Teenagers who appeared on the show every day were known as "The Committee". Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. I never got the chance to meet him and would love to hear stories or see pictures of him. 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.". . Frani Hahn: I remember being called into a meeting and [being asked] if our parents would allow us, if they integrated the show, to dance with a black person. . Wayne Hahn: Dick Clark [and American Bandstand], that wasnt a big thing here. It couldn't get much worse, or so I thought. I hated to see so much emphasis put on the integration plot, but I do understand that that was a part of what happened. I used to get death threats on the show. After saying goodbye to the Committee members . I hate to say this, but they wanted attractive young people. And because a new dance was introduced practically every week, you had to watch every day to keep up. It was the top-rated local TV show in Baltimore and, for several years, the highest rated local TV program in the country. The Buddy Deane Show: With Channing Wilroy, Buddy Deane. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Or the Bob-a Loop? . Frani Hahn: I can remember times when we would go downtown shopping and wed stop in at Reads Drug Store and have Cokes, and people came up for our autographs! Viewers often emulated the Committee members' dance moves, copied their personal style, and followed their life stories and interactions. Hairspray came to CCBC Essex's Cockpit in Court theater, and so did the real original castthose Committee members from the old Buddy Deane Show, whose moment in history became the premise for . Some do remember a handful of kids getting high on cough medicine. Then we made up on camera.. Phone: (410) 494-4490 Fax: (410) 494-4492 The old Buddy Deane gang is still a hit, too, still getting recognized on the street, and still remembered with affection by a generation that spanned the Eisenhower and Kennedy years. What the heck, we were all going to school with black kids for a decade by then. Deane began his broadcasting career at KLXR in Little Rock, Arkansas. Romance was one thing; sex was another. It was similar to Philadelphia's American Bandstand. I remember that meeting very vividly. Baltimore Sun. Dance was a brief connection with home for us, time out from the insanity of war. 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. Former dancers from the Buddy Deane Show: (l-r) Jerry Manowski, Charlie LoPresto, Lola Jones, Concetta and John Sankonis, Suzy Costello, Shirley Joyce, Linda and Gene SnyderAnne Boyer Tempera and Rich Tempera, Frani and Wayne Hahn. At school, we were just one of the other kids, but we used to get fan mail. Can't find a movie or TV show? People laugh and I go, I remember that, I remember that.. We all considered it a privilege, even though they never paid our bus fare.. This is a home for all of the dancers from the Buddy Deane Era (1957 - 1964) to meet up and keep in touch. . I got a little power-crazed, admits Joe. . . 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. Rich and I didn't get together until 1989 and, like some other "Deaners", I had the attitude that no one would remember me after . She was the one of the biggies who refused to be on the Board (they had power; a liked because of it). Buddy Deane, 78, the impresario of Baltimore's dance show from 1957-1964, died Wednesday of complications from a stroke near his home in Pine Bluff, Ark. . You had to be able to jitterbug and you had to be able to cha-cha, and do whatever dance was popular then, the mashed potato or the pony. Snyder said she choreographed the Madison, a popular line dance of the time, for . I think the kids never had much of a problem with it; I think a lot of the parents may have. Not show biz, Arlene answers, hesitating, but the record biz, the people. Mary Lou Barber: Think of it: In the 60s, if they were to ask a black guy to lead a dance with me or some other white girl Baltimore wasnt ready for it yet. . Former Committee members still meet for reunions. Plus they used us for commercials. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. 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. 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. There wasnt a person against it. Vicki Defeo: I thought they did a great job with portraying the kids dancing. The 25th anniversary of the movie "Hairspray" provides an opportunity for members of the dance group of Baltimore's "The Buddy Deane Show" to get back together and reminisce about the TV . Joel Chaseman, also a DJ at WITH, became program manager of WJZ-TV when Westinghouse bought it in the mid-50s. My mother used to pick me up after school to make sure nobody hassled me., The adoring fans could also be a hassle. Pixie was barely five feet tall, but her hair sometimes added a good six to eight inches to her height. Buddy noticed my eyes staring and said, Do the same eyes. And the camera got it. Kathy went even further. Bob Mathers: There were a lot of protests in Baltimore, which was a very racially segregated town. But the parents, I guess, back in the early 60s and late 50s, things were a lot different. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . I watched it for the fashion and for the drama, because Buddy Deane encouraged them to [date and] break up on film. 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.. . 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? The Committee is back in session. 