DICK CLARK : Rockin’ Man

Dick Clark, America’s perennial teenager, still has the energy of one. For the 24th consecutive year, Clark leads the nation’s New Year countdown from Times Square in New York on Sunday night. After “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” winds down, Clark hosts “VH1’s American Bandstand Marathon,” which features 20-plus hours of “American Bandstand” episodes from 1975 to 1985.

Joining Clark for the West Coast’s contribution to the “Rockin’ Eve,” Yasmine Bleeth of “Baywatch” and Jamie Walters of “Beverly Hills, 90210” introduce musical segments. The Rembrandts, Brandy, the Goo Goo Dolls, Kool & the Gang and Martin Page are musical guests.

Highlights of the marathon include Madonna performing in 1984, a 21-year-old Prince, a pre-”Saturday Night Fever” John Travolta singing, John Mellencamp (then known as John Cougar), the Jacksons, Talking Heads and Blondie. None of these episodes have been seen since they originally aired on on ABC.

“American Bandstand” originally premiered on Philadelphia’s WFIL in September, 1952, as a two-and-a-half-hour show called “Bandstand.” Clark began hosting the show in 1956. On Aug. 5, 1957, “American Bandstand” began its 30-year-run on ABC. In 1964, “American Bandstand” moved to Hollywood. From 1952 until 1989, the Emmy Award-winning series aired more than 6,000 hours, featured virtually every hot pop act, and introduced such dance crazes as the twist, the swing, the jerk, the bunny hop and break dancing.

In a telephone interview, Times Staff Writer Susan King caught up with the ever-busy Clark (who recently made a cameo on a “Mad About You” New Year’s Eve-themed episode) to talk about celebrating the return of “American Bandstand” and another year in Times Square.

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Had you received a lot of offers to air the old “American Bandstand” shows?

In all honesty, no. We hadn’t really tried because the show up until a few years ago was in production and, legally, it was difficult. It required a lot of clearances and the fees were difficult and then along came cable and the fee structure was different. ... The reason was it was complicated.

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Did you go to VH1?

No, a guy who used to work here had the idea. He said, “If I could get someone interested would you do this?” and I said, “In a hot minute. I would be delighted.” I am so glad they are going to be out there. [At VH1], they are making their own nitch now. They have split themselves away from their MTV parenthood and are trying to find their own audience. It’s a perfect fit.

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“American Bandstand” was the precursor of MTV and VH1.

The irony is that when “Bandstand” was born in 1952, it was a musical film show. It was two radio disc jockeys who played musical films and coincidentally had a studio audience who got bored as hell with the films and stood up and danced. The director said, “This is more interesting than what’s going on in the film--let’s get the kids dancing.” Within two days they had switched to records.

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Was it your decision to only air the episodes from 1975-85?

That was their decision. Of course, I’m in love with all of them. It didn’t matter to me. I understood the rationale. I was looking at a mess of them over the weekend in New York, the first that came out of editing. One was with Jacksons--not all of them, just the guy Jacksons. Janet wasn’t on this one. But it was in their mid-life. ... I knew them as children, now they had matured a little bit. Michael was a superstar, but was still working with them. It was fascinating. Another was the first time that anyone saw Madonna on national TV. That was pretty interesting. I said to her, “What do you want to do in the future?” And she said, “I want to rule the world.”

There’s another fascinating thing here. A lot of people think of Michael Jackson as he is today. Here’s an entirely new generation out there that will get to see artists making their network TV debut like they have never seen them before. Madonna. ... her look has changed so drastically over the years. You see her the way she was when she started. Even then it was kind of startling and interesting. The wonderful part of the show is that it goes back 40 years. ... I mean, if you are interested in Chuck Berry, there are [clips] like that. But if you are interested in John Travolta, which seems like yesterday, it is there for the asking. This is really the first time anybody has seen these shows since they were originally broadcast, including me.

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You can’t possibly remember all the shows you did ...

Things come back to me because constantly people are asking me, “Do you remember so and so?” We had 10,000 musical performances on that show alone. Nobody could be expected to remember them all.

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You shot the intros for the New Year’s Day marathon on the actual “American Bandstand” set. What was that like?

We went back to the studio in California where we did the majority of the shows--Studio 55 [at ABC in Hollywood]. It was empty, but we brought back the “AB” logo. The podium we brought out of storage and the Top 10 board and a few of the other set pieces. It’s a very interesting experience for me and nobody else because I went back into the same dressing room. Two of the four or five cameramen we used were there and the audio man. The same microphone. It was a very peculiar experience.

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Has there been talk about reviving “American Bandstand”?

It pops up every now and then again. I think we are going to do another special that will be announced by one of three networks shortly. We have made the deal. And then as a series, we are always out there reconfiguring it. I think it’s a very difficult sale to tell you the truth, because the times have changed so drastically. But we have gotten it into a half-hour format that might possibly sell one of these days..

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It’s hard to believe you have been ringing in the New Year on ABC for the past 24 years.

Yeah, it’s funny. As much as those of us who live in California would like to have a New Year’s celebration here... They do have West Coast celebrations, but it does belong to Times Square. It will be that, I think, probably throughout the rest of our generation because it started there back at the turn-of-the-century and it became the place to be for New Year’s. I don’t know why. It’s a madhouse. It’s truly bizarre. It’s a young person’s game. You have to be out of your mind, other than me. I’m the oldest guy in the Square. But why anybody would want to do that to themselves ... Then, when it 20-degrees or below, there will be some madman out there with his shirt off to show that he is very macho. Last year I was soaked to my toes--from tip to toe. It just poured all night.

I think one year it was 17-below with the wind-chill factor. When we first started my wife and I were the crew, the two of us [and we had] the cameraman, the soundman and one light man. Now, it’s a huge monster crew. We were standing on top of a building and I’m on an aluminum ladder in a high wind. I said, “I got to be out of my mind.” This is one of those obligatory jobs you are not allowed to give it up. They have renewed the show to [the year] 2000. So God willing, I will be hanging in there until the turn-of-the-century.

“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve ‘96” airs Sunday at 11:30 p.m. on ABC; “‘VH1’s American Bandstand Marathon” airs Monday from 4 a.m. until Tuesday at 12:30 a.m. Beginning Tuesday, “VH1’s Best of American Bandstand” airs weekdays at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.