Radio and TV Icon Dick Clark Has Passed Away At 82

Dick Clark was the one person who you never thought would die, but sadly, that happened today from a massive heart attack this morning.

Dick Clark was known as the perennial teenager because he always had a boyish face, even in his later years.

We will all miss him every New Year, as we watch the ball drop at midnight.

He started his career in radio at WOLF-AM in Syracuse, NY. His next move took him to WFIL in Philadelphia, which, as luck would have it was affiliated with a TV station. Yes, that is where Dick Clark became the host of this "little TV show that could" called Bandstand.  And the rest is history...and Dick Clark's empire of radio stations, radio shows and TV production company.

In his later years, Dick Clark suffered a massive stroke, which caused him to have extremely slurred speech and facial deformities, but that never stopped him from hosting the most watched New Year celebration in the world, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

On a personal note, I met Dick Clark once and found him to be a very kind man. It was after a conference that he spoke at back in 2000, when I met Dick Clark. (Yes, I dorked, but re-gained my composure.) He said some things that resonated with me and kept the fire to be in radio alive in me. His words were simple and they have proven to be true. "No matter how far along you get in your career and no matter how old you get, always remember the next thing is around the corner to take your job away, unless you are embracing the future." He went on to talk about this new thing that was starting to take off called High Speed Internet, which we all now take for granted.

Dick Clark, you will be missed.

R.I.P. Dick Clark (November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012)