Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. [42], Bandstand "regulars" from the Philadelphia years, Move from ABC to syndication and the USA Network, AMERICAN BANDSTAND (1987 Closing Credits - ABC Finale), Laura Branigan - Shattered Glass & Interview - AB (1987). American BandstandAmerican Bandstand became a powerful symbol of American teenage culture with its nearly four-decade look at the ever-changing tastes of the country's youth. Here is a short recap of her recollections. She never saw much of Clark outside of the studio. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? Self - Singer 1 episode, 1962 The Boopers . Justine was 12. I'm David Hirsch and, on behalf of American Bandstand, I bid you, for the last time, goodbye. Themselves - Dancers 1 episode, 1962 Tony Brady . For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. We didnt say anything about meeting again, Justine said. On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a drunk-driving arrest, as WFIL and dual owner Walter Annenberg's The Philadelphia Inquirer were then In addition, the show has performances by popular musicians and audience Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. 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. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". Of all the regulars, Carole Scaldeferri Spada may have realized the longest lasting effect. Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi danced together n American Bandstand for a little more than a year. It was shot live from Studio B at Forty-Sixth and and Market Streets, where the two . Jim didnt know that Justine lied about her age when introduced for the spotlight dances. Your email address will not be published. A Midlothian-based freelance writer, Martha Steger has received national awards for her journalism, essays, short fiction and poetry. From September 13, 1986, to September 5, 1987, Manilow's version was replaced at the close of the show by a new closing theme arranged by David Russo, who also performed an updated instrumental arrangement of "Bandstand Boogie" when Bandstand went into syndication. Instead of shortening or moving Bandstand, ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3pm, cut away to Who Do You Trust? In the first year after Dick Clark took over as host in the summer of 1956, Bandstand remained a popular local hit, but it took Clarks ambition to help it break out. On their drive to lunch, Jim asked what was on her bucket list. Justine was 12. Rauw Alejandro Tattoo (Video Oficial) Suscrbete al canal: https://goo.gl/Cqxmma Sigue a Rauw: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rauwalejandro Facebook: https . Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 19741978 set design. The original "Bandstand," as it was called in 1952, was first hosted by deejay Bob Horn, who later was fired due to a drunk-driving conviction.. . Jim explained he had been a fan and wanted to have lunch with her on his way to California. She told me she got so many letters from fans who thought I looked like her and [with our dark hair], we did look alike. 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. And now we have computers. Karen Hardie. 2 comments But he arrived Tuesday, beaming in a pink Dick Clark novelty tie. Soul Unlimited was not well-received among its target audience of African-Americans, ostensibly due to its being created by a white man (Clark), and because of its alleged usage of deliberately racial overtones despite this fact. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. by Adam Salandra 3/14/2017. Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. At just 13 and 16, respectively, the twosome became regulars on the Dick Clark-hosted show, dancing as a couple for almost three years before they parted ways. Arlene heard that Kenny got married and had a daughter named Nicki. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. He thought she was at least a couple of years older. That was the start of our romance, Jim said. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Clark regularly asked teenagers their opinions of the songs being played, through the "Rate-a-Record" segment. . At the end of each school day, they trooped to the former WFIL-TV studio in West Philadelphia, while young viewers across the nation tuned their sets to watch them. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. This prompted him to attempt to appear on the show; soon thereafter Justine and Bob became arguably the most popular couple on the American Bandstand. The previous theme was retained as bumper music. JUST TO WATCH AMERICAN BANDSTAND. Dick Clark did feature black recording artists as guests on American Bandstand - and he did so from his earliest days as host. Mam. Kenny went on tour and was away a lot. 3. But Molittieri eventually returned to her Philadelphia roots, where she married and had two daughters before dying at age 32 of either a heart attack or a stroke. But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. ", "Forty years after 'Bandstand' debut, Clark and dancers celebrate", "ORIGINAL DANCERS WILL GRANDSTAND AT 'BANDSTAND' REUNION", "American Bandstand, Season 30, Episode 38: Laura Brannigan (Final ABC show)", "Dick Clark's On a Roll: He Tunes In to TV Trends", "Dick Clark celebrates American Bandstand's 35th", "RETRO: Fairbanks, Alaska (October 24, 1987)", "Retro: Northern Wisconsin, Sat. Connie Francis. Justine said yes. He sometimes wondered what happened to Justine, especially around New Years Eve when he would watch Dick Clark host his special. This incarnation was an early version of the music video shows that became popular in the 1980s, featuring films that were the ancestors of music videos. Hosted by Bob Horn as a television adjunct to his radio show of the same name on WFIL radio, Bandstand featured short musical films produced by Snader Telescriptions and Official Films, with occasional studio guests. Throughout the rest of the 1950s, American Bandstand featured a number of famous acts including the debut of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (November 22, 1957), Jerry Lee Lewis (March 18, 1958), and Dion and the Belmonts (August 7, 1958). 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. In September 1964, Bandstand began using a new logo based on the ABC circle logo, reading "ab" in the same typeface followed by a number representing the year the show aired. Pinterest. