Dick Clark won't be down for breakfast on New Year's

[Ponch ®]

BREAKING NEWS!



Dick Clark, entertainment icon nicknamed 'America's Oldest Teenager,' dies at 82

ABC NewsABC News – 10 mins ago



Dick Clark, the music industry maverick, longtime TV host and powerhouse producer who changed the way we listened to pop music with American Bandstand, and whose trademark Rockin' Eve became a fixture of New Year's celebrations, died today at the age of 82, ABC News has learned.

Clark, who suffered a serious stroke in 2004 but returned to the airwaves, reportedly died from a heart attack.

Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Nov. 30, 1929, Richard Wagstaff Clark began his lifelong career in show business began before he was even out of high school. He started working in the mailroom of WRUN, a radio station in upstate New York run by his father and uncle. It wasn't long before the teenager was on the air, filling in for the weatherman and the announcer.

Clark pursued his passion at Syracuse University, working as a disc jockey at the student-run radio station while studying for his degree in business. After graduating in 1951, Clark went back to his family's radio station, but within a year, a bigger city and bigger shows were calling.

Clark landed a gig as a DJ at WFIL in Philadelphia in 1952, spinning records for a show he called Dick Clark's Caravan of Music. There he broke into the big time, hosting Bandstand, an afternoon dance show for teenagers.

Within five years, the whole country was watching. ABC took the show national, and American Bandstand was born.

Blazing a New Trail in Pop Music

American Bandstand's formula was simple. Clean-cut boys and girls danced to the hottest hits and the newest singles. In between, Clark chatted with the teens, who helped "rate-a-record," turning songs into sensations. Everyone showed up on American Bandstand: from Elvis Presley to Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry to Chubby Checker.

When Dick Clark moved to Hollywood in 1963, American Bandstand moved with him. He started Dick Clark Productions, and began cranking out one hit show after another; his name became synonymous with everything from the $25,000 Pyramid to TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes to the American Music Awards. In 1972, Dick Clark became synonymous with one of the biggest nights of the year.

New Year's Rockin' Eve

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on ABC became a Dec. 31 tradition, with Clark hosting the festivities for more than three decades, introducing the entertainment acts and, of course, counting down to midnight as the ball dropped in New York's Times Square.

But the traditional celebration saw a temporary stop in 2004, when Clark suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and struggling to speak. Regis Philbin stepped in. But by the next New Year's Eve, Dick Clark was back, his speech still impaired. In halting words, he told the audience, "I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there."

But that didn't stop him: he returned each year, and recently he was joined by Ryan Seacrest.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications has done the math, and figures that Dick Clark Productions has turned out more than 7,500 hours of television programming, including more than 30 series and 250 specials, as well as more than 20 movies for theatre and TV.

All this earned Clark a long list of awards and accolades: Emmys, Grammys, induction in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It also made him one of the richest men in Hollywood; he also had stakes in a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, theatres and real estate.

In March of (2012/this year), he put one of his homes on the market, asking $3.5 million for a one-of-a-kind house on 22 acres in Malibu, modeled after Fred and Wilma's house on "The Flintstones."

"America's Oldest Teenager"

Clark, whose eternally youthful look earned him the nickname "America's Oldest Teenager", is survived by his three children and his third wife, Keri Wigton, married to him since 1977. He credited his appearance to good genes, once saying "if you want to stay young looking, pick your parents very carefully."

Now, America's Oldest Teenager is gone, leaving his indelible mark on generations of fans, and helping change rock 'n' roll and TV forever. His signature sign-off was always "For now, Dick Clark... so long," said with a salute. Today, generations of Americans are saluting back.


http://news.yahoo.com/dick-clark--entertainment-icon-nicknamed--america-s-oldest-teenager---dies-at-82-20120418.html

[BB1]

There, i said it.

Pass away of a heart attack at age 82.

RIP Dick 

[BB1]

I said it better Ponch, even though you where 1 min faster 

[Ponch ®]

It's cool..but I hope that if these threads get merged, the title could be "Dick Clark won't be down for breakfast on New Year's"

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

It's cool..but I hope that if these threads get merged, the title could be "Dick Clark won't be down for breakfast on New Year's"

Done.....

[bill440rt]

Just heard it this afternoon on news radio.
Jeez.... 

RIP Dick.

[TheGhost]

This is proof the world is ending this year.  You can't have new years without Dick Clark.

[TruckDriver]

RIP Dick   You will always be remembered

[Budnicks]

I grew up watching Dick Clark & American Band Stand, he will be greatly missed... R.I.P. Dick

[69rtse4spd]

R.I.P.

[twodko]

This is proof the world is ending this year.  You can't have new years without Dick Clark.

Yeah, ya see! It's gonna be worse than y2k!

[nh_mopar_fan]

It happens in threes and I won't start another topic but....

Levon Helm has danced his Last Waltz.

RIP Levon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOi0tC00Luc

[charge69]

R.I.P. to both of these fine men.  My sincere condolences to both families at this sad time.

[nvrbdn]

very sad.

[TUFCAT]

Unfortunately, Ryan Seacrest is the new Dick Clark.

[chargermike]

you made rock n roll a household name. you made music about music not color. you made many kids want to dance. you were a true american role model....RIP. DICK CLARK. music will never be the same. thank you.

[BrianShaughnessy]

I heard Levon's passing on the way home yesterday.      I had to privilege of going to a ramble last fall.   Very special time and something that I actually accomplished on my own bucket list.    

    If there's a wake in Woodstock I might try to get to it.   People tell me that Rick Danko's wake was very crowded with long lines of people coming to pay their respects.   Levon is very much loved in this area so I'd imagine it'll be a big turnout if open to the public.


  Meanwhile,   I think Dick Clark faked it.  Did you see the debut of Hologram Tupac???    Hologram '72 Dick Clark will be back hosting NYRE in place of Ryan Seacrest.  You heard it here first.  

[moparstuart]

It happens in threes and I won't start another topic but....

Levon Helm has danced his Last Waltz.

RIP Levon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOi0tC00Luc

I absolutely loved him , great music  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[68 Bullitt Charger]

RIP Mr. Clark!