Coordinates	40°35′51″N77°34′24″N
name	Backstreet Boys
img capt	Backstreet Boys
landscape	yes
background	group_or_band
origin	Orlando, Florida, United States
genre	Pop, pop rock, R&B;, teen pop, adult contemporary
years active	1993–present
label	Jive
website
associated acts	New Kids on the Block, Elton JohnN Sync
current members	Brian LittrellNick CarterA. J. McLeanHowie Dorough
past members	Kevin Richardson }}

The Backstreet Boys (sometimes referred to as BSB) are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, ''Backstreet Boys'' (1996). In the following year, they released their second international album, ''Backstreet's Back'' (1997) and their debut album in the United States which continued the group's success worldwide. They rose to superstardom with their album ''Millennium'' (1999) and its follow-up album, ''Black & Blue'' (2000). After a three-year hiatus, the band regrouped and have since released three albums: ''Never Gone'' (2005), ''Unbreakable'' (2007) and ''This Is Us'' (2009).

Richardson left the group in 2006 to pursue other interests, leaving the band as a four-piece, but the remaining members did not rule out a possible return of the singer.

The Backstreet Boys have sold over 130 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling boy band of all time. According to Billboard, they are the first group since Sade to have their first seven albums reach the top 10 on the ''Billboard 200''.

History

Formation and early years (1992–1995)

Cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, both of whom came from Lexington, Kentucky, initially began singing in local church choirs and festivals while they were children. Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean were natives of Orlando, Florida, who met each other and later discovered Nick Carter through auditions who joined the two for local commercials, theater, and television. The three, realizing at one audition, that they all shared a great affection for classical soul which they were able to harmonize together, decided to form a trio. Meanwhile, Richardson moved to Orlando, where he took a job as a tour guide at Disney World and concentrated on music at nights. Eventually, he met Dorough, Carter, and McLean through a co-worker, and the four decided to form a group. Brian Littrell was later invited to join, turning the group into a quintet. In the course of all this, Lou Pearlman, in early 1992 had placed an ad in Orlando Sentinel announcing auditions to compose a boy band. A.J., who was the first to audition for Pearlman in his living room, became the group's first member. In January 1993, Pearlman held an open casting call during which hundreds of young performers danced and sang at his blimp hangar in Kissimmee, south of Orlando. Eventually, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Howie Dorough were selected meeting Pearlman's expectations. Pearlman decided to call the group Backstreet Boys naming it after Orlando's Backstreet flea market. The group had its very first performance at SeaWorld Orlando in May 1993.

Backstreet Boys (1996–1997)

The first single that was chosen to be released was "We've Got It Goin' On" which was sent to radio in August and released as a physical single on September 5, 1995. (In North America, Montreal radio broke the group after local programmers heard it on European radio.) The song was a minor success in the States peaking at only No. 69 by December, the single; however, enjoyed quite a success in Europe entering the top-5 in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and the Netherlands. European success sent them on a summer tour there and shifted the Backstreet Boys' promotion being mostly done in Europe. In November 1995 they filmed their second video music for their second international single, "I'll Never Break Your Heart", which was only issued in Europe on February 12, 1996. They finished recording their first album ''Backstreet Boys'' in April 1996 and filmed their fourth music video, "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" in Germany. On May 6, 1996, their debut album was released internationally, with an exception of the US and the Canadian markets; however, it was later released in Canada in October 1996.

European popularity grew and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No. 1 international group by TV viewers in Germany, in the meantime, "I'll Never Break Your Heart" reached a Gold status there for selling 250,000 units. The group earned their first platinum record in Germany in 1996 for selling 500,000 units of their debut album ''Backstreet Boys'' during which time they began touring Asia and Canada.

Backstreet's Back and American success (1997–1998)

The Backstreet Boys began recording their second album ''Backstreet's Back'' and also recorded the song, "If You Stay", for the ''Booty Call soundtrack'' later released in February 1997. They released "Anywhere For You" as the last single off their international album on February 17, 1997. The single "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" released in May 1997 for their upcoming U.S. debut album managed to climb as high as No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100 eventually earning them a platinum-award for selling over one million units. While the album ''Backstreet's Back'' was released internationally (with an exception of the US market) in August 1997, their self-titled U.S. debut, which consisted of songs from ''Backstreet's Back'' and the previous self-titled international version of ''Backstreet Boys'', was released in U.S. on August 12, 1997.

The U.S. self-titled debut peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. album chart, which eventually sold 14 million copies at their home. Meanwhile, the second international release ''Backstreet's Back'' had already peaked at No. 1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, selling well over five million units in Europe alone. The two self-titled albums, the international version and the U.S. version of ''Backstreet Boys'' sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, 14 million of which were sold in U.S.

