Folks who have read this journal for a while know that I’m into history and tradition. Thus, I feel obliged to note that the Hollywood Christmas Parade, formerly known as the “Santa Claus Lane Parade” is dead. Why? Rising costs and shrinking revenues.
The Hollywood Christmas Parade began in 1928 to draw Los Angeles residents into Hollywood shops and stores. There were always celebrities, with the biggest fake celebrity bringing up the rear. In many ways, this was the Los Angeles equivalent of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. The parade made money from the fees from broadcast advertising.
So what killed it? A vicious circle. The nature of the celebrity culture changed. The film celebrities of today are very different than the celebrities of the 40s and 50s. Back then, the studios made the major celebrities appear. Today, fewer film celebrities are involved. Television celebrities have also changed, as there are more niche shows and less “big” celebrities. Compare the draw of the cast of “The Brady Bunch” in the 1970s vs. the draw of the cast of “7th Heaven” in 2006. As celebrity participation drops, viewership drops. Adding to that, there is less interest in the other accoutraments of parades: they never telecast the bands, and only can only watch Monty Montana so many times. Does George Putnam even show up on his horse anymore? Is he even still alive?
So, with declining viewership, revenue drops. It was getting harder and harder to get the celebrities. In 2006, KTLA pressed stars of its CW Network shows to participate, and the chamber hired what officials described as “celebrity wranglers” to line up such entertainers as grand marshal George Lopez, honorary grand marshal Regis Philbin and entertainers Brooke Hogan, Michael Bolton and Shawn Wayans. That still didn’t help. For 2007, KTLA-TV Channel 5 (the only station willing to pay the chamber a broadcast fee) was willing to televise it again this year, but they were going to have to cut their production costs by using fewer cameras and less nighttime lighting. This would mean even fewer celebrities.
So, a tradition has died. The streets will no longer be blockaded the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
R.I.P. Hollywood Christmas Parade.