# So how was Dick Clark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970 "2008-01-02T06:11:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/1 "2008-01-02T06:11:21Z")
Missed the usual ABC ball drop this year because I was at a bar NYE. So does Dick look any better than last year, or did he still look frail? How long do you think he can keep doing this thing? ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/2 "2008-01-02T07:18:53Z")
[QUOTE=installLSC] Missed the usual ABC ball drop this year because I was at a bar NYE. So does Dick look any better than last year, or did he still look frail? How long do you think he can keep doing this thing? [/QUOTE] He looked bad. It really hurt me to watch him. His speech was slurred and he struggled for words on the teleprompter. The world’s oldest teenager is not going to last much longer I don’t believe. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/3 "2008-01-02T07:42:56Z")
Yeah, it was sad to watch him. He really seemed upbeat and in good spirits, but he was clearly struggling. He just isn’t the same as he once was. It will be a miracle if he’s on the air again Dec. 31, 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/4 "2008-01-02T12:39:33Z")
During what I saw, it looked like they were going to Dick Clark just for brief bits, with most of the load carried by various young people I wouldn’t know from Adam. I understand him wanting to keep going, but it was painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/5 "2008-01-02T13:41:50Z")
He looked terrible, I don’t understand why he doesn’t just retire. He had a stroke before last year’s New Year, didn’t he? Jim ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/6 "2008-01-02T13:46:50Z")
Very sad to watch. Particularly striking because my game-show obsessed son had been watching him doing “$100,000 Pyramid” from the Eighties on GSN that day, so we had fresh memories of him when he seemed ageless. I thought it was great, though, how respectful Seacrest and the others were towards him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/7 "2008-01-02T14:14:40Z")
I’ve never been a fan, but it was really bad to watch. I couldn’t understand anything he said, and in fact I felt like he sounded better a year ago. I do applaud him for going out there and showing stroke victims don’t have to be shut-ins, but it’s not a fun thing to watch on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olive_The_Other_Reindeer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/8 "2008-01-02T15:00:33Z")
I was working, but they had the TV on for the ball drop. He looked like Zombie Dick Clark, and I half expected him to moan “Braaaaaaiiins!” the entire time. Olive ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/9 "2008-01-02T15:02:17Z")
Why don’t they replace him with a computer-generated clone based on his American Bandstand days? Then he would truly be ageless. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/10 "2008-01-02T15:10:55Z")
[QUOTE=Olive, The Other Reindeer] I was working, but they had the TV on for the ball drop. He looked like Zombie Dick Clark, and I half expected him to moan “Braaaaaaiiins!” the entire time. Olive [/QUOTE] Sad, but true. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/11 "2008-01-02T15:12:55Z")
They could also just put his head in a jar and let him work till the 3000’s. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/12 "2008-01-02T15:52:07Z")
I would say, “animatronic”, but the consensus at the party I attended was that an animatronic Dick Clark would’ve looked more realistic. A friend of mine described him as wearing so much makeup that he looked spackled. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/13 "2008-01-02T16:04:06Z")
From [Wikipedia.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Clark) > [@](#): > > For the ABC New Year’s Eve 2007-08 appearance, Clark still exhibited noticeably slurred and somewhat breathless speech. The original ball drop countdown had to be dubbed due to Clark’s incoherent count down on the live east coast feed. Jumping from 13 to 6 to 20 to 4 then happy new year! It is sad. (Cleaned up the typos in the quote) ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/14 "2008-01-02T16:14:08Z")
I was watching the show live on the east coast and don’t remember that he messed up the countdown. But if it says that at Wikipedia it must be true. Do they run a tape of the original event in the later time zones? That seems weird. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/15 "2008-01-02T16:33:21Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] I was watching the show live on the east coast and don’t remember that he messed up the countdown. But if it says that at Wikipedia it must be true. Do they run a tape of the original event in the later time zones? That seems weird. [/QUOTE] I heard the countdown live (on TV). It sounded very slurred, but I did not notice the number jumping. I think a piece of Wikitrash was found. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/16 "2008-01-02T16:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] I was watching the show live on the east coast and don’t remember that he messed up the countdown. [/QUOTE] I don’t recall him messing up either. To me, though he was clearly struggling with his pronunciation, I got the impression that his mind was still sharp. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/17 "2008-01-02T16:35:52Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I heard the countdown live (on TV). It sounded very slurred, but I did not notice the number jumping. I think a piece of Wikitrash was found. [/QUOTE] The bit about jumping from 13 to 20 to 6 or whatever has already been deleted. It still says the countdown was dubbed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/18 "2008-01-02T16:38:02Z")
My boss, when asked how he spent NYE: Me and my daughters watched Weekend at Bernie’s. I only reallized toward midnight it was New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/19 "2008-01-02T16:42:01Z")
Here’s a Youtube [link](http://youtube.com/watch?v=_mxivHN_vRo) to last night’s countdown. The countdown starts at 1:46, and while there is a noticable skip in a couple of places where he may have gotten it wrong, it still isn’t really all that bad, IMO. Frankly - and I didn’t see it last night so he might have looked worse in sharper detail - I don’t think he looked all that bad. He just sounded slurred, which I imagine is only to be expected given his condition and all. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970/20 "2008-01-02T16:49:42Z")
I think he called Ryan Seacrest “Jim” at one point. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-was-dick-clark/431970.md?page=2)