Dick Clark dies at 82

Veteran entertainer Dick Clark, whose name adorns a Branson theater, died yesterday of a heart attack in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 82.

One of Clark's companies, Dick Clark Productions, was involved in constructing the 85,000-square-foot Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater, which opened in 2006. Clark sold Dick Clark Productions to Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder in 2007, according to CNN.com.

The theater, now owned by Springfield businessman Jim D. Morris' company Morris Group Properties Inc., suffered damage during the Leap Day tornado, but it reopened for an April 14 performance by Legends in Concert.

In a news release, officials of Legends in Concert, which calls the theater home, said the country lost a "true legend and pioneer of popular American music and culture" with Clark's death.

"Dick Clark orchestrated the sound track to the lives of many generations, and his contributions to popular culture are indelible," the release reads. "His legacy lives on at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, the only theater in the world bearing his name."

Clark's "American Bandstand" television show is one of network TV's longest-running series from 1957 to 1987. He also founded "The $25,000 Pyramid," "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" and the American Music Awards, and was host to several New Year's Eve TV celebrations, according to an obituary posted at Legacy.com.