A Brief History
On September 20, 1982, the television show The $10,000 Pyramid was renamed The $25,000 Pyramid, with its host being American Bandstand and New Year’s Eve impresario Dick Clark. Upon Dick’s death in 2012, CBS reported that his estate was in the “hundreds of millions.” His third and final wife (of 35 years), Kari Wigton, can therefor be said to have hit her own jackpot by hooking up with such a successful Dick. Here we list lucky ladies who can proudly claim they had or have their own “Dick.”
Digging Deeper
10. Kari Wigton, Dick Clark.
Clark’s previous marriages had lasted 9 years each. He would go on to make a fortune on television and in other business ventures, so it might be said his ex-wives had let a good Dick slip out of their hands.
9. Dorothy Maijor, “Tumble Down Dick.”
Dorothy Maijor, also known as “Queen Dick,” was married to Richard Cromwell, son of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Like his father, Old “Tumble Down Dick” also ruled England, Scotland and Ireland, but in his case only for a brief 9 months (1658-1659). During that time, Dorothy had one of the most powerful Dicks in the world, but afterwards, she just had a run down old Dick.
8. Tess Trueheart, Dick Tracy.
Okay, Tess is not a real woman, but then again, how many real women have a Dick? Trueheart teased her Dick for years, before finally marrying him. In those days (1930s-1950s), that was one of the only ways a Dick was going to have sex. Later, there was enough Dick to go around for Lizz Worthington and then for Moon Maid to get a Dick of her own in the 1960s.
7. Dolly Read, Dick Martin.
Dolly Read was a Playboy Playmate who managed to get a Dick of her own, in fact she got the same Dick twice! First, she married comedian and television director Dick Martin in 1971, only to divorce in 1975 and then to remarry in 1978. Unfortunately, Dolly had a used Dick as Martin had been married twice before. (Martin was the Martin of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, a television show that ran from 1968 to 1973.)
6. Barbara Moore, Dick Allen.
Dick Allen was a superb baseball player in the 1960s and 1970s, but Barbara lost her most valuable big black Dick (1972 AL MVP) when he went off looking for a younger woman, as Dicks are sometimes known to do.
5. Susan Armey, Dick Armey.
Everything in Texas seems to be bigger, but for confirmation you might ask Susan about her Dick, a former Congressman from Texas and Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.
4. Raya Vestri, Dick Grayson.
The childhood friend and later love interest of Dick Grayson, better known as Robin, “The Boy Wonder” (Batman’s sidekick) or by his other superhero persona, “Nightwing,” Raya ended up being murdered by poison before she got any Dick.
3. Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent.
Playing alongside her on the television show Bewitched, Montgomery had not one but 2 Dicks! Both of these Dicks played Samantha Stephens’s husband, Darrin.
2. Patricia Nixon, “Tricky Dick” Nixon.
The first lady of the United States had a tricky Dick indeed, however, he was not slippery enough and Congress and people of the U.S. eventually caught on to Richard Nixon’s antics, forcing him out of the Presidency in 1974, and leaving him a sad and droopy Dick.
1. Every Woman Ever Married to a Richard!
As if this article did not have enough innuendos, on a historical note, Richard means “hard ruler.” Maybe that is why Richards are called Dick for short!
Question for students (and subscribers): Do you know anyone who goes by “Dick”? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Jackson, John. American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Empire. Oxford University Press, 1997.
