American Bandstand Honored

[Sweet Jane 61]

Chubby Checker, Connie Francis and other performers from "American Bandstand" danced Thursday morning to dedicate a mural honoring the hit show's 37 years on television.

The 30-foot-by-11-foot mural was painted on the wall of the building where the show was taped from 1952 to 1964, the year it moved to Los Angeles.

The mural blends together images from old photographs showing regular dancers like Eddie Kelly, Justine Carelli and Bunny Gibson.

The building, now the location of the West Philadelphia Enterprise Center, was packed with more than 150 people who attended the lively ceremony that was taped for "Good Morning, America" at 6:30 a.m.

"It was wild. You had to be in here to experience the excitement, the buzz," said Della Clark, president of the Enterprise Center, which helps minority entrepreneurs with funding and business education.

Artist Diane Keller spent a month designing the mural, and another month painting it. It was a tight schedule to get it ready for the 50th anniversary of the show's first national broadcast and the 10th anniversary of the Enterprise Center's opening.

Keller took the same approach to the mural as she did when she painted dedications to Frank Sinatra and Mario Lanza.

"I listen to music," Keller said. "I listened to Bob Dylan's 'Modern Times' over and over and over again."

Many of the performers came by the studio and helped Keller as she painted their outfits and their shoes, which often couldn't be seen in photographs.

"So far they love it," Keller said. "Justine thought her nose looked a little too funny. But what are you going to do? Looks just like her ... cute as a button."

[Sweet Jane 61]

Some of the mural, this looks so cool!