Aug 5

American Bandstand was a television show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, hosted by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40-type music introduced by Clark and at least one popular musical act that, over the decades, ran the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC. They would usually appear in-person to lip-sync one of their latest singles.

The program premiered locally as a live show, Bandstand, on Philadelphia TV station WFIL-TV on October 7, 1952 and was hosted by Bob Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. The series originally featured Horn hosting two collections of filmed musical performances but this was soon changed to the familiar format of having kids dance to hit records. On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a drunk driving arrest and was replaced by Dick Clark.

In late spring of 1957, Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC and after some badgering, the program was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957. The show was broadcast “live” weekday afternoons and in early 1963 all five shows for the upcoming week were videotaped the preceding Saturday. Clark would often interview teens about their opinions of the songs being played, most memorably through the “Rate-a-Record” segments. American Bandstand’s popularity helped Clark become an American media mogul and inspired other similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and Top of the Pops.

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Jul 12

William Henry Cosby, Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is an American comedian, actor, television producer, and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs then landed a vanguard role in the 1960s action show I Spy. He later starred in his own series, The Bill Cosby Show, in the late 1960s.

Cosby was one of the major characters on the children’s television show The Electric Company for its first two season, and created the humorous educational cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in what is considered one of the decade’s defining sitcoms, The Cosby Show, which lasted eight seasons from 1984 to 1992, and is still in syndication. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an upper middle-class African-American family. It was an immediate success, debuting near the top of the ratings and staying there for most of its long run.

In the 1990s, Cosby starred in Cosby, which first aired in 1996, hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things, which began in 1998, and appeared in a number of movies. His good-natured, fatherly image has made him a popular personality and garnered him the nickname of “America’s Dad.” He has also been a sought-after spokesman for products like Jell-O Pudding.

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May 22

American television host Johnny Carson, best known as the iconic host of The Tonight Show, retired from show business on this day in 1992. His last show was a major media event that spanned several nights. It was an emotional time for Carson, his colleagues and the audience, specifically his farewell monologue on his final show. NBC gave the host spot for The Tonight Show to the program’s then-current permanent guest host Jay Leno.

Carson was born on October 23, 1925 in Corning, Iowa. He learned to perform magic tricks at 14 years of age. He got his start in radio working as a news anchorman and sports broadcaster. Carson later took a job at a Los Angeles-based TV station in 1954 and was chosen by legendary comic Red Skelton to join his show as a writer. Carson hosted several TV shows before his run on The Tonight Show, including Who Do You Trust? where he met long-time sidekick Ed McMahon.

Carson became the host of The Tonight Show in October 1962 after Jack Paar quit with McMahon acting as his announcer and sidekick. For millions, watching Carson at the end of the evening became a ritual. After his last show, he went into full retirement, rarely giving interviews and only making the occasional cameo appearance. Carson died on January 23, 2005 in L.A. of respiratory arrest from emphysema.

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May 9

Producer, director and writer James L. Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for producing popular American television programs such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, and The Simpsons, and making films such as Terms of Endearment (1983) for which he received three Academy Awards in 1984.

Brooks was raised in North Bergen, New Jersey and began his TV career as a writer for CBS News in 1984. After several years, he helped create The Mary Tyler Moore Show and it became a critical and commercial success, spawning other TV shows such as Rhoda, Taxi, and Lou Grant.

Brooks began working on films in the late 1970s but did not make a significant effort until Terms of Endearment. The next year, he started his own film and TV production company, Gracie Films, which produces The Simpsons. Brooks also became a mentor to young, talented filmmakers, executive producing the directorial debuts of Cameron Crowe with Say Anything… (1989) and Wes Anderson with Bottle Rocket (1996).

Brooks’ second film, Broadcast News (1987) was a hit with critics but he followed it up with the critical and commercial failure, I’ll Do Anything (1994). However, he bounced back with As Good As It Gets (1997) which was very popular with audiences and critics, earning seven Academy Award nominations and winning two for the lead actors, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.