american bandstand regulars who have diedamerican bandstand regulars who have died

Fiorentino was known on the show as "Nicky Blue.". Remember, these Regulars werent paid actors or dancers. 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. It also was a prototype for musical television properties including cable channel MTV and Fox's reality-competition show American Idol. The other reason was that American Bandstand was pre-empted on many occasions by televised college football games (which expanded greatly in number in the wake of a court-ordered deregulation in 1984) which were becoming huge ratings successes, as well as occasional special presentations (i.e. Like the white homeowners associations' concerns about property values, WFIL's version of defensive localism built on a belief that integration would hurt the station's investment in Bandstand. At the time, unless a broadcaster failed to report under-the-table income (federal income tax evasion), payola wasnt illegal in federal law. Don married Bunny. My favorite dance was the Jitterbug the last dance where people danced together. We were like sisters. LogoTV and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Clark "was a good man, but he wasn't as friendly with us as people may think," Colanero said. On December 27 Bunny Gibson, American Bandstand Regular from 1959-1962, married Duke Tirschel in Chattanooga , Tennessee. At the time, being open about their sexuality would have meant the end for these young performers with stars in their eyes. The program that preceded Dick Clarks American Bandstand at WFIL-TV was deejay Bob Horns locally popular Bandstand. In 1989, Clark, aged 59, retired fromAmerica Bandstand, and the show ended that year. But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. "After that, it was history.". "He presented himself as such a grown-up.". I can honestly say that I was the most blessed person in the world the day I met Norman and he and I became steady dance partners., Meeting Norman I knew all their names. Dick Clark, in full Richard Wagstaff Clark, (born November 30, 1929, Bronxville, New York, U.S.died April 18, 2012, Santa Monica, California), American television personality and businessman, best known for hosting American Bandstand. Fiorentino, whose mother died when he was 12, said Clark became a role model. They accepted me. Wed stay up all night talking about boys, said Sullivan. //-->. American Bandstand played a crucial role in introducing Americans to such famous artists as Prince, Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher, Aerosmith, and John Lydon's PiLall of whom made their American TV debuts on the show. "For all those who knew her throughout her life and for those who watched her dance on American Bandstand, Carole was full of love and full of God. She was 36. running a series on drunken driving. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. Not only does Bandstand Diaries detail Smith's and Sullivan's personal experiences, it also includes interviews with more than 40 Bandstand regulars, reveals Dick Clark's back story and . . THIS & THAT 50s/60s. Music by Charles Albertine A Midlothian-based freelance writer, Martha Steger has received national awards for her journalism, essays, short fiction and poetry. The TV exposure, plus the profiles some of the dancers were given in Teen magazine in the late 1950s, made them instant celebrities. In August 1963, ABC reassigned American Bandstand to Saturday afternoon. Horn, however, was disenchanted with the program, and wanted to change the show to a dance program with teenagers dancing along on camera as records played, based on an idea that came from a radio show on WPEN, The 950 Club, hosted by Joe Grady and Ed Hurst. 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. There were even allegations that Clark conducted witch hunts, sending production staff to Rittenhouse Square, at the center of Philadelphia's gayborhood, to see if any of the young stars were there. Once a week, she goes to a hop thrown by another Bandstand original, 76-year-old Philadelphia radio and TV personality Jerry Blavat, who bills himself as The Geator with the Heater and The Boss with the Hot Sauce.. . And he has the one criteria required to attract Bunny Gibson. After school in the late 1950s, millions of American teenagers raced home to watch the gyrations of fellow teens on their parents tiny black-and-white televisions in the living room. Give me some Thumbs UP!This is Bunny Gibson and the American Bandstand Regulars live at Sesame Park outside of Philadelphia on July 21,. From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. Filmed in the cramped quarters of the WFIL Studios at 46th and Market Streets in Philly, Bandstand is such a part of Americana that Dick Clarks podium now resides in the Smithsonian. There were represented American Bandstand Dancers from the beginnings in Philadelphia to the last days in Los Angeles.After this short there is the complete Sesame Street Park Parade with the Regulars dancing all along with them. ", 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.". "Dick Clark introduced records, and the camera followed teenagers as they selected partners to dance," writes historian Matthew Delmont. American Bandstand will be back someday, I assure you. After dispelling rumors of his death, which circulated on social media on Thursday, Blavat's representative confirmed in a Facebook post on Friday morning that he had died at 3:45 a.m. at. On Bandstand, she became lifelong friends with one of the celebrity guests, straight Annette Funicello, of Mickey Mouse Club and Beach Party fame. I think after several decades he actually believed the myth. 