SATURDAY NIGHT BEECH-NUT SHOW WITH DICK CLARK

THE DICK CLARK SATURDAY NIGHT BEECHNUT SHOW, NEW YORK, 1958
DICK CLARK’S SATURDAY NIGHT BEECH-NUT SHOW, THE LITTLE THEATER, NEW YORK CITY 1958

 

The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show was Dick Clark’s second attempt at a prime time show. His first, a prime-time version of American Bandstand, ran only 13 weeks. The Beechnut Show was much more successful lasting almost 3 years.

Bobby Darin and Annette, photographed here,  both made several guest-appearances on Clark's Beech-Nut Show in 1960. (Click image for larger view).
Bobby Darin and Annette, photographed here, both made several guest-appearances on Clark’s Beech-Nut Show in 1960. (Click image for larger view).

The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show was broadcast live Saturday nights from the Little Theatre in New York City. Every weekend, Dick Clark commuted from Philadelphia to NYC to do the “Beechnut” show. There was actually two shows done each Saturday. The first was a rehearsal show where the artists could sketch out their performances and Clark could line everything up. This would have a different audience then the second show which was the one that was televised.

Beechnut Gum was actually picked up as a sponsor for the third episode to the conclusion of the show’s run. The artists that appeared usually “lip-synched” to their records. Very few actually performed live.

This is the only show to be able to make the claim of having Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper as guests (though on different episodes). All three were killed together in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.

Amazingly, Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson, two of the biggest stars of the period, never appeared on the show. The first show aired on February 2, 1958 with guests Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Willis, Johnny Ray and the Royal Teens. The final show aired on September 10, 1960. MORE . . . .

Annette Funicello appearing on The Dick Clark Beechnut Show in 1960.
Annette Funicello appearing on The Dick Clark Beechnut Show in 1960.

Addendum: For our first four initial video posting of ‘Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show with Dick Clark,’ on MCRFB (May 10, 2013), go here.

Above information provided by TV.com. For the complete 1958-1960 Dick Clark Beech Nut Show summary and artist-appearance listing for every show, go here to TV.com.

Motor City Radio Flashbacks will be showcasing many of these *rare* Dick Clark video presentations here on this website from time to time. In this second installment, we present four video classics (below) from the Dick Clark Beech-Nut show as was first broadcast on national television during that memorable late-’50s rock and roll era:

Conway Twitty (January 17, 1959). Everly Brothers (July 09, 1960). Little Anthony & The Imperials (January 02, 1960). Annette Funicello  (January 13, 1960).

Beech-Nut Chewing Gum was the sole sponsor on Dick Clark's Beech-Nut Show Saturday Night 1958-1960
Beech-Nut Chewing Gum: sole sponsor for Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show over ABC Television 1958 – 1960

Dick Clark Beechnut Show logo

Loading

5 thoughts on “SATURDAY NIGHT BEECH-NUT SHOW WITH DICK CLARK”

  1. I remember double mint gum as the original sponsor of the show.They had puppet named aurora Borealis that wore a button that said IFIC on it.That was short for FLAVORIFIC.They had contest to name the puppet and the name aurora Borealis won.

    1. Actually, the winning name was “Roy Bory Alice.” The prize to the winner was one thousand (1,000) 45’s.

  2. I was one of the 50 winners. My name was Green People Greeter. Prize was $50 and a weekend in NYC. Stayed at the Statler Hilton hotel. There was a birthday party for Clark. Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon and Connie Francis were there. We were supposed to be on stage for the actual date of November 29, 1958 but and airline strike postponed it til December. I got to sit in the front row center of the Little Theater and watched Lloyd Price lip sync Stagger Lee. Johnny Cash also performed that night. It would be great if other winners would find this!

  3. Hi
    I’m looking for Saturday night show.
    Dick Clark beech nut gum sponcer.
    The impaled were wearing baseball uniforms
    They sang their hit song.
    Sorry I ran all the way home.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *