And Pasadena Has Its Doo Dah : Stars Shine for Hollywood Parade

Hollywood officially begins its centennial celebration Sunday when 100 film, television and recording stars join in a salute to the film capital during the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Heading the lengthy list of stars are Jimmy Stewart, parade grand marshal in 1977, and first-time participant Stevie Wonder.

A less traditional parade, the Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena, will step off Sunday at noon from Fair Oaks Avenue and Union Street. Featured in this spoof on holiday parades are the usual cast of zanies, like the Synchronized Briefcase Drill Team. It’s been a wild and crazy holiday season event since 1978, and organizers promise it won’t be any saner this year.

The folks at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce say their parade will feature 100 stars and celebrities, as well as floats, antique cars, marching bands and Santa Claus.

“This year’s parade is going to be the biggest thing we’ve had in Hollywood,” promised Johnny Grant, vice president of public affairs at KTLA who serves as the parade’s executive producer. “It’s an appropriate kickoff for the 100th birthday.”

Under Grant’s direction, the Hollywood Christmas Parade has made a comeback as a celebrity draw. Nine years ago, as Grant is the first to admit, the parade had become a financial burden for its sponsor, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and parade organizers practically had to beg celebrities to participate in it.

“Now,” Grant said, “people call us wanting to be in it. It’s been quite a turn-around since the late ‘70s.”

This season’s parade, beginning at 6 p.m. at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue, features Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as grand marshals. Walter Lantz will be on hand with his Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda. Alvin the Chipmunk will be there, and so will Ben Vereen and the cast of TV’s “Zoobilee Zoo.”

There will be a special float honoring motion picture cowboys, with Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Monte Hale, Iron Eyes Cody (as the Indian representative), Richard Farnsworth and country western singer Eddie Dean aboard.

Autry immortalized the parade in 1946 when he wrote a song about it called “Here Comes Santa Claus.” He said he came up with the idea for the Christmas song when he was riding down Hollywood Boulevard in the parade and heard the children shouting, “Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus.”

According to Grant, who also is the executive producer of the Hollywood Centennial Celebration, the parade will be the first of 100 events to mark Hollywood’s birthday.