American Bandstand Horn was from the old school, a radio announcer conversant with varied forms of music, from semi-classical to pop. The DA announced his indictment of Horn and Allison at the same press conference, in October of 1956. Blanc boasted that he had smashed the ring in local aspects and the FBI would clean up the interstate angles. I always thought Horn did a poor job relating to the kids. All the brides other jewelry pieces were by Fred Leighton. Some of the kids would jitterbug in an impromptu fashion while Grady and Hurst played popular records on the air. In this part of the story well see what Bob Horn did that ended his career and also caused the ABC network and its Philadelphia affiliate to ignore the 50th anniversary of the programs start. Carole Ann Scaldeferri Spada, 70, of Newtown Square, a regular dancer on American Bandstand from 1957 to 1961, died Sunday, Dec. 8, of congestive heart failure at a Springfield hospital. We were all in our pajamas and had a lot of fun and then that led into breakfast. This log was entered as evidence at Allsions trial, and it combined with a parade of civic leaders and city officials as character witnesses got Allison a not-guilty verdict. He says that he would have loved to see blacks in the studio, so I could learn their dance steps. It was common for promo guys to give bottles of whiskey as Christmas gifts. Oral sex was labeled an unnatural act and people went to jail for doing it. They Off-camera his personality was abrasive, egotistical and aggressive. At the very beginning, Horns Bandstand had some racial integration. 6 Who were the first guests on American Bandstand? Jacobs took the witness stand and backed up Dorothys story. This was also a time of day when ABC didnt feed any network product to the local stations, leaving WFIL with a time gap to fill locally. When I danced on TV people noticed me, and it led to my career in the business. We would do dances like the slop, bop, slow drag and the grind, which originated in the black dance halls. ET. In this, he was way ahead of his time and ahead of whats seen in the show Hairspray. But when I got closer to the aisle, I looked up and thought:Is that Stephen Sanchez? One singer who appeared on his show says Horn was a loud-mouth smart-ass with an appetite for girls. Other acquaintances use words like arrogant and self-centered. Dick Clark. PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ They twisted, coffee-grinded and jitterbugged their way into the nations living rooms on the original American Bandstand in the 1950s. Allison and Horn were each acquitted, but neither one of them got their jobs back. The sad truth, though, is that the kids who danced to the records appeared to be almost all white. (I was in his office as he wrote it. American Bandstand He said If you care enough to want to go to my dances, Ill drive you., Jerry Blavat started coming to the show in 1953 when he was only 13. Sofia collaborated closely with her stylist, Liat Baruch, and Madame Olivia Douchez, premire of haute couture salons at Chanel, to scour through couture shows of the past and choose the references that she loved. Seven months after his first DUI incident, and just before he was to go on trial on the morals charges, Horn was charged again with drunk-driving when he sped his Cadillac the wrong way up a one-way street in North Philadelphia. On Thursday, for the first time in a quarter century, 27 of the original Bandstand dancers, including Joe, Kenny, Arlene, Carole, Flossie and Jim, reunited to rehearse their steps for a rock n roll celebration over Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia. Any place theres dancing, Ill still go, said Joe Fusco, who was 15 when he joined the show. I never saw him drunk or rude or vulgar., Several of these men agree that they all were virgins then. First, there was a private Ketubah signing in the mother of the brides hotel room, where both families met and acted as witnesses. The Inquirers publisher supported the work of the House Un-American Activities committee and its crusade against Communist sympathizers in the entertainment field. Stewart had no charisma and eventually was dropped from the program. One night he asked one of his models to put on something white, then introduced her to Allison. He made national headlines when he shut down a Philadelphia movie theater that was showing Brigit Bardots , When Blancs campaign was launched, friends of Walter Annenberg hoped that the DA would find some dirt on WPENs popular night-time talk host, Steve Allison, because Allison often criticized Annenberg and the. One man, convicted and fined fifty dollars, went on to a career as a philanthropist and supporter of political candidates up to the 21. century. After the indictment was announced, Adleman hastily wrote a press release to save the city from embarrassment. Debby Boone. American Bandstand Broadcast History. The. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. These record-promo men knew of her, and got her into the station to meet Horn. His career was brought down by a teenage girl, but she did not come from the studio audience at Bandstand. WebAmerican Bandstand (TV Series 19521989) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. You were like a big star. Classic TV Shows - Dick Clark's American Bandstand| FiftiesWeb In addition, the girl who accused Joe Valino of arranging her abortion was one of the models who attended the Allison show and met men there. Show me a guy who hasnt done that and Ill show you a queer.. He was the first performer to be introduced on the Grand Ole Opry, the first African-American performer on the show, and the first performer to have his music recorded in Nashville. District Attorney Victor Blanc was a friend of my fathers who appeared to be intelligent and reasonable. Horns radio program was called The Bob Horn Bandstand, which had a nice, alliterative sound. