Seacrest: Celebrating Dick Clark on NYE

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NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- ABC will air a 2-hour tribute to the late Dick Clark before its New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast in New York, host Ryan Seacrest said.

"It's hard to imagine New Year's Eve in Times Square without Dick," Seacrest said in an interview with Parade. "We plan to celebrate his life and legacy in special ways, but we've also made sure this year's show is bigger and better than ever. That's the way Dick would want it. He always aimed for the stars, and we will, too."

Clark, who died in April at age 82, hosted the annual New Year's Rockin' Eve from 1972 until 2005, when he turned over the main hosting duties to Seacrest.

In an interview with ABC News, Seacrest described the first New Year's without Clark as "odd."

"You think back 40 years ago before I was born, he started the tradition with the camera and a light and a microphone," Seacrest said.

Seacrest said he used to sit at home and study Clark as a host.

"You'd feel like you were his good friend and he was like that in person as well. I think that was one of the most amazing things about how he could host shows," he added.