PHILADELPHIA -- Dick Clark celebrated the 35th anniversary of 'American Bandstand' Thursday in the city that launched the popular television show into the national spotlight.
Clark was in town to promote 'The New American Bandstand,' an hour-long version of the dance show that premiered on NBC last Friday. The show airs weekly and is syndicated for the first time.
Looking younger than his 57 years, Clark said at a news conference at KWY-TV, the NBC affliate in Philadelphia, that he is pleased the show was lengthened from 30 minutes last season.
'A half-hour show is very impersonal,' he said of last season's run on network television.
'In the old days it was like a classroom,' he said of the teenagers in the show, which began in 1952. 'We were together every day for 2 to 2 hours. You can't do that anymore.'
Clark left Philadelphia in 1964 and took the longest-running entertainment program in television history to California.
'Philadelphia had no longer held onto being the leader in music,' he said. 'The Californians were taking it away from us. We thought we'd go where the action is. It seemed that if we were going to be in the youth business, that was the place to be.'
Clark said he has observed changes in 'American Bandstand' through the years. For one, the teenagers 'don't slow dance anymore.'
And the dancers are more sophisticated than ever, he said.
'They're all terribly sophisticated,' he said, attributing the sophistication to the media. 'You can't imagine in 1955 talking to sixth-grade children about AIDS (or) talking to a teenager about abortion. We're all older and wiser.'
Clark said his production company is now filming a movie about 'American Bandstand,' but he said he will not appear in it. Clark said the film is mostly about rock stars who appeared on 'Bandstand' and later became successful.
As for the television show, 'American Bandstand' will never change, Clark said.
'The show is the most resilient form of TV there is,' he said. 'Nothing about that show ever changes. It's familiar, like an old pair of comfortable slippers.'
