``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. Connie Francis. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". From 1974 to September 6, 1986, Bandstand featured another instrumental at its mid-show break: Billy Preston's synth hit "Space Race". Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. I kissed a girl, and I liked it! Sullivan, now 74 and long out of the closet, reveals in a fascinating self-published book, Bandstand Diaries billed as The Book Youve Waited Over 50 Years to Read! Sullivans co-author, Ray Smith, recently retired after 40 years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer. In late spring of 1957, the ABC television network asked their O&O's and affiliates for programming suggestions to fill their 3:30p.m. (ET) time slot (WFIL had been pre-empting the ABC programming with Bandstand). In 1972, after a divorced Carole appeared on a reunion show, Spada sent a letter to her and they married later that year. Here is a short recap of her recollections. "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. ``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.. Watch. He was an ace professional with a kind and sincere manner. Kenny left. Two weeks later, Bandstand moved to first-run syndication. She wasnt immediately successful, but with the help of a new southwest Philly friend, she eventually got in. Movies Showing. 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 . Self - Harlem Globetrotter 1 episode, 1961 John Laws . Bandstand Diaries co-author Arlene Sullivan wrote about meeting Kenny in script. They went back to her office to look at old photos on the computer. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company. Sometimes, he would come home from school and turn on the show. Just clear tips and lifehacks for every day. I was smitten by her. 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. Featuring guest artists who lip-synced to their latest tunes, and a teenage audience whose members danced for the cameras, the show launched a conga line of dance crazes, fashion and hair trends, and sent the latest teen . Dance Art. . Who were the most popular dancers on American Bandstand? 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. From 1977 to September 6, 1986, the show opened and closed with Barry Manilow's rendition of "Bandstand Boogie",[7] which he originally recorded for his 1975 album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. At the height of their popularity, they received as many as 500 letters a day. 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. Browse 1,010 american bandstand dancers stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The county budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023, which ends on June 30, is $93,597,569 in expenditures versus revenues at $82,665,933. Elgart's version was released as a single in March 1954 (Columbia 40180) as well as Curb's theme (by "Mike Curb & The Waterfall") in October 1969 (Forward 124). [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. 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. Artists would sing naturally to the studio audience over a background of their own disc, while viewers at home would hear only the original recording. 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. Sullivan and the other dancers often congregated in Rittenhouse Square, the historic epicenter of what is known as the City of Brotherly Loves Gayborhood. There even was chatter and fear that Clark, who died at 82 in 2012, sent members of his production staff to spy on them and report back the names of the suspected gay regulars. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. 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. He introduced her to his sister and neighbors, who remembered her from Bandstand.. That was the start of our romance, Jim said. 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. 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. To this day, oh so many years have passed, and yet I still feel the magic of Arlene and Kenny!!! A correct photo of Carrelli and Clayton is featured at left. I'm David Hirsch and, on behalf of American Bandstand, I bid you, for the last time, goodbye. Televisions shows had meaning and was part of our family as well. Like nostalgia? 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, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer.It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical actover the decades . She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. Clark produced it briefly in syndication and on cable. They wrote thousands of Who was the first black dancer on American Bandstand? Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), [2] known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Jim explained he had been a fan and wanted to have lunch with her on his way to California. His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September. Justine became a singer, moved to Las Vegas, married her bandleader, had two sons, divorced 15 years later, became a real estate agent and moved to a small town in northwest Arizona. Both were ratings disasters. And the one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other.. 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. I was smitten by her. the use of any copyrighted material is used under the guidelines of "fair use" in title 17 107 of the united states code. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. 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. . Togethera certain magic radiated from them when they were dancing!!! 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. She said to go to Hawaii. The series also reached into its vaults for a highly rated twentieth-anniversary late night special. And in her early 20s, she actually tied the knot with a young man. Justine Carelli and Bob Clayton . [18][19][20] Dubbed as The New American Bandstand and distributed by LBS Communications, the series' tapings were moved from the ABC Television Center to the Hollywood studios of Los Angeles's PBS member station KCET,[21] with a new set was similar to that of Soul Train. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. To see more, visit WGCU. Connie Francis. 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 were like sisters. For a brief time in 1973, Bandstand alternated its time slot with Soul Unlimited,[10] a show featuring soul music that was hosted by Buster Jones. They were some of the most famous kids in America, dancing every day on "American Bandstand." "We were like miniature rock 'n' roll stars. The Village People performed their legendary song, "YMCA" for the audience in Pasadena, California. PublishedJanuary 1, 2023 at 10:00 AM EST. Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Jersey you learned the different styles of the same dances., The Regulars did the Pony, Jitterbug, Calypso, Cha-cha and a slow dance that she says wasnt exactly a waltz: The kids didnt stand in one spot. The other reason was that American Bandstand was pre-empted on many occasions by televised college football games (which expanded greatly in number in the wake of a court-ordered deregulation in 1984) which were becoming huge ratings successes, as well as occasional special presentations (i.e. 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. During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which their two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked the chosen members to justify their scores. That was the start of our romance, Jim said. The latest news and how to stay informed. Justines friends, who were the same age, got into the show one day, but she was turned away. Then Dick Clark died in 2012. 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. They were hurting him. When Bandstand first went national with ABC in August 1957, Lee Andrews and the Hearts appeared among the first guests performing their song, "Long Lonely Nights." In that year as well, other black artists also appeared, including Jackie Wilson . She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. The BBC's. What characteristics allow plants to survive in the desert? 7 Who are the couples on Bandstand in real life? Your email address will not be published. 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. The Top 40 hits that everyone heard were matched with fun routines performed by relatable teenagers. Justine turns 80 next year and Jim 79. Reporters and bloggers, alike, Can the Democratic Party regain strength in Florida? The first syndicated episode aired on the weekend of September 19, 1987[26] but this run was short-lived; The New American Bandstand ran until the weekend of June 4, 1988. JUST TO WATCH AMERICAN BANDSTAND. 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. Mike Curb I started going out to straight clubs.. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. 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. They won the first jitterbug contest when the show went nationwide in 1957. Watch American Bandstand 1950s: Justine Carrelli and Bob Cayton highlighted on American Bandstand. 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. I tried my best to fill your shoes and I hope I have lived up to what you were expecting of me. 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. A lot of good time, super songs and singers. He found her selling real estate in Dolan Springs, Arizona, population 1,989. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I was surprised how short she was, he said. 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. From the late 1950s and most of the 1960s, Clark's on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O'Donnell, who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $100,000 Pyramid. Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. American Bandstand was where lip-synching became an artform. we were like a little family together, and we all had something in common, and we all stuck together, and that made it easier for us.. The parents of one kid on the show found out that he was gay . They had four top 10 pop hits and "Don't Worry, Baby" was the B-side to their first #1 "I Get Around." No other dancers or couples even came close to comparing to them!!! Thanks for contacting us. Famous Americans. I got stopped at the door and said to the cop, but Lucille and Diane got in and theyre in my class, she said. I said, In that case, Im staying. I was shocked. 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. 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 . Labeled by Justine: "Dick and Kari at my home in Las Vegas". Justine was 12. He was married to Tahitian dancer Mireille of the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. He introduced her to his sister and neighbors, who remembered her from Bandstand.. Justine became a singer, moved to Las Vegas, married her bandleader, had two sons, divorced 15 years later, became a real estate agent and moved to a small town in northwest Arizona. 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. They werent playing baseball they were DANCING. 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. Keep public media strong anddonatenow. They dont look at middle school kids or junior high kids, he said. Who wrote the theme song to American Bandstand? 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. I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Clark regularly asked teenagers their opinions of the songs being played, through the "Rate-a-Record" segment. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. They enjoyed walks in the park , and going to the drive-in movies with Barbara Leveick and her boyfriend at the time. If it wasnt assaults from outside haters, some of the Bandstand kids suffered in their own homes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Ross Media Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sullivan, who came out decades ago, spoke of one particular young man, now deceased, who was a victim of Clark's campaign. He would dance on the show until early 1960. Loved the show at 15 I learned to dance also copied dress and hair style. She was in that category.. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. Jim Miller was in junior high, living on Long Island, New York, when Bandstand became a national hit. Wed stay up all night talking about boys, she said. He died Jan. 19, 2009, at age 64. They got married in 2014, something both said they would never do again. [42] American Bandstand was a daily ritual for many teenagers throughout the nation. Sullivan & Rossi forever!!! Arlene and Kenny first danced to Why Dont You Understand by George Hamilton IV. Kenny loved to sing. 1960s. [Editor's note: Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton were misidentified in a photo that ran in the May 13 issue of PARADE. Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-syncing to the released version of the song. wordlist = ['!', '$.027', '$.03', '$.054/mbf', '$.07', '$.07/cwt', '$.076', '$.09', '$.10-a-minute', '$.105', '$.12', '$.30', '$.30/mbf', '$.50', '$.65', '$.75', '$. Justine Carrelli-Miller wasnt even a teenager in 1956 when she used her sisters birth certificate to get on American Bandstand. The show was live five days a week from Philadelphia, Dick Clark had yet to become the host and it had yet to go national. [2] Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. Instead of shortening or moving Bandstand, ABC opted to just begin Bandstand at 3pm, cut away to Who Do You Trust? He sometimes wondered what happened to Justine, especially around New Years Eve when he would watch Dick Clark host his special. Arlene and Kenny first danced to "Why Don't You Understand" by George Hamilton IV. Justine started dancing on Bandstand in 1956, when she was still in junior high school. They were some of the most famous kids in America, dancing every day on "American Bandstand." "We were like miniature rock 'n' roll stars. I did get to know Annette Funicello [a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club], who came to the show. 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. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. 1 Who were the most popular dancers on American Bandstand? 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. Copyright 2022 WGCU. The shy Sullivan pushed herself forward with the contact because she wanted to get on TV to impress her mother. Come and join us two weeks from today for an hour version of American Bandstand on Saturday, September 19. Kenny went on tour and was away a lot. 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. They won the first jitterbug contest when the show went nationwide in 1957. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. When Dick Clark died it came to mind what happened to Justine, again, Jim said. I was surprised how short she was, he said. Im sorry young lady, you dont look 14 to me, was his answer. running a series on drunken driving. Dick Clark Productions is credited as the show's co-producer, and longtime employee Allen Shapiro serves as co-executive producer. Justine went home humiliated, but her mother suggested she take her older sisters birth certificate to the show the next day. 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. I figured I had no chance in hell, but I was smitten by her the same way I was smitten by Marilyn Monroe and actresses like that. A 1958 graduate of P. S. DuPont High School, Bob was. American Bandstand Dancers Justine Carrelli Miller and Bob Clayton This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. But . But just like a lot of today's showmances are concocted, many of the Bandstand boppers were harboring a big secret: They were gay. WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. April 18, 2012. I never had a crush on her. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. 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. They won the first jitterbug contest when the show went nationwide in 1957. If she was on I watched it, if not I would do something else.. As a teenager in the late 1970s I always enjoyed watching American Bandstand on Saturday afternoons. We had fans, we had groupies," said Steve Colanero, 56, a dancer from 1959 to 1961 and . "When I first met Kenny Rossi he was sitting way up in the stands I noticed his curly black hair, blue suit, beautiful brown eyes. unsold game show pilots). 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. With its new young host, Dick Clark, the show aired every day at 3 p.m. for an hour-and-a-half. That was funny, Jim said, because in April its my brother-in-law and sisters anniversary and we are planning to go to Hawaii. What they didnt know was that Arlene and several of the other female dancers, and most of the handsome teen boys, were gay. Justine got in, and along with her dance partner and soon-to-be-boyfriend, Bob Clayton, became one of the shows most popular couples. There were occasional shows that were not hosted by Clark, in which case a substitute host (among them Rick Azar) was brought in.[6]. The whole thing was like a grand party, she said. And now we have computers. We danced and it was like we had never stopped, says Clayton, 70, who owns a gift boutique in Delaware (Carrelli, 68, sells real estate in Arizona). It turns out she was only 10 months older. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. and they put a drinking cup in front of him and said, This is your cup, and youre the only one who will use this cup. One friend of mine was kicked out of the house.. We ended up spending weekends together when she came to New York and D.C. to perform We went to lunch together and had fun, but Annette had to rest and perform, so we didnt have time for anything else., Sullivan never felt like a superstar, even when the Regulars averaged 100 to 150 fan letters a day. Published Dec 11, 2013. The afternoon soon turned into the cocktail-hour, so they went out for drinks. Many factors were involved in this, particularly the launch and rise of MTV and other music programs on television, and along with that, the number of ABC affiliates opting to pre-empt or delay the program. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. The show had just "gone national" on the ABC television network on August 5th. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Clark continued as host of the series, which was restored to its former hour length,[22] and aired on stations including KYW-TV in Philadelphia; WWOR-TV in New York City[23] (WWOR's superstation status also gave the program further national exposure); KTLA in Los Angeles; WMAQ-TV in Chicago; WDIV in Detroit; WEWS in Cleveland; WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee;[24] and WCIX in Miami.[25]. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. This is a love story 55 years in the making, and you can thank the teen dance program American Bandstand for it. It became a staple in homes and heavily influenced American society culturally, musically, and socially. 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. . 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. 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 The increase in competition hurt Bandstand and the variety of options for music on TV decreased its relevance. This is a video I created of one of my favorite dance pa. It got me out of my shell, but I learned I was a regular teenager who happened to dance on a show that unexpectedly became very popular. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Dedication Of A Church Fellowship Hall,
Acreage Communities In Texas,
Canestri Beef Bolognese,
Gothic Language Translator,
Mark Crumpton Bloomberg,
Articles A