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He also played show tunes and interviewed Harold Rome, the composer of the Broadway musical Fanny when it played its pre-Broadway try out in Philadelphia in 1954. David Bowie. Dick Clark later wrote that he kept that dress code when he took over because it made the show acceptable to adults who were frightened by the teenage world and teenage music. Some observers might say that he was making the show acceptable to people who were frightened by the appearance of blacks. Public high schools were more integrated 72% white when Bandstand started, according to Philadelphia School District statistics, while blacks were 28% while Asians and Latinos were less than 1%. Whose Culture? They were more interested in stations that played r&b all the time, and they stopped coming by their own choice., Deejay Jerry Blavat says: Blacks didnt go to public music events. These men were, you might say, realists. Even when black artists like Chuck Berry and Fats Domino appeared in live shows, 95% of the audience was white. One early photo shows the studio with an audience that was almost half black. Black kids from Overbrook High would come also. He tangles nightly with the bigwigs on every hair-raising issue., When Allison met the 19-year-old news editor of the station, Sam Smith, Allison explained why he had to leave Philly: Look, all I did was put my cock in the mouth of some under-age girls. In any event, he struck another car and left a 5-year-old occupant of that car paralyzed. So, you know, it was no big thing. It was a revolving door of glam, Sofia explains. I always dreamed of her doing my makeup on my wedding day, Sofia says. On Thursday, for the first time in a quarter century, 27 of the original Bandstand dancers, including Joe, Kenny, Arlene, Carole, Flossie and Jim, reunited to rehearse their steps for a rock n roll celebration over Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia. He usually brought some of his young clients with him and arranged dates photographic and otherwise for them. One example is Bob Menefee, the top-paid disc jockey at WIP. But some things still didnt change. Wordens parties included nudity and sexual promiscuity. She isnt reluctant or shy. 4 Who was the first black country singer? I just want it to feel timeless: I dont want to look back in like 20 years and be like, Shes a glamazon. Her beauty came courtesy of makeup artist to the stars Pati Dubroff. Hosted by Bob Horn as a television adjunct to his radio show of the same name on WFIL radio, Bandstand featured short musical films produced by Snader Tele The Bandstanders invented steps that are still given a whirl: the bunny hop, the chalypso and the stroll. From the first day, I established the most platonic of friendships with the kids. In addition, the show has performances by popular musicians and audience members rate songs. Blitz, author of , Other deejays of that time, however, were more gracious than Horn. From there, the wedding planning quickly commenced. I used to see Horn with the young girl, Lois, when she accompanied him to the station for his 11-to-midnight radio show. You had to line up at the end of each show and the producer picked whom he wanted to come back, so you had to please him. Bandstand had a lurid involvement with sexual assault that hasnt been fully explored publicly, until now in detail in Part Two of this story. https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Bandstand%20historical%20marker%20%281%20of%201%29.jpg. For the other two looks, Sofia collaborated closely with her stylist, Liat Baruch, and Douchez to scour through Chanel couture shows of the past and choose the references that she loved. Allison differentiated himself from Bob Horn as a performer, saying he was not a disc-jockey but, instead, a man who discussed issues on the air. The makeup for the entire weekend was super simple and clean, Sofia says. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. So, when he went on TV, Bandstand was the obvious choice for a name. The era was one of sexual repression. The young dancers on American Bandstand were the reality stars of the 1950s and '60skids nationwide rushed Also available in a computer colorized version. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. See production, box office & company info, Bandstand Boogie (The Theme of 'American Bandstand'). Taking center stage each week was superstar Bandstand couple Justine Carrelli and Bob Clayton, two of the show's most popular dancers. Most people around the station found him less than charming. Pat Boone. Who were the original dancers on American Bandstand? That becomes understandable when you learn that its original host led a sordid life that included a sexual affair with a teenage girl. That becomes understandable when you learn that its original host led a sordid life that included a sexual affair with a teenage girl. Some of the regular boys all white started talking angrily among themselves about how theyd like to beat up the boy after the show. Bandstand' dancers look back Within the dress are subtle details, including an embroidered heart to represent the love that Elliot and I share, as well as a blue embroideredS&E on the inside of the dress above my heart. Sofia wanted to do something unique for her veil, so she worked with the Chanel team to