Yeah...I saw him naked.
But, it's not what you think.
I had the unbelievable opportunity to interview one of the most influential men in the history of American pop culture. I was a junior in college (1975)...and Dick Clark was an alumni of my national fraternity. Through a freak conversation with a National Rep at one of our infamous lounge parties, I found myself jetting to NYC to interview one of my idols.
I was a DJ at the campus radio station and I dreamed of a career in radio. The Rep thought it was a perfect match for the national fraternity magazine. And, I found myself at the ABC Building watching Dick host "$10,000 Pyramid."
They did all 5 shows for each week in one day to maximize the guest stars that appeared each week (I coudn't tell you the male, but Adrienne Barbeau was the female guest that day...and the crew kept fighting with her over how much cleavage she was showing).
Between taping the Tuesday and Wednesday shows, the cast and crew broke for lunch. Dick motioned to me to follow him and we we whisked up to his penthouse apartment where the interview would take place.
He smiled and said, "we don't have much time and I'm going to take a shower and change clothes for the last three shows...do you mind if we start the interview while I clean up?"
And, what was I to say? Of course...it was a much more innocent time. I never gave it another thought. And the interview began as he stripped down and jumped in the shower.
He was the most genuine individual I ever interviewed in my 15 years in the media. And, I interviewed a lot of famous people. Dick was warm, caring, helpful, insightful, compassionate...he was exactly the man that my generation invited into their homes every afternoon...then every morning...and then, every New Year's Eve.
RIP, Dick Clark. While boomers mourn your passing, we so celebrate your life. And, to our Xer and Millennial comrades...the media you enjoy today is thanks to Dick. For, without him, none of this would have happened. At least not how it did.
Hell yeah.
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