In 1997, Brian Littrell brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman and Trans Continental claiming that Pearlman has not been truthful about the earnings made by the group. In the following year, McLean, Richardson and Dorough joined the lawsuit which eventually resulted in a number of settlements.

In 1998, in the course of their US sold-out 39-city tour, Brian Littrell underwent an open-heart surgery (which he had postponed twice in the past) at the insistence of his then girlfriend (and now wife) Leighanne. Littrell had been struggling with a heart murmur since he was born, almost dying at the age of 4 due to a bacterial infection. Shortly after, the Backstreet Boys canceled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of lupus.

Millennium (1999–2000)

While in the middle of a lawsuit, they began recording the follow-up to their 1997 releases at the beginning of October 1998. All versions of Britney Spears' ''...Baby One More Time'' album released prior to May 18, 1999 featured previews of tracks from their upcoming album ''Millennium''. The worldwide hit single "I Want It That Way" which topped the single-charts in many countries including the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, New Zealand, made anticipation for ''Millennium'' high. ''Millennium'' was released on May 18, 1999, on which day the Backstreet Boys made a heavily publicized appearance on MTV's Total Request Live ''Millennium ''. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No.1, and managed to sell 1,134,000 copies in its first week of release. Four singles were released from ''Millennium'': "I Want It That Way", "Larger than Life", "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely", and "The One".

''Millennium'' became the best-selling album of 1999 in the U.S., selling 9,445,732 albums. It also holds the record for most shipments in one year, with 11 million shipment. ''Millennium'' remained on the Billboard chart for 93 weeks, eventually selling over 12 million copies in the United States and being certified 13 times platinum. As of the end of December 2008, the album stands as the fourth best selling album in the US of the SoundScan era.

Black & Blue and Greatest Hits (2000–2001)

A trip to the Bahamas was made by the group members in May 2000 to write songs for their album. They began recording their next album on July 1, 2000 in Stockholm Sweden, which wrapped up its recording sessions in September. A song completed during the July recording sessions, "It's True", was released on August 28, 2000 to a compilation sold by Burger King. They released the album's first single, "Shape of My Heart", to radio on October 3, 2000. The Backstreet Boys released their next studio album ''Black & Blue'' on November 21, 2000, and to promote the release of the album, the boys traveled around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the US; 55 of the hours were spent traveling and 45 were spent making public appearances. It recorded the best international sales in a week for an album in history by selling over 5 million copies in its first week of sales. In the United States, it sold 1.6 million discs in the first week making them the first artist since The Beatles to achieve back-to-back million plus first week sales. Despite the initial excellent sales, ''Black and Blue'' never matched up to the hype that their first two albums made. The first single off the album was "Shape of My Heart," followed by "The Call" and "More Than That." In the first week of release, ''Black & Blue'''s first single "Shape of My Heart" was played on 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the U.S. and eventually peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. In late February 2001, the album's second single "The Call" made it into the Top-10 in the UK and the third single "More than That" made it into the Top-20.

In January 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the first leg of their "The Black & Blue Tour", in which they were to perform on five continents. The tour also had extremely expensive production costs. The second leg of "The Black & Blue Tour" was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean had checked himself into rehab to battle alcoholism, cocaine addiction and depression after Richardson had held an intervention for him at a Boston hotel. Three sold-out shows for Air Canada Centre were postponed until September. On January 28, 2001, the Backstreet Boys performed the American national anthem, in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXV at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.

''The Hits: Chapter One'', released on October 30, 2001 was a collection of the Backstreet Boys's classic hits and a previously unreleased song, "Drowning". While the album entered the top-5 in the U.S. (No.4), United Kingdom (No.5), and Canada (No.1), it managed to enter the top-10 in Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and New Zealand. In the US, ''The Hits: Chapter One'' was certified platinum for selling over one million units. Similarly, the album was certified platinum by IFPI (Europe) also for selling over one million units there.

Hiatus, comeback with Never Gone, and Kevin's departure (2002–2006)

In 2002, the band expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm. Nick Carter chose to remain with The Firm to manage his solo career. It became apparent that this was reason for their lack of resistance to the Backstreet Boys moving on and this unexpected move forced the band to take a break. Jive, according to industry observers, had no choice but to bank on releasing Carter's solo album by the end of the year, ahead of the next Backstreet Boys' album, which was due in early 2003.

The relationship with Jive worsened when the Backstreet Boys filed a $75–100 million lawsuit against Zomba Music Group (Jive's parent company) claiming breach of contract. The group stated the label promoted Nick Carter's solo album ''Now or Never'' at the expense of the group who wanted to promote their fourth album. According to the suit, in November 1999, the Backstreet Boys revised their 1994 contract and committed to releasing two further albums for Zomba. In exchange for delivering them on time as part of a predetermined schedule, the group would receive multiple non-returnable payments that would serve as advances against future royalties.

