A lot of good time, super songs and singers. Bandstand Dairies has made my golden years even better to remember the SOLID GOLD DAYS. This is a love story 55 years in the making, and you can thank the teen dance program American Bandstand for it. But just like a lot of today's showmances are concocted, many of the Bandstand boppers were harboring a big secret: They . Then it was hosted by Bob Horn and was called Bob Horn's Bandstand.On July 9 of 1956 the show got a new host, a clean-cut 26 year old named Dick Clark. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began a daily two hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. She said to go to Hawaii. Kenny went on tour and was away a lot. 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. He was an ace professional with a kind and sincere manner. The afternoon soon turned into the cocktail-hour, so they went out for drinks. In August 1957, American Bandstand, a new television show broadcast out of Philadelphia, PA, featured local teenagers dancing to the new rock 'n roll music. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Well, it's our last show here on Bandstand and I really want to thank the viewers who have kept American Bandstand on the air all these years. Created by black deejay Don Cornelius as a black dance show, Soul Train started in Chicago in 1970 before being picked up by stations across the country the following year. He found her selling real estate in Dolan Springs, Arizona, population 1,989. Then Dick Clark died in 2012. The afternoon soon turned into the cocktail-hour, so they went out for drinks. Justine was the one who caught my eye, he said. Kenny and Arlene met up again in the late 70s and to this day remain close friends. Michael Jackson, a frequent Bandstand guest, performed In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood. Today. They split their time between Dolan Springs and Venice. Karen Hardie. Who are some famous people from American Bandstand? If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. The series also reached into its vaults for a highly rated twentieth-anniversary late night special. 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. Other pairs were regular dance partners, but didnt become romantically involved. Kenny & Arlene were: The Couple of American Bandstand!!!! Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he . I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. Although the Regulars didnt perform in the South, Sullivans memory of a personal visit to Fort Worth, Texas, stuck with her: My friend Barbara [a fellow Regular] and I were visiting Barbaras friend there. Kenny was approached by a record company they wanted him to record and released Problem Child, his first of many to follow. 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. The group is notable for the hit songs 'Come Go with Me' and 'Whispering Bells', and for having been a successful. They split their time between Dolan Springs and Venice. American Bandstand was where lip-synching became an artform. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. To this day, oh so many years have passed, and yet I still feel the magic of Arlene and Kenny!!! 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. This version was canceled after 26 weeks, and its final show (with The Cover Girls performing "My Heart Skips a Beat" and "We Can't Go Wrong") aired on October 7, 1989,[37] thus ending the show's 37-year run.[38][39]. Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? 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 . 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. Movies Showing. Dick Clark, the Rock & Roll Icon and. We'll see you the next time on American Bandstand. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online. They went back to her office to look at old photos on the computer. Come and join us two weeks from today for an hour version of American Bandstand on Saturday, September 19. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ``You knew when you were on `American Bandstand something good was going to happen, Rydell said. But he feared that if the shows secret ever came out, Middle America would change the channel. 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. Who was justine's dance partner on american bandstand? Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. She saw the hang up and returned the call, thinking it might be an interested buyer. Arlene asked him to dance and thus Arlene and Kenny happened. This development created a sometimes heated rivalry between Dick Clark and Buddy Deane, when performers who appeared first on Deane's program were refused booking on American Bandstand. ``While I was caught up in the magic of it, it was fantastic, said Justine, who at 12 1/2 used her older sisters birth certificate to get onto the show. Justine was the one who caught my eye, he said. They were some of the most famous kids in America, dancing every day on "American Bandstand." "We were like miniature rock 'n' roll stars. He liked the "kids" and enjoyed giving someone their start in the music business. They won the first jitterbug contest when the show went . 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. unsold game show pilots). These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. 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. Dick Clark gave her a committee card, which all Regulars had to have to get into the building. The name most associated with American Bandstand is that of Dick Clark, but when it premiered locally in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952 (as "Bandtstand") the host was Bob Horn. Jim didnt know that Justine lied about her age when introduced for the spotlight dances. Clark was "determined" to keep the homosexuality of popular "Bandstand" regulars a secret, Smith said. Fifty years later, Bandstand fan Sharon Sultan Cutler wondered what had become of the "Regulars," the name given to the teens that showed up daily to dance. Your email address will not be published. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. He debuted in Studio 3B at WFIL-TV, near the El train stop in West Philadelphia, in 1956 when he was a 13-year-old junior high school student. Bob retired after being in the shoe business and the chemical business, where he often worked 18 hour days. Taking center stage each week was superstar Bandstand couple Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton, two of the show's most popular dancers. