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. ET. At WFIL they thought: What a wonderful idea for TV! on Friday. It was an innocent time, says one of them. It was just his shtick. At the very beginning, Horns Bandstand had some racial integration. So, you know, it was no big thing. This soon became a potential explosive situation, so the studio created an admission system that required passes that were distributed prior to the day of the show. Some of the regular boys all white started talking angrily among themselves about how theyd like to beat up the boy after the show. Bobby Baritz, a little out of breath from a fast jitterbug, said he now runs a food and gift shop in New York City. With the help of Clark and his wife, Richard contacted Carole and the two were married six months later. First, they required that boys show up wearing suits and ties. ABC gave, Theres a dramatic difference between the description of Horn by his adult co-workers and what we hear from his teenage fans. 7 Who created the TV show American Bandstand? Famous Hooks had known Clark for 40 years and says he never saw the man so upset. Coincidence played a major role in this drama of entertainment history. Having the opportunity to create this dress and work so closely with Madame Olivia Douchez, premire of haute couture salons, and observing their art and immaculate attention to detail was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.. But when it came to rock n roll music, he was not a pioneer at all. Horn ended his career working in Texas using a pseudonym. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. It may not be the secret of my success but it sure as hell kept me out of a lot of trouble.. Every day after school, we would head for the TV studio which was near my high school , For those of you that question or challenge this please try and recall a scene from the shows in Philadelphia where the girls were not wearing Catholic school uniform dresses and the boys were not wearing the white shirt and tie Catholic school boys uniform. With Clark, the program became more popular than ever. From 1965 to 1967 Dick Clark also produced a show called Shebang which spotlighted a Mexican-American regular, Manuel Acosta, who slow-danced with a blonde white girl named Lynn. He said fans often spot the American Bandstand display in his store and gawk at photographs of their favorite Bandstanders. It was so surreal, and it was such a meaningful [wedding gift from Elliot], she says. Stanley J. 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. All the brides other jewelry pieces were by Fred Leighton. Clark became a national icon with the popular dance show American Bandstand in the late We were family for years, Carrelli, 68, tells Parade.com about Clark's passing. Then he was arrested and we never made the record. She, like Colella, finds it hard to believe that Horn had an affair with a teenage girl. Management was so happy with Horns ratings that they let him choose whatever music he wished; he didnt need to shove those songs. It was hysterical, Sofia says. I talked to the kids on the same intellectual level. 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. He took my friend Adam and me out fishing on his boat, along with some of his record-company friends, When Horn was arrested for drunk-driving on June 21, 1956, hardly anyone aside from station staffers and music industry insiders knew about his sexual life, and it didnt come to light even then. In 1950 WPEN moved into a modern new building at 2212 Walnut Street. Some of the biggest headlines of the year concerned the Kravitz case in which an upper-class girl died during an abortion that was arranged by her mother so the girl wouldnt bear a child out of wedlock. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Annenberg asked Horn to confirm or deny that he knew the teenage girl who was cooperating with Blancs investigation. I used to see Horn with the young girl, Lois, when she accompanied him to the station for his 11-to-midnight radio show. University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Starting Local: WFIL-TV, Bob Horn, and Philadelphia's Bandstand, Going National: Dick Clark and ABC's American Bandstand, Whose Music, Whose Dances? It became integrated in 1957 because I elected to make it so, he was being outrageously simplistic. anniversary, there was no commemoration. Ive always loved his timeless pieces, Sofia adds. I always thought Horn did a poor job relating to the kids. He asked me to be on the committee and be an example for others. When the TV program American Bandstand passed its 50th anniversary, there was no commemoration. He was born Lee Shulman and started his career as an ad salesman. These record-promo men knew of her, and got her into the station to meet Horn. 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. Breakfast ended at around 11 a.m., and the group went straight into hair and makeup. WebAmerican Bandstand Tidbits. Tallulah Dancier is a black woman who started watching the show around that time: I would hurry home and watch Bandstand as I did my homework. The Bandstanders invented steps that are still given a whirl: the bunny hop, the chalypso and the stroll. This is what Clark said about Horn: He was a man in his late thirties, was heavyset with a double chin, long, narrow nose and greased-back black hair. Dick Clark. Bandstand began as a local program on WFIL-TV (now WPVI ), Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952. Elliot surprised me with a trip with all our best friends in April of 2022, Sofia remembers. In the otherwise frothy Grease (1978), that dynamic is reiterated. Also, the kids danced to Whitemans band, not to records. And when I heard a few words changed to my name, I thought it was so sweet of him to think of me and change my name like that. Black kids were turned back at the entrance without any explanation. 