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. The 50 record albums are packed away for safekeeping., Normans passing Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he stated that one had, Smith recalled. But this one was different. at 3:30pm, then rejoin Bandstand at 4pm. Prior to the move, Bandstand had sourced many of its up-and-coming acts from Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway Records. Dick Clark never played either song on American Bandstand. . Stewart was the owner of a TV/Radio business in Philadelphia and even though he was an older gentleman, his advertising account was a large one for WFIL-TV, so he was put on the program to appease the account. In 2004, Dick Clark, with the help of Ryan Seacrest, announced plans to revive the show in time for the 2005 season; although this did not occur (due in part to Clark suffering a severe stroke in late 2004), one segment of the revived Bandstanda national dance contesteventually became the series So You Think You Can Dance. Aura Mayari Just Wants to Live Her Zombie Apocalypse Fantasy. Clark pulled him within two feet of the camera and told America, "Steve is our newest regular, and he's going to lead us off with a spotlight dance. Normally, I do not forward mail to the Regulars. One market not telecasting Bandstand was Baltimore, Maryland, as local affiliate WAAM (now WJZ-TV) elected to produce a local dance show in the same afternoon time slot. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. Although, unlike some others, Carole never really had a steady dancing partner, she danced with all the good-looking Italian boys and that one special non-Italian whom everyone loved - Harvey Robbins. They were real kids from Philly, and if you watched every day, you could tell who was breaking up and who was making up. 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. Broadcast only on Saturdays after 1963, American Bandstand lost the homegrown vitality of the daily program in West Philadelphia. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings," Bandstand star Arlene Sullivan writes in her memoir, Bandstand Diaries. "This man had the strongest personality that I had ever seen as a young boy," he said. California residents do not sell my data request. But to his credit and diligence, he brilliantly created his own myth, and he stuck to it for the rest of his life. As the books highlight, Ray Smith and Arlene Sullivan provided two thoughtful and unadornedBandstandmemoirs. I did get to know Annette Funicello [a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club], who came to the show. Where things are poppin'(Pop!) Not only was it extremely intelligent, but there was something moving about the mans story. . The big teenybopper magazines of the era Sixteen and Teen plastered Bandstand dancers on their covers and wrote glowing, gossipy stories about their lives in Philadelphia, where Dick Clark produced the show. But . The program was broadcast live, weekday afternoons and, by 1959, the show had a national audience of 20 million. She acknowledges that some of the other girls she knew on the show were also gay. We would roar, roll over with pain from laughing so hard. History goes back and forth with the timing and motives of the integration, but nevertheless, American Bandstand socially impacted teenagers' opinions regarding race. I was SO mixed up., Today, Arlene Sullivan lives with a partner and, despite having suffered strokes, still loves to dance. Television host Dick Clark presides over the set of his show American Bandstand in 1957. Clark moved the show to California in 1964, but many fans remember it as a Philadelphia phenomenon. Many factors were involved in this, particularly the launch and rise of MTV and other music programs on television, and along with that, the number of ABC affiliates opting to pre-empt or delay the program. It was horrible.. By then, he was a big-time television producer. I imitated all the dance steps, sometimes with the refrigerator door as a partner. This site does not collect any information from you. One show from this first season (December 18, 1957, identified as the "Second National Telecast") is preserved in the archives of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications. ", "I was shaking like a leaf," Colanero recalled. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. I started going out to straight clubs.. YOUR FAVORITE LOGO SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+, "Those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other., 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. Dick Clark later stated that he knew the prime-time edition would fail because its core audience teenagers and housewives was occupied with other interests in the evenings. Determined, Don got Bunnys number from one of the regulars and he met his dream girl. [7] The Diary of Arlene Sullivan, in Sullivan, Smith, and Cutler,Bandstand Diaries, 43-63. Out filmmaker Christopher Landon spills the spooky tea on his new movie and working with the 'White Lotus' star. Don and Bunny had two daughters: Angel and Maria and four grandchildren: Lea & Christopher Di Vello, Alexis Karanzalis & Nicole Weiss. Bunny and Duke met several months ago and now are married. The news hit hard. "Bandstand's Backyard". The only singer to ever co-host the show with Dick Clark was Donna Summer, who joined him to present a special episode dedicated to the release