By JEFF WILSON
LOS ANGELES
Four years after a stroke, Dick Clark is relishing the prospect of another New Year’s Eve celebration, determined to appear for his 36th year in Times Square. And he’s hardly surprised by the current state of the music industry he helped build – he predicted this, after all.
Clark, who turned 79 last month and has been in front of the cameras for 61 years, said in a recent interview by e-mail that his involvement in “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009,” diminished though it may be, is a labor of love and “not really a job.”
“Obviously, I’m not able to be as actively involved as I used to be out on the street, up on a platform and interacting with the crowds in Times Square” in New York, Clark wrote. “Thank goodness my friend Ryan Seacrest is able to handle that end of the activity on the show these days.
ABC-TV’s 3½-hour live extravaganza will include performances by Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange and Robin Thicke. Fergie hosts the Hollywood segments.
Clark woke up with right-side paralysis on Dec. 6, 2004 – “Your life changes overnight,” he said. (Regis Philbin filled in for Clark on the New Year’s Eve show that year.) Clark still uses a walker or wheelchair, and speaking is difficult.
“I am one of the fortunate ones who survived and have been minimally impaired, so I’m just thankful I’m still able to enjoy this once-a-year treat of bringing in the New Year.”
The “American Bandstand” icon and longtime producer of the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Golden Globes has long considered them “my television kids.”
He’s also watched their ratings plummet in recent years.
“There was a time when they attracted a huge audience,” Clark wrote. “The audiences have dropped off as the years have gone by because of increasing television competition.
“What we are seeing is more and more talent and less emphasis on people getting awards. Television’s award shows have now become gigantic showcases for variety.”
Clark was there at the birth of rock ‘n’ roll (“American Bandstand” kicked off July 9, 1956), and he’s watched dramatic changes in the music industry. Not that those changes would come as much of a surprise.
“I can remember writing an article several years ago where I let my imagination run wild,” Clark wrote. “I said we’d see the day when music is delivered directly to our homes, and delivered to us in some form of wireless communication.
“The fun of actually holding a record in our hands will disappear and we’ll all have our own individual library of our favorite songs that we’ll listen to at home, at work, in the car wherever we happen to go.”
These days, Clark divides his time between his Malibu home and Burbank office. There’s an hourlong therapy session each morning, then he answers mail and phone calls, attends meetings and reads.
The day ends with his devoted wife Kari.
“My wife and I may join friends for dinner at a restaurant, attend a movie or just grab a bite to eat by ourselves away from home,” Clark wrote. “Occasionally, we’ll attend a music concert. Recently we’ve seen Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Frankie Valli and Cher.”
