// Aug 05 2013
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Leading Up To The Ball –
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That August 5, 1957 day it was helter-skelter as Dick Clark applied his recent purchase of pancake makeup.
Bill Russell, Pete Twaddle, Vince Gasbarro, Ralph DiCocco and the crew pulled out the pine bleachers from their Murphy hideaway while Hank Latvin applied the glitter around the edges of the cutout map of the United States. There was a new autograph table painted with fake signatures of the music, TV and Hollywood celebrities on the top. When the performers were signing autographs the camera would pan from the top and the viewer could see the lot.
Shortly before air time, the kids in the hall were let in and they rushed to place their bags and belongings on the racks provided in the back of the studio near the control room, and then scurried to the bleachers.
It was the beginning….
As the sounds of Bandstand Boogie rang through Studio B, Ralph DiCocco brought the lights up. And there was a minor modification in the name.
On August 5, 1957, at mid-afternoon a twenty-six year old Dick Clark mounted the podium facing the cameras lined up in front of the windows of the control room where Ed Yates sat with Frank Kern going over the play list, while ensconced, Roger W. Clipp the General Manager of the WFIL stations, watched through the executive room window next to the sponsor’s room.
Stand by. Five…four….three two…. The red tally light lit up on camera two. And for the first time Dick Clark announced:
“Hi, I’m Dick Clark. Welcome to “American Bandstand.”
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Ciao for now….
Source:
http://theprincesandprincessesofdance.com/uncategorized/american-bandstand-this-date-in-history-an-excerpt-leading-up-to-the-ball-august-5-1957/