Dick Clark dies of a 'massive heart attack' at age 82

[WI_DEM]

Bell bottoms came and went and came back again

But Dick Clark? He never left. With his toothpaste-ad smile and a microphone always ready, Dick Clark was a fixture in our pop culture for decades.

Maybe you hear his name and think New Year's Eve stalwart, or American Bandstand host, or "World's Oldest Teenager," a nickname he picked up from TV Guide years ago, but Dick Clark was much more than any of those single images.

Clark, who suffered a debilitating stroke in 2004 and died Wednesday of a heart attack, was a shrewd entrepreneur who built a small empire for himself in the entertainment industry.

He was 82.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/obit/story/2012-04-18/dick-clark-dies-at-82/54390716/1

[Elwood P Dowd]

1. I remember watching Clark's American Bandstand on the B/W late 1950s.

RIP Dick.

[kskiska]

2. Alan Freed paid for his sins.

Clark was in payola up to his ears, but Freed took the hit. Clark was in it just for the money. Freed loved the music.

[liberal N proud]

3. That closes a chapter in the American story

RIP Dick.