As the legendary TV host, producer, and actor always said at the end of his shows, “For now, Dick Clark … so long.” Clark passed away Wednesday at the age of 82 of a heart attack, after being admitted to a Santa Monica hospital for an outpatient procedure a day earlier. Clark, long nicknamed “the world’s oldest teenager” for his boyish looks, became a household name in the 1950s when he created American Bandstand, which merged popular music with show business and was one of network TV’s longest-running series. Bandstand first aired nationally on ABC in 1957 and introduced some of the biggest names in music, from Buddy Holly to Madonna, until it stopped running in 1987. In 1972 Clark created New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which he hosted and produced solo until he suffered a stroke in 2004. The show has been broadcast on ABC from New York’s Times Square every New Year’s Eve since 1972, and Clark remained its cohost from 2005 through 2011 with Ryan Seacrest. His production company also launched popular game and contest shows like $25,000 Pyramid, NBC’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes, and the American Music Awards. From his early Bandstand days to goofing around on Bloopers and Practical Jokes to his final appearance on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, see photos of the television icon.
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As host of American Bandstand, Clark was known for his smooth radio-announcer voice and for charming older audiences into appreciating rebellious rock musicians.
Paul Schutzer, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
A gaggle of teenage fans surrounds the show’s host in 1957.
AP Photo
Little Richard pounds the ivories on American Bandstand in 1964.
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Clark takes a seat with the American Bandstand audience in the early 1960s
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The renowned radio and TV personality poses in a room decorated with albums and a record player at his feet.
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Clark gives cues from behind the scenes as the executive director of ABC’s musical variety show Where the Action Is, in 1965.
AP Photo
Clark with his first wife, Barbara Mallery, and their son, Richard, at their home near Philadelphia in 1960.
AP Photo
Clark and comedian Ed McMahon goof around during a 1985 taping of NBC’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.
NBC / AP Photo
The audience mimics Clark’s signature thumbs-up during a 1986 episode of American Bandstand, which he hosted for more than 30 years.
Clark poses with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS while taping American Bandstand’'s 50th ... A Celebration in April 2002.
Clark hugs Michael Jackson during a performance break for Bandstand’'s 50th anniversary celebration.
The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards featured a salute to American Bandstand in 2010. Clark, who is captured looking emotional after the tribute announcement with his third wife, Kari Wigton, won four Emmys in addition to the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award he received in 1994.
Clark on Dec. 31, 2011, in New York's Times Square, during what would be his final appearance on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
