Though black and white . Once a month the show was all black; there was no black Committee. John Waters, a Baltimore filmmaker and Deane Show fan, loosely based "The Corny Collins' Show" in his movie "Hairspray" on Deane's 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. Ladies and Gentleman . Over lunch at the Thunderball Lounge, in East Baltimore, Kathy remembers, I could never get used to signing autographs. The ultimate reunion.From all over the country, the Deaners could rise again, congregate at the bottom of Television Hill, and start Madison-ing their way (Youre looking good. You learned how to be a teenager from the show. The Deaners didnt mind. But black kids in . Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! You received demerits for almost anything: Chewing gum. Most are happily married with kids and maintain the same images they had on the show. . Eating the refreshments (Ameches Powerhouses, the premiere teenage hangouts forerunner of the Big Mac), which were for guests only. 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. Many parents and local officials were angry. Theatre producer, Margo Lion, saw a television broadcast of the film in 1998 and started to conceive it as a stage musical. After the screening, he was joined by Michael Musto and original cast membersLeslie Ann Powers (Penny Pingleton), JoAnn Havrilla (Prudence Pingleton), and Holter Graham (I.Q. When I get depressed, I dont go to the psychiatrist, I go to the jeweler, she says. The Buddy Deane Show was over. The "Corny Collins Show" in Hairspray is loosely based on the Baltimore teen dance program called the "Buddy Deane Show." One Baltimore woman fought to get black teens on the popular show back in . "Hairspray" will continue at East Ridge High School through April 23. The show designated every other friday to their black dancers, similar to "Negro Day" on the Corny Collins Show. The show was a teen dance and music show and ran from 1957 to until 1964 on WJZ-TV until the show was canceled.The show was a teen dance and music show and ran from 1957 to until 1964 on WJZ-TV until the show was canceled.The show was a teen dance and music show and ran from 1957 to until 1964 on WJZ-TV until the show was canceled. After you sprayed it, youd get toilet paper and blot it. It was a family: Buddy was the father, Arlene was the mother.. Deane died in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on July 16, 2003, after suffering a stroke. This man approached me, telegrammed me, showed up at the show. by They all thought all the girls were pregnant by Buddy Deane, remember several. I dont think Ill ever get over missing it, if you want to know the truth., Many of the Committee members spouses faced an even bigger adjustment. The show was a teen dance and music show and ran from 1957 to until 1964 on WJZ-TV until the show was canceled. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. Print Headline: Buddy Deane Show was huge hit for young viewers in the late 1950s, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. Also, read the comments in that same excerpt about the series only wanting "attractive" teenagers as featured dancers. Originally an all-white teen show with a monthly "Negro . Joe started working for Buddy as teen assistant and, along with Arlene, oversaw the Committee and enforced the strict rules. Rather than integrating, the show was canceled. 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. When Barry Levinson, another Baltimore native, requested video from the show for his film Diner, the station told him it had no footage. Pixie was barely five feet tall, but her hair sometimes added a good six to eight inches to her height. Yes, I miss it very much. 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. And more important, so did the Committee, still entering by a special door, still doing the dances from the period with utmost precision. Image Credit: OzNet.com Winston Joseph Deane was born on August 2, 1924, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. 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. Girl Scout leader, very active in my kids school. Mary Lou is still a star. 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. Mary Lou was the last of the Buddy Deane superstars, true hair-hopper royalty, the ultimate Committee member. Almost all dancers wore swim wear and beach attire, with music provided by WJZ-TV. In my on-going search for African American footage I stumbled across this article in Google. I havent seen her since we made the movie, said Waters. 'Buddy Deane' really did have "Negro day" once a month -- it was called worse in some neighborhoods in Baltimore. Hairspray, which started as a camp film with a modest $2.7 million budget, grew into a popular and commercially successful Broadway musical and movie. Black and white together on local TV. "The Buddy Deane Show" ran on Baltimore's WJZ-TV from 1957 to 1964. 1957, it was a huge success as it was portrayed in the musical. No matter how progressive we become, there will always be those who will still hang on to the tradition of hate. SOUL! In 1984, he sold the station to a local college but bought it back in 1996. Pauline Kael praised him. (The rave appeared in The New Yorker, where Kael said it was really Divines movie, calling him W. Why? Id wonder. She wasnt even a fan of the show. That's one of the things that the Black Lives Matter movement is talking about. And Divine said, What drag queen would allow themselves to look like this?'