Dick Clark

Birth Name: Richard Wagstaff Clark

Date of Birth: November 30, 1929

Place of Birth: Bronxville, New York, U.S.

Date of Death: April 18, 2012

Place of Death: Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, distant Scottish, Irish, and Welsh

Dick Clark was an American television and radio personality and producer, and film actor. He was the host of music and dance program American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989; as well as the game show Pyramid and the annual Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the latter from 1973 to 1999, and again, from 2001 to 2004. He is viewed as a cultural icon and a creator of youth culture, owing to American Bandstand‘s timing with the explosion of rock ‘n roll. The show was also among the first in which both black and white people performed on the same stage, and among the first to allow desegregated audiences. In 1973, Dick created the American Music Awards show. He was also the CEO of Dick Clark Productions, for television. He starred in the films Jamboree, Because They’re Young, The Young Doctors, and Killers Three.

Dick was the son of Julia Fuller (Barnard) and Richard Augustus Clark. He was born in Bronxville, and raised in Mount Vernon, both in New York’s Westchester County. His brother, Bradley Clark, was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in The Ardennes in WWII. Dick was married to Kari Wigton, until his death. He had a son with his former wife Barbara Mallery; and two children, including television director, producer, and screenwriter Duane Clark, with his former wife Loretta Martin.

Dick’s paternal grandfather was Herbert Watson Clark (the son of Augustus Clark and Ann Lovett). Herbert was born in New York. Augustus was the son of Reuben C. Clark and Julia A. Crosby. Ann was the daughter of Aaron Lovett and Hetty/Esther/Hester/Mehitable. Reuben’s father, James Clark, and maternal grandfather, Reuben Marcy, fought in the Revolutionary War.

Dick’s paternal grandmother was Maud S. Wagstaff (the daughter of James Wagstaff and Anna Sully). Maud was born in New York, to English parents. James was the son of Frances/Francis Marshall.

Dick’s maternal grandfather was Charles Fuller Barnard (the son of George Barnard, Jr. and Jane Sophia Fuller). Charles was born in Rome, Oneida, New York, and was of Colonial American descent. George was the son of George Barnard and Julia H. Mudge. Jane was the daughter of Charles Fuller, Jr. and Aliva Cole.

Dick’s maternal grandmother was Anna May/Mae Aldridge (the daughter of David Aldridge and Anna Fogarty). Dick’s grandmother Anna was born in New York, to an English father. David was the son of Charles Aldridge and Sarah Holden.

Sources: Genealogies of Dick Clark – https://gw.geneanet.org
https://famouskin.com
https://www.geni.com
https://www.findagrave.com