In November 2003, A.J. McLean appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The episode later aired in December 2003 to nationwide audiences. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences, planning to start recording a comeback album at beginning of the next year.

The Backstreet Boys entered the studios in January 2004 to start writing the new album and mentioned they had recorded four songs for the album in February. They also started performing together to promote their return to the music scene. In September they kicked-off a small Asian tour, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Manila. Based on the success of this tour, they announced a Mexican tour, visiting Mexico City and Monterrey and performing all new material.

After a three-year hiatus, their single, "Incomplete", was released to radio stations on March 28, 2005. The album is named after a song on the album which mourns the loss of Kevin Richardson's father. The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as Rolling Stone, which gave the album one star. On June 14, 2005, the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album ''Never Gone'', which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. chart with first week sales of 291,000 copies, and #1 debuts in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea. The Backstreet Boys began the first leg of their The Never Gone Tour in July in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was their first Australian tour. ''Never Gone'' was certified platinum in the US and four singles were released from the album. The first single was "Incomplete", the second single was "Just Want You to Know", and the third singles were "Crawling Back to You" for the US and "I Still..." internationally. ''Never Gone'' has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide. Never Gone's second single "Just Want You to Know" hit the top 10 in the UK, but was not as successful in the United States. It was one of the group's weakest performing U.S. singles, only peaking at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The third international single "I Still..." debuted at #1 on the Japan International Singles Chart. The third US single, "Crawling Back to You" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.

In June 2006, Richardson left the Backstreet Boys to pursue other interests, issuing a statement on band's website on June 23, 2006. While Richardson did not specify what exactly his next steps in life will be, he stated:

In the 48 hours following the departure of group member Kevin Richardson, they began recording for the new album on June 25, 2006 to be released later in the year.

Unbreakable (2007–2008)

The Backstreet Boys' sixth album ''Unbreakable'', was officially launched on October 30, 2007. It was their first effort since Richardson's departure. While the album had received positive reviews, it did not perform as well as its predecessor, ''Never Gone''. ''Unbreakable'' opened at #7 on The Billboard 200, selling 81,000 copies in its first week of release. Two weeks after its debut, the album dropped out of the top 100. However, it performed well in Japan, debuting at #1 on the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts and staying there for another week.

On July 25, 2007, the first single was confirmed as "Inconsolable," a piano-driven power ballad similar to Never Gone's "Incomplete." It reached #21 on the US Adult Contemporary Charts, but managed only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Helpless When She Smiles" was the next single to be released from ''Unbreakable''. It only managed to reach #52 in the US Adult Contemporary charts and in turn failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

The group went on a 45 date World tour to promote ''Unbreakable'' in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2008. Dates were confirmed for the tour being titled the Unbreakable Tour in Australia, Japan, Mexico, UK, Europe, Asia, Canada and The United States. They recorded a tour DVD in London's The O2 Arena which can be seen on YouTube, but has yet to be released. Richardson rejoined the rest of the band in Los Angeles at the Palladium in Hollywood on November 23, 2008 for the last North American stop of the Unbreakable Tour.

This Is Us, NKOTBSB (2009–present)

In 2009, the group began working on a new album that was released on October 6, 2009, called ''This Is Us'', and were confirmed to be working with Max Martin, OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, RedOne, Ne-Yo, Brian Kennedy, Alex James, Pitbull, Claude Kelly, Jim Jonsin, Eddie Galan, T-Pain, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin and many others. Unlike ''Unbreakable'', ''This Is Us''s sound went back to their original dance-pop beats and contains a more R&B; sound.

The album debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200, selling 42,000 copies in its first week of release. It peaked at #2 in Japan and was certified Platinum for shipments of 250,000 copies. On August 27, 2009, the first single, "Straight Through My Heart" was released. It failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 but managed to peak at #18 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. The second single off the album was "Bigger". On October 30, 2009, the group went on the This Is Us World Tour, which concluded in Hanoi on March 26, 2011.

A second Backstreet Boys greatest hits album was released on January 26, 2010. The compilation is titled ''Playlist: The Very Best of Backstreet Boys'' and is part of a series of similar ''Playlist'' albums issued by Sony Legacy. It was their last album for Jive Records, as they parted ways with the label. On November 8, 2010, it was confirmed that they were planning to have a joint tour with New Kids on the Block in 2011. The new supergroup released an album of their biggest hits, including two new songs, "Don't Turn Out the Lights" and "All in My Head".

In November 2010, the Backstreet Boys closed out the American Music Awards with New Kids on the Block. All nine guys performed each other's songs together. The Backstreet songs they performed were "Everybody", "I Want It That Way", and "Larger Than Life". The New Kids on the Block songs were "Hangin' Tough", "Step by Step", and "The Right Stuff".

