Stroke survivors cheer Clark’s New Year’s show

Will Clark hand off his New Year's duties?
A doctor who treats stroke survivors said Clark’s determination to go ahead with his appearance is just the kind of goal that often helps patients with their recovery.

“In many diseases the emotional component — the determination to fight and pursue recovery — is part of the recovery itself,” said Dr. Pierre Fayad, medical director of neurology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

One stroke survivor said he would have preferred to see Clark use his appearance to spend some time promoting stroke awareness. “It’s great to see that he’s come back, but it doesn’t tell the whole story,” said Haven Moses, a former NFL player with the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos who suffered a stroke at age 56.

Though it may be unusual to see a celebrity like Clark display impairment from a stroke so publicly, other well-known entertainers such as Kirk Douglas, Julie Harris and Patricia Neal have done so. Both Douglas and Neal appeared in films following their strokes. A rehabilitation center in Tennessee is named after Neal.

Preliminary ratings from big-city markets showed that Clark’s broadcast on ABC drew more people than competitors Carson Daly on NBC and Regis Philbin on Fox combined, according to Nielsen Media Research. “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” ratings were up 15 percent over last year, when Philbin filled in.

Television analyst Marc Berman of Media Week Online said that while Clark’s appearance was brave, he’s not sure ABC would want him to continue playing a major role in future New Year’s Eve broadcasts if his condition doesn’t improve markedly. ABC and Clark’s production company have already signed a long-term deal with Ryan Seacrest, who co-hosted this year, to make the “American Idol” host the New Year’s Eve heir apparent.

“We’ve already seen what [Clark] looks like,” said Berman. “The curiosity factor is gone.”

As for Clark himself, he was in a “terrific” mood after the show, said his spokesman, Paul Shefrin. “He got done and five or six of us went out for a hamburger,” he said. “He absolutely feels like he did the right thing.” He said Clark will likely sit down in the next few weeks to decide what he wants to do about the future.

“He has never said this would be his last year,” he said. “It’s up to him.”

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