buddy deane show committee members

Oct 21, 2023

She smelled like a garden of flowers and could crack her chewing gum discreetly. It aired for two and a half hours a day, six days a week. Five days a week on Channel 13 (first known as WAAM, then as WJZ), it played for two hours a day, and on Saturdays, two and a half. Marie Shapiro: Youd dance with one of the Committee members. Ive never said they were racist. And then they decided to keep some on so theyd get more popular . Former committee leader Mary Lou Barber (nee Raines) remains dumbfounded that she received 100 letters a week from fans, some of whom resided at the state penitentiary, but mostly from lovestruck boys who fell in love with the girl with the bow in her hair. Suite 320. . Marie Shapiro: I think they even asked for a note from my minister. They were both Committee members back then. ' And Evanne still shudders as she recalls, Once I was in the cafeteria. She was his right-hand man and she picked out all the kids for the show. Even doing commercials was expected. I hate to say this, but they wanted attractive young people. Its like anything you see today. To say that the Buddy Deane Show was the centerpiece of every teen's life in Baltimore would be a stretch. ". Former Committee members still meet for reunions. and my version of it is very different from theirs. So you cant imagine how excited I was when I finally got a chance to interview these local legends twenty years later. The kids became celebrities. But I was never a Deaner. 1 talking about this. As Marie puts it, The rewards were so great emotionally that you didnt have to ask for a monetary award., Many had difficulties dealing with the void when the show went off the air. . . 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. I dont know if we were ready or not; whos to say? And there was a big problem with that. Mary Lou Barber: I used to receive 100 letters a week, all fan mail. The rivalry with Dick Clark meant that Deane urged all his performers not to mention American Bandstand or visits to Clark in Philadelphia. Deane, Kozak, Cahan, the . His 1988 film Hairspray went on to inspire a Broadway musical of the same name. . Buddy Deane Committee: 2009 - Blogger . He said they asked each member of the show's committee . Marie Shapiro (then Fischer): The first thing, theyd kind of look you over. They were married in 1966 and have one daughter. 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. Frani Hahn (then Nedeloff): I watched it every day with my family when Id come home from school. I had always studied dance, and I wanted to go on [the show]. They first made their mark as teenagers dancing on the afternoon TV show, wearing their outfits from Lees of Broadway and Etta Gowns and dancing the cha-cha and the jitterbug and the Madison. Buddy Dean - Oznet These kids developed a huge following of fans and hangers-on in Baltimore who emulated their dance moves, followed their life stories, and copied their look. 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. The show was the highest-rated local program in the country. It's so nice that we all have great friendships to remember & it's so great to sta y in touch. You had to be 14 to 18 to get on. 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. When I get depressed, I dont go to the psychiatrist, I go to the jeweler, she says. Teenagers who appeared on the show every day were known as "The Committee". 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. My mother wanted me to go, she took me down to the tryouts. In 1985 the Committee members are for the most part happy and healthy, living in Baltimore, and still recognized on the street. . 'Buddy Deane' Committee members - The Washington Post A guy I attended City with, Carroll Weber, lived in Highlandtown and was on the committee. If you [broke any rules], you got the points taken off. 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. I even won the twist contest with Mary Lou Raines (one of the queens of The Buddy Deane Show) at the Valley Country Club. "I remember it well," recalls Evanne. When that little red light came on, so did my smile, she says, laughing. Some of the really dedicated Committee members get tears in their eyes. Jump to. [The meeting was with] the Committee members and Arlene and Buddy and the producer of the show. "Where you been, boy?" 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.". Debuting at a mere 11 years of age, taking three buses every day to get to the show, wearing that wonderful white DA (created by her hairdresser father), and causing the first real sensation. I lied! . Mary Lou Barber: Because I was on the Committee and I was president, [I went to] these summit meetings. The boys had to wear coats and ties, dressing in the aforementioned "Continental" style. Buddy Deane Committee: Pictures Just Added Taken Nov. 1983 - Blogger He was 78. Arguably the first TV celebrities in Baltimore. 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. We (DC Hand Dance Club of Delmarva) (www.dchanddanceclub.com) meet currently Monday nights starting at 5 pm. He was one of the first to showcase rock and roll music on a continual basis. "The Nicest Kids In Town" -former dancers from the Buddy Deane Show (1957- 1964). I had to take two buses to get there. When the subject comes up today, most loyalists want to go off the record. . And who could forget those great ads for the plastic furniture slipcovers that opened with the kids jumping up and down on the sofa and Royal Parker screaming, Hey kids! Oh, my God, its Evanne! Autograph books, cameras, this is what they lived for. Deaners seem to come out of the woodwork, drawn by the memory of their stardom. Deane organized and disc-jockeyed dances in public venues across the WJZ-TV broadcast area, including much of central Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania where tens of thousands of teenagers were exposed to live recording artists and TV personalities. If the boys dared to sport chino pants, the crease had to be razor sharp. Im still a fana Deaner groupie. 