#7 Donna Loren, Connie Stevens-Dr Pepper Celebrity Party (1963)

Take a good look at the Dr Pepper Celebrity Party I co-hosted with Dick Clark. This is my 7th posting of highlights of some of the greats that we still love and worship today that were present at this unique event in rock history. Watch and listen to some of your favorite living legends back in the day. Notice how reverent everyone is towards the master of ceremonies.

Singer/composer Lucille “Lou” Dinning wrote this ditty for me. Her sister Jean had already written Teen Angel and topped the charts with her brother Mark singing the tearful hit. Lou was married to country great Don Robertson.  This clip includes Dick Clark interviews with Nick Adams, Connie Stevens and Jim Stacy, who were married at the time.

16-year old Donna Loren’s performance of her Challenge recording of “I Can’t make My Heart Say Goodbye” on the ABC Special “Dr Pepper Celebrity Party” which aired 11-23-63. In 1963, right after signing with Dr Pepper as their national spokesperson, “The Dr Pepper Girl” co-hosted this ABC-TV Special with Dick Clark. This was the official launch of her new position with the soft-drink company. Her 5-year stint with the company posted Dr Pepper’s largest sales gains in their history to that time. This show was a very unusual live televised Hollywood Party, filmed in 1963 at the home of Bob Marcucci, then manager of Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Johnny Rivers and Lou Christie, among others. Located in the heart of the Sunset Strip on Sunset Plaza Drive, the home was a shocking pink Spanish Villa (previously owned by Laurence Olivier, Anne Baxter and John Hodiak) overflowing on this night with celebs like Donna’s mentor Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Jan Berry with Jill Gibson,  Dean Torrance, Connie Francis, Dick and DeeDee, Johnny Mathis,  Bobby Vinton, Dick Dale, Deborah Walley, Wayne Newton, Bill Medley, Bobby Hatfield, Connie Stevens, Shelly Fabares, George Hamilton, Jack Jones, John Ashley, Bobby Vinton, Paul Peterson, Nick Adams and Trini Lopez.