Hollywood a Go-Go

Hollywood a Go-Go was a Los Angeles-based music variety show that ran in syndication from 1965 to 1966. The show was hosted by Sam Riddle, with music by The Sinners and dancing by The Gazzarri Dancers. It was filmed at the KHJ-TV studios in Los Angeles. Rights to surviving footage of the show (preserved on kinescope film) are now represented by Retro Video, Inc.

Hollywood a Go-Go
Directed byJoe Agnello
StarringSam Riddle
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes52
Production
Executive producerAl Burton
Camera setupEigel Pedersen
Marsh Theemling
Fred Anzalone
Bill Buck
Doug Schneider
Running time60 mins.
Production companyFour Star Television
Release
Original networkSyndication
Original release1965 (1965) –
1966 (1966)

History

The program originated as a local series, Ninth Street West, on KHJ-TV (Channel 9) in 1964, which proved to be such a success that it transformed into the nationally syndicated Hollywood a Go-Go.[1] Its original syndicator was Four Star Television. The first episode of Hollywood a Go-Go aired in March 1965 and ceased production in 1966, with some television stations airing the show as late as the summer of 1966. In its brief run (52 episodes), the show featured various well-known acts. The Sinners were the house band featuring Eddie Kaplan on lead guitar.

After viewing the debut episode in 1965, a Billboard reviewer wrote:

One gets the feeling of being amidst a Zulu uprising or witnessing a contemporary interpretation of Dante's Inferno. Host Sam Riddle...introduces his guests shouting at the top of his voice to the accompaniment of jungle drums (there must be a message in there somewhere). The set is reminiscent of a speakeasy or a prison yard with its stone wall backdrop...During the lip-synched performances of the guest artists, members of the Gazzari [sic] dancers swing, sway, weave and gyrate with flailing arms from a postage stamp sized stage, step ladders and other lofty perches...The tempo is mostly upbeat with the emphasis on the driving, breast-beating sounds. With more than half of this nation's population seen to be under 25 years of age, there is much practical economics in this programming.[2]

List of performers

Notes
  1. Austen, Jake (2005). TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol. Chicago Review Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-56976-241-7.
  2. Faggen, Gil (13 March 1965), "Hollywood A Go Go", Billboard, retrieved 30 July 2020


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