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. And now we have computers. 1960s. Keep public media strong anddonatenow. Clark produced it briefly in syndication and on cable. They got married in 2014, something both said they would never do again. Some solo dances had animal names, for example, "The Pony" and "The Monkey"; others were named for . Tuesday, Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton took another spin in the same studio, where they joined more than two dozen other middle-aged teen dancers from ``American Bandstand. Host Dick Clark and former teen idols such as Chubby Checker and Connie Francis also made it to the 40th anniversary celebration. 6 Who are some famous people from American Bandstand? The rule was you had to be 14 to get on the show. American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince, Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher, Aerosmith, and John Lydon's PiLall of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. Philadelphia In the late 1950s and early '60s, everyone knew Bob and Justine, Kenny and Arlene, and Ed and Bunny. He was married to Tahitian dancer Mireille of the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. What a Beautiful love story..Kenny and Arlene were my favorite couple on Bandstand.. 7 Who are the couples on Bandstand in real life? Justine started dancing on Bandstand in 1956, when she was still in junior high school. . Bandstand originally used "High Society" by Artie Shaw as its theme song, but by the time the show went national, it had been replaced by various arrangements of Charles Albertine's "Bandstand Boogie", including Les Elgart's big-band recording remembered by viewers of the daily version. Then Dick Clark died in 2012. She was in that category.. In 1972, after a divorced Carole appeared on a reunion show, Spada sent a letter to her and they married later that year. They had four top 10 pop hits and "Don't Worry, Baby" was the B-side to their first #1 "I Get Around." The show, which moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and was cut to one day a week in the mid-60s, stayed on ABC until 1987. Arlene learned that Kenny had a particular fondness for parties as he liked the attention when he was dancing. It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952, in "Studio 'B'", which was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building in West Philadelphia.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^ , and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. 5 Who wrote the theme song to American Bandstand? That really annoyed me because quite a few of the Philadelphia dancers on Bandstand died of AIDS, Smith said. But they were just normal kids, many of whom, in the early days, made their way daily from their respective high schools in Philadelphia to the televised dance party, The American Bandstand dancers ended up living all across the United States and followed a variety of careers. Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes;[13] at Clark's request, the 2,751st and final ABC installment[14] (with Laura Branigan[15] performing "Shattered Glass"[16][17]) aired on September 5, 1987. Bandstand & Race. Dick Clark as host was that perennial television star who seemed to have found the fountain of youth and just never seemed to age. Your email address will not be published. They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. I tried my best to fill your shoes and I hope I have lived up to what you were expecting of me. The show had just "gone national" on the ABC television network on August 5th. Jerry Oppenheimer is a best-selling author. She blurted out count me in., So, I guess that was the part when I knew that it wasnt going to be a one-time meeting., She visited Jim in Venice that Thanksgiving. 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. Like nostalgia? This 45 rpm of "Drive-In Movie" by Bob and Justine on Fransil records is autographed by Justine in red ink, "To Howard Best Wishes Justine Carelli" and Bob has written in blue ink, "To Howard . Justines friends, who were the same age, got into the show one day, but she was turned away. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Famous Americans. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. I never had a crush on her. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical actover the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to RunD.M.C.usually appeared in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. He introduced her to his sister and neighbors, who remembered her from Bandstand.. The lunch was a success. Jim, on his ride back to his hotel room, decided he wanted to see her again, so he phoned her, and they arranged to have lunch the next day. When we think back on #AmericanBandstand, the #DickClark years usually to mind. Dick Clark Philadelphia. Particularly during the show's prime Philadelphia years (1952-63), Philadelphia youth culture became American culture through American Bandstand. ``We didnt know what impact this would have on people, said Carmen, 52, who arrived with a trademark blonde streak in her hair. Justine turns 80 next year and Jim 79. The county's total year-end fund balance at the end of the . On their drive to lunch, Jim asked what was on her bucket list. So I went on the computer and Googled Justine Carrelli.. Arelene, whose mother was a devoted fan, claims she danced on the show "to get my mother's attention." Within three months, Arlene was a regular appearing five days a . . The "ab" logo was replaced with the iconic stylized "AB" logo (shown at the top of this page) used for the remainder of the show's run. My family, friends and co-workers all remember Saturday's weekly TV series American Bandstand back in the 1960's and 1970's when it was THE ONLY music related theme show that could compete each week with the popularity of the following evenings Sunday night TV's Ed Sullivan show. It's now a Guinness World Record, Collier County issues burn ban; Fire fought on Wilson Boulevard. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. LOT OF 8 American Bandstand Trading Cards 1993 - $5.43. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. We've received your submission. Upset, but knowing what he wanted to do, Kenny told Arlene he would miss me and the show. David Raymond Frees, born (June 14, 1947) in (Reading, PA) and also known as "Pop Frosty" is a rock music and contemporary dance lover, best known for his longest-running American Bandstand Fan Club founded in November, 1960 and recognized by Dick Clark as. He liked the "kids" and enjoyed giving someone their start in the music business. She spent almost an hour, five days a week, on the fifteen-mile bus ride from her school to the WFIL studios just to dance. 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. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. One night at a party I met a girl who was one of the stars on American Bandstand I was blown away.. Justine got in, and along with her dance partner and soon-to-be-boyfriend, Bob Clayton, became one of the show's most popular couples. Kenny & Arlene were: The Couple of American Bandstand!!!! Bob retired after being in the shoe business and the chemical business, where he often worked 18 hour days. It became a staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. share their memories of the late Dick Clark and more. The guy who had been in charge of the show before he took over was the subject of a scandal a DUI, I think so Clark wanted to be the clean-cut guy, and he was. They dont look at middle school kids or junior high kids, he said. We didnt say anything about meeting again, Justine said. Taking center stage each week was superstar Bandstand couple Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton, two of the show's most popular dancers. We'll see you the next time on American Bandstand. He would dance on the show until early 1960. INSIDE EDITION caught up with a man and woman who met on Dick Clark's show American Bandstand 50 years ago, and have remained friends ever since. 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. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the new technology. Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he stated that one had, Smith recalled. Beach Boys on American Bandstand. How old is Arlene Sullivan from American Bandstand? Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he . Cookie Policy The whole thing was like a grand party, she said. Kenny Rossi became a pop star in his own right, with hits such as But I Do and Open Your Heart. Pat Molittieri also had a few hit singles before pursuing acting; she died in 1975. Other performers including Brandy, members of KISS, Dennis Quaid and his band The Sharks, Cher, and Stevie Wonder also performed to remember the iconic program.[41]. 1 Who were the most popular dancers on American Bandstand? passed away at home on November 6, 2016. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Beach Boys were already the kings of surf pop by their first appearance on American Bandstand in 1964. At the height of their popularity, they received as many as 500 letters a day. Sullivan was almost 14, the required age for the show, when she became a Regular. 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. We regret any confusion this caused.] Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC president Thomas W. Moore, and after some negotiations the show was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957. ``It was like having a New Years party every day, and when it was over I missed it _ the camaraderie, the dancing _ there was a void.. The only singer to ever co-host the show with Dick Clark was Donna Summer, who joined him to present a special episode dedicated to the release of the Casablanca film Thank God It's Friday on May 27, 1978. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. 4 How old is Arlene Sullivan from American Bandstand? . She saw the hang up and returned the call, thinking it might be an interested buyer. Explore. And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. This is a love story 55 years in the making, and you can thank the teen dance program American Bandstand for it. Just clear tips and lifehacks for every day. PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Justine and Bob were a popular teen couple from Philadelphia who flickered on black-and-white TV screens in the late 50s, wearing the latest clothes, doing the latest dance steps, listening to the latest rock `n roll. As previously mentioned, during the 1978 season of Bandstand, Donna Summer became the only music artist in Bandstand's history to co-host the program. The afternoon soon turned into the cocktail-hour, so they went out for drinks. The big teenybopper magazines of the era Sixteen and Teen plastered Bandstand dancers on their covers and wrote glowing, gossipy stories about their lives in Philadelphia, where Dick Clark produced the show. Dick Clark was a wonderful man who enjoyed his work. While the American series has aired sixteen seasons, its format was also replicated worldwide, from Norway (Dansefeber) to Australia (So You Think You Can Dance Australia). American Bandstand Dancers Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton. They wrote thousands of They split their time between Dolan Springs and Venice. Arlene and Kenny first danced to "Why Don't You Understand" by George Hamilton IV. On Bandstand, she became lifelong friends with one of the celebrity guests, straight Annette Funicello, of Mickey Mouse Club and Beach Party fame. That was the start of our romance, Jim said. As WFIL grew financially and the account became less important, Stewart wasn't needed and was eventually dropped from the program. Hey, our thanks to Laura Branigan for joining us here on American Bandstand today. Jim joined the military, went through several jobs after getting out, got married, had three kids, became a widower at a young age, spent 23 years working in San Diego and moved to Venice, Florida to retire. I had met other fans along the way, she said, but not that Id had lunch with them.. A correct photo of Carrelli and Clayton is featured at left. 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 shows were usually produced in either Stage 54 or Stage 55 at ABC Television Center. One couple on the show was a couple in real life; Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton dated for three years. They won the first jitterbug contest when the show went nationwide in 1957. Rock'n'Roll, Rockabilly, Dance-Twist, Limited edition DIGI pack DIGIBOOK CD kiadvny, 2023. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online. He thought she was at least a couple of years older. Here is a short recap of her recollections. I started going out to straight clubs.. Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song.