Clark in 1958 (via LIFE)
Dick Clark was born in Mt. Vernon in 1929, and has plenty of ties to New York beyond what became his annual Times Square appearances—he even graduated from Syracuse University. Earlier today "The World's Oldest Teenager" died of a heart attack at age 82 (Clark was living in California, possibly in his Flintstone house). We've contacted the Times Square Alliance for a comment about the Clark's passing and will update when we hear back, but we would assume there will be some sort of tribute held—after all, the ball is there all year. In the meantime, Mayor Bloomberg has released the following statement:
“Times Square is considered the crossroads of the world in no small part because Dick Clark’s New Years Eve celebrations there were beamed across the globe. I remember one New Years Eve, he and I stood in Times Square marveling about how much the area - and the City - had improved over the years. But Dick Clark never had to change - he was a great entertainer who stood the test of time. Generations of Americans grew up with Dick, and yet he seemed forever young. His spirit will always live on in Times Square, and in hearts of millions of New Yorkers.”
Clark hosted the Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve starting in 1972, and then co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest from 2005 to 2011. Here's video of the 1973 ball drop:
And here's 1976 to 2011:
Below you've got some New York City artists from his other gig at American Bandstand, including the Beastie Boys, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper (Run DMC is sadly not embeddable):
