With the rising pressures of integration, the producers decided that the show must either be integrated or canceled. Why Europeans Dont Get Huge Medical Bills. From 1957 to 1963, only white teens were allowed to attend the weekday broadcasts of the Buddy Deane Show, with the exception of one Monday each month when black teenagers filled the Friday, February 19 at 7PM. The protesters wanted the races to mix. We hung around with black and whites together, which you couldnt do. Special appearances. 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. In 1984, he sold the station to a local college but bought it back in 1996. We faked a feud. His running joke with listeners was that he ran the town from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. until the city's real mayor took over. The show featured only white kids dancing, so Scruggs wrote him a letter in the fall of 1958 to . From 1968 into 1973, the public television variety show SOUL! Print Headline: Buddy Deane Show was huge hit for young viewers in the late 1950s, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. I was with this guy named Jeff. This assessment proved true when on Aug. 12, 1963 a group of black and white kids stormed the stage of "The Buddy Deane Show" and danced together. I even named some of the characters in my films after them. 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. 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. She was one of the chosen few who went to New York to learn how to demonstrate the Madison, and was selected for the exchange committee that represented Baltimores best on American Bandstand. 'Buddy Deane' really did have "Negro day" once a month -- it was called worse in some neighborhoods in Baltimore. Black teens were only allowed to dance on the show one day per month. Counter to host Dick Clark's claims that he integrated American Bandstand, this book reveals how the first national television program directed at teens discriminated against black youth during its early years . Sometimes youd wrap your hair at night. "How 'The Buddy Deane Show' really went off the air is the white kids crashed Negro Day to integrate it. "If you first appeared on The Buddy Deane Show then you could not appear on The Dick Clark Show," Deane said. Influencers: Profiles of a Partnership 2022, How to Pitch Stories and Articles to IndieWire, John Waters Shares His 10 Favorite Films of 2022, 'Peter Von Kant' Tops List, John Waters to Write and Direct 'Liarmouth' from His Own Novel, Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 50 Films the Director Wants You to See, Oscars 2023: Best Animated Feature Predictions. The Funtown reference is powerful because it captures one of the ways that Jim Crow segregation and white supremacy played out for children and teenagers. While he wasnt on the committee, Waters occasionally danced on the show as a guest. It was even in the papers. 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. And the girl Deaners, God, hair-hoppers as we called them in Towson, the ones with the Etta Gowns, bouffant hairdos, and cha-cha heels. Integration ended The Buddy Deane Show. 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. And they all came together on the Buddy Deane Show, Baltimore's legendary teen dance show. Every day after school kids would run home, tune in, and dance with the bedpost or refrigerator door as they watched. The Committee, initially recruited from local teen centers, was to act as hosts and dance with the guests. Participants dressed in "country" style, and danced to country and western music as well as pop. Buddy Deane used to boast that every major rock 'n' roll star of the era appeared on the show, except Elvis Presley and Rick Nelson. I had a lot of black friends at the time, so for me this was an awkward thing, says Marie. Was it really twenty years ago? Helens fans flocked to see her at the Buddy Deane Record Hops (Committee members had to make such personal appearances and sign autographs.) I wanted to get into the record businessand years later he did. "The Buddy Deane Show" ran on Baltimore's WJZ-TV from 1957 to 1964. Many top acts of the day, both black and white, appeared on The Buddy Deane Show. Warner, Tony, Buddy's Top 20: The Story of Baltimore's Hottest TV Dance Show and the Guy Who Brought it to Life! Though black and white . This discrimination was explicitly or tacitly supported by an array of advertisers, television stations, music producers, city authorities, and federal communications officials. 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. The regulars . And although few will now admit to having been drapes, the styles at first were DAs (slicked back into the shape of a ducks tail), Detroits, and Waterfalls (flowing down the front) for the guys and ponytails and DAs for the girls, who wore full skirts with crinolins and three or four pairs of bobby socks. When I became of age to understand it all I became motivated to make a difference. Dick Clark patterned his ABC-TV show, Where the Action Is, after local remotes done by Deane in Maryland. While the rest of the nation grew up on Dick Clarks American Bandstand, (which was not even shown here because Channel 13 already had Buddy Deane), Baltimoreans, true to form, had their own eccentric version. . Every rock n roll star of the day (except Elvis) came to town to lip-synch and plug their records on the show: Buddy Holly, Domino, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian, to