(Image Source:  Flickr/_rockinfree )

BY SAMANTHA KUBOTA

ANCHOR DAVID EARL

 

American icon Dick Clark died Wednesday.
MSNBC has the details.

“We’re hearing he died of a massive heart attack at the age of 82. ... Course, everyone called him America’s oldest living teenager because he looked so young and was the picture of health for so long.”

For millions of teens, especially in the 50s and 60s, Dick Clark was it.

Spinning the latest discs on American Bandstand.  The teens on the show doing all the new dances and the hot performers of the day lip-syncing with the best of ‘em.

TMZ broke the story  after talking to Clark’s representative.

“The TV icon had been in St. John's hospital in L.A. after undergoing an outpatient procedure last night. Clark suffered the "massive" heart attack following the procedure. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.”

Fox took a look back on Clark’s meteoric career...

“Dick Clark is an absolute hero of the industry. He hosted American Bandstand from from 1956-1989. ...and became an afterschool staple for a generation of teenagers.”

Dick Clark also created and hosted ABC’s New Years Rocking Eve for forty years. He appeared sporadically after a 2004 stroke and for New Years 2012, he was on saying this ...

“Look at that picture, huh? I don’t care where you live, you won’t find anything like it. Forty years later, I still find it amazing.”

The Washington Post noted Clark’s sometimes questionable business tactics, saying...

“Mr. Clark's influence helped bolster his business dealings in the music industry, making him a target of congressional skepticism looking into payola, or bribes, paid to disc jockeys in exchange for play over the airwaves.”

But CNN chose to focus on the man who became an icon for American entertainment.


“You know, he never lost his touch. He wasn’t the same in communicating as a result of that stroke, but you know, it’s the Dick Clark you remember growing up with.”