Now: She worked in finance and retired as an executive administrative assistant. Buddy Deane. So was Aqua Net. Crushed, I retreated from cheek-to-cheek to a distant and awkward completion of a slow tune by the Miracles. We just dont know what to do with the show.. What happened Buddy Dean? [The meeting was with] the Committee members and Arlene and Buddy and the producer of the show. But it went something like this: Buddy Deane was an exclusively white show. Marie Fischer was the first Joe to become a Committee memberchosen simply because she was such a good dancer. They were both Committee members back then. They were getting stopped on the street for autographs. Most of them are pushing 70 now. . Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Joe started working for Buddy as teen assistant and, along with Arlene, oversaw the Committee and enforced the strict rules. . The rivalry with Dick Clark meant that Deane urged all his performers not to mention American Bandstand or visits to Clark in Philadelphia. I used to get death threats on the show. I was honored, touched by it all.. Id hook and have to dance in the back so the teachers couldnt see me, says Helen. Once a month the show was all black; there was no black Committee. He wanted me to go to a summer training session to be a trapeze artist. It's so nice that we all have great friendships to remember & it's so great to sta y in touch. The pictures I've just posted are of the reunion dance for the Buddy Deane Committee Members with Buddy Deane playing the records. I couldnt be bothered with education. 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. She lives in Baltimore County. He was 78. He was one of the first disc jockeys in the area to regularly feature rock and roll. We even did this hideous dance called the roach, where you would spray with an imaginary bug killer and "squish, then squash" the pests. 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. Marie Shapiro: I remember sometimes there would be African Americans at the hops, and it was frowned upon to dance with an African American if you were a Committee member. . The Buddy Deane Show was over. Its made more money playing all over the country than it did on Broadway, where it was a huge hit.". Bob Mathers: Were looking at the times of 1963, and in 1963, what overrode ratings and popularity were the feelings about race in Baltimore City. We got more mail: Oh, please dont break up! Somebody even sent us a miniature pair of boxing gloves. It was really no big deal to us. And . . Just once. But my mother and father wont let me come down if you do that. In early December, Buddy Deane met with station officials and they said, Weve decided to cancel the program. And Buddy said, So it has to do with integration? And the station said, Thats correct. The early look of the Committee was typically 50s. But we thought of him as being so flamboyant. For those who get to Ocean City, please stop in and see us at the Blue Ox on the bayside at 127th street. And there were a bunch of us on the rock-and-roll fence, eyes on Buddy Deane's show and ears on Paul "Fat Daddy" Johnson, the gifted and wild Baltimore radio disc jockey who introduced frenetic free-association poetry at unusual times. Thats how they rotated Committee members. "Buddy" Deane was a broadcaster for more than 50 years, beginning his career in Little Rock, Arkansas, then moving to the Memphis, Tennessee market, before moving on to Baltimore, where he worked at WITH radio. It didnt have a happy ending. 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. And, yes, they were actually "records" in 1983. When Mary Lous husband gave me the long and complicated directions to their home on the phone, he ended with And there you will find, yes, Mary Lou Raines. He later confided that when he first started dating her, he had no idea of her early career. Buddy wanted it to end happily, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings. If you leaned on one side, the next day youd just pick it out into shape. . I remember that meeting very vividly. They stuck around after the performance to reminisce and answer audience questions. That dancing was integrated and I learned how to do the boomerang, shing-a-ling, the skate and the twine time. Each reunion (and a new one is in the works) ls bigger than the last. 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. From 1957-1965, Deane was chosen as host of WJZ-TV, Baltimore's "The . The boys had to wear coats and ties, dressing in the aforementioned "Continental" style. Pixie was barely five feet tall, but her hair sometimes added a good six to eight inches to her height. . The views expressed here are the author's own. So the NAACP targeted the show for protests. What happened to the teen stars of The Buddy Deane Show after the program that made them famous went off the air? The Nicest Kids in Town! When "The Buddy Deane Show" debuted on Baltimore's WJZ-13 on Sept. 9, 1957, it was an instant hit. This post was contributed by a community member. Buddy Deane Committee This is a home for all of the dancers from the Buddy Deane Era (1957 - 1964) to meet up and keep in touch. We never discussed it, we had nothing to do with it. And there was a big problem with that. Baltimore Sun. He was one of the first to showcase rock and roll music on a continual basis. This was the adults, who didnt know what to do, so they shut the whole thing down.. 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. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. Over lunch at the Thunderball Lounge, in East Baltimore, Kathy remembers, I could never get used to signing autographs. I couldnt go to a mall without somebody going Oh my God, its Mary Lou! . Its interesting that our paths have crossed at reunions and weve all chosen to stay friends. Buddy could take his seat beneath the famous Top 20 Board, and the tension would build. The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Im told there are 4,000 contracts for productions this year, said James Hunnicutt, artistic director for Cockpit in Court. 