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. Shes been a Realtor for the past 20 years and lives outside Philadelphia. The views expressed in this post are the author's own. 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. . Several local art contests were also held on the show, with viewers submitting their own art work. raises funds for Alzheimer's Association, 2017 HD Heritage Softail for Sale in Bel Air, Democrat Ben Cardin Won't Seek Re-Election To Senate In 2024, Flour Recalled In MD For Salmonella Risk: What To Know, Latest Job Listings In The Essex-Middle River Area, Essex-Middle River Area: See 5 Nearby Properties On The Market. I can still remember them calling us in one by one, former Committee member Carl Parks said. Ive never said they were racist. Also included is the perhaps the final voiceover by the late Jack Gale who recorded his contribution 10 days before departing for home on January 23rd. 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. But in a lot of corners of Baltimore and beyond, getting on the show was equivalent to stardom and instant popularity. Vicki Defeo: Ive tried to think this through, because it sounds ridiculous, but [integration] was a non-issue to us. . Buddy called me up before the cameras, and I wasnt dressed my best. They were the Mouseketeers! Buddy . As one report stated, the Deane show "Teeded [ sic] off last Monday and bowed an impressive array of guests, including Kitty Kallen, June Valli, Terri Stevens, Lou Monte, The Chordettes . . He wanted me to go to a summer training session to be a trapeze artist. Linda Snyder: We were on the show Monday through Saturday, six days a week. Most are happily married with kids and maintain the same images they had on the show. We will try to spotlight our memories and post highlights on upcoming events. Seven year old's Egg My Yard! The whole day on the show was devoted to me.. My name is Tom Lowe, I went by the name of "Corky" while on the committe in 58 & 59, maybe into early 1960. The Buddy Deane Show (the name was changed) created what sociologist Craig Calhoun . Some guys, too insecure to dance even at the Little Flower CYO, thought Buddy Deaner guys were "sissies." . WOW, I just found this site after all these years. Gene calls it a big loss. It was living in a fantasy world, says Helen. This undated photo shows dancers on "The Buddy Deane Show." (backrow) Joe Loverde, Vicki Defeo, Bil Bertazon, and Marie Fischer Cooke Shapiro. . . Marie Shapiro: I think they even asked for a note from my minister. And on the weekends wed go to record hops. 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. She attended Goucher College and then went to law school at the University of Maryland; shes currently a practicing attorney in Baltimore. Buddy returns on a pilgrimage from St. Charles, Arkansas, where he owns a hunting and fishing lodge and sometimes appears on TV, to spin the hits and announce multiplication dances, ladies choice, or even, after a few drinks, the Limbo. To say that the Buddy Deane Show was the centerpiece of every teen's life in Baltimore would be a stretch. What happened Buddy Dean? three, two, one. I was a square. New committee members were selected by Deane and Arlene Kozak, his dependable first sergeant on the set -- a mother figure who even today keeps former committee members connected. 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. And many of them are not comfortable talking about it, and Hairspray made them, in a way. 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. Helen was my idol when I started watching the Buddy Deane show with my sister in 1958. It was hilarious., Some of the rumors were fanned on purpose. And if I ever had to explain this to them, it was just, I couldnt. The Buddy Deane Show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling to integrate black and white dancers. Evanne and her brother run the John Brock Benson Dance Studios, in Pasadena, and have a line of dancers who appear at clubs all over the state. Why not do The Deane Show on TV again? That she has an affluent life-style surprises no one on the Committee. 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. Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Darin, all of them. I watched and fantasized about it and made up stories about it in my brain. But by far the most popular hairdo queen on Buddy Deane was a 14-year-old Pimlico Junior High School student named Mary Lou Raines. . It didnt have a happy ending. He was one of the first disc jockeys in the area to regularly feature rock and roll. It was maddening: the Mashed Potatoes, the Stroll, the Pony, the Waddle, the Locomotion, the Bug, the Handjive, the New Continental, and, most important, the Madison, a complicated line dance that started here and later swept the country. Hairspray came to CCBC Essex's Cockpit in Court theater, and so did the real original castthose Committee members from the old Buddy Deane Show, whose moment in history became the premise for the hit Broadway musical about rock 'n' roll and racial tension in Baltimore half a century ago. This undated photo shows dancers on "The Buddy Deane Show." so they had a points system. Acts that appeared on the show first were reportedly barred from appearing on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, but if they had been on Bandstand first they could still be on The Buddy Deane Show. It was a real kick! Her fame even brought an offer to join the circus. The Committee, as they were known, could do all the hot dances of the day: the Madison, the mashed potato, the pony. Many regulars, with nicknames like "Termite" and "Peanuts," converted the short-lived glory of local television stardom into success later in life. The show was a teen dance and music show and ran from 1957 to until 1964 on WJZ-TV until the show was canceled. When the show ended, Deane moved back to Arkansas, bought half a dozen radio stations, and lived out his life there, except for brief runs back to Baltimore, where hed host reunions with hundreds in attendance. We didnt sit around and say, We dont want to be around black kids. [But] . 