Bob Horn permission of daughter Barbara Horn

The last time I did a story on Dick Clark, author of the book American Bandstand the Untold Story, Stan Blitz got a hold of me to tell me a bit about Bandstand. He told me about the real originator of Bandstand Bob Horn. This time I did a story on Dick Clark, the daughter of the originator of Bandstand got a hold of me and it got me thinking…

Bandstand was a really big deal! I was a kid when Bandstand came out. I watched it as much as I could and grew up with it. Little did I know that as an adult, I would have the privilege to learn so much about American Bandstand. Some of it was information that I thought I was better off not knowing, while other information I found fascinating.  For me, I never knew there were so many stories behind Bandstand.

What I did know is that American Bandstand played such an important role in the lives of so many of us, and there are a great deal of untold stories about the originator Bob Horn. I was pleased that I was able to talk to his daughter Barbara Horn this week and get to know her father from the daughters point of view.

Barbara sums it up about as simple and loving as it can be. “My dad was a really cool guy,” she said of her father Bob Horn.  “I adored my father,” she said, “He was a genius,” and that he was because it seemed like there was not anything Bob could not do. She may have said this in a simple manner, but Bob Horn was not a simple man. He was smart, creative and full of life. Even after his Bandstand days, he was full of life.

He created the radio show Bob Horn’s Bandstand and eventually it was aired on TV. You would say the rest was history, except Horn sort of got pushed out and Dick Clark was put in. “My dad was wild and fun and Dick was a safe handsome guy,” Barbra Horn said. She continued to talk about her dads adventures after the show. “He was not a victim,” Horn said, “He moved on rather quickly.” There was some troubles to follow, but she said her dad was genuinely a happy man.

“He laughed a lot,” she said. “He was really a happy man.” After being asked to leave Bandstand he had a radio show for a while then found his career in professional advertizing. “His real passion was horses,” Horn stated, “I loved horses and we had horses. Dad loved to watch us.” In fact Barbra said he died on a Sunday and he was to sign papers on a Monday to get a ranch for them all. Bob did not ride horses, but he sure loved them.

I asked Barbra what she really wanted people to know about her father. There are many stories about him and she said, “He was just a nice guy and funny.” She shared a few tales of her father hanging out with his pal like Dizzy Gillespie and other. Barbra laughed a lot during our phone conversation and said, “I’m a lot like my father.” You can tell she was a happy person and had nothing but fond memories of her father. “Yeah one day I might write a book,” she laughed, “but where to start.”

I think her book would start like, once upon a time my dad was the original host of American Bandstand, but then he happily moved on. I asked her what was one thing that she wanted the public to know about her dad and she said, “My dad was a happy man, he really did move on after Bandstand, he was happy.”

So for many, while they mourn the passing of Dick Clark, there are a few of us who know that Bob Horn was the originator of bandstand and that no matter what, Bandstand had our nation rocking and rolling to music and so rest in Peace Mr. Clark, and thank you Bob Horn for making it all possible. Special thanks to Bob Horns daughter Barbra who reached out to contact me. If she is anything like her dad, I am sure her dad was a very fun and humorous man. I hope she writes her book, she said, “It will be funny.”

Dick Clark died yesterday and it got me thinking…

Well I should say opening my facebook to a slew of letters asking me if I was planning on doing an article for Retroflections on the passing of Dick Clark got me thinking.  Of course I have done a story on Dick Clark and Bandstand a ways back and I knew once Clark passed there would be another one.

The problem is, how do you write about America’s oldest teenager that died of 82 of a heart attack? That is really quite easy; you take it to the streets and begin to ask people. For me I took it to Facebook and a coffee shop and asked what people thought of the passing of Dick Clark who was the host, not the creator, of American Bandstand from 1952-1989 and literally introduced to world hundreds of singers and acts.

Dawn Harward said, Dick Clark was the king of New Years Eve around my house growing up. I remember my mom turning on TV to watch the countdown after a day of cooking traditional foods. It was the one night of the year my parents let us stay up past 8pm. We all had to have had a bath and our pjs on to enjoy the festivities. Mom and dad would dance with each other and then with us! It was so cool to see them loosen up! We also got to eat chips n dip and soda pop which was a rare treat! The night closed out with the countdown with Dick and like a favorite uncle, I was always sad to see him go.

