American legend Dick Clark died of a massive heart attack

Publicity photo of Dick Clark from the television show The Object Is. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dick Clark, whose “American Bandstand” made him rich and famous by marrying rock ’n’ roll with television, died Wednesday morning at the age of 82. His agent, Paul Shefrin, said he died of a massive heart attack. He suffered a serious stroke in 2004 that affected his speech and forced him to cut back appearances on his last major TV showcase, “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.” While Clark’s success with “Bandstand” largely stemmed from a wholesome, all-American persona that made him seem like everyone’s easygoing friend, he was a sharp, hard-nosed businessman and media mogul. No one more successfully cross-marketed the two biggest pop-culture phenomena of the post-World War II years: rock ’n’ roll and television. “The passing of Dick Clark removes one of the largest foundation stones of the entire pop-music industry for the latter half of the 20th century,” said his longtime friend Kal Rudman, publisher of “Friday Morning Quarterback.” Glenn Morgan, who created the “Dick Clark National Music Countdown” with Clark in 1981, said he was “the real deal – the same on the air as he was off. He was a gentleman and a consummate professional who was meticulous about getting it right.” Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/television/dick-clark-dead-82-american-bandstand-host-changed-shape-television-rock-n-roll-article-1.1063827#ixzz1sRNeW8es