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . American Bandstand Dancers Justine Carrelli Miller and Bob Clayton Justine was 12. Bob had his last get-together with Justine at a Christmas party in his Delaware home in 2013. But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. She is a Marco Polo member of the Society of American Travel Writers, a past president of Virginia Professional Communicators and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. Carmen Jimenez, a regular from 1957 to 1961 who now works as a social worker, remembered the strange sensation of having fans, including one who started sobbing at the sight of the dancers in a hamburger joint. The show was American Bandstand, and Dick Clarks clean-cut style meant the program had parents stamp of approval. 1960s. The program was broadcast live, weekday afternoons and, by 1959, the show had a national audience of 20 million. They went back to her office to look at old photos on the computer. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and British series Top of the Pops. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. He still treats me like Im the queen of the hop, Justine said. From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". This is a love story 55 years in the making, and you can thank the teen dance program American Bandstand for it. Justine Carrelli. from CBS in November 1957, they renamed the program as Who Do You Trust? 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. They had four top 10 pop hits and "Don't Worry, Baby" was the B-side to their first #1 "I Get Around." I started going out to straight clubs.. [42] American Bandstand was a daily ritual for many teenagers throughout the nation. From 1974 to 1977, there was a newer, orchestral disco version of "Bandstand Boogie", arranged and performed by Joe Porter, played during the opening and closing credits. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. She never saw much of Clark outside of the studio. I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight. While Bandstand fans across the country imagined a true romantic relationship between Sullivan, who secretly liked girls, and her on-screen companion, Rossi, who was straight, she says it was little more than made-for-TV puppy love. We were the first reality show, she adds. After his first marriage ended, Kenny eventually remarried and had a son, Jonathan. We've received your submission. He died Jan. 19, 2009, at age 64. He was married to Tahitian dancer Mireille of the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Thank you. It was horrible., Smith says he was lucky to have escaped a beating. To see more, visit WGCU. Sullivan, who came out decades ago, spoke of one particular young man, now deceased, who was a victim of Clark's campaign. Notes: Jul 1960: Name listed as PATRICIA ANN MOLITTIERI; Oct. Rock'n'Roll, Rockabilly, Dance-Twist, Limited edition DIGI pack DIGIBOOK CD kiadvny, 2023. CD1<br><br>01 - Snap! American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. This show was on for 32 . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. That was funny, Jim said, because in April its my brother-in-law and sisters anniversary and we are planning to go to Hawaii. Tom Ridge and Mayor Edward G. Rendell helped unveil a state historical marker outside the studio after dancing ``The Twist with Checker. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. . 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. . Name: Patricia Ann Molittieri [Patricia A Ranieri] [Patricia Ranieri] SSN: 571600669 Gender: Female Race: White Birth Date: 22 Jan 1943 Birth Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [Darby, Pennsylvania] Death Date: Jul 1979 Type of Claim: Original SSN. So I went on the computer and Googled Justine Carrelli.. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company. The Twist the first dance to come out where people danced separately and the Monkey and Jerk came out after Id left.. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. When cute young teenagers Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi slow danced together on American Bandstand back in the late 50s and early 60s, kids across the country swooned. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. In 2004, Dick Clark, with the help of Ryan Seacrest, announced plans to revive the show in time for the 2005 season; although this did not occur (due in part to Clark suffering a severe stroke in late 2004), one segment of the revived Bandstanda national dance contesteventually became the series So You Think You Can Dance. Five-foot-two, brown-eyed, brown-haired Arlene and handsome Kenny, a year younger, were among the TV music shows elite, its stars, the vaunted regulars along with another couple often on camera pert, blond Justine Carrelli and suave Bob Clayton. Connie Francis. Ray Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. The lunch was a success. Some regulars had a hard time adjusting after leaving the show. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. Particularly during the show's prime Philadelphia years (1952-63), Philadelphia youth culture became American culture through American Bandstand. Labeled by Justine: "Dick and Kari at my home in Las Vegas". LOVED JUSTINE AND BOB AND ARLENE AND KENNY!!!! 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. Do you need underlay for laminate flooring on concrete? 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 . Watch. Mam. "With Bandstand, WFIL resolved this tension by drawing on Philadelphia's interracial music scene to create an entertaining and profitable television show, while refusing to allow the city's black teenagers into the studio audience for fear of alienating viewers and advertisers. 1 Who were the most popular dancers on American Bandstand? The shows were usually produced in either Stage 54 or Stage 55 at ABC Television Center. 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. If this is what 50 is like, who cares?, Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he stated that one had, Smith recalled. They werent playing basketball. Arlene with singer Frankie Avalon at an American Bandstand event. And "American Dreams" (Sundays, 8 p.m., Channel 2) definitely isn't it, despite being in the most prime . Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. Remember the audience's common response "I Like the beat". [8] In the fall of 1961, ABC truncated American Bandstand's airtime from 90 to 60 minutes (4:005:00pm ET), then even further as a daily half-hour (4:004:30pm ET) program in September 1962; beginning in early 1963, all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. And while Smith knew he was gay, he was shocked to learn that most of the guys on Bandstand, so many of them, were gay, he told The Post. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? Famous Americans. Oldies. 