The Committee members became Baltimore celebrities they were recognized on the street and received fan mail and they got to meet some of the biggest stars in music. It was the era of rock n roll - ducktails, pegged pants and beehive dos. Another royal Deaner couple who met on the air and later married was Gene Snyder and Linda Warehime. . As Marie puts it, The rewards were so great emotionally that you didnt have to ask for a monetary award., Many had difficulties dealing with the void when the show went off the air. They wanted to know about bringing black kids on the show. [citation needed] In several instances, the show went on location to the Milford Mill swim club on the westside of suburban Baltimore County. at that time, our parents would not have gone along with integrated dancing. Yeah it was Cosenel, says Joe. We have a telegram, Buddy would shout almost daily, for Mary Lou to lead a dance, and the cameraman seemed to love her. Buddy wanted it to end happily, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings. Dick Clark patterned his ABC-TV show, Where the Action Is, after local remotes done by Deane in Maryland. But I was never a Deaner. We will try to spotlight our memories and post highlights on upcoming events. Even doing commercials was expected. Jump to. Deane also held dances at various Maryland American Legion posts and National Guard armories which were not taped or broadcast on television. What the heck, we were all going to school with black kids for a decade by then. I was able after a while to afford some clothes from Lees of Broadway (whose selection of belted coats and pegged pants made it the Saks Fifth Avenue of Deaners). [citation needed] With an ear for music seasoned by many more years as a disc jockey than Clark, Deane also brought to his audience a wider array of white musical acts than were seen on American Bandstand. [1], Deane's dance party television show debuted in 1957 and was, for a time, the most popular local show in the United States. A guy I attended City with, Carroll Weber, lived in Highlandtown and was on the committee. Hundreds of thousands of teens learned the latest dances by watching Committee members on the show, copying their personal style, and following their life stories and interactions. Like many couples, Joe and Joan met through the show and became an item for their fans. And the whole concept of the Committee changed. John Waters: I put the spotlight on [the integration controversy] . Buddy Deane, whose popular Baltimore television dance show for teenagers became the basis for the John Waters movie "Hairspray," died here on July 16. One of the first ponytail princesses was Peanuts (Sharon Goldman, debuting at 14 in 58, Forest Park, Chicken Hop), who went on the show because Deaners were folk heroes. She remembers Paul Anka singing Put Your Head on My Shoulder to her on camera as she did just that. Buddy Deane Show (TV Series) The Movie Database (TMDB) Come share the songs & dances of the Buddy Deane Show with us! Buddy Deane Committee - Facebook 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. He went steady with committee member Bobbie Lanham, a heartthrob to legions, and got lots of telegrams inviting him and Bobbie to lead dances. The final episode aired on Jan. 4, 1964. Do you miss show biz? I ask her. For the past 17 years, theve owned a travel agency, Francesca & Company Travel. Or Snuggle Dolls? There wasnt a person against it. She was his right-hand man and she picked out all the kids for the show. I didnt mean to, because I never would have messed up the makeup.. . The boys had to wear coats and ties, dressing in the aforementioned "Continental" style. You Can't Stop the Beat: The Secret History of Hairspray as Live TV Buddy Deane Committee: Helen Crist Swift 1943 - 2007 - Blogger I went to Eastern High, I got out at 2:30, and at 3, the show started. So the rules were bent a little; the big ones, the ones with the fan mail, were allowed to stay. I was just accidentally obsessed with something that was appealing to more people. Deane began his broadcasting career at KLXR in Little Rock, Arkansas. Why not do The Deane Show on TV again? His name was Nelson Ray Shiflett. At her appearances at the record hops, kids would actually scream when youd get out of the car: Theres Mary Lou! It aired for two and a half hours a day, six days a week. Buddy said to me, Well, heres my little girl whos been with me the longest. I hardly ever cried, but I just broke down on camera. Baltimore Sun. Because Buddy Deanes competition was soap operas, the budding teenage romances were sometimes played up for the camera. You need to be logged in to continue. Acts that appeared on the show first were reportedly barred from appearing on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, but if they had been on Bandstand first they could still be on The Buddy Deane Show. Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a Baltimore drugstore. You have to ease into it. "None of my friends dressed in the Continental style, it was uncool to be a Buddy Deaner," said Waters, whose movie Hairspray is based on that era in Baltimore and was adapted into the successful Broadway musical. When "The Buddy Deane Show" debuted on Baltimore's WJZ-13 on Sept. 9, 1957, it was an instant hit. Its time had passed a little. Because there were starting to be some demonstrations outside of the studio. Arguably the first TV celebrities in Baltimore. (Marvin Joseph/THE WASHINGTON POST), Almost 20 of the original stars of The Buddy Deane Show show off their signature dance, The Madison. (Jessica Goldstein/The Washington Post). . I remember it well, recalls Evanne. Frani Hahn: I think it was easier for the girls. The one thing everyone seems to remember about The Buddy Deane Show is its ending: amid calls to integrate the almost all-white program (as in Hairspray, there was one day a month when African Americans could dance on the show), Buddy Deane was canceled. Seven year old's Egg My Yard! "Jesus, I can be anywhere, like a funeral parlor, and people will introduce me as 'this is Concetta, she was on Buddy Deane.' I wanted to go, but my parents wouldnt let me. I was dancing out at Giovannis Restaurant, in Harford County, just the other night, Parks said, and a woman says to me, Arent you Carl Parks? It was so painful. The popular television Baltimore dance show aired from 1957 until 1964. Special Thanks to Linda Snyder (committee member from the Buddy Deane Show) who shares many stories from the TV show, Richard Powers who provided the amazing photo from the set of the Buddy Dean Show, Lance Benishek (dance historian) who provided some ample questions and motivation when we began researching these dances in 2005. Buddy offered to have three or even four days a week all black, but that wasnt it. Buddy Deane, 78, TV Host And Inspiration of 'Hairspray' - New York Times Buddy Deane Committee: 2009 - Blogger For many of them, it was the highlight of their life, and I get why. Untrue, but we believed it.). The Buddy Deane Show (TV Series 1957-1964) - IMDb At school, we were just one of the other kids, but we used to get fan mail. Check out the latest from the Deaners and get the full behind the scenes story of Buddy Deane and Hairspray here. Enjoy our. We are in touch with Larry Miller, Lola & many of the people that you haven't seen in awhile. The uncertain life of a high-schooler became more tolerable. Deane was named the No. Although he never appeared on Deane's show, Waters attended high school with a "Buddy Deaner" and later gave Deane a cameo in the film, in which Deane played a TV reporter who tried to interview the governor who was besieged by integration protesters. On the show you were either a drape or a square, explains Sharon. Plus they used us for commercials. . Chaseman had this idea for a dance party show, with Buddy as the disc jockey, and Buddy asked Arlene to go to work for him. It was a target maybe of people who didnt even watch the show. Participants dressed in "country" style, and danced to country and western music as well as pop. Mary Lou, the Annette Funicello of the show, was the talk of teenage Baltimore. When the subject comes up today, most loyalists want to go off the record. We appreciate your interest. Evanne Robinson was voted the prettiest girl by an entire army base. The dancers were known as the Committee. Please contact me. Hairspray came to CCBC Essex's Cockpit in Court theater, and so did the real original castthose Committee members from the old Buddy Deane Show, whose moment in history became the premise for . Although the show has been off the air for more than twenty years, a nearly fanatical cult of fans has managed to keep the memory alive. It was the top-rated local TV show in Baltimore and, for several years, the highest rated local TV program in the country. The core group of teenagers who appeared on the show every day were known as the "Committee." Or Hartford Motor Coach Company? Five days a week on Channel 13 (first known as WAAM, then as WJZ), it played for two hours a day, and on Saturdays, two and a half. . But as more and more kids (even Deane fans) did tum Joe College, many of the Committee made the mistake of not keeping up with the times. At frantic meetings of the Committee, many said, My parents simply wont let me come if its integrated, and WJZ realized it just couldnt be done. The Buddy Deane Show was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane (19242003), and aired on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the then-ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. . I found out that my father was on this show. Kozak says that was far from the truth. As one report stated, the Deane show "Teeded [ sic] off last Monday and bowed an impressive array of guests, including Kitty Kallen, June Valli, Terri Stevens, Lou Monte, The Chordettes . Sections of this page . Fran Nedeloff (debuting at 14 in 61, Mervo, cha-cha) remembers the look: Straight skirt to the knee, cardigan sweater buttoned up the back, cha-cha heels, lots of heavy black eyeliner, definitely Clearasil on the lips, white nail polish. We were from all over the city, Ann Boyer recalled. '.Watch this and go back in time to the Baltimore of the late 50's and early 60'sand how those memories remain as vivid as ever to the thousands who lived it.Special thanks to Larry Bridge \u0026 Marc Solomon of LARMAR Video and Joe \u0026 Cindy Loverde for the creation and production of the project, and of courseto the many members of the Buddy Deane Committee who provided a generation of Baltimoreans with a ton of great reminisces from the early days of rock and roll! A big strong line!) up the hill to the famous dance party set, the one that now houses People Are Talking. You received demerits for almost anything: Chewing gum. He was to have been the host of the first Buddy Deane Fan Fair and Dance in September at the Fairgrounds in Timonium, an event that is still scheduled. Frani Hahn: John always said he felt like we were a cult. Everybody wanted to kick a Buddy Deaners a, says Gene, recalling thugs waiting to jump Deaners outside the studio. They would drive me nuts when theyd come in the door, and Id say Man, youre gone. . It was the times, most remember. Marie Fischer was the first Joe to become a Committee memberchosen simply because she was such a good dancer.
