In Memory of Dick Clark (1929-2012)

Courtesy ABC.

It’s the end of an era as “America’s Oldest Teenager” Dick Clark passed away earlier last week. Clark, who has been in the television industry since 1945, died last Wednesday morning after he suffered a massive heart attack. His began his broadcasting career working in the mailroom at WRUM in Rome, New York. This eventually led to Clark hosting his longest running radio show Rock, Roll & Remember from 1982 until 2004. Members from the music industry best remembered this former radio DJ for his hosting duties on American Bandstand. Every week, he introduced America to new dances and new upcoming artists and singers such as Johnny Cash, Chubby Checker, and Ike & Tina Turner. Here are some clips from the long-running variety series:

Dick Clark stepped into the game show arena in 1963 with his debut on The Object Is. Although this show didn’t last long, Clark would soon find success through hosting more game shows, namely the Pyramid series. Click on the links to check out episodes of The $10,000, $20,000, $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 Pyramid. Shown below are episodes of other game shows that Clark has hosted and guest starred on throughout the years:

Courtesy ABC.

While many viewers remember him for hosting Pyramid and American Bandstand, many people best remembered Clark for his annual appearance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Since 1972, Clark produced hosted this annual one-night event which featured live shots of Clark in Times Square counting down the minutes until the ball drops.  In 2004, Clark stepped down as the host due to a stroke and Regis Philbin served as the host for the evening. In 2005, Ryan Seacrest became the permanent host for the show and Dick Clark has made cameo appearances on the show ever since. Before counting down to 2006, Clark said “Last year I had a stroke. It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It’s been a long hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I’m getting there.”(1) He mentioned he “wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”(1) The clip below features Dick Clark’s last appearance on his show in 2011/2012.

Whether he is interviewing a soon-to-be famous singing group or entertaining contestants with his humor and quick wit, Dick Clark will forever be remembered as one of the most entertaining and hardest working people in show business.

In Loving Memory of Dick Clark

(1929-2012)

(1)- "Dick Clark- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". Last modified 23 April 2012.