Dick Clark

"MY PRAYS GO OUT TO YOUR FAMILY AT A SAD SAD TIME MAY YOUR SOUL RIP FOREVER YOU WERE PRETTY GOOD IN AMERICAN BAND STAND BACK IN THE 60'S MY PARENTS WATCHS YOUR SHOW FROM TIME TO TIME NOT ME I WANT BORN UNTIL NOV OF 1981 BUT YOU WILL BE FOREVER MISS THOUGH AND MY THE GOOD LORD FROM UP ABOVE SHINE ON YOUR SOUL FOREVER AND EVER AMEN ."

"The late Dick Clark's been an Entertainment giant for decades. He'll always be "Mr. "American Bandstand"" as well as "Mr. "Pyramid"" from the first 2 incarnations of that game show in the 1970s and 1980s. And for decades he had been doing the live coverage of the annual New Year's Eve festivities from Manhattan's Times Square, New York City, N.Y., primarily on the ABC-TV Network, the same network that his hosted "American Bandstand" series had been on for 30 years (1957-Sept. 5, 1987). He'll be deeply missed."

"Thank you Dick Clark for all the wonderful memories throughout the years! Our prayers go out to the Clark family. May God give you comfort in your loss.
Dave and Dianna Berg"

"I have had the great pleasures of watching Dick Clark on American Bandstsnd since I was Ten years old. I never stopped watching him, even on New Years Eve I always watched him it was great to hear him every year. It was my thrill to get to watch him all of these years. Will miss him dearly. My condolences to his wife."

"I grew up with you on tv you truely made america smile and love music thank and god bless your family.

R.I.P."

"The podium

A vivid image of Dick Clark came to my mind when I heard of his death. As teenagers in Mt. Vernon, NY. we attended the same high school.  Etched in my mind is the picture of Dick on the high school stage at the podium leaning on his one arm and leg exactly as he looked the first time I saw him on Amercan Bandstand. His legacy of helping people started as a young man and spanned his life long career that touched so many lives. 

 We became friends when he was running for president of the school and I was a candidate for vice president. Neither of us had a chance of winning the competition. The male slate included returning WWII vets and one of the boys from the "in crowd." The girl from the popular group ran against me. I was the underdog as well.
I had set my vision on that office the first day of orientation at A.B. Davis high school and set a goal to become vice president of the school. In retrospect, I doubt now that Dick had any misgivings about his election. The way he went about preparing for the campaign, I realize now, was a microcosm of his legendary success in life. Dick and I paired up to take on the forces against us. We were both visionaries and up to the challenge. With our campaign managers, the four of us put our heads together and planned our strategy. Little did I realize how much work was involved. Dick, on the surface portrayed a calm and confident individual who made the job look easy. This was because, he had not only a natural gift, but was a task master developing every part of the strategy to the last detail. This is what makes hard work look so easy.We practiced for hours critiquing each others speeches, how to use the podium and the importance of a cool and calm demeanor. A day did not go by that we did not meet.
On the day we were to give our campaign speeches, a crisis arose. The principal removed the podium. None of the candidates before us had used the podium. I caught his eye and I must have looked like a deer caught in th"