Dick Clark has become synonymous with New Year's Eve, so it's no surprise the renowned television host is back to ring in 2012 and celebrate the 40th anniversary of his iconic program, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve." 
 
 Clark will once again make an appearance alongside Ryan Seacrest on the annual ABC special, set to air beginning at 10 p.m. EST on Dec. 31. 
 
 Seacrest has been co-hosting the extravaganza since 2005, the year after Clark suffered a stroke that impaired his speech, according to People magazine. 
 
 Friend and fellow television host Regis Philbin filled in for Clark in 2004, CNN reports. 
 
 But since then, health troubles haven't stopped the indefatigable 82-year-old Clark from taking an active role in his show's production. 
 
 "This is very important to him. This is one of his children," producer Larry Klein told the Associated Press. 
 
 Saturday's program will recap highlights from the last 40 years of the show. 
 
 "The army of talent we had join us over the years has truly been outstanding, and this year we top it off with an appearance by Lady Gaga," Clark told ABC. "'New Year's Rockin' Eve 2012' promises to be one of the most exciting ever, and I'm proud to be part of the team." 
 
 In an email interview with USA Today, Clark said he's hosted a number of memorable New Year's Eve celebrations, but he called festivities following the Sept. 11 attacks "the most nerve-racking." 
 
 As for Seacrest, the longtime "American Idol" host has no problem sharing the spotlight with the man he watched on television as a child. 
 
 "He still runs the show. He'll make as many appearances as he wants, and I kind of just stand there and take the ball when he passes it," Seacrest told ABC News. 
 
 With temperatures forecast to be in the 40s, a record crowd of nearly one million people are expected to gather in Times Square to watch the ball make its iconic descent. ||||| Forty years ago, Dick Clark's New Year's Eve special was created to give young people an alternative to a seasonal institution, bandleader Guy Lombardo. 
 
 In this image released by ABC, Dick Clark, right, and Ryan Seacrest are shown in New York. Clark and Seacrest will celebrate 40 years of history as they host "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with... (Associated Press) 
 
 Now Clark's annual show is the institution. 
 
 "New Year's Rockin' Eve," with Clark and Ryan Seacrest, pays tribute to its own history during a sprawling, nearly six-hour program Saturday night. The celebration takes up all of prime time on ABC, breaks for a half-hour of local news, then comes back on the air for two and a quarter hours that includes the ball dropping in New York City's Times Square to mark the beginning of 2012. 
 
 "I'm looking forward to it being 2:15 (a.m. on Sunday)," said Larry Klein, who has been producing the show since 1977. 
 
 Clark's special shows no sign of slippage, after collecting its biggest audience in five years last year. The 18.8 million people who were watching ABC during the last half-hour of 2010 and first half-hour of 2011 were more than NBC and Fox's audience combined, the Nielsen ratings company said. 
 
 The show isn't designed to be a recap of the year in music, but that's almost what it turns out to be, Klein said. 
 
 In all, 29 separate musical performances are planned. 
 
 This year's headliner is Lady Gaga, who gets the prime slot in Times Square in the moments before midnight. Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Hot Chelle Rae, Florence + The Machine, Gym Class Heroes, Nicki Minaj and Taio Cruz are among the other featured performers from New York and Los Angeles. Beyonce is scheduled to perform from London, where she's on tour. 
 
 It may not seem so from that lineup, but Klein said booking the show is a challenge because performers frequently are offered some of their most lucrative gigs of the year on New Year's Eve. What Clark has to offer is exposure to a large audience not often seen this side of "American Idol." 
 
 And it's unique. Klein remembers Jennifer Lopez's exhilaration a few years back after performing in Times Square despite wearing a skimpy outfit and being pelted by freezing rain. 
 
 "No matter how much I can try to explain to people what it's like to be in Times Square live, I can't do it justice," he said. "You have to experience it once in your life." 
 
 During the first two hours, ABC will show clips of performances from past New Year's Eve specials, which Klein describes as a fascinating trip through hair, clothing and musical styles. Stars of Clark's first "Rockin' Eve" included Al Green, Helen Reddy and Three Dog Night. 
 
 New Year's Eve also marks the annual appearance of Clark, once a ubiquitous presence on television. A stroke makes it difficult for Clark to communicate, but he doesn't want to miss this show, Klein said. 
 
 "Dick is still Dick Clark," he said. "His communication is a little bit more difficult, but he's still involved in contemporary music. He listens to a lot, he knows a lot, he's still involved in the production. This is very important to him. This is one of his children." 
 
 Among the other big broadcasters, NBC and Fox will both be in Times Square on New Year's Eve, too. CBS hands its late-night schedule to its local affiliates. 
 
 Highlights of other New Year's Eve offerings: 
 
 _Carson Daly is host of a two-hour NBC special, sandwiching local news. The show is heavy on NBC personalities, with a comedy performance from Jimmy Fallon, a review of the year in music from NBC News anchor Brian Williams and performances by Fallon's "Late Night" band, the Roots, and Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton of "The Voice." 
 
 _Comic Rodney Carrington and "Pawn Stars" Rick Harrison and Austin "Chumlee" Russell host "American Country New Year's Eve Live" on Fox. Country stars Toby Keith and Joe Nichols are among the performers in a 90-minute special that switches between New York and Las Vegas. 
 
 _MTV's Times Square studio is the site of that network's New Year's Eve party, with Demi Lovato and "Teen Wolf" actor Tyler Posey as hosts. Lovato, Selena Gomez, J Cole and Mac Miller are among the performers. 
 
 _After 12 hours of counting down the year's top music videos, BET presents its "106 & Party" special at 11 p.m. 
 
 _Two news networks are also marking the occasion with specials. Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly are live in Times Square, and the network will have performances from country artists Big & Rich and Trace Adkins. On CNN, Anderson Cooper and comic Kathy Griffin have developed their own strange kind of chemistry, and will be back. Promises the outspoken Griffin: "By the time I'm done with him, Anderson's hair is going to be even more gray." 
 
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 ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. 
 
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 http://abc.go.com/ ||||| Later, when asked if this year would indeed be his last, Mr. Clark answered in an e-mail, “I hope not.” 
 
 Such speculation has surrounded Mr. Clark ever since he had the stroke a few weeks before New Year’s in 2004. Regis Philbin filled in that year, and Mr. Seacrest stepped in in 2005, the last time the show fell on a Saturday, sharing the hosting duties with Mr. Clark. It was, Mr. Clark says, probably the most memorable of all his New Year’s broadcasts. 
 
 “Though I hadn’t conquered language difficulties and walking, it was good to be back at my old stand,” he said. 
 
 Mr. Clark has managed to recover somewhat since then, but his speech remains significantly impaired, a consequence of the stroke. Two years ago he missed a couple of numbers in the countdown. 
 
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 Though some television critics have asserted that Mr. Clark’s appearance on the show since his stroke can be uncomfortable for some viewers, Mr. Shapiro said that “a lot more than not, people truly appreciate the beacon of light that he is.” 
 
 Interviews with Mr. Clark are conducted via e-mail because of his speech. He said he presumed that for many viewers, it’s “comforting to see a familiar face who has been there for the past 40 years.” 
 
 He added that for viewers who have a physical disability, his appearances “may serve as a source of inspiration.” 
 
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 Despite Mr. Clark’s health problems, Mr. Shapiro said there was no taped back-up. 
 
 “We take our shot, and we go live,” he said. “And Dick wouldn’t have it any other way.” 
 
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 Mr. Clark’s first nationwide New Year’s Eve broadcast took place in 1972, when he conceived “Rockin’ Eve” as a youthful alternative to Guy Lombardo’s big-band broadcasts on CBS. It was originally shown on NBC and after two years moved to ABC, where it has stayed since. 
 
 “Dick has been the mainstay,” said Larry Klein, the show’s producer, who flies to New York from Los Angeles on Christmas Day each year. “What changes around him is the music.” 
 
 On Saturday, the 8 p.m. anniversary special will sample four decades of performances. (It cost a “considerable amount of money” for the rights to replay some songs, Mr. Shapiro said.) Then the regular “Rockin’ Eve” — which starts at 10, pauses for the 11 o’clock news and resumes at 11:30 — will feature Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Carlos Santana, Pitbull and Hot Chelle Rae, among others. 
 
 “Rockin’ Eve” is typically more popular than the competing countdown shows on NBC, Fox, MTV and other channels. Last year almost 19 million were watching ABC around midnight, according to Nielsen, though that figure surely understates the total audience because it does not count the groups of people who were watching at bars, restaurants and other parties. 
 
 The show’s producers go out of their way to praise and protect Mr. Clark. (“As long as he’s able, we want him for the countdown,” Mr. Shapiro said.) But they acknowledge that Mr. Seacrest, 37, is the primary host; they added “With Ryan Seacrest” to the show’s title three years ago. He is the broadcast’s traffic cop in Times Square, tossing to bands and correspondents and to Mr. Clark for the countdown. 
 
 “He has the same instinct that Dick had,” said Mr. Klein, who sits comfortably in a control room while Mr. Seacrest freezes outside at Broadway and 44th Street. “He knows when he’s going to be cued; he knows how to transition; he knows when to wrap.” 
 
 Mr. Seacrest, who has been in talks with NBC’s “Today” show about a co-anchor role, came on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday to promote the countdown show. Mr. Clark, he said, “very much looks forward to being a part of it,” and added: 
 
 “The guy is still the boss. He walks into the room, and you defer. He is Dick Clark.”
– Dick Clark will be in his usual New Year's Eve spot tonight, in front of the cameras for his New Year's Rockin' Eve show on ABC, notes the Huffington Post. As has been the case since 2005, Ryan Seacrest will co-host and handle most of the duties for the 82-year-old Clark, who has been slowed by a stroke since 2004. This year is the 40th anniversary of the show, which will feature a Lady Gaga performance just before midnight. (AP has more details on the show and what else is on.) Clark does all his interviews via email these days because of his speech difficulties, and the New York Times broaches some touchy topics, like whether this might be his last show. "I hope not," came the reply. Clark also said he hopes his hosting "may serve as an inspiration" to viewers who have physical disabilities. Click for more.