DICK Clark, America’s perennial teenager, says staying young is a snap.”It’s easy,” the 72-year-old told The Post. “I’ve been a part of the American music scene for more than 50 years. When you grow up with music like I did, and all the people around you are young, you maintain the attitude.”
For Clark, who lives in California with his wife of more than 20 years, Kari, rock ‘n’ roll is the fountain of youth.
“See, what usually happens is, as you get older, your musical taste atrophies,” he explains. “Then everything else hardens up, too.
“I’ve always had to keep an open mind when it came to music and what’s going on out there, and although I’ve been out of my age bracket as I got older, I kept my youth because the music has given me a youthful approach to everything.”
That includes work. When asked about rumors of retirement, Clark scoffed, “No way. If I stay healthy, I’ll keep working until I get called to leave this life.”
He means it. He continues to produce the long-running American Music Awards (airing this year on Jan. 7), as well as the Daytime Emmys, the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards.
He also has a daily TV talk show called “The Other Half” (the answer to the estrogen-powered “The View”) and he still oversees the rock ‘n’ roll archive known as “American Bandstand,” which aired from 1957 through 1987.
Still, Clark says, one of his proudest achievements is being New Year’s Eve countdown king – and Monday marks his 30th consecutive year broadcasting from Times Square.
“I’ve tried to explain this to thousands of people all over the country, but the only place to be on New Year’s Eve is Times Square,” he says.
Speaking with The Post, Clark says he’s “happy as a goat” and believes he’s a lot smarter now than when he started out. Here’s what else he told us.
Post: You are Mister New Year’s.
Clark: Yeah, I’ve been doing this for a while. Nobody would have predicted it would have gone on like this in the beginning.
Post: The New Year’s celebration in Times Square is always a target for nuts, especially this year. Why do you keep coming back?
Clark: I am a New Yorker. I was born in your city. New Yorkers are resilient people. The baseball stadiums were filled during the World Series, the football stadiums are full now, people are doing what they do in New York. We are doing what’s normal, and I’m going to be in Times Square.
Post: No worries?
Clark: None. This is going to be like every other show we’ve done.
Post: Since it’s your 30th anniversary as host, how’s that going to play into the program?
Clark: We’re going to handle that by sprinkling in flashbacks to past shows among all the live performances. So expect a potpourri of today’s talent, and, if you’ve been with us for the 30 years, a few memories too.
Post: What has kept you coming back?
Clark: Look at it this way: Everybody has to figure out what they’re doing on New Year’s Eve. Not me. I always have plans for the night – it’s predestined. But, seriously, it’s a job, and I do my job.
Post: The workman’s attitude is admirable. But isn’t there a little more to it?
Clark: On a higher level, it’s very special to be a part of everyone’s New Year celebration. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have a stranger yell at me in June or July, “Hey, Dick – I’ll see you on New Year’s.”
Post: Before you became Mister New Year’s, how did you used to celebrate?
Clark: Usually it was a quiet night with my wife.
Post: How about one that sticks in you memory?
Clark: We had another couple over our house for the night and I made a potato soup. When I was adding pepper, the top came off the container and all of the pepper went in, so the soup was spicy but otherwise it was a quiet night around the fireplace.
Post: With that kind of excitement, it must have been pretty hard to do the Time Square gig.
Clark: It was a contrast to the way I used to spend the night. These days I have no idea what I’d do if I weren’t in Times Square. Maybe I’d go back to my fireplace and watch somebody else host the night – but that’s not in the cards for a while.
Post: Who is your audience?
Clark: For some, the show is just wallpaper to their party – there’s music and they watch when the ball starts dropping. For others, this show is all they have on this night. I believe there are an amazing number of people who are home alone or with just another person and this is their way of bringing in the New Year and feeling that they are part of something larger.
Post: What’s left for you to tackle?
Clark: I want to bring American Bandstand and the early music of rock ‘n’ roll to life on Broadway. It is an idea I had 40 years ago and I’ve carried around in the trunk of my mind.
Post: Are you ready to unpack?
Clark: Oh yeah. In fact we’re on our second rewrite and God willing we’ll bring this to fruition next year.
Post: What do you consider yourself to be – the businessman who runs Dick Clark Productions or a performer?
Clark: I got into the business end because as a young performer I thought, “This can’t last forever.” I was wrong. I’m into my 70s, and I’m still performing. My philosophy for success is finding something you enjoy that somebody’s willing to pay for. It just doesn’t get any better than this.