Dick Clark, Entertainment Icon Nicknamed 'America's Oldest Teenager,' Dies at 82

[OhioChick]

Source: ABC News

April 18, 2012

Dick Clark, the music industry maverick, longtime TV host and powerhouse producer who changed the way we listened to pop music with American Bandstand, and whose trademark Rockin' Eve became a fixture of New Year's celebrations, died today at the age of 82, ABC News has learned.

Clark, who suffered a serious stroke in 2004 but returned to the airwaves, reportedly died from a heart attack.

Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Nov. 30, 1929, Richard Wagstaff Clark began his lifelong career in show business began before he was even out of high school. He started working in the mailroom of WRUN, a radio station in upstate New York run by his father and uncle. It wasn't long before the teenager was on the air, filling in for the weatherman and the announcer.

Clark pursued his passion at Syracuse University, working as a disc jockey at the student-run radio station while studying for his degree in business. After graduating in 1951, Clark went back to his family's radio station, but within a year, a bigger city and bigger shows were calling.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dick-clark-entertainment-icon-nicknamed-americas-oldest-teenager/story?id=16076252#.T48abPX2ut8

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[MADem]

1. Just heard that as well. Time flies so fast. nt

[Renew Deal]

2. So sad

He will be missed. New Years will certainly never be the same.

[IcyPeas]

3. I would say he was an American icon.

sad

[HereSince1628]

6. Certainly for the Rock and Roll generation.

My sister was hooked on American Bandstand as I am sure many now 60-somethings were.

[Little Star]

19. +1

[Seedersandleechers]

4. Dick Clark did not look well at

the new years eve celebration in NYC this year. RIP.

[Faygo Kid]

5. Bummer. I feel older just now.

[Grassy Knoll]

7. Sad, RIP..

[gauguin57]

8. Rest in Peace, Mr. Clark. You were such a part of my young life.

I loved "American Bandstand" and "New Year's Rockin' Eve."

Not to mention the $25,000 Pyramid and the Blooper show.

[dbackjon]

9. RIP to his final countdown

[tclambert]

10. Did they find the painting in his attic that looks really, really old?

[Codeine]

34. Dammit. I was going to post that.

[AH1Apache]

11. R.I.P. Dick Clark

You will be missed.

[Bonhomme Richard]

12. I remember my brother going to bandstand. RIP Dick n/t

[Tabasco_Dave]

13. Don Cornelius and Dick Clark in the same year

My whole childhood is dying

[frylock]

22. was just thinking the same thing..

weird.

[Poll_Blind]

14. Gotta say, the guy led an INCREDIBLY full life. I watched a special on him a few years ago...

....and he was out and about being Dick Clark, doing voiceovers, hosting this or that. It was amazing. I could not lead a life that kinetic.

RIP.

PB

[sinkingfeeling]

15. Gone to the great 'Bandstand' in the sky.

[Kingofalldems]

16. Bandstand came on every day at 4:00

RIP

[RebelOne]

21. I would watch it every day when I was a teenager and then as an adult. n/t

[emilyg]

23. I was on one of them. RIP

[KamaAina]

17. Well, there it is. I am now the world's oldest teenager.

47 going on 15.

[Little Star]

18. I have many good memories of watching American Bandstand. RIP Mr. Clark. n/t

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

20. RIP - 2013 can't arrive without him

Perhaps the Mayans were right.

[Lugnut]

24. I grew up with Dick Clark and American Bandstand.

Rest in peace, Mr Clark.

[jcboon]

25. Goodbye old friend

[PlanetBev]

26. It's so sad watching these people go

I remember watching American Bandstand with my sister in 1959 when they held a 30th birthday party for him on the show.

[katty]

27. Mr. American Bandstand...

Au Revoir!

[Paper Roses]

28. I remember rushing home from school to watch Bandstand.

Dick Clark was an idol for so many of us . The memories are good, he seemed to be a good man.
Kept us glued to the TV watching Justine and others doing their 'Stroll' and other dances.
He leaves good memories.
RIP Mr Clark.

