R.I.P. Dick Clark

Dick Clark—the venerable broadcaster, American Bandstand host, and television icon whose unflappable youthful enthusiasm carried him through several decades of entertainment and earned him the sobriquet, "America's Oldest Teenager"—has died, according to numerous news sources. Clark reportedly suffered a massive heart attack this morning and died at the age of 82.

For many generations of Americans, Dick Clark was the consummate idea of a “host,” his unfailingly upbeat persona and effortlessly gregarious way of engaging with people of all ages long serving as the exemplar for TV presenters. Most of them knew him and first foremost from American Bandstand, the afternoon record hop in which teenagers shimmied to the latest singles, then ranked them according to Clark’s influential “Rate-A-Record” segment. Clark came to the program after serving several years as a disc jockey in Philadelphia, taking over for fired and disgraced host Bob Horn, who left amid drunk driving and prostitution scandals. The station was looking for someone more clean-cut to replace Horn, and they certainly got it in Clark: The man radiated Brylcreemed goodness, yet his ability to get down with the kids and talk to them about the groovy rock ’n’ roll they were digging never came off as patronizing—the key to any host’s success.

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