Rock 'n' roll sellout

Dick Clark has had few equals as a salesman. "I don't make culture," he has long said. "I sell it."

His high school classmates voted him "Most Likely to Sell the Brooklyn Bridge. " Instead, Clark has spent his career selling everything from awards shows and blooper compilations to, above all, rock 'n' roll. Alan Freed may have named the music, but it was Clark who had no rival as a middle man in selling it to middle America through his television show, "American Bandstand."

Don't underestimate the importance of Clark's salesmanship. Chuck Berry certainly didn't. " 'Cause they'll be rockin' on 'Bandstand,'/In Philadelphia, P.A. ," he sang in "Sweet Little Sixteen " ("American Bandstand" first originated in Philadelphia).

Now Clark's salesmanship has extended to his attic. Items from the Dick Clark Collection go up for bid tonight and tomorrow at the New York auction house Guernsey's . Proceeds from the auction go to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which does medical research.

A self-described "pack rat," Clark is putting on the block more than 900 rock-related items: photographs, autographs, clothes, posters, and gold and platinum records.

Perhaps you've been looking for a baby grand piano. Why not bid on one once owned by Jerry Lee Lewis and autographed by Lewis, Carl Perkins , Roy Orbison , Chubby Checker , and Clark?

Or there's Clark's personal Wurlitzer jukebox, a vintage 750E dating from the early 1940s. Several records come with it, but you could stock the jukebox with 45s featuring performers who made their network television debut s on "Bandstand." That could make for a pretty good playlist. Performers who'd qualify include Berry, Lewis, James Brown , Buddy Holly , Jackie Wilson , Ike and Tina Turner , Aretha Franklin , Stevie Wonder , Smokey Robinson and the Miracles , Talking Heads , and Madonna .

The Beatles famously made their network television debut elsewhere. That didn't keep Clark from collecting Beatles-iana. The two choicest items up for auction are the address book of Brian Epstein , the group's manager, and a Höfner bass guitar bearing not one but two autographs from the world's most famous left-handed bassist, Paul McCartney.

This is a big month for Clark. Once the auction's over, he has just a few weeks to get ready for the 35th "New Year's Rockin' Eve " broadcast on ABC. Tempted though Clark might have been, Times Square isn't among the items up for auction.

MARK FEENEY

Lance Bass and his boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl, have called it quits, People magazine reported yesterday on its website. Bass, who was part of the boy band 'N Sync, revealed earlier this year that he is gay and was in a relationship with the 32-year-old former Air Force captain and winner of season four of CBS's "Amazing Race." The 27-year-old singer told People in July that he didn't earlier disclose his sexuality because he didn't want to affect 'N Sync's popularity.

George Clooney's beloved potbelly pig Max has died, Clooney's publicist said yesterday. Max, 19, lived at the Oscar-winning actor's Hollywood Hills home and died "peacefully" of natural causes on Friday, said Stan Rosenfield . Clooney, 45, who owned the hog for 18 years and reportedly once said the porker was his longest relationship, told USA Today, "I was really surprised, because he's been a big part of my life." Another Clooney pet -- his bulldog Bud -- died earlier this year .

Actor Rip Torn was arrested yesterday in a suburb of New York City after a collision, State Police said. No one was hurt in the crash in North Salem . Torn, 75, refused a sobriety test and will be arraigned on a charge of driving while intoxicated, police said.

Pete Doherty hugged fans outside a London court after a judge ruled he will not serve jail time for possession of drugs. District Judge Jane McIvor ordered the Babyshambles singer yesterday to pay $1,525 in fines and court costs, and ordered him not to drive for four months. Doherty, 27, was arrested in April on charges of possession of less than 2 grams each of heroin, cannabis, and cocaine, three hours after he was sentenced to two years of community service for previous drug offenses. He was arrested again Aug. 7 with a crack pipe and a small amount of crack cocaine, and pleaded guilty Aug. 18 to all five counts.

'I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS. At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute.' David Letterman, after CBS announced yesterday that he has signed a contract to stay on the air until at least 2010

FROM WIRE REPORTS

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.