I was honored, touched by it all.. A big strong line!) up the hill to the famous dance party set, the one that now houses People Are Talking. Hope life has been good to you! Here is the new video celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Buddy Deane Show and the former Catonsville Community College (now CCBC). This undated photo shows dancers on "The Buddy Deane Show." The popular television Baltimore dance show aired from 1957 until 1964. Its interesting that our paths have crossed at reunions and weve all chosen to stay friends. [citation needed] In several instances, the show went on location to the Milford Mill swim club on the westside of suburban Baltimore County. For those who get to Ocean City, please stop in and see us at the Blue Ox on the bayside at 127th street. It's so funny that we were just talking about you a few months back. The dancers were known as the Committee. 1 DJ in America in 1962 and, while still an on-air performer in Baltimore, bought KOTN in 1960. At first I was so shy I hid behind the Coke machines., But Evanne used to come right home and head for the TV. The big garage-type door they remember would open, and theyd all pile in, past George and Mom, the Pinkerton guards who used to keep attendance, and crowd into Arlenes office to comb their hair, confide their problems, and touch up their make-up. Want to post on Patch? We have our own "beach music" and sepearte room and bar in the back of the Ox. And, yes, they were actually "records" in 1983. And there were a bunch of us on the rock-and-roll fence, eyes on Buddy Deane's show and ears on Paul "Fat Daddy" Johnson, the gifted and wild Baltimore radio disc jockey who introduced frenetic free-association poetry at unusual times. Here is the new video celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Buddy Deane Show and the former Catonsville Community College (now CCBC). (backrow) Joe Loverde, Vicki Defeo, Bil Bertazon, and Marie Fischer Cooke Shapiro. On 'Hairspray's' 25th anniversary, 'Buddy Deane' Committee looks back The more hair spray, the better. Register for a user account. www.bsomusic.org. Warner, Tony, Buddy's Top 20: The Story of Baltimore's Hottest TV Dance Show and the Guy Who Brought it to Life! but Arlene [Kozak, his production assistant], actually did all the work. Oddly enough, few of the Deaners Ive talked to went on to show biz. John Waters: The most amazing thing about The Buddy Deane stardom was they would show up not knowing if they would fight or sign autographs. Vicki Defeo: Some of the people who were popular way back that Im friends with now, back then I wouldve been like, wow! He was 78. Buddy Dean - Oznet 8600 LaSalle Road . . I had beehives. I was with this guy named Jeff. (They gave her a diamond watch at the last reunion.) On the last day of the show, January 4, 1964, all the most popular Committee members through the years came back for one last appearance. Truth is, the era wasn't as innocent as some might contend. This production features a number of the committee members from the Deane program recalling those days. Now: The Hahns have stayed in Baltimore. So you cant imagine how excited I was when I finally got a chance to interview these local legends twenty years later. As with the drapes and squares of the previous decade, she explains, there were two classes of people thenDeaners and Joe College. Most people probably wouldve forgotten about The Buddy Deane Show ages ago had it not been immortalized by John Waters in his 1988 movie, Hairspray. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Hairspray, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is staging a concert production of the musical this week, narrated by Waters and featuring a full orchestra and vocalists. [citation needed]. Bill Haley and the Comets made their premiere performance of "Rock Around the Clock" on Deane's show. Then we made up on camera.. When Maryland Public Television wanted to film the event, it mushroomed into an even bigger affair. I remember it well, recalls Evanne. Several marriages resulted from liaisons between Committee Members. And because a new dance was introduced practically every week, you had to watch every day to keep up. The final episode aired on Jan. 4, 1964. Today, Concetta is married to another former committee member, John Sankonis. Enjoy our. No videos, backdrops or posters have been added to Buddy Deane Show. Shake, Rattle and Roll: the Buddy Dean Scrapbook" Some guys, too insecure to dance even at the Little Flower CYO, thought Buddy Deaner guys were "sissies." So was Aqua Net. His childhood nickname was Buddy. Neither Deane nor Waters believes Baltimore was ready for an integrated teen dance program in 1964. "Uhhh, I had a long basketball practice and I had to take extra foul shots," I lied. It was a real kick! Her fame even brought an offer to join the circus. The show was taken off the air because home station WJZ was unable to integrate black and white dancers. Big hair was a plus. The show ran on Broadway for a couple of seasons, and since then productions have played all over Americaand they're still going. I think Im honoring their great stardom. Last spring, five hundred people quickly snapped up the $23 tickets to the third Buddy Deane Reunion, held at the Eastwind, in Essex, to raise money for the Baltimore Burn Center. Committee Member 1961 Billy Givens Little Italy. