(CNN) -- Even after his debilitating stroke eight years ago, even after all the subsequent public appearances and New Year's Eves when his speech was slurred and his once-impeccable timing seemed to have checked out for eternity, Dick Clark still appeared somehow above and beyond normal physical laws. For decades, we had doubted he would ever grow old. This past December 31, you watched and listened as he counted backwards for yet another year, missing no numbers on the short path to 2012. And you thought to yourself: This man cannot be stopped. Like the promise of the U.S. Postal Service: reliable, no matter what the weather, no matter what time of day, month or decade. For almost 60 years, excluding the one immediately after his 2004 stroke, reliable and unstoppable was what Clark was.
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Gene Seymour: It seemed that Dick Clark would defy physical laws, last forever
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Clark was known for New Year's show, but more so for "American Bandstand"
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Seymour: Show was a must-see for kids in the '50s and '60s; it endured even till the '80s
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Seymour: Clark was smooth and with staying power; his loss points out our vulnerability
Dick Clark
Dick Clark
Clark
Clark
As indelible as this gig was, it was only one of many @placeholder had as game-show host, restaurant-chain proprietor, media mogul and music impresario on "American Bandstand."
Dick Clark
Dick Clark
Clark
Clark
These and other @placeholder productions enjoyed longevity that seemed as inexplicable and impregnable as Clark's youthful glow.
New Year
New Year
Another myth, a grail of durability, drifts away, leaving us all feeling a tad more vulnerable -- and, maybe, much emptier -- than we did last @placeholder's.