[nolabear]

29. Boy we first generation Rock and Rollers are feeling it right now.

RIP, Brother. You started something that will reverb forever.

[liberal N proud]

30. Closing a chapter of American POP culture.

RIP

[Behind the Aegis]

31. I saw him on this last Rockin' in the New Year. I wondered if it would be his last.

May he RIP.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

32. There was a time when he was the only game in town...

...no MTV, no "music videos"...you wanted to see the latest music, American Bandstand was IT. R.I.P., Mr. Clark.

[Rhiannon12866]

33. K&R! That's quite a shocker! My brother just heard this on the news...

From watching Michael Moore's movies, I guess he wasn't exactly "one of us," but he was definitely a huge figure in American culture. He was in my Dad's class at Syracuse. Safe passage, Dick.

[Skittles]

35. Thanking Mr. Clark for the memories

yes INDEED

[Alexander]

36. He wasn't 82. He was the world's oldest teenager.

[HereSince1628]

39. That's right, dead at the young age of Eighty-tween n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

37. R.I.P.

From the city where he originally hosted his famous show.

He definitely was a trooper.

[dixiegrrrrl]

38. No fair!!!!!

Man, he WAS rock n roll.

Our small town radio station was lousy, but thanks to tv, we could the music that counted.
For years and years....and Dick Clark never seemed to age at all.

[Stinky The Clown]

40. Damn

As we watch them go, one by one, we start to understand how our parents felt when they were our age.

Thanks for all of it, Dick. It was one hell of a ride.

[Vidar]

41. RIP

[charlie and algernon]

42. I guess the world really is going to end in December

We lost the one guy who could ring in 2013.

[cyberpj]

43. Hey... don't wanna start no East vs West thing here but... Once American Bandstand left Philly -

- it wasn't really American Bandstand to us back here anymore. We only used to watch to laugh at how they would (couldn't) dance in California. LOL!

As for Dick Clark, we thank him for bringing us all the music after school way before any MTV or VH1! He was smart, he had class, and he could carry a beat.... I give him a 10!

With much respect from a Philly dancer.

[cyberpj]

44. p.s. This one's for you Dick - 'Because I'm on, because I'm on The American Bandstand"

[Odin2005]

45. Oh No!!!

[DinahMoeHum]

46. American Bandstand inspired the TV show "American Dreams" ~ 2002

The full version:

&feature=related


Rest In Peace, Dick Clark. You and American Bandstand were true institutions in every way.

[SeattleVet]

47. My mother knew him in High School

He was a year ahead of her; the yearbook is around the house. (A.B. Davis High School, Mount Vernon, NY)

In the yearbook he was voted "Most likely to sell the Brooklyn Bridge".

[guappo1]

48. going way back

Come home from school and watch Bandstand, It was the only place that I could hear rock and rolls music in my home town.
I spent more time watching that show then I did doing my home work. Dick Clark led me into the sixties and beyond. I still listen to a radio show on Sunday morning where he plays old classics and talks about the old rock and rollers. He will be missed
Retired In Colorado

[fujiyama]

49. Like most homes in the US

I grew up watching him on New Year's eve. Won't be the same without him...

[FlaGranny]

50. Something I bet many don't know

about Dick Clark. Around about the late 1950's he was a radio DJ. He didn't spin rock and roll records. His cup of tea was big band music and pop. He actually used to say on the air that rock was "bad" music. Bet he never had a clue he'd wind up on Bandstand and make his fortune from rock. I don't have a link for this. I actually used to listen to him back before his Bandstand days. Funny how things turn out.

[sofa king]

51. His rock 'n roll lifestyle contributed to his peaceful demise.

[adigal]

52. Did you ever see him in Bowling for Columbine

He was not a friend to those less fortunate than he. That is all I have to say about him.