Mark Evanier: Dick Clark

[tv star collector]

You Don't Know Dick
Posted at 12:16 PM · Permalink
My pal, TV critic Aaron Barnhart, has a little different view of Dick Clark's return to broadcasting on New Year's Eve. I don't have a strong opinion on this. I said at the time I was unsure which of two views to take of it and there are others I didn't even mess with.

Did it make some people uneasy? Sure. Did it gladden the hearts of others? Yes. Would some folks have preferred not to see it? Of course. Did others tune in just to see how Dick was? You bet.

Let me throw one other thought into the discussion, even though I'm not clear enough on my own feelings to have much of a discussion on it. As I said, I worked with Dick a number of times. I've had no contact with him in over a decade but I doubt this has changed: The guy was and I'll bet still is a workaholic. I don't know whether it's vanity or greed or just some inability to deal with the whole concept of leisure time but the Dick Clark I knew loved to work and lived to work. He would carefully plot his schedule to see how much he could do in a day and if someone came to him with a project or offer, he'd immediately rejuggle that schedule to see if he could fit the new thing in, whatever it was. All of us around him knew the Golden Rule when it came to Dick Clark: He was the most cooperative, professional person you could possibly deal with as long as you didn't waste his time.

Most of the discussions I'm reading about his reemergence, including my own first response, are about the impact Dick's New Year's Eve appearance had on us. The more I think about it, the more I think that may not have been even a significant consideration in his decision to do the show. I think he was just going nuts sitting in a wheelchair in Malibu not working. He may well have needed the goal of doing that broadcast to motivate his therapy in the preceding months. Aaron thinks Dick should refrain from public appearances until such time as he's truly overcome the crippling effects on the stroke, and in one sense -- and for some people -- Aaron is right. But I'd doubt Dick has the patience for that, and if doing the occasional TV show is going to help him get back to being the Dick Clark we know, or anything close to it, I'm fine with that. I see people on my set all the time who haven't had strokes but have a lot less right to be there and who make me a lot less comfortable.

[Pitooey]

Very interesting.........

I was a bit scared to see Dick Clark on Rockin Eve but I tuned in to see how he was. How he looked.

At first when I heard him speak I was shaking my head... How can he go on TV and do that?

He looked good though. He still looks youthful. After some time passed and he was sounding out the countdown it was like........

Then I realized that Mr. Dick Clark missed his job. He didn't want to stay home. He wanted to live his life. He needs to stay busy. He needs to work. My own father use to tell me that when he retired he still wanted to work.
When I saw Mr. Kurt Douglas come out in the forefront I shook my head too. Now everytime I see him I've grown accustomed to his voice.

Mr. Dick Clark has guts! Just like our man Christopher Reeves had.

That evening I spoke to my hubby "Do you think you could have the guts to go on national TV after a stroke?" He said No and I had to agree with him. We both would've stayed behind closed doors.

I'm glad Dick Clark is back! We missed him!

[MsOrange]

i didn' watch it (fell asleep, i'm a looser)... i wanted to see him though. Anyone know where I can get a clip?

[Fleet]

I saw Dick during the show and when he was introduced. His speech was slurred, of course, since we knew he had trouble speaking. But he did okay. He didn't really look weak or anything. And I bet he's very glad he was able to do the show. I'm sure it was a rough year for him.
Let's hope he's able to do the next New Year's Eve Party, too.