Spoofs, Sparkle Mix for Holiday Parades

While cardboard RTD (“Really Terrible Drivers”) buses banged into each other and into the crowd watching the 10th annual Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena on Sunday afternoon, Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela led a more traditional group of participants in the 12th annual East Los Angeles Christmas Parade.

And as night fell, about 500,000 people lined Hollywood Boulevard for the 55th annual Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Pasadena police said 250,000 people lined the one-mile, zig-zag route of the Doo Dah Parade, and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies estimated that 275,000 overflowed along the three-mile route of the East Los Angeles parade.

Doo Dah organizer Peter Apanel said this year’s spoof of holiday parades had a more political tone than previous outings. Several of the 157 groups poked fun at President Reagan’s secret sale of arms to Iran, mandatory drug testing and U.S. Atty Gen. Edwin Meese III’s war on pornography.

But there was still plenty of zaniness, including human falling dominoes, a marching six-pack of Corona Beer, a roller-skating Santa Claus dressed in red briefs and a red jacket opened to his navel and, of course, the traditional entry by the Synchronized Briefcase Drill Team.

“It’s cool,” said Matt Schourup, 8, of San Gabriel, who was witnessing his first Doo Dah Parade.

Several miles south of Pasadena, a more traditional collection of drill teams, bands, floats, equestrian units and celebrities paraded along Whittier and Atlantic boulevards in East Los Angeles.

Parade co-chairman E. Daniel Geli said the event, sponsored by the East Los Angeles Jaycess and the Whittier Boulevard Merchants Assn., was the largest in its history.

“This is a real community effort and a real sense of pride because we can showcase our Latino civic leaders and even give our junior high school and elementary school kids their moment in the media spotlight,” Geli said.

Ramon De La Barrera, 66, of East Los Angeles, said he set up his folding chair on the parade route at 9 a.m., four hours before the scheduled start.

“I wanted to make sure I got a good look at Valenzuela,” he said. “This parade isn’t just for kids. There’s something here for everybody.”

Dozens of stars riding in cars and aboard about 20 floats, 15 bands and numerous novelty acts, classic cars and equestrian units were featured in the Hollywood parade, kicking off the film capital’s 100th birthday celebration.

Among the celebrities were Jane Seymour, Angie Dickinson, William Devane, Pia Zadora, Dennis Weaver, Jimmy Stewart and Stevie Wonder.

The singer almost did not make the parade, a spokeswoman for the event said. She said Wonder’s plane from the East Coast arrived late, but thanks to Mayor Tom Bradley, he was picked up at the airport by a Fire Department helicopter, which delivered him in time to ride on a float toward the end of the procession.

The parade was sponsored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Film Development Committee and TV station KTLA.