The American Bandstand Regulars tell us what Studio B means to them today and yesterday, with special guest appearance by the American Bandstand Fan Club pre. It was like a high school reunion and some people even had tears in their eyes. e9.size = "300x250"; Oddly enough, I have never checked with the other Regulars to get their feedback. Particularly during the shows prime Philadelphia years (1952-63), Philadelphia youth culture became American culture through American Bandstand. Handbags - Formal Wear. I knew all their names. These 14- to 18-year olds like Arlene and Kenny, Justine and Bob . 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. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. Bob Clayton died November 6, 2016. . Via this network, which advertised itself as WFIL-adelphia, the show reached almost six million viewers in the Delaware Valley, the nations third-largest market at the time. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. On the other hand, they had each other. Where things are poppin'(Pop!) Talevski, Nick. 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. Remember, these Regulars werent paid actors or dancers. Variety Shows Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. The followed the trend of solo ("open") dancing started by Chubby Checker and "The Twist.". On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. Unsure and fearful about her true sexual identity, Sullivan tried passing as straight. Really enjoyed reading your article Larry , I also grew up in the 50s watching American Bandstand, your article brought back so many memories of the good ole days growing up. That might have had something to do with the scandal that surrounded the departure of his predecessor, Bob Horn, who faced a drunken-driving arrest and morals charges. But he vividly recalls that one of his fellow gay dancers was thrown onto the El tracks outside the studio, and another popular regular who was gay and often danced with Sullivan was dangled over an elevator shaft.. [3] Jackson,American Bandstand, quote from unpaginated photo section. Ripley W.va, Great article Larry love your antiques blog . Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. This site is not endorsed by or associated with dick clark productions, inc. or its family of companies. Of course we didn't realize it at the time but these kids were really the first reality stars.". From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. Ohio, great article, in the late 1950s i wouldnt miss watching the show for anything , I still have some of those records that bring back a lot of memories, my boyfriend and i won a lot of dance contests at Marietta high dancing to the "Mashed Potatoe" by Dee Dee Sharp and the Twist by Chubby Checker: really love your column in the Marietta Times every Monday , keep up the great articles. For More Bunny click here to go to Bunny Gibson.com, Bunny Gibson discusses the 50th celebration of American Bandstand. The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1964. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. . 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. But about four years ago, after a lifetime filled with journalistic and entrepreneurial achievements, Cutler began to wonder what had happened to all those kids, those celebrities of her youth, and she went about the business of trying to find them. Thanks for contacting us. Im sure shell be thrilled to hear well wishes and from Bandstand friends and fans and donations would help her a lot. In an interview with the New York Post, Sullivan says that she and many of the gay male dancers would congregate in the Gayborhood, Rittenhouse Square, and there were rumors that Clark sent producers to spy on them. While occasionally black teens were allowed into the studio, they were generally boys. "My heart hurts," said Gibson, a regular from 1959 to 1961. The most memorable day for Norman and me was April 13, 1961, the day we won second place in the Pony Dance Contest. I will be working on a mult-pictorial page for Bob. He remembered Clark as a man of few words who kept a professional distance between himself and the teen dancers. Nicholas Fiorentino, 67, a South Philly native now living in Cherry Hill, said it was clear even to Bandstand teenagers that Clark was going places. My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. The TV exposure, plus the profiles some of the dancers were given in Teen magazine in the late 1950s, made them instant celebrities. Delmont, Matthew. In a nice way, he'd discipline us.". I never had a crush on her. "He was the commander," Colanero said. Most of those kids recruited from area high schools and compelled to "retire" from the show when they turned 18 are now in the 70s and their lives have had ups and downs. e9 = new Object(); . He said, 'In all my days, I never thought I would ever meet you, and here you are standing right in front of me.' I have a Champion Samoyed show dog. Music by Charles Albertine It originally aired as simply "Bandstand" in 1952, shot at WFIL-TV's studios in Philadelphia and airing locally. Asked By : Francisco Allen Dick Clark, affectionately known as the "world's oldest teenager," has died. However, musicians such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Sam Cooke all made national appearances on American Bandstand during the late 1950s. TV Ratings - US & UK, Quiz Shows Norman had a very, very unique sense of humor, which made him so popular with all that knew him. Bunnys mom, Betty, made her promise that she would graduate. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Another time, a dancer was thrown onto the subway tracks. Sharon Sultan Cutler, who grew up in New York and now lives in Chicago, is co-author of Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years 1956-1963.. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. View Our Classic TV Shows Directory The rest is American Bandstand history. H.E. The most comprehensive, authoritative reference source ever created for the Philadelphia region. (Test Pattern). His name was Dick Clark and in the next year the show was transformed from a local show to a syndicated. . In 2019, a trio of formerAmerican Bandstandregulars assembled a book on their experiences on the popular show. Learning how American Bandstand made rock n roll respectable. The Hand Jive. (Twentieth Century Fox), Soft Science extends that legacy on its third album, Maps (Test Pattern), and adds its own twists. He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, has died. The Slop. https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Rock%20%27n%27%20Rock%20West%20Coast%20.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20historical%20marker%20%281%20of%201%29.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/National%20Register%20of%20Historic%20Places.JPG, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20Regulars%20Marker.jpg, https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Rock%20and%20Roll%20Hall%20of%20Fame.jpg, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder 1957-1964, American Bandstand, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Starting Local: WFIL-TV, Bob Horn, and Philadelphia's Bandstand, Going National: Dick Clark and ABC's American Bandstand, Whose Music, Whose Dances? Not only was it extremely intelligent, but there was something moving about the mans story. However, the couple will shortly be returning to Los Angeles, which will be their permanent residence. The followed the trend of solo (open) dancing started by Chubby Checker and The Twist. Some solo dances had animal names, for example, The Pony and The Monkey; others were named for motions, for example, The Mashed Potato and The Loco-Motion. Two of the biggest record hits of the early 1960s, both of which received a huge boost from airtime onAmerican Bandstand, were Dee Dee Sharps Mashed Potato Time and Freddy Cannons Palisades Park.8, YetAmerican Bandstandsseven-year stint in West Philadelphia was about to end. (7/21/2011) I just received this from Bunny Gibson and certainly thought it was appropriate to mention here: Anna Russo, formerly Anna Banani, went to American Bandstand 1963 until AB left Philly for Los Angeles, lost both of her legs to diabetes and is in need. He practiced dancing with his niece, Robin, but when he went down to the show, they wouldnt let him in because he was over the age of 18. A case in point is Arlene Sullivan, a popular Regular who has described her own emerging lesbian sexual orientation, which she says was masked by her dance partnerships with boys. May, 1961. Sullivan was most frequently paired with a boy named Kenny Rossi, who was straight, but still subject to attacks for appearing on the show: One time, Kenny and I went to visit one of the other regulars up in North Philadelphia, and we were leaving her apartment and were headed to the El, and I heard car doors slamming, and I looked back, and all these guys were coming up the steps, and they started beating up on Kenny, Sullivan says. Let the good times roll! Two of the regulars, Arlene Sullivan and Ray Smith, published the volume asBandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963,with Sharon Sultan Cutler as a non-Bandstand-member co-author. Sadly we also lost: Her partner Frank Spagnuola and her won 1st place in dance Cha Lypso contest and 2nd place in Jitterbug Contest . Steve Colanero, 66, a West Philadelphia transplant in Palm Beach, Fla., posted on Facebook a picture from the 1980s of himself with Clark. Teresa Bowling. And then they leave the show, go up on the El, go home to their neighborhoods, they then had to run to their door because somebody was always waiting there to beat them up.. Carol Highsmith, photographer, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Rare photo above is a 1959 Press photo of Pat when she was writing for Teen Magazine. Brancaccio says thats what attracted him to it. 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. "I put a lot of my mom's makeup on and stuffed my bra," said Gibson. Photo taken on October 27, 1981. The result of her journey is the very worthwhile "Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years 1956-1963," a colorful, charming and evocative book (more at bandstanddiaries.com). On all the music they play On the Bandstand.! They even invented a few the Stroll, the Circle and the Chalypso. Shore, Michael, with Dick Clark. What they didnt know was that Arlene and several of the other female dancers, and most of the handsome teen boys, were gay. "I loved those kids," she says now, living with her husband on the Northwest Side of Chicago. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. By clicking Consent you are authorizing advertisers to collect information to personalize the ads you see. So Bandstand really did change her life in many ways. LOS ANGELES - APRIL 1960: Host of the television show 'American Bandstand' Dick Clark appears in a scene with Michael Callan from the movie 'Because They're Young' which was released in April 1960. We've received your submission. . She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. It was shot live from Studio B at Forty-Sixth and and Market Streets, where the two-and-a-half-hour show was broadcast regionally on WFIL-TV Channel 6. Like nostalgia? Parents across America would never, NEVER have allowed their kids to put Bandstand on, she writes. He held nothing back. ", In a Time.com obituary for Dick Clark, who died April 18, 2012, a reporter wrote: "Lou DeSera, Carmen Jimenez, Carole Scaldeferri, Rosemarie 'Little Roe' DiCristo: they may sound like characters on The Sopranos, but they were just ordinary kids, with extraordinary luck of being in Philadelphia at the moment the old town lit the fuse for the rock explosion.".
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