He was known as “The World’s Oldest Teenager” from his many years of hosting “American Bandstand.” And Dick Clark performed on both TV and radio for decades, including his annual appearance last New Year’s Eve on his signature “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” – more recently with Ryan Seacrest’s name added to the ABC broadcast. Dick Clark died Wednesday (4/19) at 82.
To say that Dick Clark was involved in broadcasting right up to his death was an understatement. He headed dick clark productions, a major TV production house (but lacking in capital letters), and was partners with Nick Verbitsky in United Stations Radio Networks, one of the largest independent syndicators.
“We were in business a long time. We met in 1979 and started ‘Dick Clark’s National Music Survey’,” Verbitsky told RBR-TVBR. “We had a lot of fun together and enjoyed working in the radio business together. We were very good friends for all those years.”
The two started the first United Stations network in 1981. It merged with Transtar in 1989 to become Unistar, which was subsequently merged with Westwood One, which today is part of Dial Global.
But Clark and Verbitsky were back at it in 1994 to form the new United Stations Radio Network. The company currently distributes Clark’s own radio show, “Rock, Roll & Remember,” and numerous other programs.
In addition to American Bandstand, Clark hosted various versions of the TV game show “Pyramid” in the course of his career.
Although he suffered a stroke in 2004, Clark returned to the Rockin’ Eve broadcast on New Year’s Eve 2005 and every year since.
According to his publicist, Clark died early Wednesday of a heart attack.
We will truley miss and Love Dick Clark..Too bad the Hall’s voting commmittee members have over looked the many Artists, that Dick Clark himself, help pave the road for many of our early Artists, thus being responsible for getting their records on ‘The Top Charts’ and have endured the tests of time. He had what it took..Dick had the talent for reconizing ‘Good Music’.. God Bless You Dick. You were every Teens Friend.
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