Dick Clark Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Dick Clark was an American radio and television personality, television producer, and actor who is best remembered as a cultural icon for his hosting of the music and dance TV program American Bandstand from 1957 to 1988, which is credited as having introduced the rock & roll music genre to young Americans. He was also the host of the long-running game show Pyramid (1973-1991) and fronted the annual special TV transmission called Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (1972-1999, 2001-2003), which broadcasted New Year’s Eve celebrations at New York’s Times Square. For his tremendous body of work and cultural influence, he was inducted in the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ in 1993 and was honored with the esteemed Peabody Award in 1999.

Born Name

Richard Wagstaff Clark

Nick Name

Dick, The World’s Oldest Teenager

Age

Dick Clark was born on November 30, 1929.

Died

He died on April 18, 2012, due to a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, United States. He was 82 years old at the time of his death.

Sun Sign

Sagittarius

Born Place

Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York, United States

Nationality

Education

Dick Clark had attended the A.B. Davis High School in his hometown of Mount Vernon. After his high school graduation in 1947, he studied at Syracuse University in New York and graduated in 1951 with a degree in advertising and a minor in radio. At the university, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi Gamma).

Occupation

Radio Personality, TV Presenter, TV Producer, Actor, Businessman

Family

• Father – Richard Augustus Clark Sr. (Radio Company Executive) (d. 1989)
• Mother – Julia Fuller Barnard (d. 1973)
• Siblings – Bradley Clark (Older Brother) (Martyred in World War II)

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 8 in or 173 cm

Weight

72 kg or 159 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Dick Clark had dated –

1. Barbara Mallery (1951–1961) – Dick married his childhood sweetheart Barbara Mallery in 1952 and had a son named Richard Augustus Clark III (b. 1957). The couple got divorced in 1961.
2. Loretta Martin (1961–1971) – Loretta and Rick got married in 1962, a year after Dick’s divorce with Barbara. They had 2 children together – a son named Duane Clark (Film/TV Director, Producer, Screenwriter) (b. 1963) and a daughter named Cindy Clark (b. 1965). They got divorced in 1971.
3. Kari Wigton (1976–2012) – Dick got married to Kari Wigton on July 7, 1977, in a ceremony that started at 7:00 pm. The couple stayed together till his death in 2012.

Race / Ethnicity

White

He was of English and German descent.

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Hazel

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Charming smile
• Short-cropped hair
• Clean-shaven look

Brand Endorsements

Dick had endorsed brands such as –

• NuVim (Fruit-flavored drink)
• Sundown Vitamins

Dick had appeared in the commercials for brands such as –

• Dairy Queen (1988)
• Nabisco Shredded Wheat (1989)
• Ballatore (1998)
• Havoline Motor Oil (1999)
• Office Depot Stores (2002)

Religion

Christianity

Dick Clark Favorite Things

• Radio Personality/Role Model – Bill Cullen
• Pet – Dogs
• Food – Eggs, Steaks, Fish, Pasta
• Beverages – Beer, Coffee, Chinese Herb Tea
• Exercise – Push-Ups
• Junk Food – Hamburgers

Source – IMDb, Los Angeles Times

Dick Clark Facts

1. His hosting of American Bandstand is culturally significant as the show was among the very first in American history where people of black and white ethnicity performed on the same stage and the live studio audience also sat without any racial segregation.
2. In 1960, the United States Senate began investigating a phenomenon called Payola, where record companies used to pay broadcasting companies to favor their songs and tracks. Consequently, Dick’s investments in music publishing companies had to be sold off as they were considered a ‘conflict of interest’.
3. He was the founder of and had served as the CEO of the company Dick Clark Productions for several years. He also founded the American Bandstand Diner, a restaurant chain that was modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe.
4. In 1973, he conceived and produced the annual American Music Awards show.
5. Dick won the prestigious Emmy Awards 4 times during his illustrious TV career (1979, 1983, 1985, and 1986) and was honored with the Daytime Emmy ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 1994.
6. In 1990, he was inducted in the ‘National Radio Hall of Fame’ and in 1992 in the ‘Television Hall of Fame’.
7. Despite suffering a stroke in December 2004, which left him with a speech impairment, he returned to the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show on December 31, 2005, and continued to feature in every edition of the annual broadcast till 2011.

Featured Image by Florida Memory / www.floridamemory.com / Public Domain