bandstands Philadelphia years are recalled with particularly impassioned nostalgia. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. They are extending the honeymoon in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Duke has called home. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. Clark and producer Tony Mammorella (1924-1977) dubbed this group The Committee, led from 1954 to 1956 by future DJ Jerry Blavat (1940-2023). 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. Making Philadelphia Safe for WFIL-adelphia: Television, Housing, and Defensive Localism in Postwar Philadelphia. Journal of Urban History, 38, no. Particularly during the show's prime Philadelphia years (1952-63), Philadelphia youth culture became American culture through American Bandstand. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. To many of you, it was about the music and the artists. . 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. Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. Music by Charles Albertine 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. Black & White/Color (9/9/1967), Dick Clarks first day as host: 7/9/1956 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. I purchased this from Historic Photos. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. "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. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. 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 . Despite changes over the years, the show continued to embody and represent evolutions in American music, fashion, dance, and other sociocultural norms. Norman had a very, very unique sense of humor, which made him so popular with all that knew him. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. In front of the camera, Clark called the shots. . The show then aired at 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, corresponding with the typical school days end. There is another chapter about Clark. In 1988, the National Park Service listed 4548 Market Street on the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. "After that, it was history.". 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. "He wasn't no Bob Horn," Fiorentino said. Ripley W.va, Great article Larry love your antiques blog . 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. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. It was shot live from Studio B at Forty-Sixth and and Market Streets, where the two-and-a-half-hour show was broadcast regionally on WFIL-TV Channel 6. . Although, unlike some others, Carole never really had a steady dancing partner, she danced with all the good-looking Italian boys and that one special non-Italian whom everyone loved - Harvey Robbins. .When he spoke to us off-screen, it was usually from the podium; it gave him command over his domain, and as I have learned over the years, Clark liked and wanted to be in command.4, Smith recalls the closetingof American BandstandsLGBT youths. Never, did I ever think that I would be with him, holding his hand when he passed away. ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. 18 talking about this. Broadcast icon Dick Clark, the longtime host of the influential "American Bandstand," has died, publicist Paul Shefrin said. . It was shot live from Studio B at Forty-Sixth and and Market Streets, where the two . In a nice way, he'd discipline us.". Nicholas Fiorentino, 67, a South Philly native now living in Cherry Hill, said it was clear even to Bandstand teenagers that Clark was going places. They wrote thousands of letters. Clark suffered a heart attack while at St. John's. Pat Molitteeri was credited with inventing the dance, "The Hop" by combining elements of the Slop and the Bop, Pat died in the mid -1970s of a heart attack at age 36, Carmen Jimenez still lives in Philadelphia today and recollects the fun she had being on the show. American Bandstand (TV Series 1952-1989) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. 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. NEW PAGE! She acknowledges that some of the other girls she knew on the show were also gay. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. ", A musical about the 'Miracle' Cubs? Teresa Bowling. While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. She is a Marco Polo member of the Society of American Travel Writers, a past president of Virginia Professional Communicators and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. Whose Culture? He had other irons in the fire. And more than 250 fans too, a number of them quite young, who had just heard of the show and were curious. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. We sent some 15,000 fan letters each week. 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. Using social media, Cutler contacted some of the show's regulars. . Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. She never saw much of Clark outside of the studio. At the time, unless a broadcaster failed to report under-the-table income (federal income tax evasion), payola wasnt illegal in federal law. That was an emotional moment for both of us.". They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. He would dance on the show until early 1960. News Shows In the wake of the quiz show scandal, however, a subcommittee of the House of Representatives set up hearings to determine if the practice should be made illegal. What they didnt know was that Arlene and several of the other female dancers, and most of the handsome teen boys, were gay. . She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. Click here to see some of your favorites back in action. One night at a party I met a girl who was one of the stars on American Bandstand I was blown away.. Although the Regulars didnt perform in the South, Sullivans memory of a personal visit to Fort Worth, Texas, stuck with her: My friend Barbara [a fellow Regular] and I were visiting Barbaras friend there. His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September. Talevski, Nick. Self - Interview 1 episode, 1965 . Handbags - Formal Wear. A storybook ending to a tale that began with American Bandstand, albeit 40 years ago. One older brother survives Norman. I met Joyce and Norman at the Steel Pier one summer and found them both to be so nice. ), Lew Klein papers and Evening Bulletin Photographs Collection, Special Collections Research Center of Temple University Libraries, Charles Library, Eye to Eye: American Bandstand (CBS News, YouTube), Interview with Lew Klein, executive producer of American Bandstand (Temple University Television), Lesson Plan: A New "Twist" on Race Relations (ExplorePaHistory.com). Oddly enough, I have never checked with the other Regulars to get their feedback. On all the music they play On the Bandstand.! Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. 10/7/1957 9/5/1987 ABC 60 minutes Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. Clark claimed that the affiliates got greedy and took the time back to put their own material on where they got 100 percent of the revenue. This included dances the Bop, the Twist, the Jitterbug, and the Stroll. Movies. He will never forget one of his first days on Bandstand. The most comprehensive, authoritative reference source ever created for the Philadelphia region. Fundraiser for the renovation of the original American Bandstand Studio Floor The History of American Bandstand. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Another time, a dancer was thrown onto the subway tracks. Another component of the show was its Rate-a-Record segmentwhere people evaluated a record on a scale of 35 to 98which originated the saying, Its got a good beat and you can dance to it. For this eras music industry, American Bandstand was arguably the most significant television venue in the country. Im sure shell be thrilled to hear well wishes and from Bandstand friends and fans and donations would help her a lot. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. . In 1964, he joined the National Guard and did basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He said that when he was a kid, he would come in off the range every day and watch me on 'Bandstand.' As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. Happy tears. In August 1963, ABC reassignedAmerican Bandstandto Saturday afternoon. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. [2] Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Paylola and Sponsorship Identification, Federal Communications Act, Amendments, 1960. Duke is a premier photographer of the martial arts as well as being an expert. He danced on the show until Christmas 1959. He was six weeks shy of his 47th birthday. Dottie "If you got in front of the camera too much, he'd call you back and tell you to circulate. Everybody knew the names of The Regulars on 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. Don and Bunny had two daughters: Angel and Maria and four grandchildren: Lea & Christopher Di Vello, Alexis Karanzalis & Nicole Weiss. He is a man of God and over the years has established both karate and prison ministeries. Like Rick Pierce, Bandstand dancer Sandra Mae Dawson, who died Feb. 25, 2008, at age 66, was into car racing. (noted 9/12/21) . He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. When he became a regular in 1959, Clark was only 30. Colanero danced from 1959 to 1961. 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. BUT he was out for Clark., Sullivan claims there were four other popular girl dancers on the show whom she knew to be lesbians, and they hung out together. Early in 1964, the show moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, where it remained through its final season in 1989. There are savings on everyday items you already buy, and savings on the things youve been waiting for a sale on to spoil your pet with. The most memorable day for Norman and me was April 13, 1961, the day we won second place in the Pony Dance Contest. He fell in love with her. "He made sure the guys wore suits and we were dressed properly. He was a brilliant man. 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. I was trying to hit them over their heads with my pocketbook, but they just wouldnt give up. 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. So fearful of the kids real behavior, [Clark] imposed a strict dress code: jackets and ties for boys, and nothing tight for girls. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. But Sullivan, who lives in New Jersey, did trust her, agreed to collaborate on the book and paved the way to meet and interview dozens of other regulars who once were dancing kids. Dick Clark gave her a committee card, which all Regulars had to have to get into the building. He was 82. Sullivans last appearance onAmerican Bandstandwas in 1960.7, In the early 1960s, a new collection of teen regulars succeeded Arlene Sullivans generation onAmerican Bandstandsdance floor. We have lived in NJ ever since. Sullivan was almost 14, the required age for the show, when she became a Regular. My husband and I met on a blind date and six months later on April 12, 1964 we were married. But to his credit and diligence, he brilliantly created his own myth, and he stuck to it for the rest of his life. He practiced dancing with his niece, Robin, but when he went down to the show, they wouldnt let him in because he was over the age of 18. As music styles evolved, American Bandstand incorporated more emerging genres. We only had three channels in those days. She was 13 but lied about her age. [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. 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. We call him Namron and yes, if you spell his name backwards it spells, Norman. 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. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. I kissed a girl, and I liked it! Sullivan, now 74 and long out of the closet, reveals in a fascinating self-published book, Bandstand Diaries billed as The Book Youve Waited Over 50 Years to Read!. 8-9; quote from unpaginated photo section. . We've received your submission. The dark-complexioned, wavy-haired Sullivan6bolstered American Bandstands image as a show dominated by Italian-American teens. Ohio. Asked By : Francisco Allen Dick Clark, affectionately known as the "world's oldest teenager," has died. Carole made the world a better place," Gibson wrote on a Facebook page called America's Original Bandstand Dancers. Her partner Frank Spagnuola and her won 1st place in dance Cha Lypso contest and 2nd place in Jitterbug Contest . Read the review. A case in point is Arlene Sullivan, a popular Regular who has described her own emerging lesbian sexual orientation, which she says was masked by her dance partnerships with boys. In order to help establish a clean-cut image for the show, guys were required to wear ties with suit jackets or sweaters, while girls dressed in good taste, for example a high-cut blouse with a dress or skirt. Id see these kids dancing and instinctively I knew I could fit in with them. I didnt know what I was doing and decided I cant do this, and I called my dad and asked him to come get me, she says. While ABC wasnt in the quiz show business, a congressional subcommittee found another reason to investigate the network. Known as the Regulars, they became the nation's first reality stars. He debuted in Studio 3B at WFIL-TV, near the El train stop in West Philadelphia, in 1956 when he was a 13-year-old junior high school student. My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. (Twentieth Century Fox), Soft Science extends that legacy on its third album, Maps (Test Pattern), and adds its own twists. The show epitomized many important aspects of ever-evolving American popular culture: mass communication, popular music, youth culture, dance and fashion trends, as well as race and gender relationships. [6] Jackson,American Bandstand, 71; Jacksons description of Arlene Sullivan. 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. 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. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Thank you "C" Group for continuing the "Philly Saga". 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.. In addition to his other ventures, Clark maintained a virtual lock on New Years Eve television withDick ClarksNew Years Rockin Eve. He needed a group to show up every day, she says, and nobody got paid. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. In 1960, he attended Penn State as an English major. In fact, it was dangerous. I was a preteen, which is to say, I was a teenage wannabe. (Author information current at time of publication. Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. And whereas 135 ABC-affiliated stations carriedAmerican Bandstandon a revenue-sharing basis in 1960, the stations were bailing out of this relationship in 1963. The Philadelphia way Were goin drop in (Drop!) Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. A Philadelphia, PA 19133, BONUS PAGE 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. I never had a crush on her. His name is, Champion Polar Images Namron O My-Joy, as recorded with the AKC. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. "I loved those kids," she says now, living with her husband on the Northwest Side of Chicago. But he feared that if the shows secret ever came out, Middle America would change the channel. 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.. American Bandstand aired five days a week in live national broadcast until 1963, when the show moved west to Los Angeles and began a 24-year run as a taped weekly program with Dick Clark as host . The Hand Jive. . It was horrible.. Ray first attended Bandstand in the summer of 1956. I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. I imitated all the dance steps, sometimes with the refrigerator door as a partner. Remember hurrying from school in the 50's and turning on that old black and white tv at 4'oclock to watch all those kids dance on "American Bandstand" live from Philadelphia, The show first began as a local program in the cramped quarters of Studio B at WFIL Tv channel 6 at 46th and Market streets in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. But it was not easy on the mean streets of Philadelphia to be a Bandstand regular suspected of being gay. Special Features: He died on 5 August 2021 at his home in Sydney. [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. She and her husband, Richard Spada, lived in Philadelphia and Lansdowne before moving to Newtown Square. 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. These Regulars went on to receive mail, have fan clubs, feature magazine articles and dancer contests just like the previous groups. American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. 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. . From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. They joined Arlenes and Kennys fan clubs. Dick Clark was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH, in 1993 as a non-performer. Numerous black and white performers who appeared on American Bandstand during its seven-year heyday in West Philadelphia are also memorialized in this building. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. But I didnt have any crushes on any of the straight girls. Sadly we also lost: Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. Fabian and Bobby Rydell Hang With American Bandstand Regulars By Rick SiegelFabian, the teenagers heart throb from the 50's, hob knobs along with the America. So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. Sullivan was most frequently paired with a boy named Kenny Rossi, who was straight, but still subject to attacks for appearing on the show: 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. The Philadelphia high school Regulars who danced on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in the late 1950s and early 1960s became national celebrities and America's first reality stars.