Hollywood Christmas Parade

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National Santa Tim Connaghan appeared for over 20 years as Santa for the Hollywood Christmas Parade. Hollywood Christmas parade The Hollywood Christmas Parade (formerly the Hollywood Santa Parade and Santa Claus Lane Parade) is an annual parade held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It follows a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) route along Hollywood Boulevard, then back along Sunset Boulevard, featuring various celebrities. Traditionally, Santa Claus appears at the end.

[edit] 1900s[edit] Beginning in 1928, Hollywood merchants transformed a one-mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard into "Santa Claus Lane" to boost shopping. Part of the promotion was a daily parade featuring Santa Claus and a film star. Originally called the Santa Claus Lane Parade, the inaugural event featured only Santa Claus and the actress Jeanette Loff.

Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, National Santa and Honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant at Hollywood Christmas Parade. The parade continued to grow in scale with the help of local businesses and the community. In 1931, Santa Claus rode a truck-pulled float instead of the reindeer-pulled carriage of previous years. American Legion Post 43 marched with a color guard, drum line, and bugle corps. The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 due to World War II and reopened in 1945 with record attendance. In 1947, Gene Autry asked his vice president and business partner songwriter Oakley Haldeman, to write a Christmas song for Autry's first Grand Marshall appearance at that years Santa Claus Lane Christmas parade. It was wife Dixie Haldeman who came up with the title verse "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" on June 21, 1947. Autry would become a perennial Grand Marshal of the parade thereafter. The parade continued to grow throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, adding floats, animals, bands and celebrities. By 1978, the parade had been renamed the Hollywood Christmas Parade in order to attract more celebrities, and was broadcast locally on KTLA (which was purchased by Autry's Golden West Broadcasters in 1964) with the help of Autry and Johnny Grant. This change coincided with a shift in the parade's scheduling from Thanksgiving Eve to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and continued to be a decades-long tradition on Los Angeles's channel 5, even after Autry's sale of KTLA to KKR in 1982, then Tribune Broadcasting in 1985.

2000s[edit] In 2002, an attempt to present the parade as a primetime special on NBC sponsored by Blockbuster imperiled the future of the parade, as the presentation was lowly-rated. Renamed the Blockbuster Hollywood Christmas Spectacular and produced by Bob Bain, the parade was nearly completely dispensed with for pre-recorded and rehearsed spotlights in the vein of NBC's popular Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, pre-recorded musical performances from LeAnn Rimes and Destiny's Child to promote their new holiday albums, along with much lower wattage star power, as most of the celebrities highlighted were either older or lower-tier actors exclusively starring on NBC series. Inexplicably, the special ended with a completely unrelated stunt involving a 170 foot (52 m) fall by stuntperson Mikal Kartvedt off a 12-story building to promote the Blockbuster-exclusive home video rental release of the film XXX (the actual parade would air without any of the Bain-produced elements on Christmas morning on KCOP-TV). The following year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced it would discontinue airing the parade on KTLA and other Tribune Broadcasting stations due to rising production costs. In March 2007, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided to end the parade's run due to lack of celebrities and a loss of $100,000 for the 2006 production, which The Associated Press said cost about $1 million to mount. However, later in 2007, the City of Los Angeles created a new parade to replace the Hollywood Christmas Parade, entitled the Hollywood Santa Parade and produced on the weekend after Thanksgiving (the original parade had traditionally been held on the Wednesday evening before the holiday). Participation in the new parade became by invitation only, and Bob Barker, fresh from his farewell tapings as host of The Price Is Right, was that year's Parade Grand Marshal. 2007 and 2008, KTLA aired the new parade on a tape-delayed basis. It was later announced that MyNetworkTV would telecast the 2009 parade (with the Hollywood Christmas Parade name restored) in two consecutive prime-time showings: the first scheduled for December 10, the second for Christmas Eve night. The parade has since been produced annually by Associated Television International, which then coordinated airings on the Hallmark Channel, and in traditional syndication in later years. Since 2015, the parade has been recorded and edited, then aired as a part of The CW's annual holiday programming, still being produced by ATI (thus airing on KTLA locally as a part of the CW lineup). Lifestyle also carries the parade internationally. The parade was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, a TV special titled The Hollywood Christmas Parade Greatest Moments premiered on December 4, 2020 on The CW.

