Admiring the Pace (and Face) of the ‘Everlastin’ Teenager’

The man in the blue blazer who introduced Little Richard at the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park on Thursday night called the performer “a living legend.”

The real living legend was the fellow in the blue blazer.

I was taken aback to see that the person mopping Little Richard’s brow under the heat of the TV camera lights was Dick Clark. The Dick Clark. The TV personality/mogul who Forbes magazine says is worth $180 million. He had come along to support his friend.

I know many of you express amazement at how Dick Clark has managed to stay so young-looking on TV all these years. Your reporter on the scene is here to tell you: It ain’t makeup. Dick Clark will be 68 years old in November, but looks as if he just came in from a day on his surfboard. Little Richard was wearing enough makeup to open a salon. Dick Clark looked freshly scrubbed with soap and water.

OK, he does show a bit more age than he did when he hosted “American Bandstand” 40 years ago. But not much. Little Richard called him the “Everlastin’ Teenager” and probably wasn’t far off.

Admittedly, Dick Clark’s many TV shows don’t appeal to me much--the exception being the one on New Year’s Eve. How can you ring in a new year and not share it with Dick Clark in New York City’s Times Square on your TV? But his other productions--the blooper shows, the game shows, the beauty pageants--those are things you catch only if it’s on in the background.

But even on those, to me Dick Clark is always darned near perfect, the Vin Scully of TV hosting: great voice, says the right things and knows when to get out of the way of the rest of the show.

Watching Clark at the Little Richard festivities only reaffirmed my thinking. Clark was happy to stand in the background until called upon, tapping a toe as Little Richard played piano outside the museum.

When Clark’s turn came, he was the old pro, completely at home with the microphone yet impressively gracious. When another speaker made a joke mentioning Ed McMahon, Dick Clark’s friendly comeback was that McMahon would be in his 30th year this weekend helping Jerry Lewis with his national muscular dystrophy telethon.

When Little Richard was placing his hands in wet cement, Clark did a mild play-by-play just to help keep the show rolling.

When media types like myself asked him questions Thursday night, Clark answered thoughtfully and politely. When I caught up with him afterward, my own questions were hardly brilliant. Maybe because I was so closely examining that famous face for a hint of pancake. I did ask if he was satisfied with all his success in so many facets of the entertainment business.

“Not at all,” he said. “I’ve got a Broadway show I’m putting together based on things I’ve been working on for more than 40 years. I’ve got some new TV projects in the works. The ideas just keep on churning.”

But being Dick Clark has been a pretty good gig for him. He added as he stepped into his limo: “I’m doing what I’ve dreamed of doing since the time I was 13 years old.”

Lost Treasures: A few weeks ago I wrote about Bonnie and Ron Smith of Modjeska Canyon finding a letter handwritten in 1888 by Helena Modjeska. It had been tucked away in an old book that was given to them.

I recently received a copy from the Helena Modjeska Foundation, which helps preserve the name of the great turn-of-the-century Polish actress who made Orange County her home. It’s a nice nugget that adds to our knowledge of Modjeska’s life here, and about Arden, the magnificent estate she and her husband created in what is now known as Modjeska Canyon. (The mansion is now restored and open to the public.)

The letter is addressed to a theatrical agent. Modjeska had planned to take a year off from touring, but because of financial problems agreed to another play. She wrote in part:

“We own about 665 acres of land and have a beautiful home. But beautiful homes have to have beautiful gardens and horses and servants and that all costs a beautiful sum of money. Therefore I am glad that I shall have something to do, to pay at least the household expenses and some debts we contracted here.

”. . . For my own part, I shall always prefer Shakespeare, especially after the success I made in Ophelia. The public is used to looking to me for a true rendition of Shakespeare’s characters and that belief seems to grow with the years.

”. . . I shall study some new parts in order to make my reputation the largest and the richest of all that has been played by any star in the old or new world.”

The old or new world. People actually talked that way near the turn of the century.

Historian Ellen K. Lee of the Modjeska Foundation has a great eye for detail. She points out that the reason for the black border on the stationery Modjeska used is that the actress was still in mourning for her mother, who had died in Poland the previous year.

As for the reference to Ophelia, Lee explains that Modjeska had received rave reviews for her appearance as Ophelia to Edwin Booth’s Hamlet in New York in 1888.

Nearly half the 32 plays Modjeska appeared in during the American phase of her career--she had been Poland’s most famous actress before then--were written by Shakespeare.

Gem of a Gift: Michael Watson of Gallery of Diamonds in Costa Mesa has a special reason for caring about mothers. He tracked down his own mother three years ago after a 20-year search. Though he learned she had died, he found a grandmother and other siblings he had never known about.

Watson runs an annual essay contest, “Why Mom Deserves a Diamond,” that thousands of local students participate in. Watson then gives diamond gifts to several winners. Friday, he greeted another winner: the Orange County Public Library. Watson gave the library a $3,000 check, proceeds from the anthology of the essays he publishes each year.

Wrap-Up: For the record, Dick Clark did not get paid a dime for his appearance with Little Richard. He was just helping out a friend. But Clark also has fond memories of the Movieland Wax Museum. His own wax figure was unveiled there nine years ago this week.

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling The Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or by fax to (714) 966-7711, or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com