A few, burned by previously unsuccessful attempts by some to write books about the program, were reluctant to share their memories with her. This historical marker recalls Dick Clarks American Bandstand, which was broadcast from West Philadelphia from 1957 to 1964. This site is not endorsed by or associated with dick clark productions, inc. or its family of companies. [4] Ray Smith, Dancing on Air, in Arlene Sullivan, Ray Smith, and Sharon Sultan Cutler, eds.,Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963(Chicago: Cony Island Press, 2019), 35. I have a Champion Samoyed show dog. 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. Early in 1964, the show moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, where it remained through its final season in 1989. Fabian and Bobby Rydell Hang With American Bandstand Regulars - YouTube Such white Philadelphia-area teens (many from South Philadelphia or near the shows production site in West Philadelphia), among others, regularly appeared on American Bandstand. Years later, when Clark was asked whether any of the dancers had died of AIDS, he stated that one had, Smith recalled. Emphasizing this sentiment, Philadelphian John Oates (of musical duo Hall & Oates) said, The show had such an impact on the music business, it set the tone and the pace for teenage style and attitude and everything else across America., Jordan McClain is Assistant Teaching Professor of Communication at Drexel University. Later, in hindsight, I guessed that made me the first white Rosa Parks. "When he saw me, he said, 'I knew I'd see you again,' with a smile on his face," Gibson recalled. Support+971+2+5530548 Email: sales@mazoutdft.com. 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. 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. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. 10/7/1957 9/5/1987 ABC 60 minutes Pat Molitteeri was credited with inventing the dance, "The Hop" by combining elements of the Slop and the Bop, Pat died in the mid -1970s of a heart attack at age 36, Carmen Jimenez still lives in Philadelphia today and recollects the fun she had being on the show. We followed their dance steps on TV and their personal lives in Teen magazines. The Slop. OnAmerican Bandstandsdance floor, Sullivan was first partnered famously with Kenny Rossi (1957-58), a multitalented Italian-American student at West Catholic Boys High School, and such was her national popularity that her fan mail eventually totaled some 500 letters weekly. These Regulars . From 1963 to 1987 Bandstand was on only once a week, on Saturday. 1 (2012): 89-113. (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. Kenny Rossi and Arlene Sullivan, Bunny Gibson and Eddie Kelly, Pat Molittieri, Carmen Jimenz, Joyce Shafer. 4/8/1989 10/7/1989 Syndicated (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune). In fact, it was dangerous. I lived in very tough South Philadelphia, he says. Sharon Sultan Cutler, of Chicago, talks about "Bandstand Diaries," the book she co-authored with Ray Smith and former American Bandstand participant Arlene Sullivan remembering the shows early days. (Author information current at time of publication. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. As two or three stations grab it off, you get less clearance, therefore you get less rating, and its an endless cycle. While ABC wasnt in the quiz show business, a congressional subcommittee found another reason to investigate the network. The program moved production in 1964 from Philadelphia to Hollywood, months after it began airing once per week. Menu. Wagon Train Website,
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