Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Classic TV: Hullabaloo (1965)

In the wake of ABC's Shindig!, which was halfway through its first season, NBC decided to play monkey see, monkey do, and introduced their own pop music jamboree.

Hullabaloo premiered in January 1965, and ran for 2 seasons. Like ABC's Hootenanny, it went from a 1/2-hour format in the 1st season to a hour-long format in the 2nd, but declining interest, it seems, contributed to the show's demise. Unlike Hootenanny & Shindig!, which had a host in place, Hullabaloo went with a different host each week, a practice continued today by another NBC series, Saturday Night Live.

Some of the talent associated with Hullabaloo went on to bigger things. Writers Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth moved to CBS and created Hee Haw, the original Happy Days (a short-lived comedy variety series hosted by Louis Nye in 1970), and produced the Harlem Globetrotters' Saturday morning Popcorn Machine (1974-5). Dancer Patrick Adiarte would later resurface during the early years of M*A*S*H as Ho John, Hawkeye & Trapper John's sidekick.

Following is a sample clip, with father & son hosts Jerry & Gary Lewis:



Edit, 3/1/18: Had to change the video. This one has open captioning, and you'll see future star Goldie Hawn with the dance troupe.

No rating.

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