Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Dick Clark is not eternal

Let me say first that I have no qualms with those whose abilities have been hampered by unexpected physical or mental impairments. I am not a callous monster.

However...

I understand that Dick Clark was once a beloved entertainer who seemed not to age as he hosted shows year in and year out. Certainly, as a child, I saw him on American Bandstand and in other places and his lack of apparent aging has been a running gag in the entertainment industry for numerous years. But the man is no longer fit to appear on television, and his New Year's Eve special is nothing short of depressing to watch.

I have heard people call it inspiring. I have heard accolades for Dick Clark's perseverance in the face of the stroke that ruined his speech and finally made his age show. However, what I see on the television is a man desperate to be something he no longer is, a man who refuses to let go of his old persona and settle into the limitations of his new reality.

Dick Clark is no longer able to speak well enough to be a TV host. He has enough clout that no one will yank him off the air or even say it out loud, but the man who did not age still seems to think he is the man who does not age. Now, every New Year's, he is but a disquieting reminder that we are all aging, and that another year has come and gone and even the seemingly eternal things we encounter in life do eventually wither and die.

He needs to bow out gracefully. Actually, it is too late for that. He could have done that earlier. Other stars - Johnny Carson, even Ronald Reagan - knew when it was time to step back from the public eye. Clark needs to salvage what is left of his dignity and step down now. It's time for him to accept that he is an old man whose condition is not that of a man who should be hosting anything on television. There is nothing wrong with that. He needs to move on to what is next and embrace it, not keep up this sideshow.

Here's to Dick Clark spending next New Year's Eve rockin' his own living room with some close friends and family, not on our televisions.

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