Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Dick Clark
Dick Clark was a very well-known man in entertainment. He died on April 18, 2012 from a heart attack. He was 82 years old.
Dick Clark was one of the most famous names in rock and roll. He was not a singer or a musician. He was the host of the TV show American Bandstand. In the 1950s and 60s, teenagers across the U.S. watched this TV show every day. The show changed the way Americans listened to pop music.
Dick Clark was born near New York City. He always wanted to be on the radio. In 1952, he got a job as a disc jockey in Philadelphia. He became one of the best-known radio DJs in town. A few years later, he became the host of an afternoon teen dance show in Philadelphia. The show was called “Bandstand.”
Clark knew that a teen dance show would be very popular. He wanted people all over the country to see the show. The TV producers decided to make the show national. In 1957, “Bandstand” became American Bandstand.
American Bandstand was one of TV’s longest-running shows. It was on from 1957 to 1987. Jerry Lee Lewis, the Jackson Five, Prince, and the Talking Heads were on the show. Many other famous groups were on the show, too.
Dick Clark moved to Hollywood in 1963. He started a company called Dick Clark Productions. He made many hit television programs. He made music shows. He also made game shows and award shows.
In 1972, Clark started a show called Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Every year on December 31, millions of Americans watched the show. It was a New Year’s party. Clark hosted the show until 2004.
In 2004, Clark had a stroke. After the stroke, he could not move all of his body. He could not speak clearly. But a year later, Clark was back. People could not always understand his speech. But people thought he was very brave.
Dick Clark in the 1970's
Dick Clark earned many awards during his long career. He has Emmys and Grammys. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is also in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.