ABOUT DALE YOUNG
Born: November 28, 1928
I did a show in 1954-55, Pirate Pete, as Little Roy the Cabin Boy. You may remember Ralph Binge from radio (Binge and Gentile). He had originated the show, but his gruff, fearsome persona as Pirate Pete was really kind of off-putting to the little kid audience, so I took over. It was a sort of “Duffy’s Tavern” effect: The Pirate Pete Show, but Pirate Pete was never there. I’m a sketch artist, so I drew cartoons of Pirate Pete’s “away” adventures, talked with Mr. Bones, the parrot, and a genie in a bottle I had fished out of the “sea.” Then I got drafted.
Dick McCreary was program director at the time and he was the one who gave me the monicker. He collected limericks and doggerel; it came from an old English lewd poem. Forever after when I visited WJBK, all the floor crew STILL called me Roy!
Two years later, when I came back from the service, Detroit Bandstand
started.
In the Dick Clark pic, the front row: Janet Brow, Sandy Dillon, Jean Davies, Clark, Roberta (my wife at the time) and moi. I can’t for the life of me remember the guys’ names.
I share my birthday with Berry Gordy, Jr. who is one year younger than me.
I remember Berry as this dimunitive record promoter, coming around the station and begging me to play his groups. I have no idea who the group is in the picture, but I’m sure they were on his label. Who knew Motown and Gordy were to become legendary!
Dec 2009
Hi! I’m Dale Young, former host of Detroit Bandstand. I’m in Cleveland now. I moved here from Chicago after two years doing a kids’ showto do Dale Young Time, which at that time was in competition with the Mike Douglas Show.
I opened a Beltone office with a friend so I could freelance in commercials and film work.
I’m semi-retired now and still have the hearing aid business.
