ABC has been promising “the return of Dick Clark.” They just showed him. What a tragedy.
The poor man is obviously still badly impaired by his stroke. His speech was slurred and flat. His voice sounded all wrong. He raised one arm, with the other down at his side.
Dick, you should have left us with memories.
:eek:
Damn. I was just watching him on GSN’s $100,000 Pyramid marathon today. What a shame.
I just watched him, too. My first words were “oh my god.” The poor man. He can’t be in very good shape. It’s nice that he could make it, but maybe he should have stayed home.
Happy New Year, Dick. Thanks for all the tunes.
It broke my damn heart to listen to him tonight. I almost started crying at the end of the countdown, just because of how he sounded. 
You have to give it to him, he’s made an -extraordinary- effort since his stroke. But omg, he looks every bit of his 77 years tonight. I do want to say a big Thank You to Dick Clark, though, for all the memories through all the years.
He had to be there. He IS neaw years to a lot of people who have seen only him host it since they were little, such as myself. Its a tradition, and I suppose he enjoys it. I was surprised by his speech, but that happens to a lot of people who have strokes. he’s still the Dick Clark I care about on New Years. 
This was just sad. Dick Clark has been there on NYE since I can remember, but he shouldn’t have done tonight’s show. I’m not saying the man should disappear… but he’s not going to live forever and they will have to find a replacement eventually.
I, for one, wished I had my memories of him before they pushed him in front of the camera tonight. Surely he doesn’t need the money, does he?
I did prefer him to Ryan Seacrest and that female twit, however. It just broke my heart to see how he has deteriorated.
I didn’t see him, but I had thought he was usually on NBC, and when I turned to that channel I was incensed by the idea that they would replace him with that hack Carson Daly.
Maybe he just wanted to keep the tradition and make the point that you don’t have to be ashamed at having had a stroke and not functioning all properly?
It is unfortunate that he is still suffering effects from the stroke, but I don’t think that is any reason for him to hide in seclusion. People get old and have illnesses…it’s just part of life, and I think it’s better to adapt to it than to keep him off the air just because he isn’t the same as he used to be. I commend him for the hard work it no doubt required in rehab to get back to this level of functioning, and hope he’ll be well enough to make another appearance next year.
From the standpoint of a 76-year-old stroke victim after a year of recovery, I guess he was probably looking and sounding alright. From the standpoint of just looking at him on TV, it was pretty depressing and sad. (I’m not a Dick Clark fan anyway, so I’ve got no emotional stake in this one way or another.)
Didn’t see it, and I guess I am glad I didn’t.
Dick Clark is Dorian Gray in my mind, and I don’t want to read or see the final chapter.
Please do not misunderstand. I do not suggest that as a society we should throw all handicapped, ill, or not-so-pretty people in a box somewhere. I agree that the strides he has made since his stroke have been remarkable.
With that said, I wish I didn’t see him tonight on TV. It made me depressed. Perhaps it reminds me of my own mortality. Perhaps it is because Dick Clark never seemed to age to me, and then WHAMMO! He aged 50 years since the last time I saw him.
Johnny Carson seemed to do it right. He bowed out close to the top of his game, clearly capable of at least a few more years of entertaining us. He packed it in, and retired, leaving us with some great memories while he enjoyed his life. I just don’t understand why some of these folks can’t just hang it up and move gracefully out of the spotlight (see Mary Tyler Moore). Dick Clark didn’t look like he was enjoying himself. He looked like he was laboring to make it to midnight. That didn’t make me feel good.
Dick Clark should have stayed home, enjoyed NYE with friends and family, or whatever. I just thought what he did tonight was sad, and that in no way reflects on his stroke or his struggles to overcome it. If you were inspired by seeing him, that’s great. But to me, it was anything but inspiring.
I was really surprised. I told my wife I bet he’d be in nearly mint condition. I had figured the stroke was mild and hadn’t affected speech.
I was wrong.
It seemed weird to see it.
I was struck by his speech affliction as well, but I got over it. I figure, so what. You wouldn’t put him on a primetime weekly show, but he is an institution on new year’s eve, and he’s mentally all there. So why not trot him out on nye? He didn’t make a mockery of it, and did a decent job. I’m not for shuffling him off into hiding just because he can’t speak as well as he used too.
And between him, the chick, and seacrest, if I had to pick one to host it solo, it’d be Clark.
Rockin’ New Year’s Eve has always been on ABC, Rodgers01, so NBC wasn’t the one who replaced Dick Clark on the coverage. That being said, I can’t stand Carson Daly! And ABC and DCP have apparently signed Ryan Seacrest to do the NYE show in the future, when Dick is no longer able to perform.
It was more of a shock to see Dick last night, I think, at least for me. As DMark noted already, I’ve always thought that he had that portrait of Dorian Gray (heh Dick Clark really) hidden away somewhere and now it looks like that portrait was been seriously damaged. Remember, though, the stroke damaged his ability to move and to speak, not his mind; Dick has always been young at heart. So while his speech is slower and was at times hard to understand, beneath it Dick’s spirit shown through. Thanks Dick!
That’s a redundancy.
[HIjack]
I never got to talk to my Grandma (who lived with Mom and I until we lost her in 1980 when I was 7) because she had a stroke before I was born affecting the same side of her brain as Mr. New Year’s Eve. Hers was worse than his and she never was able to manage more than Yes or No. She was never able to walk or use her right arm again. I didn’t, nor did anyone else in my family, think she should be secluded. It’s tough to deal with, but with some adaptation (keep in mind, I didn’t know her before, so I didn’t even know I was adapting) it can be done. Matter of fact, it was almost like I was able to communicate with her on some other level. When others couldn’t figure it out, they would send me (even as early as the age of 3-4) to find out what she wanted. She was very special to me, and seeing him last night reminded me of her. It’s been 25 years since she passed, but I still miss her everyday.
[/Hijack]
I mourned the loss of the “old” Dick Clark (which I feel is what the OP was referring to), but knowing that he had to go through a LOT of work just to get back to the shape he is in now, I applaud him for returning to NYE. Yes, the stroke did age him, but years ago I figured something major would happen and age him almost overnight. Sad to see I was right.
Glad to see that the reins are being handed over to Ryan Seacrest. I think he’s a good choice. Hope that Hilary Duff never returns as cohost. I’m not sure who should replace her, though.
I’m a 29 year old stroke survivor and Dick Clark’s appearance was astounding given his age. It was upsetting to see him that way yes. But I vividly remember learning to speak again. How your tongue just doesn’t work right. I also remember my “friend” telling all my other friends that I sounded like a robot. I don’t have any audio tapes from back then but I bet I sounded even worse than Mr. Clark! I applaud his courage and tenacity in his recovery. Recovering from a stroke, you need a goal. I’m glad this was his. Heck, having his voice on film might be a good thing so he can see his eventual progress! I still have the pictures of me where half my face is paralyzed. It took me about a year to get back to baseline speech and I was 24. I’m sure Mr. Clark has a longer, harder road to climb.
Somehow, I completely missed the fact that he’d even had a stroke. When he came on the air, I was really shocked to hear him. When my husband told me what had happened, I was glad that he had fought his way back to health enough to even be there.