# How Did Dick Clark Look This Year? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434 "2010-01-02T21:29:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/1 "2010-01-02T21:29:46Z")
I didn’t watch Dick Clark’s _Rockin’ New Years_ this year. Did any one catch it? If so, what did he look like? Just wondering if his health is any better ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/2 "2010-01-02T21:32:14Z")
About the same as last year, really; no better or worse. He muffed the countdown a little bit, but I didn’t notice a huge difference one way or the other between this year and any other since his stroke. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/3 "2010-01-02T21:32:44Z")
He looked about the same but he spoke as if he had way too much to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/4 "2010-01-02T21:51:30Z")
He looked remarkably like [Jerry Mahoney](http://www.catskillmagic.com/Quickstart/ImageLib/jerry1internet.jpg), though perhaps a bit more stiff. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/5 "2010-01-02T22:59:55Z")
It was pretty painful to watch. I have to say, it really bummed me out. I don’t want to be bummed out on New Year’s. I understand his desire to do the show, but I wish someone would just let him “think” he’s on the air, while someone who can speak and not bring the party to a silent halt does the real show. Poor Mr. Clark. I can’t imagine his frustration, but he looked remarkably plastic last night. He even had trouble putting his hands together by intertwining his fingers. He can’t need the money. I simply don’t understand why he continues to do it (or why the network continues to let him). The whole party stopped to watch him and the discussed his condition. No one made fun of him. It was just a depressing reminder of how fragile life is. Who needs that on New Year’s? ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/6 "2010-01-02T23:07:22Z")
I agree. I want cheery/silly with a side of sarcasm on New Year’s Eve, so I went with Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/7 "2010-01-02T23:14:41Z")
I haven’t read any of this thread. But from a speech point of view, his therapist isn’t doing him a bit of good. He is having him concentrate more on projection and distracting him from completion with contraction. His voice ha deepened and his context has become clipped and confused, butt I blame this on his coach. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/8 "2010-01-02T23:15:07Z")
He looked as if he died thirty years ago and they botoxed his corpse. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/9 "2010-01-03T00:18:20Z")
Oh that’s kind of sad, of course it is _his_ program, well in a way it is. I know ABC has already signed Seacrest to take over whenever Dick Clark decides to retire. I guess Clark may hold some old style appeal, like Guy Lombardo did for my mum’s generaton. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/10 "2010-01-03T01:46:50Z")
True, its whoever you grew up with. Dick’s been doing it 37 years and I’ve been watching the whole time (except for that one year i got stupid and watched howard sterns rotten eve), and I found it funny he went 13…12…10…9…11 But yeah, Ryan can do okay, let him take over. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/11 "2010-01-03T01:57:59Z")
The music acts were more feeble than Dick. They rocked New Years like my Granny. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/12 "2010-01-03T02:31:41Z")
I’m so sorry. But that was funny as hell. By the time he got to ‘1’, he literally didn’t even give a fuck anymore. [You Tube.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0VqQnbccW4) I like that he does it though. I mean, like it is really important to my mom that she see _him_ do it. Maybe, instead of him actually saying it, in the future, they could give him some kind of big, flashy button to press…to set it off. Then let Seacrest do the countdown. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/13 "2010-01-03T02:53:29Z")
Why on earth did they start the countdown at 20? Just begging for trouble…Poor Dick. I agree that his trainer sucks, tho. IMHO, he hasn’t progressed any since last year, and I am sure that he has been working at it, so the POS trainer needs to be put down. And, I think that Ryan Seacrest is not the person to help me ring in New Years. Give me Dick Clark with two strokes, rather than him. hh ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/14 "2010-01-03T05:00:15Z")
It’s kind of hard for me to watch. I mean, I used to watch Dick Clark on Bandstand out of Philly. Actually, I think he was a little better this year. Yeah, it’s like his upper lip is welded in one position but I think his ennunciation was better. Or maybe I just wanted to believe that. I think he’s the producer (he’s got big bucks) so he’s not going anywhere in that regard. I don’t care for Ryan Seacrest so I wish they would find someone else. There’s got to be an actor from an ABC show they can get. I didn’t much care for J-Lo and her crazy jumpsuit outfit that made left nothing to the imagination. She’s too old for that crap. Cover up, hun. I did turn the channel to CNN for a few minutes but I couldn’t bear to see Anderson Cooper be the straight man for Kathy Griffin. CSH!!! (can’t stand her) ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/15 "2010-01-03T05:03:24Z")
What really sucks, is that, IMHO, when he was counting down the final seconds of **2008,** there was a span of about 5 seconds, where he just totally gave it his all, and you could tell. For a brief shining moment there, you could see the “old” Dick. :smack: Well, you know what I mean to say. There was no such moment this year. FWIW at least he had someone to kiss. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/16 "2010-01-03T10:28:58Z")
I had the opposite reaction from most here; I thought he looked fantastic. His mind and wit are clearly unaffected, and his speech was intelligible. Maybe I’m older and therefore closer to death, but I thought it was really life-affirming to know what he had been through and how far back he’d made it. I thought there was some genuine warmth between him and Seacrest, much more so than Cooper and Griffin. Props to ABC for letting Clark continue. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/17 "2010-01-03T15:22:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Why on earth did they start the countdown at 20? We could have had Dwight Schrute do the countdown from 30 🙂 > [@](#): > > I couldn’t bear to see Anderson Cooper be the straight man Nahhh…too easy. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/18 "2010-01-03T15:37:25Z")
I thought it was sad. Of course, he still \*looks \*fantastic, which oddly juxtaposes the speech issues and slowed movements. His voice was a real shocker for me (since I didn’t watch 2008/2009 episode) and it really dampened the mood to see it. It’s almost poetic though and a reminder that there are only so many New Year celebrations in a lifetime. That’s a reminder most don’t find all that worth celebrating, however. I can’t help but wonder if this was his last Rockin’ Eve. ☹ I like Dick Clark. I’m gonna miss him. I grew up watching Dick Clark as he started his countdown two years after I was born. I have never watched another channel.\* \*Can’t say I’m much of a fan of Ryan Seacrest, though. It’ll never be the same without Dick. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/19 "2010-01-03T19:42:14Z")
[The video mentioned above](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0VqQnbccW4) is one of the saddest things I’ve seen. If a man can’t count from 20 to 1 without missing numbers or getting winded he shouldn’t be hosting a major event. Dick simply can’t do the job anymore and all the effort he’s gone to return to the show can’t obviate that. Thank goodness I was a rock concert that night, or it would have been the ultimate buzzkill to the new year. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434/20 "2010-01-03T20:32:10Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > \*Can’t say I’m much of a fan of Ryan Seacrest, though. It’ll never be the same without Dick. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a time people said the same thing about Dick re: Guy Lombardo. I think Seacrest is awesome at what he does. It’s not a zero-sum game. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-dick-clark-look-this-year/523434.md?page=2)