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. 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. The show was taken off the air because home station WJZ was unable to integrate black and white dancers. Six days a week and often two hours a day, Buddy Deane and his Committee Members --the privileged regular teen dancers on the show -- twisted, cha cha ed and Madisoned into area living rooms. When you think about it, its funny. Now, were talking about integrating the show. But being a Buddy Deaner, or even a guest, moved a kid into a fantasyland, a world of teased hair, pointy-toed shoes and fashions by Lee's of Broadway. Gene was a captain of the Baltimore City Fire Department and retired in 2000; Linda worked in advertising and retired in 2004. My fathers boss came into work one day and said, My daughter and my wife just love your daughter, and we cant believe that shes a TV star and you work for me!. This is a home for all of the dancers from the Buddy Deane Era (1957 - 1964) to meet up and keep in touch. It was the times, most remember. We really didnt want to go off the air. I'll send you Larry's info. You need to be logged in to continue. Do you miss show biz? I ask her. She was sort of like a mother to us. . Was it really twenty years ago? You are history. I was 10 years old and I just adored this dancer with the neatest DA haircuts. But being a Buddy Deaner, or even a guest, moved a kid into a fantasyland, a world of teased hair, pointy-toed shoes and fashions by Lee's of Broadway. . If the boys dared to sport chino pants, the crease had to be razor sharp. In the years following The Buddy Deane Show, quite a few Deaners have gotten hitched, including Linda Warehime and Gene Snyder, Concetta Comi and John Sankonis, Anne Boyer and Richard Tempera, Shirley Temes and Jim Joyce, Frani Nedeloff and Wayne Hahn, Joe Loverde and Joyce Tucker. The committee members could dance with each other only every third or fourth dance: the other songs were reserved for dancing with the guests, 30 or so of whom appeared on the show every day. Rumors would go about certain people. You have to ease into it. I had to get up there on time. We have that common bond. It was a different time, and a different generation, thats all., We had no problem with it, added Gene Snyder, who sat with his wife, whose maiden name was Linda Warehime. And none are bitter. at that time, our parents would not have gone along with integrated dancing. Now: The two were married in 1962, had two sons and six grandchildren. Theyd stand outside my home. After you sprayed it, youd get toilet paper and blot it. And I see Mary Lou, and I see Gene and Linda do the cha-cha, and I think: no one can do it like them. This Committees committee, under the watchful eye of Arlene, chose new members, taught the dance steps, and enforced the demerit system, which could result in suspension or expulsion. I think my father would definitely have not been agreeable to [integration] at that time. Other vices were likewise eschewed. Could it be? Buddy wanted it to end happily, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings. He was mad because I was as popular as he was. Art Space: The Drawing Zoo Combines the Joys of Art and Nature, How to Build an Art Collection, According to Local Experts, First-Ever Waverly Book Festival Set for This Weekend, Baltimore Photo Space Makes Room for Art Photography in Remington, Movie Review: Are You There God? Or Snuggle Dolls? Register for a user account. I was nervous because I was celebrating a great moment in their youth, but I was bringing up something theyve swept under the rug, because they were kids. His name was Nelson Ray Shiflett. And it sounds dreadful. That was our whole social life, being a Buddy Deaner, says Gene. 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. We (DC Hand Dance Club of Delmarva) (www.dchanddanceclub.com) meet currently Monday nights starting at 5 pm. Romance was one thing; sex was another. 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. I dont think a fat girl ever came to audition. I run into Gene and Linda every now and then but have lost touch with mostly every one. WOW, I just found this site after all these years. Joel Chaseman, also a DJ at WITH, became program manager of WJZ-TV when Westinghouse bought it in the mid-50s. After saying goodbye to the Committee members . my father inquired as I walked into our rowhouse. On the show: Gene joined in February 1958; Linda was on from September 1958 to February 1961. [citation needed]. The Buddy Deane Show is a teen dance television show, similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand, that aired on WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland from 1957 until 1964. Mary Lou Barber: Ive only been able to watch [Hairspray] a couple of times because so much of it hits home. Deane, Kozak, Cahan, the . On August 2, 1924, Winston Joseph Deane was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. When I was on, the kids at school were cool with it. 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. . Here's What Essex-Middle River Moms Really Want For Mother's Day. Even as a guest, your friends and relatives saw you basking in your temporary fame. Come share the songs & dances of the Buddy Deane Show with us! Mary Lou, now a successful Realtor and grandmother living outside Philadelphia, said there were three important guiding forces in her life then -- "my hair, dancing, and who I was going steady with.".

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