Members

Discography

''Backstreet Boys'' (1996)

''Backstreet's Back'' (1997)

''Millennium'' (1999)

''Black & Blue'' (2000)

''Never Gone'' (2005)

''Unbreakable'' (2007)

''This Is Us'' (2009)

*

Awards

Tours

We Wanna Be with You Tour (1995–1996)

The Space Show (1996–1996)

Backstreet Boys: Live In Concert Tour (1996–1997)

Backstreet's Back Tour (1997–1998)

Into the Millennium Tour (1999–2000)

The Black & Blue Tour (2000–2001)

Up Close & Personal Tour (2005)

The Never Gone Tour (2005–2006)

Unbreakable Tour (2008–2009)

This Is Us Tour (2009–2011)

NKOTBSB Tour (2011)

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of best selling music artists in US

List of best-selling albums (USA)

List of best-selling albums worldwide

List of best-selling boy bands

Top ten best-selling albums of the Nielsen SoundScan era

List of most expensive music videos

References

External links

Category:American boy bands Category:American dance music groups Category:American pop music groups Category:Bubblegum pop Category:Jive Records artists Category:Musical groups established in 1993 Category:Musical groups from Orlando, Florida Category:Musical quintets Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Sony BMG artists Category:World Music Awards winners

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Coordinates	40°35′51″N77°34′24″N
Name	Dick Clark
Birth name	Richard Wagstaff Clark
Birth date	November 30, 1929
Birth place	Mount Vernon, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Birth date	November 30, 1929
Alma mater	Syracuse University
Home town	Mount Vernon, New York (born and Raised)
Other names	The World's Oldest Teenager (nickname)
Spouse	Barbara Mallery (1952–1961, divorced)Loretta Martin (1962–1971, divorced)Kari Wigton (1977–present)
Children	Richard A. Clark,Duane Clark,Cindy Clark
Occupation	BusinessmanGame show hostRadio/television personality
Years active	1945–present }}

Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark (born November 30, 1929) is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years. Clark is best known for hosting long-running television shows such as ''American Bandstand'', five versions of the game show ''Pyramid'', and ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve''.

Clark has long been known for his departing catchphrase, "For now, Dick Clark...so long," delivered with a military salute, and for his youthful appearance, earning the moniker "America's Oldest Teenager", until he had a stroke in late 2004. With some speech ability still impaired, Clark returned to his ''New Year's Rockin' Eve'' show on December 31, 2005/January 1, 2006. Subsequently, he appeared at the Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006, and every ''New Year's Rockin' Eve'' show since then.

On November 30, 2009, disc jockeys throughout the U.S. paid tribute to Clark on his 80th birthday.

Early life, education and early career

Clark was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, the son of Julia Fuller (''née'' Barnard) Clark and Richard Augustus Clark. His only sibling, older brother Bradley, was killed in World War II. His career in show business began in 1945 when he started working in the mailroom of WRUN, a radio station owned by his uncle and managed by his father in Utica, New York. Clark was soon promoted to weatherman and news announcer.

Clark attended A.B. Davis High School (now A.B. Davis Middle School) in Mount Vernon and Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi Gamma); he graduated in 1951 with a degree in business.

Career

Radio and television

After graduating high school in 1947, Dick Clark started as an office worker at WRUN-AM in Rome, NY. Almost immediately he was asked to fill in for the vacationing weatherman, and within a few months he was announcing station breaks. His quick rise may have been helped by the fact that his uncle owned the station and his father managed it.

Dick Clark received a degree from Syracuse University where he worked at WOLF, a country music station. He returned to WRUN for a short time where he used the name Dick Clay.

He went back to his given name and went to work for WFIL, a radio and affiliated television station in Philadelphia. The station decided to follow the trend of announcers playing records over the air waves. The television station aired a show called Bandstand, an afternoon teen dance show. Clark was given the job as host and replaced Bob Horn.

Clark began his television career at station WKTV in Utica and was also subsequently a disc jockey on radio station WOLF in Syracuse. His first television-hosting job was on ''Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders'', a country-music program. He would later replace Robert Earle (who would later host the ''GE College Bowl'') as a newscaster.

Clark was principal in Pro broadcasters operator of 1440 KPRO in RiversideCA from 1962 to 1982. He was owner in the sixties of KGUD AM/FM (later KTYD AM/FM) in Santa Barbara, CA.

''American Bandstand''

In 1952 Clark moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, more specifically to Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, and resided within the Drexelbrook Community where he was neighbors with Ed McMahon. There he took a job as a disc jockey at radio station WFIL. WFIL had an affiliated television station (now WPVI) with the same call sign which began broadcasting a show called ''Bob Horn's Bandstand'' in 1952. Clark was a regular substitute host on the show and when Horn left, Clark became the full-time host on July 9, 1956. The show was picked up by the ABC television network, renamed ''American Bandstand'', and was first aired nationally on August 5, 1957. On that day, Clark interviewed Elvis Presley.