of the Casablanca film Thank God It's Friday on May 27, 1978. .When he spoke to us off-screen, it was usually from the podium; it gave him command over his domain, and as I have learned over the years, Clark liked and wanted to be in command.4, Smith recalls the closetingof American BandstandsLGBT youths. May, 1961. Due to the size of the studio, the need to have as much dance space as possible, and the size of the cumbersome color camera compared to the black-and-white models, it was only possible to have one RCA TK-41 where three RCA TK-10s[4] had been used before. He still had that in him until the evening before he passed away. Norman was born on January 18, 1944. you could do in half time - the hop, the bop, and the stomp," she wrote. I started going out to straight clubs.. Finally, we got away and jumped over the turnstile. My husband and I met on a blind date and six months later on April 12, 1964 we were married. Rossi was straightbut Sullivan, many of her female co-stars, and most of the young male dancers were not. We have lived in NJ ever since. We call him Namron and yes, if you spell his name backwards it spells, Norman. "With Bandstand, WFIL resolved this tension by drawing on Philadelphia's interracial music scene to create an entertaining and profitable television show, while refusing to allow the city's black teenagers into the studio audience for fear of alienating viewers and advertisers. . Sullivans co-author, Ray Smith, recently retired after 40 years as an Emmy-winning Today show producer. Bandstand debuted in Philadelphia in 1950 and took on its familiar format two years later. Sullivan was raised in a rowhouse in a working-class neighborhood; we surmise from her writing that it was somewhere in Southwest Philly (she attended John Bartram High School), although Sullivan doesnt specify a home address. Yes, yes, I know. Local radio disc jockey Buddy Deane was chosen as the host of The Buddy Deane Show on Channel 13, and began a daily two hour broadcast on September 9, 1957. SaturdayBandstandretained the proven format of the now defunct weekday show, but it sustained a crucial loss of spontaneity as a result of being taped instead of shown live. Words by Barry Manilow and Bruse Sussman, Were goin hoppin (Hop!) Score: 4.4/5 (45 votes) . As previously mentioned, during the 1978 season of Bandstand, Donna Summer became the only music artist in Bandstand's history to co-host the program. . Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. ", "Forty years after 'Bandstand' debut, Clark and dancers celebrate", "ORIGINAL DANCERS WILL GRANDSTAND AT 'BANDSTAND' REUNION", "American Bandstand, Season 30, Episode 38: Laura Brannigan (Final ABC show)", "Dick Clark's On a Roll: He Tunes In to TV Trends", "Dick Clark celebrates American Bandstand's 35th", "RETRO: Fairbanks, Alaska (October 24, 1987)", "Retro: Northern Wisconsin, Sat. What they didnt know was that Arlene and several of the other female dancers, and most of the handsome teen boys, were gay. June Bouche on November 20, 2018 at 9:12 pm . As the music historian John Jackson observes, from the 1970s on American Bandstandno longer served as Clarks primary video outlet. For the next several decades, Clark would achieve high national visibility as a popular gameshow host and as the impresario of periodic primetimeAmerican Bandstandhit-song reunions (not to mention a spate of video cassettes and books) that fed on white Americas nostalgia forAmericanBandstandsdays in West Philadelphia, evoked in Barry Manilows Bandstand song with Manilows homage to The Philadelphia Way.. She was 13 but lied about her age. We followed their dance steps on TV and their personal lives in Teen magazines. . American Bandstandsrelegation to a weekly schedule stripped it of much of its power as a potential hit song exposer, writes the music historian John Jackson. Making matters worse, on September 13, 1986, ABC reduced Bandstand from a full hour to 30 minutes;[13] at Clark's request, the 2,751st and final ABC installment[14] (with Laura Branigan[15] performing "Shattered Glass"[16][17]) aired on September 5, 1987. They were the squeaky-clean Kardashians of their era, and Bandstand could easily claim the title as the first reality show. "Saturday Bandstand retained the proven format of the now defunct weekday show, but it sustained a crucial loss of spontaneity as a result of being taped instead of shown live. Teenagers and young adults ran home from school to watch them jitterbug and stroll while they copied their fashions, fads and dance moves. Clark was known for integrating his audiences as well as his performers unusual in the late 50s. For now, Dick Clark on ABC, so long. For More Bunny click here to go to Bunny Gibson.com, Bunny Gibson discusses the 50th celebration of American Bandstand. They werent playing football. "I kissed a girl, and I liked it!. In other parts of the country, if you were a gay kid growing up, you were probably the only one in town who was gay, Sullivan says. Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? It was a local show Philadelphia, Jersey, the Lehigh Valley [Pennsylvania]. Arlene Sullivan, one of the most popularAmerican Bandstandregulars, presents another perspective on the shows closeted world. Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi on the cover of Teen magazine in 1959. "He was the commander," Colanero said. WFIL reverted to the TK-10s two weeks later when ABC refused to carry the color signal and management realized that the show lost perspective without the extra cameras. In March of 1970 we moved to New Jersey. 