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. It's so nice that we all have great friendships to remember & it's so great to sta y in touch. I wanted to dance., We had a saying: The show either makes you or breaks you,' says Kathy. It couldn't get much worse, or so I thought. Some of the old Committee kept up with the times and made the transition with ease. Helens fans flocked to see her at the Buddy Deane Record Hops (Committee members had to make such personal appearances and sign autographs.) If you leaned on one side, the next day youd just pick it out into shape. Mary Lou was the last of the Buddy Deane superstars, true hair-hopper royalty, the ultimate Committee member. He was one of the first to showcase rock and roll music on a continual basis. Can't find a movie or TV show? Thats how they rotated Committee members. . With the show beginning at 2:30 in some years, cutting out of school early was common. They wanted to know something about your religious affiliation. I had to wear stockings and cha-cha heels. I thought I was running the world, so they developed a Board, and the Committee began governing itself. Being elected to the Board became the ultimate status symbol. [1], As with many other local TV shows, little footage of the show is known to have survived. God forbid, in school, if you didnt smile, you were conceited. We have that common bond. Mary Lou Barber: I used to receive 100 letters a week, all fan mail. I must have had ten different phone numbers, says Helen, and somehow it would get out. Buddy himself, the high priest, returned for the event. She smelled like a garden of flowers and could crack her chewing gum discreetly. Almost all dancers wore swim wear and beach attire, with music provided by WJZ-TV. You had to wear nylons. Both entities launched on September 9, 1957. We really didnt want to go off the air. Every day after school kids would run home, tune in, and dance with the bedpost or refrigerator door as they watched. This post was contributed by a community member. But something unforeseen happened: The home audience soon grew attached to some of these kids. The committee members could dance with each other only every third or fourth dance: the other songs were reserved for dancing with the guests, 30 or so of whom appeared on the show every day. . . Dance lessons are provided by certified "Hand dance" instructors , Phil & Diane", from 5:30 till 6:30 and then we dance until about 9pm. Jump to. You need to be logged in to continue. And who could forget those great ads for the plastic furniture slipcovers that opened with the kids jumping up and down on the sofa and Royal Parker screaming, Hey kids! You received demerits for almost anything: Chewing gum. They are still referred to, good naturedly by some, as the Ken and Barbie of the show. Gene, a member of the first Committee, and I underline first, later became president of the Board. thecommitteetohonorbuddydeane - Google Sites . These were the first role models I knew. Im told there are 4,000 contracts for productions this year, said James Hunnicutt, artistic director for Cockpit in Court. Buddy Deane and his kids flashed into our living rooms nearly 40 years ago. I watched and fantasized about it and made up stories about it in my brain. . It didnt have a happy ending. When I get depressed, I dont go to the psychiatrist, I go to the jeweler, she says. Helen was my idol when I started watching the Buddy Deane show with my sister in 1958. In fall of 63, Buddy called in the Committee members and said . Rich and I didn't get together until 1989 and, like some other "Deaners", I had the attitude that no one would remember me after all that time, so I never went to the dances. Each reunion (and a new one is in the works) ls bigger than the last. Hairspray movie was inspired by this show and was based off of the the events but unlike the movies, instead of the show being integrated, it was cancelled. Marie Shapiro: I think we all kind of knew what was coming. So you always had to kind of be on., Frani Hahn: Honestly, I was on the show for, Id say about six months before my father even found out, and he found out quite by accident. With the 1960s came a whole new set of stars, some with names that seemed like