Dick Clark has died at 82.
The New York-native and famed television producer has died of a massive heart attack, according to TMZ, following an outpatient procedure last night at St. John’s Hospital in L.A.
CHECK OUT PICTURES OF DICK CLARK
The TV host suffered a significant stroke in 2004 and forced him to drop out of hosting, New Years’ Rockin’ Eve, the show he first created in the 1970s. Regis Philbin substituted for Clark during the broadcast that year.
Clark’s stroke left him with a speech impairment, though he managed to return to his New Year’s Eve show a year later with Ryan Seacrest and Hilary Duff working as co-hosts.
“Last year I had a stroke. It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It’s been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I’m getting there,” Clark said, adding that he “wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
Seacrest eventually took over the show, but Clark continued to make appearances. Most recently, for the 2011-2012 broadcast, Clark once again performed the countdown.
The stroke wasn’t Clark’s first health issue. He also revealed to Larry King that he had Type 2 diabetes.
Besides his famous New Year’s Eve gig, the 82-year-old is best known for hosting television shows like American Bandstand and The Pyramid game shows. He’s also known for his departing catchphrase “For now, Dick Clark…so long.”
He is survived by his current wife Kari Wigton and three children, Richard, Duane and Cindy. He married Wigton in 1977. His first marriage was to Barbara Mallery in 1952, whom he divorced in 1961. Clark then married Loretta Martin in 1962, whom he divorced in 1971.