[edit] 1928 - Jeanette Loff 1932 - Joe E. Brown 1939 - Gene Autry 1940 Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz Joan Leslie Roy Rogers Harry Sherman 1941 - Irene Rich 1948 - Bob Hope 1949–1951 Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz 1957 - Art Linkletter 1958 - Lawrence Welk 1959 - Charlton Heston 1960, 1981 - Dale Evans and Roy Rogers 1961 - Gene Autry 1962 - Danny Thomas 1963 - Mary Pickford 1964 - Dick Van Dyke 1965 - Robert Vaughn 1966 - Pat Boone 1967 - Fred MacMurray 1968 - Buddy Ebsen 1969 - Walter Matthau 1970 - Ernest Borgnine 1971 - Johnny Mathis 1972 - General Robert E. Cushman Jr. 1973 - Danny Thomas 1974 - John Wayne 1975 - Lawrence Welk 1976 - General Omar Bradley 1977 - Jimmy Stewart 1978 - Bob Hope 1979 - Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood 1980 - Gene Autry 1982 - Ron Howard 1983 - George Peppard 1984 - Michael Landon 1985 - William Shatner 1986 - Mickey and Minnie Mouse 1987 - James Stewart 1988 - Tony Danza 1989 - Sammy Davis Jr. 1990 - Arnold Schwarzenegger 1991 - Charlton Heston 1992 - Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr 1993 - Bob and Dolores Hope 1994 - Louis Gossett Jr. 1995 - Tony Danza 1996 - David Hasselhoff 1997 - Tom Arnold 1998 - Robert Urich 1999 - Beau Bridges 2000 - Dennis Hopper and Frankie Muñiz 2001 - Peter Fonda 2002 - Mickey Rooney 2003 - Johnny Grant 2004 - Magic Johnson 2005 - Antonio Villaraigosa 2006 - George Lopez 2007 - Bob Barker 2008 - Joy and Regis Philbin 2009 - Susan Lucci 2010 - Larry King 2011 - Marie Osmond 2012 - Joe Mantegna 2013 - Buzz Aldrin 2014 - Stevie Wonder 2015 - Penn & Teller 2016 - Olivia Newton-John 2017 - Mehmet C. Oz 2018 - Nancy O'Dell 2019 - Mario López 2021 - Sheryl Underwood 2022 - Danny Trejo 2023 - Paris Davis 2024 - Jeremy Renner 2025 - Luke Wilson 2026 - Bugs and Lola Bunny

[edit] Official website Hollywood Christmas Parade (seeing-stars) Hollywood Christmas Parade (Chamber of Commerce) vteAssociated Television InternationalAward shows 36th Daytime Emmy Awards 36th Annual Gracie Awards 37th Daytime Emmy Awards 38th Daytime Emmy Awards Cable television shows Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp Hollywood Christmas Parade Marie Syndication shows Elizabeth Stanton's Great Big World Laura McKenzie's Traveler Masters of Illusion The World's Funniest Moments This Just In World's Funniest Animals

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The Hollywood Christmas Parade turned a simple post‑Thanksgiving stroll into a citywide ritual because it marries two British‑style traditions: the march of street entertainers and the spectacle of celebrity. By threading the route through the iconic Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, the event turns the neighbourhood into a stage where film stars, pop acts and local schools share the limelight with Santa himself. The timing, just after Thanksgiving, dovetails with the start of the festive season in the UK, giving viewers a chance to kick‑off Christmas shopping and parties with a dose of Hollywood glamour. Over the years, the parade’s consistency – the same 3.5‑mile loop, the same Santa at the finish – has forged a sense of continuity that families return to year after year, making it a recognised part of the transatlantic Christmas calendar.

The route may sound simple, but navigating the crowds on Hollywood Boulevard and then Sunset requires a plan. Arrive early at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland to claim a spot near the starting line; the early crowd is usually families with children who want a clear view of the opening floats. If you prefer a more relaxed experience, consider watching from the Sunset side, where the parade slows for a short pause before the final stretch. Public transport is your ally – the Metro Red Line drops you at Hollywood/Highland, and the Metro Purple Line also loops nearby. Dress warmly, bring a portable charger, and pack a small snack, as the walk can stretch over an hour and the winter evenings can turn brisk.

Many assume the parade is a showcase of A‑list movie stars, but the reality is a blend of local talent, community groups and corporate sponsors. While a few big‑name names do appear, the majority of the floats are sponsored by charities, schools and small businesses eager to reach a festive audience. The presence of Santa at the end is more about tradition than a Hollywood endorsement; the role has been filled by community volunteers for decades. Understanding this mix helps viewers appreciate the parade’s grassroots vibe rather than expecting a red‑carpet gala. It also highlights why supporting the accompanying charity drives adds an extra layer of holiday goodwill.