Nov 30, 1929. As influential host of televisions American Bandstand from 1957 to 1987, Dick Clark helped to promote and codify rock and roll and black rhythm and blues to mainstream audiences as those sounds wound their way into the country’s psyche.
Richard Wagstaff Clark was born at Bronxville, NY. After early stops in New York radio he moved to Philadelphia, PA, where he became the host of a local music show called Bandstand. The show went national in 1957, and soon Clark was talking to every teenager in America. His easygoing style and youthful, clean-cut look became a constant in American popular culture. As the entrepreneur of a successful television production company and as the host of innumerable music shows, awards ceremonies and prime-time specials, Clark became the engaging emcee to four decades of entertainment culture. Americas Oldest Teenager died Apr 18, 2012, at Santa Monica, CA.
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