Meet The Legendary Producer Allan Carr!
As we enter “Oscar season”, the history of this award is something I love to look back on. This leads me to one of Hollywood’s most flamboyant and entertaining Producers, the legendary Allan Carr!
Here he is with Bob Hope, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell – and that appears to be Corey Feldman over Hope’s shoulder…you see, in the 70’s, Allan Carr was one of Hollywood’s most successful Producers, and was behind some of the town’s biggest hits – as well as the worst debacle in Oscar history!
“Party Animals: A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr” – by Robert Hofler.
I read this book awhile ago, and I recommend it for anyone who loves entertainment and the wild and crazy times of the hedonistic 70’s.
This book looks at Carr’s years in Hollywood, both good and bad!
Here is how the book is described:
“Allan Carr was Hollywood’s premier party-thrower during the town’s most hedonistic era—the cocaine-addled, sexually indulgent 1970s. Hosting outrageous soirees with names like the Mick Jagger/Cycle Sluts Party and masterminding such lavishly themed opening nights as the Tommy/New York City subway premiere, it was Carr, an obese, caftan-wearing producer — the ultimate outsider — who first brought movie stars and rock stars, gays and straights, Old and New Hollywood together.”
As a Producer, Carr had the massive hit “Grease” and the Broadway smash “La Cage aux Folles”, and seemed to have a “Midas touch” for what the world wanted for entertainment, but then he made a few disastrous decisions: first, he made a sequel to the beloved “Grease” without John Travolta or Olivia Newton-John, the stars of the first film!
A very young Michelle Pfeiffer starred in the sequel, which bombed badly…then, Carr decided to make another lavish musical – this one with a confounding cast and Director!
“Can’t Stop The Music!”
As the poster says “The Musical Event Of The 80’s”!
Producer Carr decided to capture the “disco craze” of the late 70’s by doing a big budget musical extravaganza starring Steve Guttenberg, the Village People and Bruce Jenner!
Before I shock you with who directed this film, check out the trailer!
Go Go Nancy!
Oh, and since it was a lavish musical, they decided to get aging “character actress/never-directed-before so let’s have her do it” Nancy Walker behind the camera to direct it!
Walker was best known for her role as Rhoda’s mother on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
“YMCA!”
The movie stars The Village People, who sang one of disco’s catchiest songs of all time. But if this scene hints at where this film goes, it doesn’t end there!
“Can’t Unsee This Image!”
Yes, that’s Bruce Jenner – and that’s his outfit he parades around in for much of the film!
Along with Steve Guttenberg, Bruce Jenner runs around New York City in Daisy Dukes and a bare midriff, with a shrunken tee shirt!
Because it’s a musical – and because it stars the imcomparable Village People, there are a variety of wildly over the top musical sequences!
Run out in a buying frenzy to get your hands on this “what were they think?” film…and if you need more of the worst films ever committed to celluloid, check out my list here – which includes one of the most distasteful uses of classic Beatles songs ever:
So, after “Grease 2” and “Can’t Stop The Music”, Carr must have regrouped and comeback strong, right?
Oh no…Allan Carr’s worst debacle was still to come…
“Snow White” Bombs At The Oscars!
At the end of the 80’s, the pinnacle of Carr’s fall from grace took place when he produced the 1989 Academy Awards show – and started the show with a tone-deaf musical number that had Rob Lowe serenading Snow White, a fiasco that made Carr an outcast, and is still widely considered to be the worst Oscar show ever.
“What A Bunch Of Coconuts!”
Yes, Carr was skewered by Hollywood for the infamous opening production number in which Merv Griffin sang “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts!” amid an onstage re-creation of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub before turning the stage over to a high-pitched Snow White, who boogalooed with Rob Lowe to the tune of “Proud Mary.”
The Academy Strikes Back!
The fallout from this show was immediate.
As author Robert Hofler wrote in the book:
“Allan tried to reinvent the Oscars through camp comedy.”
It was a disaster.
In an open letter, 17 prominent Hollywood figures, including past Academy president Gregory Peck, proclaimed the ceremony:
“an embarrassment to both the Academy and the entire motion picture industry. It is neither fitting nor acceptable that the best work in motion pictures be acknowledged in such a demeaning fashion.”
Carr’s One Oscar Change That Stuck…
Carr died in 1999, but one thing about that Oscar debacle? He came up with the idea of changing “and the winner is…” to “and the Oscar goes to…”, something that has been used ever since.
The book is fast-paced and full of great insight about a wild era in Hollywood – a great read!
Of course, there have been many Academy Award fiascos since, perhaps the worst being when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway awarded the Best Picture Oscar TO THE WRONG FILM.
WOW. In 2017, the wrong card was given to the Actor, and he announced the wrong film as Best Picture!
However, here’s a book that looks at how the Academy was part of a revolution in film as well:
This masterful book shows how the five films nominated for Best Picture in 1967 changed cinema forever, including the “slap heard around the world” – click here for a look at this terrific work and the films involved:
Here is another great memoir of that era in entertainment:
This is a great story, as we follow 70’s Actress Fiona Lewis through her wildly entertaining film career, working with people like The Who’s Roger Daltry in “Litzomania” – and Fiona tells her story candidly, while also taking us to the south of France, where she bought a house and renovated it – her version of “A Year In Provence!”
Lewis wrote a compelling, fascinating memoir about her life – and her misadventures in France called “Mistakes Were Made (Some In French)”!
Click here to see more about his great book!
The terrific Writer Susanna Moore wrote the provocative thriller “In The Cut”, but she also was part of the Hollywood scene of the 70’s!
Here new memoir tells the story of that time, and it’s a fascinating inside look at Hollywood in the 70’s – click here to se more:
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Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Academy Awards, Art, Awards, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Hollywood, Memoirs, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
I clearly remember the Oscar debacle and cannot wait to read the book
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It’s a fascinating look at Hollywood – Producer Allan Carr is a great example of what is good and bad about this wild business! Thank you for commenting!
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Very interesting, John!
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‘Can’t Stop The Music’ was truly awful. I watched it because of my crush on Valerie Perrine, but had to turn it off well before the end.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes Pete one of the great cinematic disasters of all time!
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