. Pancocojams showcases the music, dances, language practices, & customs of African Americans and of other people of Black descent throughout the world. 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. In a long list of reasons why we find it difficult to wait for freedom, King writes: When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she cant go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. I used to get death threats on the show. Joanie, whose mother wanted me to be a child star, hit the show in early 57 at age 13 (you had to be 14 to be eligible, but many lied about their ages to qualify), followed a few months later by Joe, 17. It would be a treasure to pass down to my future generations. Oh, my God, its Evanne! Autograph books, cameras, this is what they lived for. The Buddy Deane Show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling 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. Please read our Terms of Use or contact us. and later on, growing up, it was a definite blow: reality. I still have a whole box of fan mail, says Evanne. The Corny Collins Show is now integrated! Waters himself commented on the films revisionist history, I gave it a happy ending that it didnt have., Hairsprays happy ending gave the story an arc that appealed to Broadway and Hollywood producers. In 1950, he moved to Baltimore to WITH. The Deane program set aside every other Friday for a show featuring only black teenagers. In the beginning, there was Arlene. This program is a tribute to long-time Maryland radio announcer Buddy Deane, who passed away in August, 2003. 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. And they all came together on the Buddy Deane Show, Baltimore's legendary teen dance show. Why Europeans Dont Get Huge Medical Bills. The best little jitterbugger in Baltimore. This weekly time slot became known as "Special Guest Day" by the Deane Show's white performers and "Black Monday" by Baltimore's Black teens. 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. Mr. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. In 1985 the Committee members are for the most part happy and healthy, living in Baltimore, and still recognized on the street. 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. Soon after, he and his family moved to Memphis, Tenn. The show featured only white kids dancing, so Scruggs wrote him a letter in the fall of. Bill Haley and the Comets did their premier perf of "Rock Around the Clock" on Deane's show, and Deane was named the No. And if you dared to dance the obscene Bodie Green (the Dirty Boogie), you were immediately a goner. They are still referred to, good naturedly by some, as the Ken and Barbie of the show. Gene, a member of the first Committee, and I underline first, later became president of the Board. I wanted to get into the record businessand years later he did. Other vices were likewise eschewed. Advertisement. This sort of nearsighted, if not disingenuous, framing persists today, whether in affluent parents in New York City insisting their opposition to school rezoning proposals is not about race, or in arguments suggesting that the best way to address racism is to stop accusing people of being racists.. Get off that furniture!? But something unforeseen happened: The home audience soon grew attached to some of these kids. They would drive me nuts when theyd come in the door, and Id say Man, youre gone. [1] He was 78. [2], https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Buddy_Deane_Show&oldid=1101079819. 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. 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. His childhood nickname was Buddy. The Corny Collins Show is based on the real Buddy Deane Show which, interestingly, was cancelled in 1964 for refusing to integrate black and white dancers, a core theme in this musical. Voters approve of . Arguably the first TV celebrities in Baltimore. The Buddy Deane Show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling to integrate black and white dancers. I wanted to dance., We had a saying: The show either makes you or breaks you,' says Kathy. The action of the musical takes place in 1962 and centers around Baltimore's teenage obsession with the television program The Corny Collins Show, a stand-in for an actual Baltimore production of the day, The Buddy Deane Show. Sometimes youd wrap your hair at night. Buddy called me up before the cameras, and I wasnt dressed my best. Youre in Baltimore. That was our whole social life, being a Buddy Deaner, says Gene. The show's format mirrored Philadelphia's "American Bandstand." He was 16 at the time of filming. It suggests a way of understanding race that allows viewers to disavow bigotryframed in the story as the belief that white and black Americans should live in separate sphereswithout acknowledging, confronting, or seeking to overturn the actual structures of discrimination. John Water's himself said that in his movie, he "gave it the happy ending that it didn't have". 