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In fact, she was "the first female car racer at Cecil County Drag Strip," according. 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 said. DICK CLARK AND AMERICAN BANDSTAND: THE EARLY DAYS Random Thoughts 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. Back in July, I received a most endearing email from Duke which told of his experiences in life. They are extending the honeymoon in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Duke has called home. we were like a little family together, and we all had something in common, and we all stuck together, and that made it easier for us.. Some of the stories I heard are heartbreaking, Sullivan recalls. But . She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. EARLY BANDSTAND VIDEOS. He promoted the couples on the show to mask the fact that so many guys were gay.5. While Bandstand fans across the country imagined a true romantic relationship between Sullivan, who secretly liked girls, and her on-screen companion, Rossi, who was straight, she says it was little more than made-for-TV puppy love. We were the first reality show, she adds. The kids who showed up every day (Bandstand aired every weekday afternoon for the first six years) knew all the most popular steps. "We all did. American Bandstand Dancers - Legacy.com And, for me, the kids on Bandstand were all I aspired to be. 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. By then, he was a big-time television producer. He was 82, and had suffered a heart attack while in a Santa Monica hospital for an outpatient procedure. Or sign up for our monthly Nostalgia e-newsletter or other e-newsletters tailored for boomers! Jerry Lee Lewis was the first guest on the national show and it would over the decades feature the TV debuts of such stars as Prince, the Jackson 5, Aerosmith, Sonny and Cher and dozens of other performers. But back in the Bandstand days, Smith was one of the shows secretly gay dancers. . How to Be a SuperAger in The SuperAging Revolution, Jumble for Kids and Adults: Cartoons and Twins. He fell in love with her. 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 new legislation effectively ended payola in the music business.2, American Bandstandtoo weathered the payola storm. You want to know about the guy! The kids designated as American Bandstand Regulars in some cases struggled with their sexual identity. While ABC wasnt in the quiz show business, a congressional subcommittee found another reason to investigate the network. New York: Ballantine, 1985. 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. We moved around the floor the way our parents did in the 40s. View Our Classic TV Shows Directory But it was obvious to the teen dancers that he was set on a trajectory that would take him far from Studio B in West Philly. (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. Arlene Sullivan, a star on Bandstand, is now 74. American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder 1957-1964 In August 1963, ABC reassignedAmerican Bandstandto Saturday afternoon. Most of those kids recruited from area high schools and compelled to "retire" from the show when they turned 18 are now in the 70s and their lives have had ups and downs. [2] Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Paylola and Sponsorship Identification, Federal Communications Act, Amendments, 1960. The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. MEMORIALS - marshasvintage.com I went to coffee shops, but I also hung out in Rittenhouse Square and so did many of the dancers. Rock, Roll and Remember. Teen idol Bobby Rydell, whose music career is still going strong 60 years after American Bandstand, wrote the books introduction; but former Regular Arlene Sullivan, who shares her memories and personal images, is a standout as well as a co-author of the book. 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. . Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963 shares the fascinating story of how Dick Clark's American Bandstand and its millions of viewers catapulted its teenage dancers (called "the Regulars") to fame. "It is with much sadness that we have lost one of the most loving and beautiful souls - Carole Scaldeferri Spada has passed away," Bunny Gibson, who identified herself as a "Bandstand buddy," posted on Facebook. He debuted in Studio 3B at WFIL-TV, near the El train stop in West Philadelphia, in 1956 when he was a 13-year-old junior high school student. American Bandstand (TV Series 1952-1989) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. She was one of the great stars of the Philadelphia years. American Bandstand - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia She tracked them down for the new coffee-table book, Bandstand Diaries: The Philadelphia Years, 1956-1963. As Sullivan puts it: The boys danced. At the time, unless a broadcaster failed to report under-the-table income (federal income tax evasion), payola wasnt illegal in federal law.