Clark also began investing in the music publishing and recording business in the 1950s. In 1959, the United States Senate opened investigations into payola, the practice of music-producing companies paying broadcasting companies to favor their product. Clark was a shareholder in the Jamie-Guyden Distributing Corporation, which nationally distributed Jamie and other non-owned labels. Clark sold his shares back to the corporation when ABC suggested that his participation might be considered as creating a conflict of interest. In 1960, when charges were levied against Clark by the Congressional Payola Investigations, he quietly divested himself of interests and signed an affidavit denying involvement. Clark was not charged with any illegal activities.

Unaffected by the investigation, ''American Bandstand'' was a major success, running daily Monday through Friday until 1963, then weekly on Saturdays until 1987. In 1964, the show moved from Philadelphia to Hollywood, California. Charlie O'Donnell, a close friend of Clark's and an up-and-coming fellow Philadelphia disc jockey, was chosen to be the announcer, a position he held for ten years. O'Donnell also announced on many 1980s versions of Clark's ''Pyramid'' game show; he continued to work with Clark on various specials and award shows until his death in November 2010.

Clark produced ''American Bandstand'' for syndicated television and later the USA Network, a cable-and-satellite-television channel, until 1989. Clark also hosted the program in 1987 and 1988; David Hirsch hosted in 1989, its final year. American Bandstand and Dick Clark himself were honored at the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards.

A spin-off of ''Bandstand'', ''Where the Action Is'', aired from June 27, 1965 to March 31, 1967, also on ABC.

''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve''

In 1972, Clark produced and hosted ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'', the first of an ongoing series of specials still broadcast on New Year's Eve. The program has typically consisted of live remotes of Clark in Times Square in New York City, counting down until the New Year ball comes down. After the ball drops, the focus of the program switches to musical segments taped prior to the show in Hollywood, California. The special is live in the Eastern Time Zone, and it is delayed for the other time zones so that they can ring in the New Year with Clark when midnight strikes in their area.

ABC has broadcast the event on every New Year's Eve since 1972 except in 1999 when it was pre-empted for ''ABC 2000 Today'', news coverage of the milestone year hosted by Peter Jennings. In the more than three decades it has been on the air, the show has become a mainstay in U.S. New Year's Eve celebrations. Before then, Guy Lombardo (a.k.a. "Mr. New Year's Eve"), along with his big band orchestra, the Royal Canadians, had long been the main draw for New Year's Eve broadcasts for radio and, later, for television (on CBS). Watching the ball in Times Square drop on Clark's show is considered an annual cultural tradition for the New Year's holiday.

Twice, Clark was not able to host his show. The first time happened at the end of 1999, going into 2000, due to ''ABC 2000 Today''. However, during that broadcast, Clark, along with ABC News correspondent Jack Ford, announced his signature countdown to the new year. He was a correspondent, according to the transcript of the broadcast released by ABC News. Ford had been assigned to Times Square during the broadcast, and thus, Clark's role was limited. Nevertheless, he won a Peabody Award for his coverage. The second time happened at the end of 2004, as he was recovering from his stroke; Regis Philbin substituted as host. The following year, Clark returned to the show, although Ryan Seacrest served as primary host. From December 31, 2005, onward, Clark has co-hosted ''New Year's Rockin Eve'' with Seacrest.

''Pyramid'' game shows

Before ''Pyramid'', Clark had two brief runs as a quiz-show host, presiding over ''The Object Is'' and then ''Missing Links''. In a near twist of irony, on ''Missing Links'', he replaced his former Philadelphia neighbor and subsequent ''TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes'' co-host, Ed McMahon, when the game show switched networks from NBC to ABC; NBC replaced ''Missing Links'' with ''Jeopardy!''.

Clark later became host of ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', which premiered on CBS March 26, 1973 (the same day as ''The Young and the Restless''). The show — a word association game created and produced by daytime television producer Bob Stewart — moved to ABC from 1974 to 1980, during which time the top prize was upgraded to $20,000. After a brief 1981 syndicated run as ''The $50,000 Pyramid,'' the show returned to CBS in 1982 as ''The New $25,000 Pyramid,'' and continued through 1988, save for a three month break. From 1985 to 1988, Clark hosted both the CBS ''$25,000'' version and a daily ''$100,000 Pyramid'' in syndication. His daytime versions of ''Pyramid'' won nine Emmy Awards for best game show, a mark that is eclipsed only by the eleven won by the syndicated version of ''Jeopardy!''. It also won Clark three Emmy Awards for best game show host.