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 then-ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. I wanted to join the circus., Two other ponytail princesses who went on to the Buddy Dean hall of fame were Evanne Robinson, the committee member on the show the longest, and Kathy Schmink. See production, box office & company info. Gene was a captain of the Baltimore City Fire Department and retired in 2000; Linda worked in advertising and retired in 2004. My black friends knew they could not be on the show because of segregation. Once a Deaner, always a Deaner, as another so succinctly puts it. 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. His childhood nickname was Buddy. It was the era of rock n roll - ducktails, pegged pants and beehive dos. Mary Lou Barber: I used to receive 100 letters a week, all fan mail. (I looked like I was taking off.) And Helen, Linda, and Joanie all got out the rat-tail teasing combs. 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. He eventually became one of the most respected programmers in the country and was even written up in Time magazine. Evanne Robinson was voted the prettiest girl by an entire army base. . I even won the twist contest with Mary Lou Raines (one of the queens of The Buddy Deane Show) at the Valley Country Club. He went steady with committee member Bobbie Lanham, a heartthrob to legions, and got lots of telegrams inviting him and Bobbie to lead dances. Marie Shapiro (then Fischer): The first thing, theyd kind of look you over. They stuck around after the performance to reminisce and answer audience questions. The Buddy Deane Show was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane . Eating the refreshments (Ameches Powerhouses, the premiere teenage hangouts forerunner of the Big Mac), which were for guests only. Mary Lou was the last of the Buddy Deane superstars, true hair-hopper royalty, the ultimate Committee member. . [1], As with many other local TV shows, little footage of the show is known to have survived. The 25th anniversary of the movie Hairspray provides an opportunity for members of the dance group of Baltimores The Buddy Deane Show to get back together and reminisce about the TV show that the movie is based upon. He was one of the first disc jockeys in the area to regularly feature rock-and-roll. It was really blown up big. 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. Many came away from the movie Hairspray thinking that Buddy Deane, and not WJZ's management, was responsible keeping black teen-agers off the show. And they all came together on "The Buddy Deane Show," Baltimore s legendary teen dance show. The more hair spray, the better. But we all had the same reaction: My parents arent gonna go for it. Deaners seem to come out of the woodwork, drawn by the memory of their stardom. Come share the songs & dances of the Buddy Deane Show with us! Buddy could take his seat beneath the famous Top 20 Board, and the tension would build. Best, All on Pulaski Highway. . Sure, as a teenager I was a guest on the show. 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. [But] people hated me, too. Deane also held dances at various Maryland American Legion posts and National Guard armories which were not taped or broadcast on television. The pictures I've just posted are of the reunion dance for the Buddy Deane Committee Members with Buddy Deane playing the records. Committee members had to look sharp, have a style and be willing to appear on weekends for Deane's dances from Westmin-ster to Salisbury. I had a lot of black friends at the time, so for me this was an awkward thing, says Marie. Almost all dancers wore swim wear and beach attire, with music provided by WJZ-TV. 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. Being a Deaner lifted a committee member into the rarefied air of being a star at 16. Buddy Deane. And my mother would pack a little paper bag with my cha-cha heels and my pastel pink lipstick. When I was on, the kids at school were cool with it. Even doing commercials was expected. When I get depressed, I dont go to the psychiatrist, I go to the jeweler, she says. Some of the really dedicated Committee members get tears in their eyes. Frani Hahn: John always said he felt like we were a cult. They had a contract we had to sign, because they were using our image for free. [1] He was 78. It reminds me of the way people think now of gay marriage, how so many people are shocked about it and they dont agree with it. . 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. In Baltimore, Buddy Deane was so strong in his time slot. Im told there are 4,000 contracts for productions this year, said James Hunnicutt, artistic director for Cockpit in Court. Both entities launched on September 9, 1957. Want to post on Patch? 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.

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