Dick Clark has passed

[firepoint525]

And since these passings seem to come in threes (Mike Wallace and Dick Clark make two), it makes one wonder who'll be next.

Levon Helm.

Also Jonathan Frid (Barnabas of "Dark Shadows"). And Greg Ham ("Men at Work").

Greg Ham's passing has been in the news, but I hadn't heard about Jonathan Frid. Thanks for that heads-up.

Uh, that's more than three, guys. I told you all that this "death comes in threes" thing is a big myth.

 

[Ultimajock]

When Bandstand originated in Philly, Clark lived in Wallingford, PA (western Philly suburbs). So did, at the time, the man who is now my stepfather (the latter in fact continued to live in Wallingford for some time after AB went west).

At least my stepdad last night told me Clark lived in Wallingford.

...Clark later claimed that, when he and American Bandstand moved to Hollywood in 1964, he sold his old house to Dr. Sidney Jacobson, whose daughter, Ingrid, eventually married Jim Croce...

 

[bpatrick]

I've been checking Don Morrow's "Wild World Of Voiceover"
website to see if he's said anything about Clark and have come
up empty. I've been curious because both of them went to
Syracuse in the late 1940s, Morrow has said that he was offered
a job on the campus radio station when Clark left to go to Philadelphia
(actually it was WKTV Utica, NY), decided not to wait that long, and
went on television, first on what is now WTVH Syracuse, then on WFAA
Dallas. Clark never mentioned Morrow in his book "Rock, Roll and Remember,"
although he did mention working with "GE College Bowl" host Robert Earle
at WKTV.

I've been further interested because "Bandstand" and Morrow's "Camouflage"
were part of the ABC daytime schedule for nearly two years (January 1961-
November 1962) and I thought there might be some publicity pictures (Morrow
has one with himself, Johnny Carson, and Bud Collyer on the site). Apparently,
the two men's paths never crossed until Morrow became Clark's announcer on
"Challengers" in the 1990-91 season. But I suppose working relationships such
as this don't always translate into personal friendships.

 

[bpatrick]

One other Clark story that many of you may be familiar with:
Clark and Ed McMahon were neighbors in the Philadelphia suburb
of Drexel Hill; in 1957 "Bandstand" had moved from local to ABC,
while McMahon was playing the clown on the CBS kids' show "Big Top."
When McMahon's show was canceled, Carson's announcer, Bill Nimmo,
was about to leave "Who Do You Trust?" (ABC) to host a show on CBS
called "For Love Or Money." A mutual friend of Clark and Johnny Carson
(actually, he may have been the same agent) asked Clark one day, "Don't
you have a neighbor who's an announcer and is looking for a job?" Clark
allowed as how he did, and the guy suggested McMahon come to New York
and interview with Carson. They talked for ten minutes while they watched
some construction activity across the street from Carson's office; McMahon
left, figuring he'd hear no more. That was, I think, on a Tuesday; Sunday night
McMahon got a call from "Trust" producer Art Stark wanting to know why he
wasn't in New York. Why? asked McMahon. "You've got the job. You start
tomorrow," answered Stark. McMahon took the train back and forth from Philly
to New York every day until he found a place to live in New York. We know, of
course, that the Carson-McMahon working relationship continued for 34 years.

McMahon was later responsible for helping choose Carson's replacement on "Trust":
Woody Woodbury, a comedian he'd known since they were Marine Corps pilots in
Korea.

But what really seemed like old times was "Bloopers and Practical Jokes": Clark and
Carson's production companies jointly produced the show, Clark and McMahon co-hosted,
and Charlie O'Donnell (Clark's announcer on "Bandstand") served as announcer on this show.
For those of us who remember--or care--it was ABC daytime circa 1960 all over again.