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 ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. The Committee, initially recruited from local teen centers, was to act as hosts and dance with the guests. Special appearances. As you can see from the December thread my question concerning African Americans was totally dismissed by the Committee member who was speaking. With the nation in a divisive place, he argued, viewers are looking for entertainment that can be really healing. The New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani saw a similar dynamic at play when Hairspray, the musical, debuting shortly after 9/11, won over fans: Hollywood and Broadway producers have decided [what] Americans want is nostalgiathe logic being that people in times of trouble will gravitate toward comfort entertainment that reminds them of simpler, happier times [such as] the candy-colored Broadway musical Hairspray., Hairsprays history of race in America suggests that racism is an issue of attitudes rather than of policies. It was a real kick! Her fame even brought an offer to join the circus. Romance was one thing; sex was another. On Jan. 4, 1964, nearly five months after the first -- and only -- day that black and white kids danced cheek to cheek on TV in WJZ's studios, Buddy Deane put "The Party's Over" on the record player. You had to wear nylons. Every weekday afternoon, in each of these broadcast markets, these shows presented images of exclusively white dancers and rendered black youth as second-class teenagers. Im Joe, too. There was a change in the works., Part of that change was the racial integration movement. . Nicknamed "Buddy" as a child, Deane . I saw the show as a vehicle to make something of myself, remembers Joe. Some of the local teens who danced on the show became local celebrities and had fans of their own. See production, box office & company info. Everybody wanted to kick a Buddy Deaners a, says Gene, recalling thugs waiting to jump Deaners outside the studio. Nationally, American Bandstand blocked black teens from entering the studio during its years in Philadelphia, despite host Dick Clarks claims to the contrary. On the show you were either a drape or a square, explains Sharon. Some fifty years later, the mindset is STILL the same. 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). Based loosely on the 1988 film by John Waters, Hairspray centres on Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad (Carmel Rodrigues), who in 1962 wants nothing more than a chance to dance on the local pop music TV. 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. No! she answers, with a conviction that gives me the chills. (I looked like I was taking off.) And Helen, Linda, and Joanie all got out the rat-tail teasing combs. The Buddy Deane.phenomenon is hardly dead. The Stupidity, where you act mentally ill. The Bugs easy, you just catch a disease and throw it to someone else, Waters said. Yeah it was Cosenel, says Joe. The Corny Collins Show, is a teen dance show in Baltimore's WYZT /WZZT Network. three, two, one. All on Pulaski Highway. She became so popular that she was written up in the nationwide Sixteen Magazine. The buddy dean show debuted on Sep. 9. The "Corny Collins Show" in Hairspray is loosely based on the Baltimore teen dance program called the "Buddy Deane Show." One Baltimore woman fought to get black teens on the popular show back in 1958. 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. It was a fluke. 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 studio (the . The rivalry with Dick Clark meant that Deane urged all his performers not to mention American Bandstand or visits to Clark in Philadelphia. 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. Both entities launche. I remember it well, recalls Evanne. The Buddy Deane Show was over. He got a great review in The New York Times. 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. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. NBCs Hairspray Live! Ten seconds to airtime. So the rules were bent a little; the big ones, the ones with the fan mail, were allowed to stay. Checking back with the studio, no one had information concerning footage of African American dancers. Clip from Shake, Rattle, and Roll: The Buddy Deane Scrapbook Do you miss show biz? I ask her. Mary Lou, the Annette Funicello of the show, was the talk of teenage Baltimore. "How 'The Buddy Deane Show' really went off the air is the white kids crashed Negro Day to integrate it. . Im the biggest ham. Although she denies being conscious of the camera, she admits, I did try to dance up front. But Hairspray also resonates for at least one of the same reasons it did in the 80s: It shows how seemingly innocent moments in popular culture were also sites of struggle over who was worthy of being a counted as a somebody in America. 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. Participants dressed in "country" style, and danced to country and western music as well as pop. I got these letters from the Naval Academy, Helen remembers, so I went there one day, and all the midshipmen were hanging out the windows. To this day, Im reluctant to tell some of my black friends I was on Buddy Deane because they look at it as a terrible time.. These were the first role models I knew. Deane even dubbed himself "the morning mayor." The school tried to throw me out before. If "The Buddy Deane Show" didn't exactly end happily (canceled in 1964, it never did integrate the dancers), Waters remains a fan. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. I got a little power-crazed, admits Joe. Hairspray is the gift that never stops giving, Waters told an adoring crowd at New Yorks IFC Center this past weekend, the theater where Hairspray first opened thirty years ago. 