Entertainment icon Dick Clark died Wednesday morning after suffering a massive heart attack, his agent Paul Shefrin confirmed. He was 82.
Clark had entered a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday evening to undergo an outpatient procedure, according to multiple reports, but then suffered a heart attack and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
Clark's health had been declining since he suffered stroke in 2004, forcing him to give up hosting his eponymous Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special on ABC, which he had hosted since 1972. Ryan Seacrest took over the special in 2006, though Clark still appeared on the program every year to countdown the year and kiss his wife at midnight.
He first gained fame as host of ABC's American Bandstand on ABC from 1956 to 1989, where his eternally youthful looks earned him the nickname "America's Oldest Teenager." The show's popularity helped cement Clark as a staple of American television, and he went on to host five versions of the game show Pyramid.
Clark founded Dick Clark Productions in 1957, which produced such classic shows as Bandstand and The Dick Clark Show as well as more recently, awards vehicles like the Golden Globe Awards, American Music Awards, and of course, New Year's Rockin' Eve. Through the production company and his various hosting turns, Clark also filled the broadcast, syndicated and cable airwaves with TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes, Scattergories, The Challengers and Greed.
He is survived by his third wife, Kari and his three children.
