On this date in 1957, American Bandstand debuted on the ABC Television Network. Many tell of Dick Clark going to ABC with the show, but…according to Leonard Goldenson, it didn’t happen that way. Mr. Goldenson is the titan that built the network into the one we know today, and this narrative is based on his book, “Beating The Odds”.
In a nutshell, Goldenson’s friend and ABC’s top researcher, Ollie Treyz was responsible for bringing the show to the network. With an insatiable appetite for information, Ollie was reading the Philadelphia rating books and noticed a WFIL show called “Bandstand” had a consistent 15 or 16 rating, which was huge. Treyz was curious and called the man who had brought him to ABC in 1948…that was Roger Clipp who now managed ABC affiliate WFIL for Walter Annenberg.
Clipp sent a kinescope to Treyz, who showed it to his teenage daughter and her friends, who loved it. Treyz played it cool and told Clipp that although they didn’t think it would work, they would like to try it out on the network. They made a deal for $1500 per week for WFIL to produce the show, and Clark got a few spots a week for himself to sell. ABC sold the national spots for $1500 per minute.
At the time, ABC had a fairly competitive prime time, but not much more, which made it hard for them to gain new affiliates. Their afternoons were mostly soap operas and some game shows, but nothing special, with “Afternoon Film Festival” airing daily from 3-5. In the fall of 1955, ratings got a boost with the addition of the “Mickey Mouse Club”. It debuted as a one hour daily show that aired from 5-6. After the first 13 weeks, the MMC went to the half hour format and ran from 5-5:30 from then on.
ABC needed a game changer, and that’s what they got! It only took a few weeks for word to spread, and by Thanksgiving, “American Bandstand” was a hit! In the beginning, the local show, was 2 hours, but when it went to ABC it went to 90 minutes and then 60. In the summer of ’57, when it debuted, ABC ran the show from 3:30-5, and it was followed by “The Mickey Mouse Club” from 5-5:30.
13 weeks later, ABC decided to take advantage of thier new audience, and sandwiched the Johnny Carson hosted “Do You Trust Your Wife” into AB, with AB starting at 3 and DYTYW inserted from 3:30-4, followed by another hour of AB from 4-5. From 5-5:30, ABC rotated daily, “The Buccaneers”, “Adventures of Sir Lancelot”, “Superman”, “Woody Woodpecker” and “The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok”, followed by “The Mickey Mouse Club” from 5:30 -6.
Of course, all these times are Eastern, which begs the question, how did they handle the west coast feed? Well, fortunately, by this time, ABC had a few of the new Ampex VR 1000 video tape machines in operation. The machines debuted in April of ’56, but it took a while to put them into production and get them delivered, and the networks got the first ones. I think CBS and NBC got 6, and ABC got 4 in the spring/summer of ’57.
Just two years earlier, the Dumont Network had gone dark making ABC the new third network, but NBC and CBS were light years ahead in programs and schedules. Bandstand and Mickey Mouse helped bridge some of that gap. The show ran for 30 years on ABC, first on weekday afternoons and later, on weekends. I would rate it a 10, how about you? Got a favorite Bandstand moment? Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
I remember as a kid, my sister “dragged me” to see American Bandstand when she got tickets to see the show at The Little Theater (now called The Helen Hayes Theater on 44th street in New York City.) Didn’t want to go !!!!!!
Love this
Very interesting. Great post.
As a kid growing up in NJ, we were in an area where with a “Rotor” you could receive Phila or NY stations….We’d watch not only all the local NY shows, but local Phila shows like Sally Star, Larry Ferrari and his organ on sunday, and of course American Bandstand. After it moved to the Network it seemed it had been on forever!!
I only go back to when it was on Saturdays and was known as American Bandstand ‘6x and had what looked like ABC’s symbol with the C missing.
Does anyone know who the announcer on Clark’s Beechnut Saturday Night show was? I don’t think it was Charlie O’Donnell.
Would watch it as a toddler, back-to-back with the Mickey Mouse Club.
I worked at WHYY in Philly when the station was located in the old WFIL (WPVI) building. During a summer lull, we took down the American Bandstand permanent set which was hidden from view by the classroom sets used by WHYY. I managed to salvage a piece of the set and I sent it to Dick Clark in Los Angeles. Clark sent me a gracious thank you note.
And then there’s the local knock offs. We had two of them in Tampa bay
Ah, let’s not forget the fickle finger of fate and the man who originated and hosted American Bandstand, Bob Horn.
…love this, Bobby E., thanks so much ! ..maybe and hope you can find photos of Where The Action Is ! ! .. have a great weekend !
Bob Horn, the original host who lost his job not too long before Bandstand went national. Not exactly ‘Mr. Teenager’.
First day ad from the Detroit Free Press
I think this was 1958.
Top ‘o the world, ma.
NY Times review 8/6/57
Check your math… 1957 was 59 years ago, not 61!
Are there any images remaining of “American Newstand” with the kid newsreader Bill Lord?
We got the Philly stations in NJ too. Bandstand was my babysitter back in the mid-50’s. I was a rambunctious toddler who loved the music, gave my mother an hour or so’s respite from my busy lifestyle.
No mention of Bob Horn, the original Bandstand host
I went to a new doctor in Phoenix. He told me his wife danced on the show long ago, when the were growing up in Philly long ago
Missing from the narrative is the name of the WFIL -TV Program Executive who helped to create and shape the show,Lew Klein. He went on to be a board member of Dick Clark’s company, owned the Gateway Television Station Group, and has been an adjunct professor at Temple University since the 1950’s… He still teaches there and has mentored a zillion students!!!!:)
Perhaps Bobby has some background on WFIL’s limited use of color on BANDSTAND. I believe they had one TK-41 and made use of it on Dick Clark’s show.
Dick Clark made sure the show was about the music, the kids, and the latest dances. I think many songs that were about dances were created… because record producers knew the “latest craze” would get the spotlight on national tv.
Several jocks at WFIL auditioned for the “Bandstand” gig. Dick was one, another was Bob Klose. Klose didn’t get “Bandstand” but did replace Clark in his time slot on WFIL radio. Klose later became GM of WFIL’s Sister station WNBF Binghamton, New York. He ran it with an iron fist as if it were WFIL. I was his news director and later operations manager. Thru that relationship, i had the privlege of becoming a friend of Dick Clark. He was the best guy on earth.