Conceived in 1978 by several friends, including Peter Apanel, Ted Wright, Charles "Skip" Finnell, among others, sitting in a bar called "Chromo's" (which no longer exists) in Pasadena, as an irreverent alternative to the traditional formality of the Rose Parade, which is also held in Pasadena. In 1978, January 1st fell on a Sunday, and the Rose Parade, which typically takes place on January 1, will not march on a Sunday. So they decided it would be fun to have an alternate parade on January 1 that year. Some of the early participants were Wright as first Grand Marshall, Snotty Scotty and the Hankies, The Lawn Mower Drill Team, The Briefcase Drill Team and General Hershey Bar, among many others. It was the first Pasadena Doo Dah Parade.
From November of 1990 this is the first televised broadcast of the notable parade. The historic, now defunct KCOP-13 displayed extraordinary balls and showed this live without any fancy delays or anything. Suffice it to say, no network big or small would ever do this in the present. This is expressionism and free-flowing creativity at it's American best. Everyone's favorite Richard Simmons and everyone's favorite for real Vicki Lawrence are the hosts, very obviously working sans script but bringing plenty of off the cuff funny. This is SO much fun and still holds up nicely after 20 years.
The Doo Dah Parade (1990) (TV)
Hosts: Richard Simmons, Vicki Lawrence Schultz
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