Clark would return to ''Pyramid'' as a guest in later incarnations. He was a guest during the Bill Cullen version of ''The $25,000 Pyramid'' (not to be confused with the incarnation Clark himself hosted). During the premiere of the John Davidson version in 1991, Clark sent a pre-recorded message wishing Davidson well in hosting the show. In 2002, Clark played as a celebrity guest for three days on the Donny Osmond version.

Radio programs

Clark also had a long stint as a top-40 radio countdown show host. He began in 1963, hosting a radio program called ''The Dick Clark Radio Show''. It was produced by Mars Broadcasting of Stamford, Connecticut. Despite his enormous popularity on ''American Bandstand'', the show was only picked up by a few dozen stations and lasted less than a year. The show proved to be ahead of its time, becoming one of the earliest attempts at radio syndication.

On March 25, 1972, Clark hosted ''American Top 40'', filling in for Casey Kasem. Several years later, Clark would become one of AT40's most enduring rivals. In 1981, he created ''The Dick Clark National Music Survey'' for the Mutual Broadcasting System. The program counted down the Top 30 contemporary hits of the week in direct competition with ''American Top 40''. Clark left Mutual in 1986, and Charlie Tuna took over the National Music Survey. Clark then launched his own radio syndication group; the United Stations Radio Network, or Unistar, and took over the countdown program, "Countdown America". It ran until 1994, when Clark sold Unistar to Westwood One Radio. The following year, Clark started over, building a new version of the USRN and a new countdown show: "The U.S. Music Survey". He served as its host until his 2004 stroke.

Dick Clark's longest running radio show began on February 14, 1982. "Rock, Roll & Remember" was a four hour oldies show named after Clark's 1976 autobiography. For the first three years, the program was co-hosted by Los Angeles radio veteran Mark Elliot. By 1985, Clark hosted the entire show. Pam Miller served as producer. Each week, Clark would profile a different artist from the Rock and Roll era. He would also highlight the events and music from a certain year in the 1950s 60's or early 70's. The show ended production when Clark suffered his 2004 stroke. However, re-runs continue to air in syndication and on Clark's website "dickclarkonline.com".

Since 2009, Clark has merged elements of "Rock, Roll and Remember" with the syndicated oldies show, "Rewind with Gary Bryan". The new show is called "Dick Clark Presents Rewind with Gary Bryan". Bryan, a Los Angeles radio personality, serves as the main host. Clark contributes profile segments.

Other television programs

At the peak of his ''American Bandstand'' fame, Clark also hosted a thirty-minute Saturday night program called ''The Dick Clark Show'' (aka ''The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show''). It aired from February 15, 1958, until September 10, 1960, on the ABC television network. It was broadcast live from the "Little Theater" in New York City and was sponsored by Beech-Nut Gum. It featured the rock stars of the day lip synching their hits, just as on ''American Bandstand''. However, unlike the afternoon ''Bandstand'' program which focused on the dance floor with the teen age audience demonstrating the latest dance steps, the audience of ''The Dick Clark Show'' (consisting mostly of squealing girls) sat in a traditional theater setting. While some of the musical numbers were presented simply, others were major production numbers.

The high point of the show was the unveiling with great fanfare at the end of each program, by Clark, of the top ten records of the coming week. This ritual became so embedded in popular culture that to this day it is satirized nightly by David Letterman. In the 1986 comedy-drama ''Peggy Sue Got Married'', Kathleen Turner's character after being transported back to the spring of 1960 is supposedly watching ''American Bandstand'' on television. The clip used in the movie, however, is actually of the Dick Clark Saturday night show, because the teen age audience is not dancing but sitting in a theater. In addition, members of the audience were wearing the "IFIC" buttons based upon the Beech-Nut Gum advertising slogan of the late 1950s ("It's FlavorIFIC"). Beech-Nut sponsored the Clark Saturday night show and sponsored the top 10 countdown board on ''American Bandstand''.

From September 27 to December 20, 1959, Clark hosted a thirty-minute weekly talent/variety series entitled ''Dick Clark's World of Talent'' at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday nights on ABC. A variation of producer Irving Mansfield's earlier CBS series, ''This Is Show Business'' (1949–1956), it featured three celebrity panelists, including comedian Jack E. Leonard, judging and offering advice to amateur and semi-professional performers. While this show was not a success, during its nearly three month duration, Clark was one of the few personalities in television history on the air nationwide seven days a week. Clark has been involved in a number of other television series and specials as producer and performer. One of his most well-known guest appearances was in the final episode of the original ''Perry Mason'' TV series ("The Case of the Final Fadeout") in which he was revealed to be the killer in a dramatic courtroom scene. In 1973, he created the American Music Awards show, which he produces annually. Intended as competition for the Grammy Awards, in some years it gained a bigger audience than the Grammys due to being more in touch with popular trends.