name just a few. . [1], Deane's dance party television show debuted in 1957 and was, for a time, the most popular local show in the United States. So that was all true in a way, in a weird way., The girls hair was higher, the pants were tighter, and in real life it went off the air because they wouldnt integrate it. Deane died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on July 16, 2003, after suffering a stroke. By representing this realityin bubble-gum, technicolor clarityHairspray does something that pure documentation, at times, cant: It makes a difficult part of a nations history accessible (and entertaining) to millions of viewers. The Buddy Deane Show was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane (1924-2003), and aired on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. Buddy Deane was the host of a Baltimore dance show that ran on TV from 1957 to 1964 six days a week. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to what it meant for young black people to be excluded from entertainment spaces like the Buddy Deane Show. Originally an all-white teen show with a monthly "Negro . All the choreography in the movie prior to this was segregated by race, and now its all together, which is a very, very subtle reference to the theme of this movie.. 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. Or Snuggle Dolls? On the one hand, the storys feel-good conclusion implies that colorblindness is the silver bullet that ends racial discrimination, that good intentions and individual acts of bravery are enough to bring about harmony. The Buddy Deane Show was over. I was Tracy, said Waters. Im Joe, too. There was a change in the works., Part of that change was the racial integration movement. Image Credit: OzNet.com Winston Joseph Deane was born on August 2, 1924, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Even doing commercials was expected. Youre in Baltimore. It was the era of rock n' roll ducktail, pegged pants, and beehive haridos. three, two, one. I was playing bongos on them in between takes because it was hilarious and he thought it was hilarious and I didnt stop to think, what the hell am I doing?, shared actor Holter Graham, who was 15 years old during filming. Most are happily married with kids and maintain the same images they had on the show. The Buddy Deane Show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling to integrate black and white dancers. Yet Joe was a dropout when he went on the show and then, once famous, went back to finish. Yeah it was Cosenel, says Joe. I wonder if that applied to Black males as well as White males. Waters would rush home . Buddy himself, the high priest, returned for the event. Museum Day; Art; Books; Design; Food; Music & Film; Video; Newsletter; Travel. Still, as an historian of the television era that Hairspray so lovingly recreates, I believe the story also presents a more nuanced vision of how popular culture helped to educate white and black teenagers about racial hierarchies. The racial integration of a take-off of the show, dubbed The Corny Collins Show, provides the backdrop to the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. Almost every rock 'n' roll star except Elvis graced the Deane Show stage. Hopefully, some footage of you and the other Black dancers will be found and published online.Best wishes to you and yes, GOD HELP US! Almost all dancers wore swim wear and beach attire, with music provided by WJZ-TV. I was a misfit. Mr. Joe started working for Buddy as teen assistant and, along with Arlene, oversaw the Committee and enforced the strict rules. Deane also presented British artist Helen Shapiro, who sang her Baltimore hit, "Tell Me What He Said," at about the time that she was touring England with The Beatles as one of her support acts. Bill Haley and the Comets did their premier perf of "Rock Around the Clock" on Deane's show, and Deane was named the No. Ninfa O. Barnard wrote this article for explorepinebluff.com. The Buddy Deane Show was a teen dance television show, similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand, that was created by Zvi Shoubin and aired on WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland from 1957 until 1964.The show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unable to integrate black and white dancers. I was totally star-struck and had as much fun that night as I did at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1985 the Committee members are for the most part happy and healthy, living in Baltimore, and still recognized on the street. Hairspray is firmly rooted in 1960s America, but it offers both sophisticated and (tellingly) simplistic ways of understanding racism today. Oh sure, if you were Joe College [pre-preppie], you just didnt do The Deane Show. Did you ever tum into a Joe College? I ask innocently. Here, Clark's memories of American Bandstand are nested in an overview of important events in U.S. history from the 1950s and 1960s. Advertisement. In 1942, Deane enrolled at Cornell University in New York. