Dick Clark, TV host (‘Bandstand’) and icon of New Year’s Eve, is Dead at 82

Dick Clark, TV host (‘Bandstand’) and icon of New Year’s Eve, is Dead at 82

At the age of 82, Clark died after suffering a massive heart attack following a medical procedure on April 18, 2012.

American Bandstand aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer.

In 1972, Clark produced and hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the first of an ongoing series of specials still broadcast on New Year’s Eve.

American Bandstand first aired on television in Philadelphia. The original show did have studio audience segregation of whites and blacks. It was the first American television show to have black and white teens dancing together on television even though the rest of the country was full of segregation. Production of the show moved from Philadelphia to the ABC Television Center in Los Angeles on February 8, 1964.

Chubby Checker (Ernest Evans) in October of 1960 appeared on American Bandstand, as the first African American on a white dominated national dance show.

From 1964-1966, The Supremes’ public appearances skyrocketed with appearances on “American Bandstand,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and various movies.