Celebrity News: Legendary TV Host Dick Clark Dies at 82

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LOS ANGELES – Dick Clark, the versatile television personality who built his beginnings as host of the long-running “American Bandstand” into a virtual media empire, has died of a heart attack this morning. He was 82 years old. His youthful looks and association with Bandstand got him the nickname, “America’s Oldest Teenager.”

Born Richard Wagstaff Clark in Mount Vernon, New York, he began his broadcasting career right after high school at WRUN-AM in Rome, New York, which was owned by his uncle. He began by announcing weather reports and station breaks, and also worked at a country station while attending Syracuse University. After graduation, he did some bit TV and radio jobs in New York, before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a on-air opportunity.

It was in Philadelphia that Dick Clark found his calling. While working as a disk jockey at radio station WFIL, he occasionally made substitute appearances on their TV affiliate, on Bob Horn’s “Bandstand.” He took over as permanent host in 1956, and the next year ABC-TV took the show national and renamed it “American Bandstand.” On the first show on August 5th, 1957, Clark interviewed Elvis Presley.

“American Bandstand” was a Monday through Friday show until 1963, and then ran on Saturdays until 1987. Musical acts from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC graced the AB stage, oftentimes lip-syncing to their hits while a rotating cast of teenage dancers grooved along. The show lasted two more years in syndication after the ABC run.

Clark also became synonymous with New Year’s Eve for the first time in 1972, when he hosted “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” He replaced a more traditional Guy Lombardo-type celebration with live and taped rock acts throughout the country, and led the countdown to the new year from coast to coast. This tradition has stayed true to the present except for two times, once interrupted only by a special TV celebration in 2000, and when Clark was recovering from a stroke in 2004. He made his last appearance on the show four months ago, counting down 2011 to 2012.

Besides his Bandstand and New Year’s Eve duties, Clark also hosted the popular “Pyramid” game show (“$10,000 Pyramid” and up) and “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes” with Ed McMahon. He also maintained a presence on radio, with syndicated countdown shows and “Dick Clark’s Rock, Roll & Remember.” As a media mogul, his Dick Clark Productions also created “The American Music Awards,” the Bloopers shows and a television series “American Dreams” (2002) about a 1960s Philadelphia family whose daughter dances on “American Bandstand.” He also owned radio stations, a chain restaurant (Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Grill) and a theater in Branson, Missouri.

Dick Clark suffered a stroke in 2004, which limited his TV appearances thereafter to the New Year’s Eve special and awards shows, before succumbing to a heart attack Wednesday morning. He is survived by his wife, Kari Wigton, and three children.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]