Dick Clark, American icon, dead at 82.

Richard Wagstaff “Dick” Clark has been an American instutution in the world of television practically since the medium was invented.  Born in 1929, Dick Clark got his start in radion in 1945, and after success as a disc jockey in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he replaced the program of a local music show in 1956.  That show would become “American Bandstand,” would move to California, and would stay on the air until 1987, making it one of the longest-running programs in American television history and cementing Dick Clark’s place as the world’s oldest teenager and a true American icon.  Dick Clark passed away after a heart attack on Wednesday.  He was 82.

“There’s hardly any segment of the population that doesn’t see what I do,” Clark told The Associated Press in 1985.  “It can be embarrassing.  People come up to me and say, ‘I love your show,’ and I have no idea which one they’re talking about.”

At one point, Dick Clark featured on shows on all three major networks at the same time.  I don’t think anyone has ever done that before, to my knowledge.  In the process, he became one of the richest Americans, his Dick Clark Productions became a television powerhouse thanks to shows like the Golden Globes, and Clark–thanks to his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve–became as much of an American institution as the lucky food you eat on New Year’s Day.  Oh yeah, in 1993 Dick Clark was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his tireless championing of racial integration, the way his Bandstand program gave black artists a national platform even during segregation, and his ability to detect trends before anyone else.

Talk about your American originals.

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