"The hardest thing in the business is to be yourself, and no one knew that better than Dick Clark," King said.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Clark in its nonperformer category in 1993.

Singer Donny Osmond said Clark was one of a kind: "If someone cannot fill your shoes, you are a legend. And Dick Clark was a legend."

Clark's passing follows by less than three months the death of another TV dance show icon, Don Cornelius, the creator of "Soul Train." Cornelius was found dead of what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Los Angeles February 1. He was 75.

Clark, who was married three times, is survived by his wife, Kari, two sons and a daughter.