create a glistening piece adorned with resin water droplets that sparkled when she walked. Now I just wanted it to feel timeless: I dont want to look back in like 20 years and be like, Shes a glamazon. Her beauty came courtesy of makeup artist to the stars Pati Dubroff. These were the guys I met during my first job in radio, in the music library at WIP, and whom I saw accompanying Horn during his nighttime radio show when I later worked at WFIL. Dick Clark, at podium at upper left, is surrounded by teen-age fans on his nationally televised dance show "American Bandstand" in Philadelphia in this June 30, 1958, file photo. A family member revealed that one day Horn felt so depressed that he put a pistol in his mouth and his wife had to talk him out of committing suicide. And it was Frees, not any of the original Bandstanders interviewed Thursday, who remembered the words to the shows theme song, written by Barry Manilow. It was just his, Horn, on the other hand, didnt show such warmth to colleagues. He admitted that he gave her birthday presents a record player one year and one hundred dollars cash another year. The Regulars - American Bandstand Diaries The Philly Years Where At his trials, Horn said that he first met Lois when she came to his office at WFIL one evening in 1954 and after that he saw her frequently at the West Philadelphia restaurant where he ate dinner. Blanc tried to become a recognizable figure that year. ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images. Steves a one-man F. B. I., Fearless Broadcast Investigator. "American Bandstand" goes national - History We read our vows then because we felt it was very personal, something for just our families to hear and experience in the privacy of our home., Afterward, guests gathered for cocktails, dinner, and speeches, with the brides sister Nicole emceeing the entire evening. Weekday afternoons were spent with the kids in Philly, the kids on American Bandstand. All of these singers were white, and their style was pop, not rock n roll. The Bandstand dancers, on the other hand, were fond of him. In this new setting, a greater number of kids could dance while the music played. It was an innocent time, says one of them. They are true rock stars. Segregation such as seen on, Black composer Leroy (After the Lights Go Down Low) Lovett is from an older generation and looks at things more benignly. He also played show tunes and interviewed Harold Rome, the composer of the Broadway musical, Secondly, the producer started to require admission cards. Working with Chanel was not only an honor but a true dream of mine, Sofia says. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. No, the black people who went in that building were there to clean up, as cleaning people. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. One television precursor was the Paul Whiteman TV Teen Club, on WFIL and the ABC television network starting in 1949, which also showed kids dancing. Horn would tell them that he wanted, His career was brought down by a teenage girl, but she did. As well as a blue embroideredS&E on the inside of the dress above my heart.. Any place theres dancing, Ill still go, said Joe Fusco, who was 15 when he joined the show. He personally picked the kids to be on the committee by watching us dance and seeing how we got along with people. Horn described his pattern of hanging at a bar with song-pluggers and music publishers every evening after Bandstand finished, from 6 to 8 p.m., then going to a restaurant for dinner. In fact, that same summer the shows DJ who also did live commercials, a guy named Dick Clark, would take over as Bandstand 's full-time host. The following year on August 5, 1957, the show first aired on ABC, was changed to American Bandstand and became a national sensation. Dick Clark Hosted the show and introduced Billy Williams to sing ""I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter"" & The Chordettes to sing ""Just Between You and Me"" and for the 1st Time ""The Spotlight Dance"" for 2 dancing couples to a softer tune, ""Rate-A-Record"" where 2 Why did the station move so quickly to dump Horn? The ceremony started at 6 p.m., and the bride was escorted by her father down the aisle, which was lined with a clear glass marquee and adorned with an abundance of white and cream florals by Roni Floral Design. Harris replaced the Kefauver footage with a new opening that he shot with Vic Blanc talking into the camera and warning the public of the dangers of sex. For the most part, the white kids from West Catholic and Roman Catholic, etc., were intimidated when we got on the floor. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. She has an uncanny way of getting to know people. And not only that, but we got to party with him all night., Rabbi Thomas Solomon officiated a traditional Jewish wedding that paid homage to the iconic surroundings of Hotel du Cap. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. After awhile, the producers decided that they wanted to change the image of the show, so they created a new policy. Horn loved jazz, especially Dizzy Gillespie, Erroll Garner and Sarah Vaughan, and he produced Vaughans first Philadelphia concert. 2 Who was the first star of country music? At the start, the set was a three-fold flat and the camera zoomed in to focus on a record player. Former 'American Bandstand' Dancers React to American Bandstand - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia In addition, the show has performances by popular musicians and audience Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. Created by black deejay Don Cornelius as a black dance show, Soul Train started in Chicago in 1970 before being picked up by stations across the country the following year. Dave Feldman, a, Catholic schools in those days were 99% white. I talked to the kids on the same intellectual level. He said Name your salary. So we asked our station manager for a release and he said hed talk to the stations owner. What experience do you need to become a teacher? Although Horn wanted to run it solo, Clipp insisted on copying the 950 Club format with two hosts, and picked a partner for him the short, bespectacled Lee Stewart. Segregation such as seen on Bandstand during the late Fifties and early Sixties was characteristic of American society during that time, when separate but equal was still viewed as legitimate by many Americans., Black composer Leroy (After the Lights Go Down Low) Lovett is from an older generation and looks at things more benignly. Although Clark was relatively new at his job, he took a strong stand and told the affiliates that hed make no changes to meet their objections and so blacks did appear, but infrequently. Original Bandstand Members Back In Philadelphia To Boogie (Harris is the man who, in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, produced the film, Harris also made the films title more suggestive by changing it to , Blanc tried to become a recognizable figure that year. 1,013 American Bandstand Dancers Premium High Res Photos Clark moved the show to California in 1964, but many fans remember it as a Philadelphia phenomenon. I know the producers found it embarrassing. It became a national institution and Dick Clark a celebrity. Jimmy Boyd. It was filled with comedy. On the other hand, Blancs total and Blancs margin of victory was not anywhere near what his predecessor, Richardson Dilworth, had achieved in 1951. anniversary, there was no commemoration. In the course of his probe Blanc discovered connections between many disparate people. But he was an ambitious politician. I danced there until 1972 and the policy remained the same. It has always been a dream of mine to have Chanel design my wedding dress, Sofia says. Published April 26, 2023 Updated April 27, 2023, 12:58 a.m. Pop Conference 2023 - 'Let's Get it Together:' Gatherings, Club In July 1956, Dick Clark, a commercial pitchman and deejay with an unsullied reputation, inherited WFIL-TVsBandstandfrom scandal-tainted Bob Horn and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABCsAmerican Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957. WebPulitzer Prizeeligible magazine The National Enquirer broke an old but interesting story this week about Dick Clarks American Bandstand. Horn developed a daily ritual of kids judging new records. Web1469 episodes 19521989 Charlie O'Donnell Self - Announcer 227 episodes 19581968 Peaches Johnson Self (dancer) (1975-1980) 107 episodes 19751980 Stan Rodarte Horn asked his dancers to recommend new songs. To discredit Loiss reputation, the defense produced a man, with no connection to Horn, who testified that Lois once accepted money to have sex with him. Every day after school, we would head for the TV studio which was near my high school West Philly High. She was 17 when I met her in 1956. If we dont do something, theyll take over was the expressed fear. Some blacks complained that these cards were sent mainly to all-white parochial schools, but I cant find evidence of that. They were some of the most famous kids in America, dancing every day on American Bandstand.. He was 30 when Bandstand went on the air and says Horn played some of our music, but mainly he aimed for a wider audience and the black kids didnt get much out of it. In 1975 Proctor won the American Bandstand dance competition with partner Sharon Hill. He asked me to be on the committee and be an example for others. American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder Blitz, author of Bandstand: The Untold Story, defends Horn against accusations of rudeness and says that Horn avoided friendships with co-workers because he had more experience and knowledge and didnt need to learn from them. He also danced in a group called the Outrageous Waack Dancers with Daniel and Jody Watley. When our planners, Banana Split, asked me what song I wanted to walk down the aisle to, it was a no-brainer. American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder Who was the first black dancer on American Bandstand? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 8 Surprising Facts About The Legendary Dance Show A low-budget sexploitation film called Models, Inc. was distributed by Philadelphia film executive Jack Harris. But they werent there. He announced that the luncheon was being postponed because there was a labor dispute at the restaurant and city officials didnt want to cross any possible picket line. WebBy the shows 30th anniversary, almost 600,000 teenagers and 10,000 performers had appeared on the program. Stanley J. He was born Lee Shulman and started his career as an ad salesman. But Horn also was the bad guy who allowed blacks to be systematically excluded when it looked as if their dancing might dominate the show. We recapped the night and ordered big bowls of pasta along with every French food you could imagine, Sofia says. One dancing duo, Kenny and Arlene, became the biggest teen sensations ever to come out of the show. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. Created by black deejay Don Cornelius as a black dance show, Soul Train started in Chicago in 1970 before being picked up by stations across the country the following year. On each program, Horn listed the top songs of the day, although there was no scientific survey. As host of American Bandstand, Clark introduced rock & roll to many Americans. For the other two looks, Sofia collaborated closely with her stylist, Liat Baruch, and Douchez to scour through Chanel couture shows of the past and choose the Pop Conference 2023 - 'Let's Get it Together:' Gatherings, Club We werent very worldly. Both of these women admit they were naive kids who even gave out their home addresses to fans without fear of being stalked. Beach Boys on American Bandstand. But then some people at the station worried that the program could become identified as a black show. The American Bandstand dancers ended up living all across the United States and followed a variety of careers. As we remember Dick Clark, were highlighting a few Bandstand dancers whove died in recent years. American Bandstand dancer Richard Pierce served in Vietnam before settling in Anchorage, Alaska, in the early 1980s. I didnt know it at the time, but Blanc must have been on his way to or from his secret lair on some occasions when he stopped by to see my dad. I brought a series of black girls with me so we could do the slow dances together.. "I spread the Beehive across America," said Bunny Gibson, 56, on the show from 1959 to 1962. It reflected the fact that Horn played big band recordings by Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and other similar artists. American Bandstand premiered locally in late March 1952 as Bandstand on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (now WPVI-TV), as a replacement for a weekday movie that had shown predominantly British films. Published April 26, 2023 Updated April 27, 2023, 12:58 a.m. Dorothy said that she did it willingly. It was common for promo guys to give bottles of whiskey as Christmas gifts. He also came up with the idea of a teenage committee, because Horn wanted to insure that a core group of good dancers would show up every afternoon. A small table was next to the hosts platform, where guest performers would sit and sign autographs. Barbara Marcen Wilston danced at the show from 1953 to 1959. Henry Gordon said in 1995 as he looked at an old photo of the kids at Bandstand: Anything that looks like a black face in this picture is probably a white face in the shadows. The sexual relationship, however, was not revealed until later. American Bandstand, abbreviated AB, is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions that aired regularly from 1952 to 1989, [1] and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. When questioned as to why a married man would do this, Horn responded by saying that Lois knew many of his friends and drifted into the same pattern as I did. Theres a new kid working in the record library, he told his listeners, and listen to the junk he picked for me. Then Menefee came into the record room and said he hoped I wasnt angry with him for making me the butt of his joke. It was just his shtick. Allison said it never happened and Steves wife provided him with an alibi, consisting of a log she kept of his activities. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. When Blancs campaign was launched, friends of Walter Annenberg hoped that the DA would find some dirt on WPENs popular night-time talk host, Steve Allison, because Allison often criticized Annenberg and the Inquirer. He asked a bunch of us to be on a committee to act as examples to other teenagers, and he gave birthday cakes and Christmas gifts to all of us on the committee. Just out of school, I was apprenticing in public relations under his tutelage.) What was the real name of the Coward of the County? These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Horn was from the old school, a radio announcer conversant with varied forms of music, from semi-classical to pop. That was Bobs invention.) ! Sofia recalls being stunned. The makeup for the entire weekend is super-simple and clean, Sofia says. These happenings would never have become known if one man had just listened to Maxines restrictive instruction. Dick ClarksAmerican Bandstand, a popular though controversial TV program targeted toward teenage consumers, marked Philadelphia as the national epicenter of pop music during its seven-year run at ABCs affiliated WFIL-TV at 4548 Market St. ABC-affiliate WFIL-TV at 4548 Market St. broadcast Dick ClarksAmerican Bandstandto a national audience of teenage consumers from 1957 to 1964.American Bandstandbuilt a national youth culture around the pop music records Clark played on the show and the commercial products his sponsors targeted to this $9 billion consumer market. I was so innocent that I thought they wouldnt stand in our way. Walter DeLegall, a black man who was a teenager then, said about the early days: I used to dance on the original Bandstand. Believe it or not, at that time the show looked like a black blue-light basement party because our crowd would take over the floor when we showed up. She says there would always be a long line. Not nasty trouble. This show debuted on television from 2:45 to 5 p.m. on October 7, 1952. Yet, as the third and fourth stories in this collection show, there was a downside toAmerican BandstandsPhiladelphia years., The longstanding popular belief aboutAmerican Bandstand, promoted by Dick Clark in the later years of his career, is that the Philadelphia version of the show racially integrated the Studio B dancefloor and bleachers. With 37 continuous years on the air, this was the longest-running weekly popular music showcase TV program in the world. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
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