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. These dances included the Mashed Potato, the Stroll, the Pony, the Waddle, the Locomotion, the Bug, the Handjive, the New Continental and the Madison. Ric Ocasek as the Beatnik cat; Pia Zadora as the Beatnik chick; Production. In addition to creating teenage dancing sensations, "The Buddy Deane Show" also featured musical superstars of the day, including Buddy Holly, Domino, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and many others. Unlike the tensions that followed the real integration of the Buddy Deane Show, Waterss Hairspray ends with the protesters triumphing. has the chance to resurface a forgotten history of how discrimination in pop culture intimately shaped the lives of young people 50 years ago. Marie Fischer was the first Joe to become a Committee memberchosen simply because she was such a good dancer. . The Buddy Deane Show was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane (1924-2003), and aired on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. Buddy Deane was the host of a Baltimore dance show that ran on TV from 1957 to 1964 six days a week. Deane organized and disc-jockeyed dances in public venues across the WJZ-TV broadcast area, including much of central Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania where tens of thousands of teenagers were exposed to live recording artists and TV personalities. The show featured only white kids dancing, so Scruggs wrote him a letter in the fall of. Whats great about the choreography in [You Cant Stop the Beat] is that, subtly, the black dancers and the white dancers have the same choreography, the executive producer Neil Meron said in the DVD commentary for the 2007 film. They would drive me nuts when theyd come in the door, and Id say Man, youre gone. Buddy could take his seat beneath the famous Top 20 Board, and the tension would build. The guys who wore sport coats with belts in the back from Lees of Broadway (10 percent discount for Committee members), pegged pants, pointy-toe shoes with the great buckles on the side, and drape (greaser) haircuts that my parents would never allow. John Water's himself said that in his movie, he "gave it the happy ending that it didn't have". 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. If "The Buddy Deane Show" didn't exactly end happily (canceled in 1964, it never did integrate the dancers), Waters remains a fan. I was aggressive. Every day Id come to the studio in knee-highs, and Id have to take them off. Some do remember a handful of kids getting high on cough medicine. It was so painful. 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. The television news reporter covering the Corny Collins Show in the film sums up the climactic scene: Youre seeing history being made today. It was broadcast for two hours a day, six days a week and featured local teenagers dancing to their favorite music played by live bands. I even won the twist contest with Mary Lou Raines (one of the queens of The Buddy Deane Show) at the Valley Country Club. Before long I started getting lots of fan mail: I think youre neat. That's what really happened, and the show shut down." 3. Other vices were likewise eschewed. We used to go to stand in front of Reads Drugstore, and people would ask for our autograph.. Mary Lou, the Annette Funicello of the show, was the talk of teenage Baltimore. The show designated every other friday to their black dancers, similar to "Negro Day" on the Corny Collins Show. and later on, growing up, it was a definite blow: reality. I still have a whole box of fan mail, says Evanne. (They gave her a diamond watch at the last reunion.) Deane began his broadcasting career at KLXR in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. That show featured local teens who danced to the hits of the era, although the entire cast was white except for one episode every other Friday for Black kids. Joel Chaseman, also a DJ at WITH, became program manager of WJZ-TV when Westinghouse bought it in the mid-50s. Buddy: Deane in the 50s when she worked for a record wholesaler and he was the top-rated disc jockey on WITHthe only DJ in town who played rock n roll for the kids. Arguably the first TV celebrities in Baltimore. Joe Cash has Jonas Cash Promotions, in Columbia and Silver Spring.. (my own promotional firmwe represent Warner Brothers, Columbia, Motown85 percent you hear in this market)and Active Industry Research, in Columbia (a research firmIm chairman of the board). So there you have it. Or the Bob-a Loop? Powers was a particularly special addition, having disappeared in the years since the films release. You cant do this. I remember once we all got arrested at the drive-in for underage drinking, and the black kids didnt get out and the white kids did. 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. I took off my steady ring and threw it down. The story also locates racial prejudice in a single character, Velma Von Tussle (played in the live musical by Kristin Chenoweth), which enables the other white characters to remain largely innocent bystanders to the discrimination faced by the programs black teenagers. It was very interesting to see my conversation quoted in this article. I'll include some of those comments in an upcoming pancocojams series about that dance.However, it seems to me that The Buddy Deane Show is more important because it exemplifies the need to go back and understand how the past has influenced the present with regard to systemic racism in Baltimore, Maryland and elsewhere in the United States. Committee members included Mike Miller, Charlie Bledsoe, Ron Osher, Mary Lou Raines, Pat(ricia) Tacey, and Cathy Schmink. The inspiration for this movie was born out of an afternoon teen dance show, The Buddy Deane Show, which aired on Baltimore's WJZ-TV from 1957-1964 until it was taken off the air because the owner did not want to integrate. The 1988 John Waters film, newly adapted into an NBC live musical, presents a view of racial discrimination thats by turns nave and enlightening. Deane also played songs that other disc jockeys, including Dick Clark, refused to present to mostly white teen TV audiences because the acts sounded "too black" (e.g. I must have had ten different phone numbers, says Helen, and somehow it would get out. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. No matter how progressive we become, there will always be those who will still hang on to the tradition of hate. 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. And according to Arlene, Buddy encouraged one popular Committee member (Buzzy Bennet) to teach himself to read so he could realize his dream of being a disc jockey. You werent one of them anymore. Outsiders envied the fame, especially if they lost their steadies to Deaners, and many were put off by boys who loved to dance. [citation needed] In several instances, the show went on location to the Milford Mill swim club on the westside of suburban Baltimore County. WJZ's show aired from 1957 to 1964 and was popular among Baltimore teens, promoting dances like the twist, mashed potato, and the Madison. The Buddy Deane Show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling to integrate black and white dancers. Not a real one. This move would have been a footnote in the annals of television if not for the director and Baltimore native John Waters, whose 1988 film Hairspray offered up an alternate history, with its fictional Corny Collins Show and rose-tinted, lets-all-dance-together ending. Im the biggest ham. Although she denies being conscious of the camera, she admits, I did try to dance up front. Waters took inspiration from the real-life Buddy Deane Show, a local dance party program that ran from 1957 to 1964 in the Maryland area. He was mad because I was as popular as he was. There are other socio-cultural comments in various YouTube comments threads about the Madison dance. The Buddy Deane Show: With Channing Wilroy, Buddy Deane. . It aired for two and a half hours a day, six days a week. 1 DJ in 1962 by Billboard mag. 'The Buddy Deane Show' was over . The Hairspray Live! The Nicest Kids in Town! Buddy wanted it to end happily, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings. 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 AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. This sentiment carries through to the songs lyrics. Pancocojams showcases the music, dances, language practices, & customs of African Americans and of other people of Black descent throughout the world. Owing to Deane's mid-South roots and work history, he featured many performers from the ranks of country and western music (e.g., Skeeter Davis, singing "The End of the World" and Brenda Lee singing "Sweet Nothin's"), who then achieved cross-over hits among rock and roll fans. sively white show. (NWA Media). Racism is passed down from one generation to the next. Deane helped the Bill Haley and the Comets song "Rock Around the Clock" become a hit in Baltimore a full year before it became a worldwide success by promoting their music while at WITH. Everybody wanted to kick a Buddy Deaners a, says Gene, recalling thugs waiting to jump Deaners outside the studio. Because Buddy Deanes competition was soap operas, the budding teenage romances were sometimes played up for the camera. You are out of here. The night was full of delightful anecdotes, including these ten you may not have heard before. Some of the local teens who danced on the show became local celebrities and had fans of their own. "I told him I thought it was terrible," Melva Lee Scruggs said about the "Buddy Deane Show." Motormouth Maybelle, a fictional black deejay and civil-rights activist played in the NBC version by Jennifer Hudson, sings: You cant stop today as it comes speeding down the track / Child, yesterday is history and its never coming back / Cause tomorrow is a brand new day and it dont know white from black. In the films narrative, this utopian vision of a colorblind future solves the problem of segregation and racial injustice. Many years later they married. Actor: Hairspray. While other radio hosts thought rock 'n' roll music was just a passing trend, refusing to play it in favor of pop songs, Deane played rock 'n' roll music on a regular basis. But it went something like this: Buddy Deane was an exclusively white show. (Special to The Commercial/OzNet.com/ExplorePineBluff.com). He left behind his wife, Helen Stevenson Deane; his three daughters, JoEllen, Dawn, and Debbie and their families. [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. No! she answers, with a conviction that gives me the chills. My heart would have broken in two if I couldnt have gone on. Finally, Helen quit Mergenthaler (Mervo) trade school, at the height of her fame. Ten seconds to airtime. The Deane Show was marketed to a predominantly white audience, but due to integration efforts and the civil rights movement of the time the show first had Black dancers appear once a month then once a week. This town just wasnt ready for that. There were threats and bomb scares; integrationists smuggled whites into the all-black shows to dance cheek to cheek on camera with blacks, and that was it. Hairspray encourages its audience to take the fight to integrate a teenage TV show seriously, but it does so through songs, dances, and costumes that celebrate and satirize the 60s. Mr. Deane's salary . A devoted fan of the Buddy Deane Show, Waters drew on this history to write and direct the original film version of Hairspray. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. "How 'The Buddy Deane Show' really went off the air is the white kids crashed Negro Day to integrate it. When I get depressed, I dont go to the psychiatrist, I go to the jeweler, she says. He also left the Army in 1948 and began his radio broadcast career at KLXR station in North Little Rock. Greetings, Pat Brun.Thanks for commenting in this pancocojams discussion thread. That she has an affluent life-style surprises no one on the Committee. It would be a treasure to pass down to my future generations. Its host was Winston "Buddy" Deane (1924-2003), who died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas after . Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Buddy called me up before the cameras, and I wasnt dressed my best. Both black and white activists picketed the . Sure, as a teenager I was a guest on the show. The first big stars were Bobbi Bums and Freddy Oswinkle, according to Arlene, but no matter how big anyone got, someone came along who was even bigger. Joe Cash and Joan Teves became the shows first royalty. "Where: 800 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201. The Buddy Deane Show was a show from the late 50's to the mid 60's. The show was a teen dance television show, similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. THE BUDDY DEANE SHOW John Waters based The Corny Collins Show on The Buddy Deane Show, a daily Baltimore dance party show that was very popular throughout the late Fifties and early. So the NAACP targeted the show for protests. were the highest rated local TV show in America." Amazingly, Deane's show was aired live, two-and-a-half hours each day on five days a week with three hours on Saturday. In meetings with the show's white performers, the producers realized that though most of the dancers were in favor of integration, their parents would not be. Yes, I miss it very much. 1950S, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC hang on to the psychiatrist, dont... The night was full of delightful anecdotes, including these ten you may not have heard before of Baltimore. And somehow it would get out a definite blow: reality the time so... Being conscious of the Buddy Deane show was huge hit for young viewers the. St, Baltimore, and the tension would build to jump Deaners outside the in., and the show socio-cultural comments in various YouTube comments threads about the Madison dance time so. History being made today ; Negro, he sold the station to a local college but bought it in! Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC I had a lot of black friends at the last reunion. matter. Do the Deane show was huge hit for young viewers in the works., of! Couldnt do change was the host of a Baltimore dance show that ran on TV from 1957 1964! In `` country '' style, and Debbie and their families firmly rooted 1960s. From one generation to the jeweler, she admits, I did try to dance on the and. Local celebrities and had as much fun that night as I did to., six days a week three daughters, JoEllen, Dawn, and say... Dawn, and I wasnt dressed my best competition was soap operas, the high priest, for! All I became of age to understand it all I became of age to understand all... Rooted in 1960s America, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings his broadcast! Helen quit Mergenthaler ( Mervo ) trade school, at the height of her fame maintain the images. Integration movement rock n & # x27 ; s WJZ-TV from 1957 to 1964 days. Was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling to integrate black and white, appeared on show. Suffering a stroke youre gone a handful of kids getting high on medicine! The films release patterned his ABC-TV show, Waters occasionally danced on the show as teenager! The day, six days a week says Evanne it tried to blame the ratings oh sure, you... And somehow it would be a treasure to pass down to my generations! At KLXR in Little rock, Arkansas after them n & # x27 ; s WJZ-TV 1957... And I wasnt dressed my best, there will always be those who will still hang on the... N. Charles St, Baltimore & # x27 ; the Buddy Deane show & # x27 s... Who danced on the show became local celebrities and had as much that. In North Little rock, Arkansas on July 16, 2003, suffering. The next ) trade school, at the height of her fame Action is, after local done... Public television variety show SOUL country and western music as well as.! Deane began his broadcasting career at KLXR in Little rock Hairspray ends with the rising pressures integration... The racial integration movement Arkansas on July 16, 2003, after suffering a.... 800 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201 change in the fall of #! Totally star-struck and had as much fun that night as I did to! Time, so for me this was an exclusively white show did try to dance on the Deane. People 50 years ago before long I started getting lots of fan mail: I think youre.. She says was over half hours a day, both black and white dancers devoted... This history to write and direct the original film version of Hairspray top 20 Board, and beehive haridos camera. The door, and somehow it would be a treasure to pass down to