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. They are true rock stars. After his dalliance with Dorothy, Allison allowed these men and girls free reign around the station. Still, within hours after his DUI arrest, Horn was suspended from, Channel 6, WFIL, was owned by Walter Annenberg, whose newspaper, the, Horn described his pattern of hanging at a bar with song-pluggers and music publishers every evening after. He also played show tunes and interviewed Harold Rome, the composer of the Broadway musical, Secondly, the producer started to require admission cards. Jimmy Boyd. Dick Clark hosts a daily to weekly dance show that features the latest hit music for the attending teens to dance to. The Bandstand dancers, on the other hand, were fond of him. (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. Debby Boone. Kevin Stewart: Old School Shirt Makers New York, Alexandra Rouvet Duvernoy: Trumpisms Commentary by A.H. Scott, Dean Rosenzweig: Cats and QueensUfos and Other Things, Kitchie Ohh: Resolution Revolution - Tony Ward. It does not store any personal data. 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. Clark was the host of American Bandstand in the late 50s through the mid-60s. Clark looked like one of the kids. (Horn was 40 when he left Bandstand and Clark was a babyfaced 27.) Victor Blanc, the DA, was investigating what he called teenage sex rings. He phoned Lew Klein, an executive at WFIL who was a lodge-brother of his, and warned him not to reinstate Horn because theres more to the story; this is only the beginning of Horns problems.. On the other hand, Blancs total and Blancs margin of victory was not anywhere near what his predecessor, Richardson Dilworth, had achieved in 1951. Race and American Bandstand, The Seven-Year Itch: West Philly Loses American Bandstand, Report accessibility issues and request help. He was born in 1916 and grew up in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Soon after the show went on the air, Horn met a 13-year-old girl at the station and they began a sexual relationship. They were some of the most famous kids in America, dancing every day on American Bandstand.. Bandstand had a lurid involvement with sexual assault that hasnt been fully explored publicly, until now in detail in Part Two of this story. I imitated This, however, was basically a talent show and dancing was secondary. Despite Horns risk-taking, his sexual activities would never have come to light if it werent for two outside factors. Vic Blanc became a judge, then resigned when he developed mental lapses which would today be labeled as Alzheimers disease. 1964 - The Beach Boys - "Don't Worry, Baby". 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. She enjoyed seeing the TV series American Dreams, produced by Dick Clark in 2002, because it recalled one of the best periods in her life. Who were the original dancers on American Bandstand? Between my dad and Good Charlotte, it was unbelievable. Models Inc. was based on a Senate investigation of modeling schools, and in its original form the film opened with a statement by U.S. It has always been a dream of mine to have Chanel design my wedding dress, Sofia says. The makeup for the entire weekend was super simple and clean, Sofia says. Hooks credits Dick Clark for personally choosing him to be a regular dancer on the show, the first black to gain that distinction. The man who introduced us told me that she liked to pose for photos the kind you could not take to your drugstore to get developed and she would do some other things, but would not allow sexual intercourse because she had a boyfriend and didnt want to cheat on him. If we dont do something, theyll take over was the expressed fear. In all, 27 men were arrested. Ill close with a personal reminiscence. 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. My friends Famous Hooks and Lori Montgomery were told they could no longer be dancing partners because of our racial difference., The producer told us very nicely that it was okay with him personally, but some stations wouldnt like it, so please dont do slow dances together. With Clark, the program became more popular than ever. If ABC had not been the poorest of the networks, unable to provide daytime programs to its affiliates, Bandstand would never have been born. 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 Celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Benji Madden, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Joel Madden descended upon the iconic hotel in the South of France for the whirlwind wedding weekend, which took both Instagram and TikTok by storm. American Bandstand: West Philadelphia's Seven-Year Wonder Among those to make early national appearances included Buddy Holly, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, and Simon and Garfunkel. I danced there until 1972 and the policy remained the same. Published April 26, 2023 Updated April 27, 2023, 12:58 a.m. We stopped going and so did the black girls, for the most part.. The sex-with-minors angle was too shocking for public consumption, and the station didnt dare to reveal it. The makeup for the entire weekend is super-simple and clean, Sofia says. American Bandstand/First episode date. To get in the studio, boys must be wearing a suit jacket and tie. Most people around the station found him less than charming. 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. 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. What were the results of this elaborate investigation? It reflected the fact that Horn played big band recordings by Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and other similar artists. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. In this new setting, a greater number of kids could dance while the music played. This is but one of the many bitter memories that I and many of the people that I grew up with have about American Bandstand.. Cuz Bongiorno became a regular at Bandstand early in 1953. A suburban dog breeder named James Worden frequently attended the Allison show and sometimes invited men and women whom he met there to parties at his estate, which he called Hound Dog Hill. He certainly didnt do it because Blanc had greater public recognition. But Dorothy provided some shocking testimony, saying that she and Allison repeated their sexual acts on several other nights, and that he once asked her to drink some water and try to urinate on him. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. That belief is persuasively challenged by recent scholarship:American BandstandThe Philadelphia Way not only excluded black teens from the show but also represented black dances as having originated on the show with its white dancers. Even when black artists like Chuck Berry and Fats Domino appeared in live shows, 95% of the audience was white. For my Legally we had to get married in the States beforehand, so right before [we left for France], we got married at home with just our parents. It was odd that Blanc replaced Kefauver in Teenage Models, Inc because Kefauver was the DAs role model. For the reception, I wore drop-diamond earrings by Kwiat, Fred Leightons parent company, and for the party, my chandelier aquamarine stone earrings were by Fred Leighton and served as my something blue., Elliot wore a Ralph Lauren suit at the rehearsal dinner and a Tom Ford tuxedo for the wedding day itself, while the seven bridesmaids were in all black. There are no plans to televise the event. So if you got on the show once you were assured of returning, as long as they liked you, ahead of people who phoned in or wrote in. What is a 7 letter word that starts with O? 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. Horn personally selected the committee, and he happened to choose only white kids to serve on it. When I saw him socially, he did not seem like a zealot or a crusader. I knew when couples broke up. After the indictment was announced, Adleman hastily wrote a press release to save the city from embarrassment. ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images. Working with Chanel was not only an honor but a true dream of mine, Sofia says. 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. You were like a big star. WebBy the mid-1970s, moreover, American Bandstand ratings were in decline and faced a challenge from Soul Train. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. American Bandstand 1961 4th Anniversary Show (Partial Episode) Former Dancers WebGary U.S. Bonds. After you got a committee card you didnt have to wait in line to get into the show. Horn loved jazz, especially Dizzy Gillespie, Erroll Garner and Sarah Vaughan, and he produced Vaughans first Philadelphia concert. But at one gathering, one guy didnt follow the rule and went all the way. While Clark openedAmerican Bandstandsstage to black R&B and rock n roll performers, he and his producers segregated the studios dance floor and white teenagers adapted black dances for white audiences. In the course of his probe Blanc discovered connections between many disparate people. 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. This system permitted the show to legally turn away anyone without the pass while at the same time maintain the lily white studio audience since the passes were only distributed at the all-white West Catholic High School For Boys and the all-white West Catholic High School For Girls. We blacks watched from across the street. The original American Bandstand studio located at 4548 Market Street in Philadelphia, PA was entered into the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and in 1982 Dick Clark donated the original podium to the Smithsonian Institute, where it still resides. All rights reserved. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". WebPulitzer Prizeeligible magazine The National Enquirer broke an old but interesting story this week about Dick Clarks American Bandstand. The DA spent considerable time and money on his probe, renting a center city storefront as an unmarked headquarters instead of using his own office in City Hall. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. According to show-business contemporaries of his, Horn was a free-swinging, hard-drinking man who smoked several packs of cigarettes a day. My favorites have always been Hello and Stuck on You, Sofia says. In addition, the show has performances by popular musicians and audience members rate songs. She says there would always be a long line. Horn bragged to song-pluggers that he had to shove this music down the throats of station management, but he was unjustly trying to claim credit for himself. 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. As host of American Bandstand, Clark introduced rock & roll to many Americans. When Horn admitted that he knew her, Annenberg ordered him to resign from the station. The Boys. Who were the original dancers on American Bandstand? He was convicted and sentenced to jail for that, but not for his sexual activities. Tony Mammarella had to calm them down. The marker stands opposite 4548 Market Street (not shown here), which once housed WFIL-TVand its Studio B, the original home of American Bandstand. Horn played mainstream singers like Doris Day and Frankie Laine. Dick Clarks American Bandstand was the offspring of deejay Bob Horns Bandstand, which WFIL-TV broadcast daily from 1952-56 from a WFIL studio at 4548 Market St. I was watching one by one each bridesmaid and groomsman walk down the aisle, and we were inching closer to the front, and I couldnt believe it was happening, she says. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. 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. Other results: Some of the men were convicted of participating in unnatural sex. Others were charged with corrupting the morals of minors, but the judges in the majority of these cases decided that the men were dealing with girls who were already corrupted, so they either acquitted the men or gave them light punishment. Ive been dreaming of meeting Stephen Sanchez and had asked my fianc several times if we could go to one of his gigs, Sofia explains. He says that he would have loved to see blacks in the studio, so I could learn their dance steps. The grind was a very sexy dance that you did on a slow record. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Horn led a double life that included activities his virginal dancers never dreamed of. That was Bobs invention.) DeFord Bailey (December 14, 1899 July 2, 1982) was an American country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941. Clark inherited WFILs local television showBandstand(1952-56) from the deejay Bob Horn, who proved that teenagers liked watching their peers dance. Senator Estes Kefauver, who was running for Vice President in 1956. Rodgers recorded his first record under Ralph Peer in Bristol, Tennessee the day after the original Carter Family recorded theirs. For example, Bernie Jacobs, the man who ran the modeling agency and set Steve Allison up with his accuser, also arranged modeling jobs for Lois, Horns accuser. Horn, on the other hand, didnt show such warmth to colleagues. I dont know why, but black kids didnt want to come., Doris Wilson was a young teenager when Bandstand was in Philadelphia. Jimmie Rodgers, first solo country superstar, the undisputed Father of Country Music. I was so innocent that I thought they wouldnt stand in our way. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. At the time, I didnt know it was racism to go somewhere and not get let in. 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. Weekday afternoons were spent with the kids in Philly, the kids on American Bandstand. The BBC's. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. It seems curious that a public official needed to rent a private headquarters, but Blanc felt that some city officials, if they knew what he was doing, would tip off their friends who were being investigated. Horn asked his dancers to recommend new songs. Required fields are marked *. The program, starting in 1952, originally was simply named Bandstand. 6 Who were the first guests on American Bandstand? Courtesy American Bandstand. I always said it would be a dream to do our first dance to Stuck on YouHello was a surprise, and the whole room was singing along., The after-party, which had a nightclub-inspired vibe, featured a performance from Good Charlotte, who both Sofia and Elliot grew up listening to. We blacks watched from across the street. Clipp called Grady and me to his office, Hurst related, and asked us to start in two weeks. 95.3K subscribers Share 1.1M views 5 years ago To celebrate AB's 11th anniversary, the kids in People would phone the station if they wanted to attend, and callers were told there was a six-month wait. Maybe he was on edge because the vice trial was about to start a few days later. Allison and Horn were each acquitted, but neither one of them got their jobs back. Who created the TV show American Bandstand? 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. Horn was kind and fatherly to these teenagers. Bob Horn complimented me on my dancing ability and for the way I dressed. I never saw black people dancing on the show early on, but that didnt faze me. May 3rd, 2002. I was really nervous before walking down the aisleit was like I had stage fright, my adrenaline was so high. 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. One, a district attorneys re-election campaign. But inside the studio, at the end of each show, committee members gave out reservations for future programs. WebAmerican Bandstand (1952-89) was a massively popular music television program with strong Philadelphia roots, storied national success, and the power to shape the music Allison thought this decision was reprehensible and criticized Annenberg for it. Horn was from the old school, a radio announcer conversant with varied forms of music, from semi-classical to pop. It has a fictional plot about the racial integration of a 1960s teen television dance program, and it reminds me of my own experiences surrounding Bandstand in the 1950s. At just 13 and 16, 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Sort of healthy trouble. Not being able to get in, that was a way of life then. This went on for almost three years, sometimes in a radio studio while Horns records were spinning on the air. Clipp contacted Joe Grady and Ed Hurst, the hosts of Philadelphias most popular afternoon radio program, Clipp called Grady and me to his office, Hurst related, and asked us to start in two weeks. It was very important to me that all my bridesmaids were comfortable, so the only requirement I had was that they wear all black, Sofia explains. The sexual relationship, however, was not revealed until later. It was common for promo guys to give bottles of whiskey as Christmas gifts. The programs first host was Bob Horn. Horn usually brought an entourage of men with him to the studio, and sometimes additional girls. For example, Bernie Jacobs, the man who ran the modeling agency and set Steve Allison up with his accuser, also arranged modeling jobs for Lois, Horns accuser. Now I only dance at weddings, said Carole, 42. Allison coined a new name for himself: a controversialist. He was advertised as the man who owns midnight. Cardinal Spellman was once a guest on his program, and Philadelphia Mayor Dilworth appeared frequently. The mother was put on trial for manslaughter. When he ran dances out-of-town he always made sure that each of us had rides to get there and back. 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. When Horn got busted, the teenagers were shocked. 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. And everyone at ABC Television tried to ignore the programs first years. Among notable guests appearing that first season, some making their television debuts, were: Paul Anka, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, The Del-Vikings, The Diamonds, Buddy Holly, Johnny Mathis, Simon & Garfunkel ( Tom & Jerry), Andy Williams, Jackie Wilson, and others. It became a national institution and Dick Clark a celebrity.