gimmicks, but werent: Concetta Comi, the popular sister team of Yetta and Gretta Kotik. He was one of the first disc jockeys in the area to regularly feature rock and roll. Joel Chaseman, also a DJ at WITH, became program manager of WJZ-TV when Westinghouse bought it in the mid-50s. Arlene [Kozak, his production assistant], Ricki Lakes character goes down to audition. They were married in 1966 and have one daughter. Evanne and her brother run the John Brock Benson Dance Studios, in Pasadena, and have a line of dancers who appear at clubs all over the state. ' And Evanne still shudders as she recalls, Once I was in the cafeteria. See production, box office & company info. Youre going to put it on TV? "Where you been, boy?" You Can't Stop the Beat: The Secret History of Hairspray as Live TV Dance was a brief connection with home for us, time out from the insanity of war. When the show ended, Deane moved back to Arkansas, bought half a dozen radio stations, and lived out his life there, except for brief runs back to Baltimore, where hed host reunions with hundreds in attendance. . Integration ended The Buddy Deane Show. I wasnt going to go on and not be seen. But even Evanne turned bashful on one show, when Buddy made a surprise announcement: I was voted prettiest girl on this whole Army base. I was really mad. He wanted me to go to a summer training session to be a trapeze artist. Mary Lou Barber: Ive only been able to watch [Hairspray] a couple of times because so much of it hits home. Joanie, whose mother wanted me to be a child star, hit the show in early 57 at age 13 (you had to be 14 to be eligible, but many lied about their ages to qualify), followed a few months later by Joe, 17. In her home, near Allentown, Pennsylvania, she serves me a beautiful brunch, models her fur coats, and poses with her Mercedes. The Buddy Deane Show was a teenage dance party, on the air from 1957 to 1964. They were getting stopped on the street for autographs. Boy - do I wish I had. He was one of the first disc jockeys in the area to regularly feature rock-and-roll. [citation needed]. Deane died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on July 16, 2003, after suffering a stroke. I lied! John Waters: Theyre my idols in a way. Many years later they married. Mary Lou Barber: Because I was on the Committee and I was president, [I went to] these summit meetings. More Pictures from the "Tribute to Buddy" Dance, Tribute to Buddy Dance at Timonium Fairgrounds. They just wanted to know if you were real. He didnt talk with us a whole lot. He said they asked each member of the show's committee . . Im still a fana Deaner groupie. The early look of the Committee was typically 50s. Now a receptionist living near Towson with her husband and two grown children, Arlene remains fiercely loyal, organizing the reunions and keeping notebooks filled with the updated addresses, married names, and phone numbers of my kids. She met Winston J. But it went something like this: Buddy Deane was an exclusively white show. READ: What happened to the teen stars of The Buddy Deane Show after the program went off the air? I couldnt go to a mall without somebody going Oh my God, its Mary Lou! . Gene and Linda Snyder met on The Buddy Deane Show as committee members in 1959 and have been married for 46 years. I had a lot of black friends at the time, so for me this was an awkward thing, says Marie. So many talented musicians and people who wanted to show their appreciation made the night truly special. [1] He was 78. This was the adults, who didnt know what to do, so they shut the whole thing down.. We don't have any cast added to this TV Show. It was a family: Buddy was the father, Arlene was the mother.. Six days a week and often two hours a day, Buddy Deane and his Committee Members --the privileged regular teen dancers on the show -- twisted, cha cha ed and Madisoned into area living rooms. Some teens in the suburbs like John Waters might have watched the show on the sly, and danced with the refrigerator door, because for many in his Towson community, Deaners were not individuals to admire. I would see this again years later, stinky and scared young guys dancing to candlelight in a sandbagged Vietnam bunker, serenaded by a tropically-warped Temptations album. Crushed, I retreated from cheek-to-cheek to a distant and awkward completion of a slow tune by the Miracles. The Committee, as they were known, could do all the hot dances of the day: the Madison, the mashed potato, the pony. Im the biggest ham. Although she denies being conscious of the camera, she admits, I did try to dance up front. Most Deaner girls wouldnt even tongue-kiss, claims Arlene, remembering the ruckus caused by a Catholic priest when the Committee modeled strapless Etta gowns on TV.
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