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Thursday, Apr 19, 2012 6:46 AM UTC

Dick Clark, ‘Bandstand’ put Philly on cultural map

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Topics: From the Wires,

Dick Clark, 'Bandstand' put Philly on cultural mapJournalists look at memorabilia from "American Bandstand" host Dick Clark at the Enterprise Center, Wednesday, April 18, 2012 in Philadelphia. The Enterprise Center is located in the former American Bandstand studios. Dick Clark, the ever-youthful television host and producer who helped bring rock 'n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand" and rang in the New Year for the masses at Times Square died at 82. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)(Credit: AP)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dick Clark worked in many cities over the course of his long entertainment career. But it was his time in Philadelphia that made him household name.

Clark hosted the wildly popular “American Bandstand” show at a TV studio in west Philadelphia in the 1950s and ’60s.

He later became one of the nation’s most recognized broadcast personalities and a major show business entrepreneur. Clark died Wednesday in California at the age of 82.

Philadelphia boasts troves of Clark- and “Bandstand”-related memorabilia. The building where the program was born has a historic marker.

Former “Bandstand” dancer Steven Colanero says the show helped put Philadelphia on the national map when it came to popular culture.

Now 66 years old, Colanero says he and other teens didn’t realize the impact Clark’s show had.

Kathy Matheson

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