Clay Cole

Clay Cole
Cole (left) with The Isley Brothers in 1962
Birth name	Albert Franklin Rucker
Born	(1938-01-01)January 1, 1938 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Died	December 18, 2010(2010-12-18) (aged 72) Oak Island, North Carolina, U.S.
Show	Mystery Castle The Enchanted Forest Rucker's Rumpus Room Al Ricker and the Seven Teens Rate the Records Talent Teens Teen Quiz The Record Wagon The Clay Cole Show Clay Cole's Discotek
Station(s)	WKBN (AM) WKBN-TV WFMJ WJAR-TV WNTA-TV WPIX-TV

Clay Cole (January 1, 1938 – December 18, 2010) was an American host and disk jockey, best known for his eponymous television dance program, The Clay Cole Show, which aired in New York City on WNTA-TV and WPIX-TV from 1959 to 1968.

Clay Cole was born Albert Rucker, Jr. on January 1, 1938, in Youngstown, Ohio. He became a juvenile stage and radio actor; then in 1953, at age 15, became the television host and producer of his own Saturday night teen music show, Rucker's Rumpus Room, first on WKBN-TV, then, until 1957, on WFMJ. Arriving in Manhattan in 1957, he worked first as an NBC page, then as a production assistant on the troubled quiz show Twenty One, the events at which were recreated in the 1994 film Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford.

In 1958, he continued his Saturday night television legacy, launching Al Rucker and the Seven Teens program on WJAR-TV, Providence, Rhode Island. In New York City in 1959, when asked to change his name, he chose that of a distant cousin, Clay Cole. Clay's 1960 all-star ten-day Christmas show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater broke the all-time house box office record. Clay was among the few white performers invited to appear at Harlem's Apollo Theater; he headlined three week-long revues, starring Fats Domino, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Chubby Checker. In 1961, he appeared as himself in the film Twist Around the Clock. When WNTA-TV was sold in 1963, Cole's program was picked up by New York City television station WPIX-TV, where the program became known as Clay Cole's Discotek by 1965. During the 1960s "British Invasion", musical acts arriving from the UK often appeared on Cole's television show before doing network shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show. The Rolling Stones and The Who were among those who first appeared on Cole's television show. Cole's show differed from American Bandstand in a few ways: while both Cole and Dick Clark had an interest in young people and their music, Cole did not hesitate to join in on his show's dance floor. He was also more confident about booking lesser-known performers and comedians for his show.