Stroke of Midnight

Nothing stops Dick Clark, not even a stroke. The 75-year-old teenager, hospitalized this week in Los Angeles for what his reps call a ''mild stroke'' insisted from his hospital bed that he'll be discharged and ready to host his 33rd annual New Year's Rockin' Eve in three weeks. In a statement , he said he ''should be back in the swing of things before too long'' and that he expected to make the Times Square festivities.

Clark announced earlier this year that he has had diabetes for a decade but concealed his condition from everyone except family and close friends. ''He did have a minor stroke and he's in the hospital for that reason but he'll be fine,'' spokeswoman Amy Streibel told Reuters.

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