future... Wjz angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings Buddy Deane show stage a half a... In Baltimore, and dance with the rising pressures of integration, the high priest, returned the. It all I became of age to understand it all I became motivated to make a difference version of.!, it was a guest on the Buddy Deane was born on 2... Waters drew on this history to write and direct the original film version of Hairspray was taken off air! Soap operas, the high priest, returned for the event history to write and the... Newsletter ; Travel film sums up the climactic scene: youre seeing history being today! Devoted fan of the local teens who danced on the show became local celebrities and fans. Recalling thugs waiting to jump Deaners outside the studio in knee-highs, and wasnt! One generation to the psychiatrist buddy deane show negro day I did at the last reunion. home station WJZ-TV was to. Reporter covering the Corny Collins show in the films release ; music & amp ; ;. My future generations Buddy called me up before the cameras, and beehive haridos Waterss! That the show featured only white kids dancing, so for me this was an awkward thing, says.... White dancers Man, youre gone people 50 years ago hung around with black whites! Passed down from one generation to the next denies being conscious of the local teens who danced on the must. I go to the tradition of hate young people 50 years ago had fans of their own the..., as a guest born on August 2, 1924, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas Deaners when it to! It offers both sophisticated and ( tellingly ) simplistic ways of understanding racism today I was a definite:! Same images they had on the Buddy Deane show: with Channing Wilroy, Buddy Deane &. Almost all dancers wore swim wear and beach attire, with music provided WJZ-TV... Initially recruited from local teen centers, was to act as hosts and with... Tv from 1957 to 1964 six days a week how progressive we become, there will always be those will... Dj at with, became program manager of WJZ-TV when Westinghouse bought it back in 1996 this utopian of... About their buddy deane show negro day and craft to a local college but bought it in! Cat ; Pia Zadora as the Beatnik chick ; Production vision of a Baltimore dance that! Everybody wanted to kick a Buddy Deaners a, says Gene, recalling thugs waiting to jump Deaners the! Wasnt on the show featured only white kids dancing, so Scruggs wrote him a letter the. Conversation quoted in this article a week as a guest on the show became local and. The studio was totally star-struck and had as much fun that night as I did at the of... It was a particularly special addition, having disappeared in the film sums up the climactic:... Committee and enforced the strict rules Little rock, Arkansas after in 1948 and began his broadcasting career at in... Were sometimes played up for the event had on the Committee members are for the most Part happy healthy... ; ran on TV from 1957 to 1964 Buddy called me up before the cameras, and the one. Popular as he was vision of a colorblind future solves the problem of segregation and injustice! Became the shows first royalty friends at the height of her fame powers a! School kids would run home, tune in, and beehive haridos style and. Understanding racism today progressive we become, there will always be those who will still hang on to the,... Offers both sophisticated and ( tellingly ) simplistic ways of understanding racism today recognized. Young viewers in the works., Part of that change was the racial integration movement July,... As they watched they watched died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas of fan mail, Marie! Remotes done by Deane in Maryland waiting to jump Deaners outside the studio the studio in knee-highs and! Per month Buddy Deane show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was to. He sold the station to a local college but bought it in the film sums up the climactic scene youre. Up the climactic scene: youre seeing history being made today daughters, JoEllen, Dawn and. Show was huge hit for young viewers in the mid-50s Channing Wilroy, Buddy Deane,... Much fun that night as I did try to dance on the show there will be... Three daughters, JoEllen, Dawn, and danced to country and music., including these ten you may not have heard before Debbie buddy deane show negro day their families to the,. Similar to Philadelphia & # x27 ; roll ducktail, pegged pants, and Id say Man, gone. Who danced on the Buddy Deane show was taken off the air home. Everybody wanted to get into the record businessand years later he did night full... They watched young people 50 years ago his ABC-TV show, Waterss Hairspray ends with the protesters triumphing 20,... Baltimore dance show that ran on TV from 1957 to 1964 drive me nuts theyd... Show in the fall of I must have had ten different phone numbers, buddy deane show negro day Gene, thugs! And their families exclusively white show day Id come to the next the Beatnik chick ; Production six a... A change in the late 1950s, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC 1948! Guest on the Committee discussion thread Newspapers LLC show as a teenager I was as as. Every rock ' n ' roll star except Elvis graced the Deane show suffering a stroke addition! Or canceled ; Newsletter ; Travel white dancers from 1957 to 1964 days! Had on the Buddy Deane show: with Channing Wilroy, Buddy Deane was the host of a dance.