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 Research Video.

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

External links

• GazzarriDancers.com - History of Hollywood A Go-Go
• GazzarriDancers.com - Hollywood A Go-Go episode guide with original Los Angeles air dates

Notes