Stars react to death of Dick Clark
Posted April 19, 2012 8:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Following the death of TV mainstay Dick Clark on Wednesday, celebrities paid tribute to him at red carpet events in Los Angeles.
“You know, new year’s eve won’t be the same without him, he’ll be sorely missed,” said Jack Black, at a screening for his new black comedy Bernie, at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood.
“He was such an institution,” said electronic musician Moby. “My mother grew up with Dick Clark. I grew up with Dick Clark. Everyone has grown up with Dick Clark.
“Honestly, I’m not overstating or being hyperbolic, but I can’t think of anyone else who had been around for that long and had such an impact on pop music. So it’s sort of hard to process.”
Across town, at an event supporting cancer research at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Sheryl Crow, Rita Wilson, and Martin Short also chimed in on Clark’s passing.
“Dick Clark taught me how to dance,” said Sheryl Crow. “I mean, you know, he introduced me to the Jackson Five.”
“Dick Clark, growing up, watching American Bandstand was something that we all did as kids,” said Rita Wilson. “And he was an incredible man. He had a lot of elegance, a lot of class, a really good spirit. There was nothing negative about him.”
“American Bandstand was the most influential,” said Martin Short. “I mean, he brought us The Supremes, he brought us Michael Jackson, the Jackson Five. Those were all their first appearances on television.”
But one celebrity well-known for playing cantankerous women in film, Shirley MacLaine, proved once again she is no shrinking violet when she offered her thoughts on Clark’s passing.
“Well now, I can walk past his house in Malibu and his dogs won’t attack mine. That’s one good thing,” said MacLaine, standing next to a clearly uncomfortable Jack Black.
Clark hosted American Bandstand, a musician’s showcase, for over 30 years, and began his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast from Times Square in Manhattan, in 1972. He was slowed only by a stroke in December, 2004, which sidelined him for just a year.
His youthful good looks — which he maintained into his 70s — won him the nickname of “America’s oldest teenager.”
Clark also produced such perennial TV events as the American Music Awards and the Golden Globes telecasts.