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. Justine turns 80 next year and Jim 79. American Bandstand didn't just introduce the country to the latest rock-and-roll musicians, it had the nation on its feet with the latest dance crazes, such as the Pony, the Jitterbug, and the . Fifty years later, Bandstand fan Sharon Sultan Cutler wondered what had become of the Regulars, the name given to the teens that showed up daily to dance. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. Dick Clark, wherever you are, we miss you. 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. American Bandstand/Music composed by. Arlene and Kenny first danced to "Why Don't You Understand" by George Hamilton IV. In 1972, after a divorced Carole appeared on a reunion show, Spada sent a letter to her and they married later that year. 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. You are bidding on a Lot of 8 American Bandstand Trading Cards 283952355685 We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Im sorry young lady, you dont look 14 to me, was his answer. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, died Sunday, Dec. 8, of congestive heart failure at a Springfield hospital. Who was the first black dancer on American Bandstand? The Saturday show would run until 1960. I started going out to straight clubs.. The whole country watched those lively teens tear . Personal life. By 1973, the show drew many of the top R&B performers and competed with American Bandstand for viewers on Saturday afternoons. [Editor's note: Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton were misidentified in a photo that ran in the May 13 issue of PARADE. What a Beautiful love story..Kenny and Arlene were my favorite couple on Bandstand.. Nov 17, 2013 - A formal Justine & Bob American bandstand girl. American Bandstand, abbreviated AB, is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions that aired regularly from 1952 to 1989,[1] and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. Hints. He would dance on the show until early 1960. 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 sometimes wondered what happened to Justine, especially around New Years Eve when he would watch Dick Clark host his special. When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. "Dangerous". They accepted me. Dick Clark as host was that perennial television star who seemed to have found the fountain of youth and just never seemed to age. 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). Justine went home humiliated, but her mother suggested she take her older sisters birth certificate to the show the next day. Absolutely! Mike Curb Like nostalgia? He had no idea if she was married. He still treats me like Im the queen of the hop, Justine said. But I would still be his girl.. It became a staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. Explore. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. Horn, however, was disenchanted with the program, and wanted to change the show to a dance program with teenagers dancing along on camera as records played, based on an idea that came from a radio show on WPEN, The 950 Club, hosted by Joe Grady and Ed Hurst. On May 3, 2002, Dick Clark hosted a one-off special 50th anniversary edition on ABC. FOR SALE! Justines friends, who were the same age, got into the show one day, but she was turned away. If she was on I watched it, if not I would do something else.. She thought he was a great singer. On their drive to lunch, Jim asked what was on her bucket list. Sex sells books and ranks right up there as one of the very best publicity hooks, even if you haven't written erotica or a romance novel.omance novel. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. The short Snader and Official music films continued in the short term to fill gaps when dancers were changed during the showa necessity, because the studio could not fit more than 200 teenagers. The followed the trend of solo ("open") dancing started by Chubby Checker and "The Twist.". share their memories of the late Dick Clark and more. Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song. I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. God bless friendships !!! I was smitten by her. A 1958 graduate of P. S. DuPont High School, Bob was. Jim Miller was in junior high, living on Long Island, New York, when Bandstand became a national hit. 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. It preceded The Guy Mitchell Show. He co-owned a gift boutique with his second wife, Lutz is. 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. 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. I still really didnt know who I was. Here is a short recap of her recollections. In the 1970s, American Bandstand exploited a new roll call of teen idols, including Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, and John Travolta. Don Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, along with Jesse Jackson, entered into a dispute with Clark over this upstart program, and it was canceled within a few weeks. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Published Dec 11, 2013. Arlene Sullivan and Bunny Gibson went on to write memoirs about their time spent on Bandstand and growing up as members of the Baby Boom generation. ", "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. 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. Dick Clark died on April 18, 2012, at the age of 82. If she was on I watched it, if not I would do something else.. See production, box office & company info, Bandstand Boogie (The Theme of 'American Bandstand'), Nostalgic? Required fields are marked *, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years 1956 - 1963. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. "Bandstand's Backyard". Unfortunately, that was the beginning of their separation. When WFIL-TV moved to a new facility on City Line Avenue (one that did not have a studio that could accommodate the show), ABC moved production of Bandstand to the ABC Television Center (stage 5) in Los Angeles (now known as The Prospect Studios) on February 8, 1964, which coincidentally was the day before the Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. One market not telecasting Bandstand was Baltimore, Maryland, as local affiliate WAAM (now WJZ-TV) elected to produce a local dance show in the same afternoon time slot. WFIL reverted to the TK-10s two weeks later when ABC refused to carry the color signal and management realized that the show lost perspective without the extra cameras. With American Bandstand being originally located in Philadelphia, segregation easily affected the concentrated area.