PARADE GONE BY
Disinterest from stars and broadcasters could mean the end of Hollywood's annual holiday parade
Disinterest from stars and broadcasters could mean the end of Hollywood's annual holiday parade
This year's Hollywood Christmas Parade could be its last. Now in its 73rd year, the Tinseltown tradition once known as the world's biggest celebrity parade has lost its luster, thanks, in part, to the dereliction of contemporary stars and the disinterest of broadcasters.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has had to dig into its own pockets in recent years to keep the parade afloat. In order for the parade to generate enough money to support its existence, the chamber relies on securing A-list celebrities to seduce broadcasters into airing the event, which in turn draws sponsors. Without the big names of film and television, the parade is doomed.
"We are, frankly, in danger of losing this major Southern California tradition if we can't find a way to solve these problems that we're facing," says Leron Gubler, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which produces the event. "The Rose Parade, it's the floats. The Macy's Parade, it's the balloons. Our hook [is] the celebrities. That's what makes this parade unique ... . We need the celebrities back. We need their support."
This year, Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, came out of retirement to produce the parade, which he ran with great success from 1978 to 1998. "I watched it go downhill," Grant says. "Last year they ran over to me at the last minute and they said, 'Geez, you gotta be our Grand Marshall.' I joked with them then, I said, 'Well, if I'm the best you can do, I better take this parade over again.' And, lo and behold, here I am."
In April, Grant made an impassioned plea to the Chamber, which was considering calling off this year's parade. "We were facing a major loss," Gubler says. "Unless the board voted to make up that loss, there was no way we could have gone forward." Grant convinced the group to dig into their reserves to give the tradition one last shot.
When Grant stepped down in '98, longtime partner KTLA backed out of airing the parade due to declining ratings, and Tribune Entertainment also decided to no longer syndicate it across the country. In 2002, it seemed the event had found a stable broadcast home when NBC agreed to air the parade, but the network declined to pick it up again the following year. Without solid television coverage, it was difficult to get the stars to come out, and without the stars, sponsorship - and revenues - declined.
Even during Grant's original tenure, celebrity interest began to wane. The chamber hired Grant in '78 in hopes that the radio and television personality could dig into his deep well of celebrity contacts to revitalize the ailing parade. Grant, who also serves as chairman of the selection committee for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, quickly transformed the parade from a local pageant to a nationally televised event. But, over the years, it became more difficult to book top-level celebrities. And Grant, 81, who knew Ronald Reagan and Frank Sinatra simply as "Ronnie" and "Frank," admits he's not as in touch with the young stars.
The Hollywood Christmas Parade, once known as the Santa Claus Lane Parade, began in 1928, when local merchants lined Hollywood Boulevard with 100 lighted fir trees harvested from the forests of Big Bear. The event drew international attention, and over the years, the biggest names of Hollywood were there to herald the beginning of the Holiday season. In the '30s, Bette Davis rode with Santa Claus in his sleigh as an incontinent baby lion sat on her lap.
Grant and the Chamber hope that their effort to save the parade will pay off, demonstrating to broadcasters and sponsors that the public, which lines the streets of the parade at an estimated 1 million, still treasures the tradition. Their work has already paid off, with former Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson set to serve as Grand Marshall, and KTLA lined up to air the event live on November 28. Other confirmed actors in the parade include Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett, George Lopez, and members of the cast of Desperate Housewives. Kate Linder of The Young and the Restless will ride in the parade for the third time this year. "I'm thrilled to be doing the parade," Linder says. "I love it. It's really fun."
More celebrities will have to join them if the parade is to survive. Grant says he understands that today's movie actors are under more pressure than their predecessors, but he's heard enough excuses. "They're in a more demanding business now and when they get time off, they take off," he says. "That doesn't mean they don't have some kind of a commitment, an obligation, to the community they live in and on whose reputation they have made theirs."Published: 11/18/2004
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT
