Dick Clark

Dick Clark was married three times. He married Barbara Mallery in 1952, and they had one son, Richard A. Clark, before divorcing in 1961. He married Loretta Martin in 1962, and they had two children, Duane and Cindy, before divorcing in 1971.

He married dancer Kari Wigton on July 7, 1977, and remained married to her until his death.

Clark began working in radio in 1945, when he joined the mailroom at WRUN in Utica, New York. He advanced to announcing and weather duties before working at radio and television stations in Syracuse and Utica. In 1952, he moved to Philadelphia and joined WFIL radio as a disc jockey.

WFIL-TV's Bandstand featured teenagers dancing to popular records. After regular host Bob Horn left the program, Clark became its full-time host on July 9, 1956. ABC gave the reformatted show national distribution as American Bandstand on August 5, 1957. Clark added artist interviews, lip-synched performances, and the “Rate-a-Record” segment, in which teenagers judged songs.

American Bandstand helped introduce artists including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Simon and Garfunkel, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Madonna to national television audiences. The program also became notable for featuring Black and white performers on the same stage and ending its earlier all-white policy. It ran daily until 1963, then weekly on Saturdays until 1988, with a brief revival in 1989.

Clark expanded into game shows in the 1960s, beginning with The Object Is and Missing Links. He became the first host of The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973, and continued hosting successive versions of the program through The $100,000 Pyramid in 1988. During that run, he won four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host.

He also hosted The Challengers, Scattergories, It Takes Two, Winning Lines, and Challenge of the Child Geniuses. With Ed McMahon, he co-hosted and produced TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes. Clark hosted programs on ABC, CBS, and NBC during the 1980s, and he also hosted pageants including Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss Teen USA.

Clark produced the first Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in 1972. The special featured musical performances and coverage of the Times Square ball drop, providing an alternative to Guy Lombardo's established New Year's broadcasts. It later became an annual American television tradition on ABC.

After Clark suffered a stroke in December 2004, Regis Philbin hosted the special in his place. Clark returned the following year with Ryan Seacrest as the primary host, and continued making appearances while his speech remained impaired. His final appearance came on the 2012 broadcast, which celebrated the program's 40th anniversary.

Clark founded and led Dick Clark Productions, which produced variety programs, game shows, awards programs, and made-for-television movies. He created the American Music Awards in 1973 and produced programs including Where the Action Is, TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, and the dramatic series American Dreams. The company also produced more than 7,500 hours of television programming, including series, specials, and feature films.

His radio work included The Dick Clark National Music Survey, Countdown America, and Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember. He also owned radio stations and founded music-themed restaurants connected with American Bandstand.

Clark received a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994 and a Peabody Award in 1999. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the National Radio Hall of Fame, the Television Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died of a heart attack at a hospital in Santa Monica after undergoing a procedure.