KPIX DANCE PARTY
The Dick Stewart Show
San Francisco, California
1959-1963

From 1959 through 1963, Dick Stewart produced and hosted KPIX DANCE PARTY on Channel 5 in San Francisco.  Only six weeks after taking over a program bequeathed with a history of low audience ratings Stewart made DANCE PARTY the Bay Area's most-watched daytime program.  It remained so to the end when it was canceled to make way for an expanded CBS news.

DANCE PARTY's success was due in part to its "Regulars": a corps of carefully selected kids who won fans of their own and whose romances were followed as faithfully by adult viewers as by their peers. DANCE PARTY's exploitation of teen romance was tasteful but deliberate!  Emphasized by subjective cameras that moved in and with the dancers, "silhouette dances", personal song dedications, etc., romance was a DANCE PARTY staple.

DANCE PARTY went beyond being a showcase of the recording industry's "Hot Top 40"!  DANCE PARTY exalted youth achievers with "profiles" and awards; it produced filmed "salutes" to most of the high schools in the nine counties within its sphere of broadcast influence; it conducted talent searches, held "Coke-tail" parties for school news editors, officers and athletes, to help Stewart create features which best demonstrated the most engaging aspects of teenage society; it waged dance contests and performance contest (such as "lip-synching" to records) and more.

DANCE PARTY and Dick Stewart were the subjects of feature articles in LOOK, BILLBOARD and CASHBOX magazines, received two national awards and dozens of honors from local community service organizations.  However, the show's success was best indicated by its ratings and the price of its sold-out time.

This is a work in progress; how much progress will be exhibited will depend upon former Regulars and fans of Dance Party, stepping forward with treasured photographs, mementos, and remembrances. I can be contacted at the following email address: KPIXDanceParty@gmail.com

Thank you, Manny Interiano

Important News

Hello Everyone,

I want to introduce you to the new manager of our website, Lois Dallal. Lois has been one of my favorite dance partner’s since we originally met on the KPIX Dance Party. She is an excellent dancer, and always made me look to be a better dancer than I actually ever was. For that, I owe her a debt of gratitude.

I anticipate a much better website, now that she has taken over. Officially, she took the reigns on February 10, 2012. She is already speaking of many improvements to come.  She is going to have a professional web designer improve the website. She will also continue to locate, and talk the Regulars into allowing her to add a page for each of them (which I should add, that is harder to do than allowing them to pull their teeth).

Thank you Lois, for stepping forward to accept the work, and expense, of keeping the dream alive on behalf of us Regulars.

Your old dance partner,

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by M. Interiano
  Copyright � 2004. All rights reserved.
  Revised: March 4,200406/07/10 17:00:43 -0700.