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. From then on, all bare shoulders were covered with a piece of net. . But in a lot of corners of Baltimore and beyond, getting on the show was equivalent to stardom and instant popularity. . They wanted to know something about your religious affiliation. The whole day on the show was devoted to me.. I saw the show as a vehicle to make something of myself, remembers Joe. We rounded up Waters and almost 20 of the original Deaners and asked a handful to recount their days as the most famous kids in Charm City. Until the day she passed away [in 2007], we were still friends. Being a Deaner lifted a committee member into the rarefied air of being a star at 16. . If you were a Buddy Deane Committee member, you were on TV six days a week for as many as three hours a dayenough media exposure to make Marshall McLuhans head spin. Wayne Hahn: Dick Clark [and American Bandstand], that wasnt a big thing here. Most people probably wouldve forgotten about The Buddy Deane Show ages ago had it not been immortalized by John Waters in his 1988 movie, Hairspray. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Hairspray, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is staging a concert production of the musical this week, narrated by Waters and featuring a full orchestra and vocalists. Here is the new video celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Buddy Deane Show and the former Catonsville Community College (now CCBC). Deane also held dances at various Maryland American Legion posts and National Guard armories which were not taped or broadcast on television. My father had forbidden me to try out for the Buddy Deane Committee -- fearing, perhaps, that it would interfere with my becoming a national scholar at City College high school or prevent me from one day discovering the Internet -- so I had to sneak on the show, courtesy of girlfriends who sent away for tickets and took me as their guest. So many talented musicians and people who wanted to show their appreciation made the night truly special. Buddy wanted it to end happily, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings. But the parents, I guess, back in the early 60s and late 50s, things were a lot different. Mary Lou Barber: Ive only been able to watch [Hairspray] a couple of times because so much of it hits home. Buddy Deane reunion hops - Baltimore Sun 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. The Buddy Deane Show was taken off the air because home station WJZ-TV was unwilling to integrate black and white dancers. For many of us, Deane will always be there, standing ramrod-straight, an electronic maestro with a microphone, introducing Brenda Lee or hyping sponsors like Kit-Kat and the Etta Gown Shop. I was 10 years old and I just adored this dancer with the neatest DA haircuts. . Her hair color and styles changed very often, of which I later found out that her Dad was a major hairstylist in Baltimore. At frantic meetings of the Committee, many said, My parents simply wont let me come if its integrated, and WJZ realized it just couldnt be done. I wanted to dance., We had a saying: The show either makes you or breaks you,' says Kathy. The show was a teen dance and music show and ran from 1957 to until 1964 on WJZ-TV until the show was canceled. Hairspray movie was inspired by this show and was based off of the the events but unlike the movies, instead of the show being integrated, it was cancelled. One of the first ponytail princesses was Peanuts (Sharon Goldman, debuting at 14 in 58, Forest Park, Chicken Hop), who went on the show because Deaners were folk heroes. She remembers Paul Anka singing Put Your Head on My Shoulder to her on camera as she did just that. 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. Viewers often emulated the Committee members' dance moves, copied their personal style, and followed their life stories and interactions. 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. An earth force for a generation of Baltimore teens 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. Yeah it was Cosenel, says Joe. This is a home for all of the dancers from the Buddy Deane Era (1957 - 1964) to meet up and keep in touch. Or the Bob-a Loop? 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. John Waters: [The Deaners] were the most important people I wanted to like the movie. I was so embarrassed. Im serious. The protesters wanted the races to mix. Deane's show is the foundation of the John Waters film Hairspray and the popular adaptation of it that's now on Broadway. They wanted to know about bringing black kids on the show. You Can't Stop the Beat: The Secret History of Hairspray as Live TV We appreciate your interest. The popular television Baltimore dance show aired from 1957 until 1964. We faked a feud. Neither Deane nor Waters believes Baltimore was ready for an integrated teen dance program in 1964. The Deaners didnt mind. Teenagers who appeared on the show every day were known as "The Committee". You have to ease into it. There was no sexiness in dress for the girls. Actor: Hairspray. 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 .