In 1958, he continued his Saturday night television legacy, launching "Al Rucker and the Seven Teens" program on WJAR-TV, Providence, Rhode Island. Upon arrival in New York City during 1959, he was asked to change his name. He chose Clay Cole, the name of a distant cousin. His dance program became known as "The Clay Cole Show". It originally was broadcast on WNTA-TV (later PBS station WNET-TV). When WNTA-TV was sold in 1963, Cole's program was picked up by New York City television station WPIX-TV, where the program became known as "Clay Cole's Discotek" by 1965. One of his other shows, "Clay Cole at the Moon Bowl", was broadcast from the Freedomland U.S.A. theme park in The Bronx during 1963 on WPIX-TV. Chuck McCann was his announcer sidekick. Cole and this show, along with his other connections to Freedomland, are featured in the book, "Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History" (Theme Park Press, 2019).