Mary Albert said, “I remember being a very shy teenager who wanted to “look cool” in front of my peers. I would watch and learn the dance steps and feel so much more confident in front of the “popular” kids.”

Singer and entertainer Clifford Ford stated that he grew up in Philadelphia on 42nd and Market right where Bandstand was. He had excitement in his voice as if he was right up the street from Bandstand. He said he was about 16 he would go to the show whenever he could. He stated his memories of the show wonderful, and his memories of Dick Clark were “very fond.”

Jean at the local coffee shop said, “I was as addicted to Bandstand in the 50s as everyone else my age. It was great.” Bernadette added, “American Bandstand in the very beginning was on right after school Monday through Friday. I rushed home from school to watch! Memories will never fade!” Kim chimed in saying, “One man died, but it is the death of a generation.” As I was leaving the coffee shop, someone came up to me and said, “My childhood and music was Dick Clark. How could any adult our age say that Dick lark never touched their lives?” She was right.

I then sent an email to Stan Blitz, author of American Bandstand the Untold Story and asked him what he thought, Blitz stated “Without Bob Horn there wouldn’t have been Dick Clark or American Bandstand.” Which will lead me to saying stay tuned for Monday’s article about Bandstand.

Everyone is right, if you grew up in the 50s-80s, then you knew who Clark was. I cannot imagine growing up without Clark in our front room playing on Saturday mornings. My sister and I got all the housework done as fast as we could so we could sit and watch his show. She loved the fashions and the dances; I loved the music and eager to see what was happening on the charts.

No matter what reason you had, everyone had a reason back then to turn on the TV and watch Bandstand on Saturday mornings. So today, we bid a fond farewell to Dick Clark. No matter what he did or did not do, there is one thing for certain and that is Clark touched many lives. How did he touch yours?

The other day a friend of mine was in a car accident. I was glad no one was really hurt, but the accident itself was slowing down traffic, there was battery acid leaking in the street, and there were car parts in the street. I was concerned another accident could happen. With the traffic coming to a stop almost, chemicals leaking in the street and police officers cannot come unless there is an injury–and this got me thinking…

I remember growing up in Tucson the police were always there in times of need. We lived on a 40-acre ranch and there always seemed to be some sort of activity going on that required police assistance. Whether it was trespassing, snakes or bobcats that spooked us, or some damage done by a storm, the police frequented the ranch often to make sure things were okay.

Back then the police were always there whether it was a fender bender or a large accident, they were there not only for those in need, but for those who could be in potential need. I recall one police officer each time he came to the ranch, he always took the time to tell me a little crime fighting tip, or a safety tip.  Once he helped me load my bike to get licensed at the fire department. He did not have to; it is just what police did back then. Life was different, they could do these little things.

I remember how the same officers would come out to the ranch and it was okay to offer the police homemade cookies or a nice glass of Kool-Aid. They would suck it up and move to their next adventure. For me, that was over 40 years ago.  Back then, there was time and money for the police to assist and to help with the little things like lost dogs, scared children and fender benders.

Fast forward to today, there no longer is the funding and crime is high, too high for police to be the friendly neighborhood helpers that they used to be. I must say however, the kind of accident this was, to not have the police show up made me concerned for several reasons. First, the streets had chemicals on them and rarely does anyone use the ashtray in their car, they simply toss out their butts, which can cause a great hazard. I also feared for a second accident with the traffic stopping as it did.  Finally, someone complained of a backache and we were able to get the police to show up and deal with the mess because someone said they were hurt.

For those who are young, I want to share with you that it is true that firefighters used to get cats out of trees and police really did stop at a car accident and lend a helping hand. I think what I have learned from this experience is we need to count on each other for our support. We may need a neighbor to help us get the cat out of the tree, or we may need to depend on a strangers to come together at the scene of an accident and help. Perhaps it is not a bad thing at all.

Do not get me wrong, I am not criticizing our police department; I am going down memory lane when once upon a time we depended on police for more than just crimes and tickets. The neighborhood police can no longer and this did get me thinking; maybe my Tucson community of people can do what the police used to do in the good old days. Act neighborly; help someone deal with accidents and other mishaps. Perhaps that is the lesson we need to learn. To depend on the community of kind citizens. I think I should keep a jug of Kool-Aid and homemade cookies to offer to the good Samaritans of Tucson just like we used to do when I was a child offering goodies to our neighborhood police.

What do you recall as a young child growing up and the police?