Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Broadcast icon Dick Clark , the longtime host of the influential `` American Bandstand , '' has died , publicist Paul Shefrin said . He was 82 . Clark suffered a heart attack while at St. John 's Hospital in Santa Monica for an outpatient procedure , his publicist said Wednesday . `` Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful . '' The family has not yet decided whether there will be a public memorial service for the multifaceted Clark , although Shefrin said , `` There will be no funeral . '' Clark suffered what was then described as `` a mild stroke '' in December 2004 , just months after announcing he had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes . That stroke forced Clark to cut back on his on-camera work , including giving up the hosting duties for the `` Dick Clark 's New Year 's Rockin ' Eve '' specials . He returned as a co-host with Ryan Seacrest on December 31 , 2005 . Clark anguished each year over whether to continue appearing on the annual show because of limitations on his speech from the stroke , U.S. Rep. David Dreier , a longtime friend , told CNN Wednesday . `` But then he would get deluged by people who were stroke victims and other people who had infirmities and they were such admirers of his fighting spirit , '' said Dreier , R-California . Share your memories of Dick Clark . Clark 's `` American Bandstand '' work , which he began when it was a local TV show in Philadelphia in 1956 , earned him the nickname `` America 's oldest living teenager . '' The dance show was picked up by ABC and broadcast nationally a year later . `` If you did n't go on 'American Bandstand , ' you had n't made it yet , '' singer Aretha Franklin told `` AC360 . '' The savvy entrepreneur was a pioneer in introducing African-American and other performers to millions of young TV viewers . His audiences were integrated , among the first on television . `` Only God is responsible for making more stars than Dick Clark , '' said singer Tony Orlando , who was 16 when he first appeared on Clark 's show in 1961 . Entertainers told CNN on Wednesday that Clark knew that music transcends race . `` Dick understood the connection that music had . It was n't about black , it was n't about white , '' Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men told `` Piers Morgan Tonight . '' Seacrest gave a statement to CNN expressing deep sadness for `` the loss of my dear friend Dick Clark . '' `` He has truly been one of the greatest influences in my life , '' Seacrest said . `` I idolized him from the start , and I was graced early on in my career with his generous advice and counsel . When I joined his show in 2006 , it was a dream come true to work with him every New Year 's Eve for the last six years . '' Seacrest called Clark `` smart , charming , funny and always a true gentleman . '' Another major figure on the music scene was too upset to talk about Clark 's death . Radio host Casey Kasem 's wife , Jean , told CNN that Clark served as substitute host for Kasem 's popular `` American Top 40 . '' `` We just feel that he was one of the most magnanimous human beings that we ever knew in the industry , '' Jean Kasem said of Clark . Clark became wealthy as a businessman , producing successful TV shows through Dick Clark Productions . He created the American Music Awards in the 1970s , a competitor to the Grammy Awards . He sold the company to Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder in 2007 . `` One of the real draws when we purchased Dick Clark Productions was the opportunity to build on the tremendous foundation of programming that this icon of American broadcasting created , '' Snyder said Wednesday . `` I got to know Dick over the past five years , and he was just as personable and warm in person as he was on television . Once you got to know Dick , it was obvious why he was so beloved by his fans . He was , in every sense of the word , a giant . '' Born Richard Wagstaff Clark in Mount Vernon , New York , on November 30 , 1929 , he began his broadcast career working at a radio station managed by his father . Clark , who was married three times , is survived by his wife , Kari , two sons and a daughter . The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Clark in its nonperformer category in 1993 . Clark also hosted numerous other television favorites , including the `` Pyramid '' game shows and `` TV 's Bloopers and Practical Jokes . '' `` This guy was the best , '' said singer Freddy Cannon , who appeared on `` American Bandstand '' 110 times . `` He helped me from the very bottom of my career all through the '80s and the '90s , and he 's going to be missed a lot . '' Former CNN talk host Larry King said Clark 's secret for success was his ability to be natural on camera . `` The hardest thing in the business is to be yourself , and no one knew that better than Dick Clark , '' King said . Singer Donny Osmond said Clark was one of a kind : `` If someone can not fill your shoes , you are a legend . And Dick Clark was a legend . '' Clark 's passing follows by less than three months the death of another TV dance show icon , Don Cornelius , the creator of `` Soul Train . '' Cornelius was found dead of what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Los Angeles on February 1 . He was 75 . People we 've lost in 2012 : The lives they lived . CNN 's Denise Quan and JD Cargill contributed to this report .
NEW : Entertainers recall ` ` American Bandstand '' influence . " Clark died of a heart attack while at a Santa Monica hospital , his family says . He suffered a stroke in December 2005 , reducing his on - camera work . Clark started ` ` American Bandstand '' as a local TV show in Philadelphia in 1956 .