Clay Cole (born Albert Franklin Rucker Jr.; January 1, 1938 – December 18, 2010)
was an American host and disk jockey, best known for his
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
television dance program, ''
The Clay Cole Show
''The Clay Cole Show'' (1959–1967) was a rock music television show based in New York City, hosted by Clay Cole.
History
First broadcast on WNTA-TV (now WNET) in September 1959 as ''Rate the Records'', within two months the format was changed, ...
'', which aired in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on
WNTA-TV
WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
and
WPIX-TV
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of The CW ...
from 1959 to 1968.
Origins
Clay Cole was born in
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
.
[Thedeadrockstarsclub.com](_blank)
- accessed December 2010 He became a juvenile stage and radio actor; then in 1953, at age 15, became the television host and producer of his own Saturday night teen music show, ''Rucker's Rumpus Room'',
first on
WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV (channel 27) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LD (channel 62); Nexstar also provides certain services to ABC affi ...
, then, until 1957, on
WFMJ
WFMJ-TV (channel 21) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is locally owned by the Maag family. WFMJ-TV's studios are located on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown, and i ...
. Arriving in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in 1957, he worked first as an
NBC page
The NBC Page Program is a 12-month paid fellowship at the NBCUniversal's studios in New York City and Universal City, California. Over the course of one year, pages gain exposure to various areas of the NBCUniversal portfolio. Pages contribute to ...
, then as a production assistant on the troubled quiz show
Twenty One, the events at which were recreated in the 1994 film ''
Quiz Show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
'', directed by
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
.
[
]
Early television and film career
In 1958, he continued his Saturday night television legacy, launching ''Al Rucker and the Seven Teens'' program on WJAR-TV, Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Upon arrival in New York City during 1959, he was asked to change his name. He chose Clay Cole, the name of a distant cousin. His dance program became known as ''The Clay Cole Show''. It originally was broadcast on WNTA-TV (later PBS station WNET-TV). When WNTA-TV
WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
was sold in 1963, Cole's program was picked up by New York City television station WPIX-TV
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of The CW ...
, where the program became known as ''Clay Cole's Discotek'' by 1965.[ One of his other shows, ''Clay Cole at the Moon Bowl'', was broadcast from the Freedomland U.S.A. theme park in ]The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
during 1963 on WPIX-TV. Chuck McCann was his announcer sidekick. Cole and this show, along with his other connections to Freedomland, are featured in the book, ''Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History'' (Theme Park Press, 2019).
Clay's 1960 all-star ten-day Christmas show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater
The Brooklyn Paramount Theater is a former movie palace at 1 University Plaza at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues in downtown Brooklyn, New York. Opened in 1928, the building has been owned by Long Island University (LIU) since 19 ...
broke the all-time house box office record. Clay was among the few white performers invited to appear at Harlem's Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...
; he headlined three week-long revues, starring Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
, Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s.
Starting out as simpl ...
and Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...
. In 1961, he appeared as himself in the film ''Twist Around the Clock
''Twist Around the Clock'' is an American musical film released in 1961. It was a remake of Sam Katzman and Robert E. Kent's ''Rock Around the Clock.'' Like ''Rock Around the Clock,'' which was followed by a sequel titled ''Don't Knock the Rock ...
.''[
During the 1960s "British Invasion", musical acts arriving from the UK often appeared on Cole's television shows before doing network shows such as '']The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
''. The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
and The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
were among those who first appeared on Cole's television show.[ Cole's show differed from '']American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' in a few ways: while both Cole and Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
had an interest in young people and their music, Cole did not hesitate to join in on his show's dance floor. He was also more confident about booking lesser-known performers and comedians for his show.[
]
Writing, producing and directing career
Leaving ''The Clay Cole Show
''The Clay Cole Show'' (1959–1967) was a rock music television show based in New York City, hosted by Clay Cole.
History
First broadcast on WNTA-TV (now WNET) in September 1959 as ''Rate the Records'', within two months the format was changed, ...
'' in 1967, Clay became a television writer - producer, involved in the production of over 3500 broadcast television shows.[ He is twice winner of the ]Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
(NATAS
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...
) as "producer of outstanding television programming" in 1981 and 1982 for the Joel Siegel
Joel Steven Siegel (July 7, 1943 – June 29, 2007) was an American film critic for the ABC morning news show ''Good Morning America'' for over 25 years. The winner of multiple Emmy Awards, Siegel also worked as a radio disc jockey and an adverti ...
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
special.[ He produced ''The Discovery of ]Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
,'' ''Play Bridge with Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...
'' and 365 ''This Day In Hollywood'' segments. Along with David Susskind
David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...
and Raysa Bonow, he created and produced the first primetime entertainment magazine ''People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' for CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in 1979. Cole also hosted ''A. M. New York''.[ He returned briefly in 1974 as the star of the first ]HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
-produced music special ''Clay Cole's 20 Years of Rock and Roll,'' a two-hour event taped at Rockland Community College
Rockland Community College (RCC) is a public community college in the town of Ramapo, New York in Rockland County. It is part of the State University of New York. The college, established in 1959, became the 18th community college to join the ...
, and as co-host of the WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
weekday program, ''AM New York.'' His final professional assignment was as writer/producer/director of the television special, the 2002, going on in the 80's to have his own production company, Clay Cole Productions. He produced the music video for Otis Day and the Knights
Otis Day and the Knights was created as a fictional R&B band to perform in the 1978 movie ''National Lampoon's Animal House''.
Career
They are best known for their R&B/ black rock version of " Shout" and "Shama Lama Ding Dong". Both songs were s ...
, besides other industrial projects like the Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, featuring Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
, Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
, Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
, Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
and other international pop divas.[
]
Retirement and death
Cole retired and had been living on Oak Island since 2007, off the Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...
on the North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
coastline.[ His pop culture memoir, '']Sh-Boom
"Sh-Boom" (sometimes referred to as "Life Could Be a Dream") is an early doo-wop song by the R&B vocal group The Chords. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and William Edwards, members of The Chords, a ...
! The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953-1968)'', has been published by Morgan James. It has been nominated for the 2010 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Cole made a personal appearance at the annual Long Island Radio & TV Day in April 2010, and also at the New Jersey Rock Con later that year. Clay appeared at the Friends of Old Time Radio Convention in Newark, New Jersey in October 2010.
In addition, Cole was a member of the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame
John Harlan Rook (October 9, 1937 - March 1, 2016) was an American radio programmer and executive, most known for his tenure in Chicago. Under his guidance in the 1960s, 50,000-watt ABC-owned WLS became the highest rated station in the Chicago ...
.
Cole died of a heart attack at his home on December 18, 2010, at the age of 72.
References
External links
The Clay Cole Show
from WABC-AM, 14 February 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Clay
1938 births
2010 deaths
American radio DJs
American television personalities
Imperial Records artists
People from Youngstown, Ohio