Arlene Sullivan — A Bandstand Regular

A Bandstand “Regular” ARLENE SULLIVAN

Arlene Sullivan never trained as a dancer. The Southwest Philly native picked it up from watching Bandstand with her mom after school in seventh grade. At a neighborhood party, a Bandstand regular, Justine Carrelli, offered to help Arlene and some girlfriends get onto the show. Arlene quickly became a regular and – with dance partner Kenny Rossi – a fan favorite.

From 1956-1959, she danced on Bandstand from 2:30-5pm every weekday. “After school ended at 2:15, we’d hop on a bus or trolley car to get there,” Arlene remembers. “Our parents always knew where we were. We were always home for dinner and did homework after dinner. Bandstand was an afterschool activity for us.”

Arlene remembers that every Philly neighborhood had its own dancing style. North Philly and South Philly had their own styles. So did Norristown and West Philly. “On the show, we met kids from different neighborhoods and learned how to dance their way.”

“I’ll never understand why I got popular,” Arlene says. “I wasn’t the best dancer or the best looking, but for some reason, I got famous with Kenny. We got a lot of letters. We didn’t realize how famous we were until celebrities came to the show. Paul Anka, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon… they told us that everywhere they go, they’re asked if they know us! Annette got letters about me saying we looked alike and we became pen pals for years. Those were innocent times.”

“We got to meet everybody,” Arlene says. “Movie stars like Tab Hunter, all the teen idols, Bobby Rydell, Johnny Mathis, Dion, The Belmonts. Jerry Blavat was one of the kids I used to watch on Bandstand. When I met him, it was like meeting a star.”

Arlene now lives in Ventnor, New Jersey and she still dances. “Dancing makes you smile,” she says. “It’s good for you.” In 2016, she released a book with Ray Smith and Sharon Sultan Cutler about the experience called “Bandstand Diaries.”