Not everybody loves this parade

For Michelle Sawers, the bottom line Sunday night was that no matter what, she and her family got to watch a holiday parade along Hollywood Boulevard.

“It’s a family tradition,” said Sawers, who was surrounded by her four young children and her father near North Cherokee Avenue. “It’s on the agenda every year. It’s the kickoff to our Christmas season.”

The 40-year-old Highland Park resident was part of a crowd that police estimated at 125,000 to 150,000, who watched the Hollywood Santa Parade -- an event that almost did not happen.

In March, it looked as though the 79-year-old parade, formerly the Hollywood Christmas Parade, had finally run its course. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced it would no longer hold the event after facing a $100,000 deficit in producing last year’s $1-million parade. Chamber officials estimated they would lose twice as much money if they held the event again this year.

In its heyday, such stars as Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, Natalie Wood and Gene Autry dazzled the crowd, waving from convertibles. The entertainers were often bound by their studio contracts to make an appearance. As recently as a decade ago, an estimated three-quarters of a million people lined the streets to watch the parade.

But beginning in 1998, officials struggled to secure television contracts that could guarantee celebrities the exposure they needed. The difficulty only worsened each year as more TV stations balked at broadcasting the event for lack of big-name celebrities.

Over the last three years, the chamber was offered broadcast fees from only one station, KTLA-TV Channel 5, which is owned by the Los Angeles Times’ parent company, the Tribune Co. This year, KTLA didn’t broadcast the parade live and instead will air it Dec. 16 at noon.

Last year’s parade was led by Regis Philbin, Hulk Hogan, George Lopez and Michael Bolton for a smaller crowd than organizers hoped would attend. The event seemed unsalvageable.

But city leaders refused to accept the parade’s demise. They raised $260,000 -- $60,000 from the city and the rest from sponsors -- to hold the event this year and pledged to do the same next year.

“I know it’s tough for traffic and I know it’s tough getting every celebrity you want, but when you get this many people coming out each year, it’s tough to say no,” Councilman Eric Garcetti, whose office led the effort to revive the parade, said Sunday. “We tried to keep the tradition alive.”

Organizers hastily drummed up support from actors such as Rex Lee from HBO’s “Entourage” and Tony Plana from ABC’s “Ugly Betty.” Rip Taylor, Casey Kasem and dog psychologist Cesar Milan also made their way along the route, which took them east on Hollywood Boulevard and west on Sunset Boulevard.

Paparazzi at the red carpet before the parade could be overheard moaning about the dim star wattage.

Along the route, some of the participants received lukewarm cheers from the audience.

“It’s really C-list,” said Brandon Thomas, 25, leaning against a store window near Hollywood and Highland. “Yeah, they got Bob Barker, but he’s been around forever.”

Robert Mancillas, Sawers’ father, turned to his grandchildren when the pop group T-Squad slowly passed by and asked, “T-Squad?”

The children looked back, unable to explain who they were.

When it came to ranking recognizable celebrities, the Sawers family said it was television icon Bob Barker, cast members of Disney’s “High School Musical” and then a lot of “Who’s that?”

Another drawback, they said, was that the entries appeared spaced farther apart than in previous parades.

“It just seems so quiet,” said Sawers, who came equipped with folding chairs, pizzas, chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate. “Even last year wasn’t like this.”

Among those greeted with clapping, cheers and whistling was Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

For parade watchers such as Brenda Ramirez, the event had more to do with soaking in the atmosphere than seeing famous people and dignitaries.

“I’m into the lights and bands,” said Ramirez, 44, of La Habra.

“There’s no comparison to the Rose Parade, but I always wanted to see this. When I heard they were about to cancel it, I thought I had better come,” Ramirez said.

david.pierson@latimes.com