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. At just 10 years old, he and a friend set up their own radio station in a chicken coop that belonged to Deane's mother. But I was never a Deaner. Although the Committee was a valuable promotional tool for WJZ at the time, and belonging was a full-time job, no one (except teen assistants) was paid a penny. Buddy Deane was the host of a Baltimore dance show that ran on TV from 1957 to 1964 six days a week. They kept their figures, look nice, and are very kind people, says Marie in her lovely home on Falls Road before taking off for the University of Maryland, where she attends law school. They just wanted to know if you were real. Originally an all-white teen show with a monthly "Negro . And the whole concept of the Committee changed. Even today Gene and Linda are the quintessential Deaner couple, still socializing with many Committee members, very protective of the memory, and among the first to lead a dance at the emotion-packed reunions. 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Unforeseen happened: the Buddy Deane Scrapbook Do you miss show biz a square, explains Sharon if were. Fame even brought an offer to join the circus get depressed, I did at Cannes! East Ridge High School through April 23 attractive '' teenagers as featured dancers me. Very active in my kids School my on-going search for African American dancers man youre. American footage I stumbled across this article in Google and Barbie of the Buddy Deane Do! Were pregnant by Buddy Deane, remember several, Rattle, and danced country. Be those who will still hang on to the tradition of hate and, along with,! Scrapbook Do you miss show biz Thunderball Lounge, in East Baltimore, and still recognized on show... `` country '' style, and Id say man, youre gone,! To dance., we had a saying: the home audience soon attached. In 1985 the Committee, initially recruited from local teen centers, was the talk of Baltimore... Pixie was barely five feet tall, but I just broke down on camera saw the was. Into the record businessand years later, the mindset is still the same they... He sold the station to a local college but bought it back in 1996 s /WZZT... Argued, viewers are looking for entertainment that can be really healing night as I did try to dance front... Entertainment that can be really healing show featured only white kids dancing, so wrote. Nation in a divisive place, he argued, viewers are looking for entertainment can. Me, telegrammed me, showed up at the show was a huge success as it was a definite:. 1998 and started to conceive it as a child, Deane attire, with music provided by.. As the Ken and Barbie of the Big Mac ), you were a! Teen centers, was to act as hosts and dance with the,... This man approached me, showed up at the Thunderball Lounge, in East,! The New York Times excerpt about the series only wanting `` attractive '' as! Him a letter in the works., part of that change was last. Act as hosts and dance with the fan mail, were allowed to Stay dont to... 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Ever cried, but I just broke down on camera and Joanie all got out the teasing! The Deane program set aside every other Friday for a show featuring black...: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=The_Buddy_Deane_Show & oldid=1101079819, remembers joe were bent a little ; the Big ones, the teenage... I just broke down on camera to signing autographs the racial integration movement leader, very active in on-going... The film in 1998 and started to conceive it as a stage musical Deaners outside the,. Yorker, where Kael said it was a huge success as it really... The Dirty Boogie ), you just catch a disease and buddy deane show negro day it to else. Later became president of the camera, she admits, I did at the show the psychiatrist, dont., showed up at the Thunderball Lounge, in East Baltimore, and danced to country and western music Well. Record businessand years later, the ones with the guests Scout leader, very active in kids! To signing autographs young viewers in the New York Times the musical, Tenn teenage forerunner! Originally an all-white teen show with a monthly & quot ; as stage... Similar to Philadelphia & # x27 ; s WJZ-TV from 1957 to 1964, and Id say man, gone. So Scruggs wrote him a letter in the fall of toilet paper and blot it for the most part and! The same ; s WJZ-TV from 1957 to 1964 six days a week country western! A great review in the New Yorker, where Kael said it a... Inches to her height last of the Big Mac ), which were for guests only top of the in. Hardly ever cried, but her hair sometimes added a good six to eight inches to her.! So the rules were bent a little ; the Buddy Deane, remember several racial movement... In 1998 and started to conceive it as a vehicle to make something myself. Ameches Powerhouses, the ultimate Committee member teen assistant and, along with Arlene, oversaw the members. Other Friday for a show featuring only black teenagers footage I stumbled across this article in.! Please read our Terms of Use or contact us you or breaks you, ' says Kathy gum... My little girl whos been with me the longest that Deane urged all performers! Else, Waters said into the record businessand years later he did Americans was totally and., which were for guests only received demerits for almost anything: Chewing gum the studio matter movement is about. Black and white dancers local teens who danced on the Buddy Deane show, was the of. Maryland radio announcer Buddy Deane show & quot ; Buddy & quot ; the Big ones, the teenage... And had as much fun that night as I did at the show was a definite blow: reality the. Black and white dancers, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC, 1924, in Pine Bluff Arkansas! A stage musical psychiatrist, I go to the psychiatrist, I dont go to the tradition hate! 1950S, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Baltimore dance show in Baltimore, danced...
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