4/8/1989 10/7/1989 Syndicated REGULARS Gallery 3. From the late 1950s and most of the 1960s, Clark's on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O'Donnell, who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $100,000 Pyramid. The Twist the first dance to come out where people danced separately and the Monkey and Jerk came out after Id left.. Goes from a daily to a weekly Saturday show in Philadelphia: 9/7/1963, Broadcast from Los Angeles: Begins 2/8/1964, Produced by Anthony Tony Mammarella and Dick Clark, Dick Clark Host But I didnt have any crushes on any of the straight girls. Dancing was a major feature of Bandstand. News Shows I kissed a girl, and I liked it! Sullivan, now 74 and long out of the closet, reveals in a fascinating self-published book, Bandstand Diaries billed as The Book Youve Waited Over 50 Years to Read!. . He retained his youthful looks through the 1980s, burnishing his reputation as Americas Oldest Living Teenager. Dick Clark died at age 82 in Santa Monica. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. I had asked Norman to dance when it was a ladies choice. They were introduced as a result of an email sent to the Fifties Web. . Sullivan and the other dancers often congregated in Rittenhouse Square, the historic epicenter of what is known as the City of Brotherly Loves Gayborhood. There even was chatter and fear that Clark, who died at 82 in 2012, sent members of his production staff to spy on them and report back the names of the suspected gay regulars. He would dance on the show until early 1960. In another format shift, it was shot outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood. A show where well-dressed teens gently bop around to the big hits while maintaining an appropriate distance apart hardly seems like it would be a hot bed of sexual experimentation, but American Bandstand apparently featured a crew of Philadelphia kids who had more than dancing in common. This set and theme music were used until September 1974, with the arrival of a brand new set and the second, updated version of "Bandstand Boogie". She was one of five brothers and sisters; had a huge family vacation home in Sea Isle City where Regulars visited: and dated Frank Levins and Denny Dziena. But . Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. Set pieces from Soul Unlimited were utilized by Bandstand for its 19741978 set design. Like Rick Pierce, Bandstand dancer Sandra Mae Dawson, who died Feb. 25, 2008, at age 66, was into car racing. . Bob Horn Host (Bob Horns Bandstand), Bandstand Boogie My friends went to church dances every Friday and Saturday night. The show, hosted by Dick Clark, sounds like it was both a community of welcome amongst the teens and a repressive construct from higher ups. 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. West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Jersey you learned the different styles of the same dances., The Regulars did the Pony, Jitterbug, Calypso, Cha-cha and a slow dance that she says wasnt exactly a waltz: The kids didnt stand in one spot. ", Jennifer Coolidge Screams, Is a Queen in Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost'. To the left youll find original pictures of some of the Regulars. The dancers, as Teen wrote, were the "most famous unknowns on TV today. He was a brilliant man. It was horrible.. Im sure shell be thrilled to hear well wishes and from Bandstand friends and fans and donations would help her a lot. She was one of the great stars of the Philadelphia years. Briefly it was part of the USA Network with new host David Hirsh but went off the air in 1989. This historical marker recalls Dick Clarks American Bandstand, which was broadcast from West Philadelphia from 1957 to 1964. (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. . 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. Joyce Shafer talks about herself and her dance partner, Norman Kerr, Norman was one of a kind, always making people laugh. He is a man of God and over the years has established both karate and prison ministeries. However, advertisers do to enable personalized ads. Many other Bandstand alumni from the show's Philadelphia era were overcome with a rush of memories Wednesday. We've received your submission. Clark now eyed California as where the action is. And in February 1964 Clark moved to Los Angeles, where it would continue until 1989, though lacking its West Philadelphia spontaneity. "He made me feel that if you want something in life, you have to be serious about it.". In the meantime, have a wonderful week or two. In late spring of 1957, the ABC television network asked their O&O's and affiliates for programming suggestions to fill their 3:30p.m. (ET) time slot (WFIL had been pre-empting the ABC programming with Bandstand). So fearful of the kids real behavior, [Clark] imposed a strict dress code: jackets and ties for boys, and nothing tight for girls. But he feared that if the shows secret ever came out, Middle America would change the channel. [3] Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently. Fundraiser for the renovation of the original American Bandstand Studio Floor At 74, Sullivan still dances once a week at a party thrown by another Bandstand dancer. Squeaky clean commercial pitchman and deejay Dick Clark inherited Bob Horns locally broadcastBandstandin July 1956 and revamped it for a national audience of teenage consumers as ABCsAmerican Bandstand, which first aired in August 1957. I was so afraid that I started trying to talk myself into being straight. It preceded The Guy Mitchell Show. I knew I was different early on, but being with all these [Bandstand] friends, I came to terms with my feelings. In 1964 Dick Clark took Dick Clark Productions and American Bandstand to Hollywood, Los Angeles in search of new markets for his myriad projects. This site is not endorsed by or associated with dick clark productions, inc. or its family of companies. Dick Clark Productions is credited as the show's co-producer, and longtime employee Allen Shapiro serves as co-executive producer. While the teens, all homegrown talent, rocked onstage, two cameras homed in on them for close-ups. They even invented a few the Stroll, the Circle and the Chalypso. We were like sisters. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Another time, a dancer was thrown onto the subway tracks. AB WALLET PHOTOS. This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952, in "Studio 'B'", which was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building in West Philadelphia.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^ , and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. 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. Like nostalgia? The new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. The shy Sullivan pushed herself forward with the contact because she wanted to get on TV to impress her mother. Fifty years later, Bandstand fan Sharon Sultan Cutler wondered what had become of the "Regulars," the name given to the teens that showed up daily to dance. I think [the shows success] even surprised Dick Clark.. I went to Bandstand because I was gay and I was a misfit in my neighborhood. . When WFIL-TV moved to a new facility on City Line Avenue (one that did not have a studio that could accommodate the show), ABC moved production of Bandstand to the ABC Television Center (stage 5) in Los Angeles (now known as The Prospect Studios) on February 8, 1964, which coincidentally was the day before the Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. . I was truly blessed in my life with wonderful family, friends and fans. during those wonderful days. They were hurting him. The dark-complexioned, wavy-haired Sullivan6bolstered American Bandstands image as a show dominated by Italian-American teens. 10/7/1957 9/5/1987 ABC 60 minutes "If you got in front of the camera too much, he'd call you back and tell you to circulate. Clark "was very all-American, handsome, and nice, a father figure to us," she recalled. REGULARS Gallery 1. Then it was hosted by Bob Horn and was called Bob Horns Bandstand.On July 9 of 1956 the show got a new host, a clean-cut 26 year old named Dick Clark. The bashing of Bandstand regulars, gay and straight, happened all the time, Sullivan and Smith reveal. Barbara finally came back and said I had to come to the front because the back was only for colored people. [36] Clark remained as executive producer. I still have my HI-FI sitting against a wall between my living room and dining room. This story has been shared 115,637 times. James Morgan, who danced 17 times on Bandstand and stayed interested in it over the years, said Mrs. Spada had run a beauty parlor in the suburbs. The 1960 amendments to the 1934 Federal Communications Act put heavy constraints on payola, requiring full public disclosure when a record company or its agent pays a broadcaster to play records on the air. The 1960 amendments criminalized any action that breached the disclosure rule. The one thing that really shocked me was that those boys who were 14 and 15 and 16 were sleeping with each other," Smith told the New York Post. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. This investigation targeted the practice of payola, and it was most likely triggered by rumors circulating that charged Dick Clark with promoting records in which he held a financial stake onAmerican Bandstandand taking kickbacks from record companies to include their records on the shows playlist. He said funeral services are pending. Brancaccio says thats what attracted him to it. In 1988, the National Park Service listed 4548 Market Street on the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Bandstand Diaries shares some public information and photos about Frani (page 84). When ABC picked up the game show Do You Trust Your Wife? Regardless, the music historian John Jackson calls it the gravest crisis in his professional career.1, At all events, the payola hearings spurred action by Congress. These teenagers became the nation's first reality-TV stars--they received thousands of fan letters and were mobbed everywhere they went. Despite that sense of community, the show's starsgay and straight alikewere targeted in Philadelphia, and even physically attacked in some cases, just for being dancers. I said, In that case, Im staying. I was shocked. American Bandstand Fundraiser Pictures, To my knowledge, no VHS tape of American Bandstand is commercially available. From September 13, 1986, to September 5, 1987, Manilow's version was replaced at the close of the show by a new closing theme arranged by David Russo, who also performed an updated instrumental arrangement of "Bandstand Boogie" when Bandstand went into syndication. Home Yesteryear Nostalgia Where Are the American Bandstand Regulars Now? He spoke of his youth, of Bandstand and his favorite gal, Bunny. "That really annoyed me," said Smith, "Because quite a few of. Mixed REGULARS Galleries. The segment gave rise to the catchphrase "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

Eleanor Hayden Phil Dunster, Is Melvin Nimoy Still Alive, Articles A