Clark attempted to branch into the realm of soul music with the series ''Soul Unlimited'' in 1973. The series, hosted by Buster Jones, was a more risqué and controversial imitator of the then-popular series ''Soul Train'' and alternated in the ''Bandstand'' time slot. The series lasted for only a few episodes. Despite a feud between Clark and ''Soul Train'' creator and host Don Cornelius, the two would later collaborate on several specials featuring black artists.

He hosted the short-lived Dick Clark's LIVE Wednesday in 1978. In 1984, Clark produced and co-hosted with Ed McMahon the NBC series ''TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes.'' The series ran through 1988 and continued in specials hosted by Clark (sometimes joined by another TV personality) into the 21st century, first on NBC, later on ABC, and currently on TBS (the last version re-edited into in 15 minute/filler segments airing at about 5 A.M.). Clark and McMahon were longtime Philadelphia acquaintances, and McMahon praised Clark for first bringing him together with future TV partner Johnny Carson when all three worked at ABC in the late 1950s. The "Bloopers" franchise stems from the Clark-hosted (and produced) NBC "Bloopers" specials of the early 1980s, inspired by the books, record albums and appearances of Kermit Schafer, a radio and TV producer who first popularized outtakes of broadcasts.

For a period of several years in the 1980s, Clark simultaneously hosted regular programs on the 3 major American television networks: ABC (''Bandstand''), CBS (''Pyramid'') and NBC (''Bloopers'') and in 1993, he hosted ''Scattergories''. In 1990 and 1991, he hosted the syndicated television game show ''The Challengers'', which only lasted for one season. In 1999, along with Bob Boden, he was one of the executive producers of Fox's TV game show ''Greed'', which ran from November 5, 1999, to July 14, 2000, and was hosted by Chuck Woolery. At the same time, Clark also hosted the Stone-Stanley-created ''Winning Lines'', which ran for six weeks on CBS from January 8, 2000 – February 12, 2000.

Clark did a brief stint as announcer on The Jon Stewart Show, in 1995.

From 2001 to 2003, Clark was a co-host of ''The Other Half'' with Mario Lopez, Danny Bonaduce, and Dorian Gregory, a syndicated daytime talk show intended to be the male equivalent of ''The View''. Clark also produced the television series ''American Dreams'' about a Philadelphia family in the early 1960s whose daughter is a regular on ''American Bandstand''. The series ran from 2002 to 2005.

Other media appearances

Clark was featured in the 2002 documentary film ''Bowling for Columbine''. He was criticized for hiring poor, unwed mothers to work long hours in his chain of restaurants for little pay. The mother in particular works over 80 hours per week and is unable to make rent and gets evicted which results in her having her son stay at his uncle's house. At his uncle's house the boy finds a gun and brings it to school where he shoots another first grader. In the documentary footage featuring Clark, Michael Moore tries to approach him to inform him of the welfare policies that allow for these conditions, and questions him about the people he employs and the tax breaks he takes advantage of, in employing welfare recipients; Clark refuses to answer any of Moore's questions, shutting the car door and driving away.

Clark also appeared in interview segments of another 2002 film, ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'', which was based on the "unauthorized autobiography" of Chuck Barris. (Barris had worked at ABC as a standards-and-practices executive during "American Bandstand's" run on that network.)

In the 2002 ''Dharma and Greg'' episode "Mission: Implausible," Greg is the victim of a college prank, and devises an elaborate plan to retaliate, part of which involves his use of a disguise kit; the first disguise chosen is that of Dick Clark. During a fantasy sequence that portrays the unfolding of the plan, the real Clark plays Greg wearing his disguise.

He also made brief cameos in two episodes of the ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''. In one episode he plays himself at a Philadelphia diner, and in the other he helps Will Smith's character host bloopers from past episodes of that sitcom.

Stroke and appearances since

Initial news

During an interview on Larry King Live in April 2004, Clark revealed that he had Type 2 diabetes.

On December 8 of that year, the then seventy-five year-old was hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering what was initially termed a minor stroke. Clark's spokeswoman, Amy Streibel, said that he was hospitalized but was expected to be fine.

However, on December 13, 2004, it was announced that Clark would be unable to host his annual ''New Year's Rockin' Eve'' broadcast that had aired for all but one year since 1972 (in 1999, ''New Year's Rockin' Eve'' was preempted with the Peter Jennings-hosted ''ABC 2000 Today'' though Clark did perform his traditional countdown). For the 2004 show, Regis Philbin was the substitute host, and during the show on December 31, 2004, he gave his best wishes to Clark.

Return to television

Having not been seen in public anywhere since his stroke, on August 15, 2005, Clark announced in a statement that he would be back in Times Square for the annual tradition, bringing on Hilary Duff and Ryan Seacrest as co-hosts, in addition to the latter being co-executive producer. Also in the press release, it was announced that Seacrest would eventually take over as the sole host should Clark decide to retire, or be unable to continue.

