Dick Clark

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Dick Clark at the 1990 Grammy Awards

Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark (born November 30, 1929 in Mount Vernon , New York , † April 18, 2012 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American presenter , who was best known for the television show American Bandstand . He was also an influential figure on the rock and roll scene in the late 1950s.

Career

Clark grew up in his native Mount Vernon. As a teenager he worked as a news anchor for a radio station. He later went to university, then took jobs again at various radio stations and eventually became a newscaster and host of a country music program for a television station in Utica . In 1952 he took a job at WFIL in Philadelphia , which operated both radio and television.

At first he only worked as a DJ for the radio station, but then replaced Bob Host in 1956 as the presenter for an afternoon dance program called Bandstand . In 1957, ABC changed the show name to American Bandstand and ran the program across the United States from then on . In 1959, Clark went to court on charges of bribing DJs . But he was acquitted.

American Bandstand ran every weekday until 1963 , then only on Saturdays. In 1964 the show moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles . From 1972 he hosted the annual New Year's Eve show Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin 'Eve , followed by The $ 100,000 Pyramid in 1973 . The following year, Clark founded the American Music Awards as an alternative to what he thought was the old-fashioned Grammy . In 1987, ABC shortened American Bandstand from 60 to 30 minutes, after which Clark stopped hosting the show a year and a half later. In 1989 it was finally removed from the program entirely.

Today his theater in Branson has a number of former artists performing, including Bobby Rydell , Fabian , Frankie Avalon , Bobby Vee , The Chiffons , Brian Hyland and Chris Montez .

literature

  • Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 124f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4

Web links

Commons : Dick Clark  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dick Clark, entertainment icon, dies at 82
personal data
SURNAME Clark, Dick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clark, Richard Wagstaff (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Mount Vernon (New York) , USA
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 2012
Place of death Santa Monica , California