CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER : Why the Tinsel Came Out Early in Tinseltown

While it has been said that Halloween lasts the entire year on Hollywood Boulevard, the Christmas season usually doesn’t start its engagement until mid-November.

But there they were Monday, four sweating workers with a truck and a hydraulic ladder, stringing plastic garlands and candles across the street of stars in 88-degree weather.

Christmas in October--80 days early? It sounded like some commercial ploy out of Stan Freberg’s satirical record “Green Christmas” (“We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas--and please buy our beer!”).

Movie Props

But it wasn’t what it seemed--this is Hollywood, after all. Warner Bros. had simply paid the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to string up the decorations five weeks early so the studio could shoot some holiday-season scenes for a Mel Gibson movie with the cheery title of “Lethal Weapon.”

“I guess we’ve set a world record for the earliest Christmas,” said Bill Welsh, the president of the chamber. “But we’re just trying to follow through on our pledge to help keep the entertainment industry in California.”

Whatever the reason, some passers-by were short on holiday spirit, said Don Hubbard, crew foreman of the American Decorating Co., which was installing the adornments.

“We’ve been taking some flak from drivers,” said Hubbard, standing by his truck in the middle of the boulevard. “They yell stuff at us. Usually, we don’t come up here until just before Thanksgiving. I guess some people don’t want to think about Christmas yet and how expensive it can be.”

Hubbard seemed to feel that under the circumstances--and the heat--a bit of Scroogism was understandable. He didn’t even risk making things worse by donning his traditional T-shirt--the one that says, “Yes, we are putting up Christmas decorations. No, we don’t think it’s too early.”

One sidewalk spectator, Dwight Cohen, came to a halt on his skateboard and said: “It looks kinda bogus. But I try not to look at anything on Hollywood Boulevard. I just mind my own business.” Then he sped off.

Passer-by Frank Steffen, 74, apprised of the purpose of the decorations, scoffed:

“Why don’t they make a movie about the freaks along here? Didn’t use to be this way when I came here in ’38. Everyone wore a suit along here then. Guy like him (pointing to a shirtless, long-haired youth), why he wouldn’t get half a block before the cops got him.”

A store owner took a more positive view: “I think it’s fine. Anything to dress up the street.”

And a young man, wearing a cape, one earring and a Mohawk haircut (dyed red), studied the decorations and said to no one in particular:

“Groo-vy.”