On December 31, 2005, Clark made his return to television, returning to the ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' broadcast.

During the program, Clark remained behind a desk and was shown only in limited segments. Though Clark had noticeable difficulty speaking, he was able to perform his famous countdown to the new year.

On air, he stated, "Last year I had a stroke. It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there." Before counting down to 2006, he mentioned he "wouldn't have missed this for the world."

Reaction to Clark's appearance was mixed, reported CNN.com. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of ''The Washington Post'', in an interview with the CBS Radio Network) felt he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised him for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery.

Subsequent appearances

Clark also appeared on the 2006 Emmy Award telecast on August 27, 2006. He was introduced by Simon Cowell after the show paid tribute to his successful career that has spanned decades. He was shown seated behind a lectern, and although his speech was still slurred, he was able to address the audience and introduce Barry Manilow's performance.

For the 2006-07 and 2007-08 ABC New Year's Eves, Clark still exhibited noticeably slurred and somewhat breathless speech, but improved from previous years, in addition to using his arms again. For the 2008–09 broadcast, he increased his hosting duties to the point where he split duties roughly evenly with Seacrest during the half-hour leading up to the ball drop. For the 2009-10 countdown show, he spoke with improved verbal expression, as well as improved head and arm dexterity, but incorrectly counted down, counting "...14, 12, 10, 11, 10, 9...". In previous years following the stroke, Clark had only hosted the countdown and one brief segment. Clark returned for the 2010-11 ''New Year's Rockin' Eve'' and executed a perfect countdown from 25 seconds down to 1.

Clark was honored at The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on CBS TV. It was a tribute to his 40 years hosting American Bandstand.

Entertainment ventures

Restaurants

Clark has a stake in a chain of music-themed restaurants licensed under the names "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill", "Dick Clark's AB Grill", "Dick Clark's Bandstand — Food, Spirits & Fun" and "Dick Clark's AB Diner". There are currently three airport locations in Newark, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; and Salt Lake City, Utah, one location in the Molly Pitcher travel plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike in Cranbury, New Jersey, and one location at "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater" in Branson, Missouri.

Theaters

"Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater" opened in Branson in April 2006, and nine months later, a new theater and restaurant entitled "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Music Complex" opened near Dolly Parton's ''Dollywood'' theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. In October 2007, since nearby residents complained about the outside concerts performed at the new complex, it has been emptied of its contents and the box office closed temporarily. After eighteen months of extensive new renovations it was reopened for indoor concert performances.

Personal life

Clark has been married three times. His first marriage was to Barbara Mallery in 1952; the couple had one son, Richard, and divorced in 1961. He married Loretta Martin in 1962; the couple had two children, Duane and Cindy, and divorced in 1971. Since 1977, Clark has been married to Kari Wigton.

Youthful appearance references

Before his stroke, Clark's perennial youthful appearance, despite his advancing years, was a subject of jokes and commentary in the popular culture, most notably his nickname of "America's Oldest Living Teenager".

One of Gary Larson's ''The Far Side'' cartoons has the caption, "Suddenly, on a national talk show in front of millions of viewers, Dick Clark ages 200 years in 30 seconds."

In Episode 320 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, John Carradine - playing a mad scientist in the movie The Unearthly - is trying to get another character to consider eternal life when he says, "Suppose you could wake up every morning and see your face untouched by time.” Crow replies, "Like Dick Clark?"

In the ''Police Squad!'' episode "Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)," Dick Clark, appearing as himself, purchases Secret Formula Youth Cream from street snitch Johnny the Shoeshine Boy. In the film ''Peggy Sue Got Married'' (1986), Kathleen Turner, who has time-traveled back to circa 1960, is watching Dick Clark on ''American Bandstand'' with her sister and says "That man never ages." Her sister doesn't seem to understand what she means.

In ''The Simpsons'' 1999 Y2K episode, at midnight a computer glitch causes Dick Clark to melt and he is revealed to be a robot.

In an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Clark appears as himself. Carlton jokingly says "How come I got older and you stayed the same age."

Notable awards

Clark has received the following awards:

Emmy Awards (1979, 1983, 1985, and 1986)

Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994)

Peabody Award (1999)

He is also an inductee at several Hall of Fame locations:

Hollywood Walk of Fame (1976)

National Radio Hall of Fame (1990)

Broadcasting Magazine Hall of Fame (1992)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1993)

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame (1993)

References

External links

Dick Clark Productions

Dick Clark's Rock, Roll and Remember newspaper comic strip series

Dick Clark interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (recorded 3.11.1968).

Notes

Category:1929 births Category:Living people Category:American game show hosts Category:American radio personalities Category:American television producers Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Peabody Award winners Category:National Radio Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Burbank, California Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Syracuse University alumni Category:Stroke survivors

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