KPIX DANCE PARTY
The Dick Stewart Show
San Francisco, California
1959-1963

From 1959 through 1963, Dick Stewart produced and hosted KPIX DANCE PARTY on Channel 5 in San Francisco.  Only six weeks after taking over a program bequeathed with a history of low audience ratings Stewart made DANCE PARTY the Bay Area's most-watched daytime program.  It remained so to the end when it was canceled to make way for an expanded CBS news.

DANCE PARTY's success was due in part to its "Regulars": a corps of carefully selected kids who won fans of their own and whose romances were followed as faithfully by adult viewers as by their peers. DANCE PARTY's exploitation of teen romance was tasteful but deliberate!  Emphasized by subjective cameras that moved in and with the dancers, "silhouette dances", personal song dedications, etc., romance was a DANCE PARTY staple.

DANCE PARTY went beyond being a showcase of the recording industry's "Hot Top 40"!  DANCE PARTY exalted youth achievers with "profiles" and awards; it produced filmed "salutes" to most of the high schools in the nine counties within its sphere of broadcast influence; it conducted talent searches, held "Coke-tail" parties for school news editors, officers and athletes, to help Stewart create features which best demonstrated the most engaging aspects of teenage society; it waged dance contests and performance contest (such as "lip-synching" to records) and more.

DANCE PARTY and Dick Stewart were the subjects of feature articles in LOOK, BILLBOARD and CASHBOX magazines, received two national awards and dozens of honors from local community service organizations.  However, the show's success was best indicated by its ratings and the price of its sold-out time.

This is a work in progress; how much progress will be exhibited will depend upon former Regulars and fans of Dance Party, stepping forward with treasured photographs, mementos, and remembrances.

Thank you, Manny Interiano

Important News

Hello Everyone,

I want to introduce you to the new manager of our website, Lois Dallal. Lois has been one of my favorite dance partner’s since we originally met on the KPIX Dance Party. She is an excellent dancer, and always made me look to be a better dancer than I actually ever was. For that, I owe her a debt of gratitude.

I anticipate a much better website, now that she has taken over. Officially, she took the reigns on February 10, 2012. She is already speaking of many improvements to come.  She is going to have a professional web designer improve the website. She will also continue to locate, and talk the Regulars into allowing her to add a page for each of them (which I should add, that is harder to do than allowing them to pull their teeth).

Thank you Lois, for stepping forward to accept the work, and expense, of keeping the dream alive on behalf of us Regulars.

Your old dance partner,

IN MEMORY OF MANUEL INTERIANO

Sadly, on August 27, 2012, I lost my good friend Manny Interiano. He was a friend that I've known since my teenage years (as far back at the KPIX Dance Party days). We lost contact for many years, but we renewed our friendship in 1987 when we accidentally pumped into each other at the job fair at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds. We decided that we would like to be dance partners on the newly running KOFY Dance Party Program.

I knew Manny was not well, especially after our last phone conversations, but it caught me totally unexpectedly when (after he didn't return my phone call), Marilyn Del Conte (Manny's ex-wife) called me to tell me that Manny would no longer be with us. He died of a heart attack at his home in Fremont, California. So, it is with sadness that I bring this message to you.

He was a wonderful person who kept his friends (as far back as the KPIX Dance Party days) deep in his heart. So much so, that he devoted his efforts to bring us all back together again by creating this website for everyone to enjoy. He labored countless hours to organize it; list it on the search engines; and to gather together the database network so the Reunions could be possible.

Manny was definitely a multi-talented person in many aspects of life. Whether he was working on his computer, or on his job as a Patrol Agent for the Civil Air Force, or dancing . . . He was brilliant in anything he set his mind on. His list of accomplishments is impressive. But, what I admired most about Manny was his gentler side. He was a marvelous photographer who had a great artistic eye (see his photos in his scrapbook pages). Also, he enjoyed visiting and taking photos of his "Lonely Boy's Hill" in the San Francisco hills. Many times he would take his companion cat along as his 'buddy' on road trips. He was a true inspiration and teacher to me.

Manny's heart and soul touched all of us who were so fortunate to have known him.

God bless you Manny. We are going to miss you.

Rest in Peace, old friend . . .you won't be forgotten

Please start getting the "Big Dance Party" in the sky ready for us.

Kindest regards,

Your friend and dance partner,

Lois

Email Contact Number: [email protected]

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by M. Interiano
  Copyright � 2004. All rights reserved.
  Revised: March 4,200406/07/10 17:00:43 -0700.