Bob Parks was definitely the life of the party, you could never accuse Bob of being shy, he would crack one joke after another, he kept us all laughing he was a bit of a loose cannon, in that you never knew what to expect next. Bob was a ball of energy; he could never stay still.

I can remember one time Bob came over to my house while my Mother was bleaching her hair. I don't know what ever possessed him to do this, but he asked my Mother if she would put some bleach in the front of his hair. Bob's hair was light already, so my Mother did as he asked. As time went on, Bob started to think that perhaps this was not a good idea. Bob was very aware of his good looks, and, you could almost see what was on his mind; he was thinking, "is this going to be a big mistake." He started to panic, and, in a few seconds, ran into the kitchen, stuck his head under the water and washed it all out. No was harm done, but it sure made me chuckle.

Bob was a little stuck on him self, but, with those good looks, it was understandable. Bob enjoyed being the center of attention, and he sure did get a lot of it. There were so many girls, and only one Bob to go around.

I never dated Bob, we were just friends, and once in a while we hung out together. The few times he came over to my house we practiced dance steps, and enjoyed listening to the great Rock & Roll hits of the day. - by Carole Brooks

I call Bob Parks the Mystery Regular. When he was at the very top of his game, with every possible thing going for him, he dropped off the face of this earth. He has not been heard from, nor seen, for over 40 years. I have, in trying to locate him, talked with everyone who might possibly know what became of him only to run into dead ends.

One popular story that was making the rounds, back while the Dance Party was still on the air, had him appearing before a juvenile court judge and given the choice of doing time at the "ranch" or joining the armed forces. He supposedly joined the US Navy. The more recent stories have him driving down to Hollywood for a screen test, but crashing his car and dying. I have been unable to find anyone who was actually a buddy or a permanent girlfriend of Bob's; It appears that he had neither. The two times that we double dated using my uncle's car, he had me meet him somewhere public, and afterwards he had me drop him off somewhere public. He appeared to be very secretive about where he lived, and no one knew much about him or his family.

My memories of Bob Parks are that he was, at the time that he was on the show, the most popular of the Regulars. He outdid everyone in terms of every measure of popularity; he got more fan mail, more inquiries from fans, and more attention from everyone. I do have to grudgingly admit that he was, probably, the best dressed, the best dancer, and, arguably, the best looking of the all of the males on the show. On top of all that, he exuded a supreme confidence that bordered on obnoxious cockiness. Most people who I have talked to, including classmates, remember him being cocky and having what they called a "smart mouth."

His qualities endeared him to the young female viewers, but not to the males, including many of his Dance Party peers. I guess the best description that I could come up to summarize Bob is to say that he was a cross between Tab Hunter and James Dean. The last memory that I have of Bob was when we all appeared at the opening of a new shopping mall in Alameda; the girls attacked him and started tearing his clothes off. He was rescued by the police and he had to leave in taxi. He really should have gone to Hollywood; I sincerely believe that he had the potential of becoming a movie star; instead he became the mystery man of the Regulars. - by Manny Interiano

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