Dick Clark Still Set To Host 'Eve'

"American Bandstand" icon Dick Clark was hospitalized this week after suffering a mild stroke.

The man known as "the world's oldest teenager" for his youthful appearance, who turned 75 on Nov. 30, suffered the stroke this week, publicist Paul Shefrin said Wednesday, declining to give any details. He would only say Clark had been hospitalized in the Los Angeles area.

The entertainer, who went from hosting "American Bandstand" to game shows and producing awards ceremonies, is scheduled to host ABC's "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005" on Dec. 31. It will be his 33rd year welcoming in the New Year.

"The doctors tell me I should be back in the swing of things before too long so I'm hopeful to be able to make it to Times Square to help lead the country in ringing in the new year once again," Clark said in a statement Wednesday issue by his production company.

"The period of recovery is dependent upon the size of the stroke, but it can be anywhere from 24 hours to up to about a year to recover," neurosurgeon Dr. Phillip Steig of New York Presbyterian Hospital told CBS Radio News. "In the situation like Dick Clark, who's had a small stroke, he'll make a good recovery, and it's very probable with a small stroke he'll get back to leading a normal life."

Shefrin would only say Clark "is recuperating" and that there's no cause for alarm. Clark disclosed last year that he has diabetes.

"I understand that he does have diabetes, so he'll have to control his blood sugar, he'll want to control his blood pressure, to keep the hypertension under control, he'll want to watch his blood cholesterol levels very closely, he'll obviously want to avoid smoking," said Steig.

Clark produces the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Clark, a 1951 business graduate of Syracuse University, began his career at a radio station in Utica, N.Y. He first produced and hosted "American Bandstand" (then just "Bandstand") as a local television show in Philadelphia before it was picked up by the fledgling ABC network in 1957. Two years later, it was airing on more than 100 stations, with 20 million viewers. He also is credited with ending the show's all-white policy when it went national.