Meet The Legendary Producer Allan Carr!
I read a great book about one of Hollywood’s most flamboyant and entertaining Producers, the legendary Allan Carr, and need to share some of his wild adventures in entertainment!
Here he is with Bob Hope, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell – in the 70’s, he was one of Hollywood’s biggest Producers, the driving force behind some incredible 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” – one of the biggest hits of the decade:
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta were a decade beyond their high school years, but who cares? The movie’s soundtrack was a pop music phenomenon, the cast was energetic and fun, and the movie is such a joy to watch.
Here is the trailer to remind you:
Producer Carr then went on to produce the Broadway smash musical “La Cage aux Folles”, but then, a big bump in the road:
Oh no! Carr made the disastrous decision to do a sequel to “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 doubled down on his bad decisions when he 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!
First, check out the trailer!
OK…a music starring Bruce Jenner and the Village People….hmmmm…but even more surprising is who directed it!
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!”
Yes, the movie stars The Village People, who sang one of disco’s catchiest songs of all time. But it doesn’t end there!
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 “so bad its good” masterpiece…and if you need more of the worst films ever committed to celluloid, check out my list here:
But 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 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!
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Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Books / Media, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Hollywood, Movies, Music, Obscure Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, True Hollywood Mystery
johnrieber 
This was a fun post, and what a guy! He hit the big ones and the bad ones.
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Thanks for reading! The book is a fascinating look at Hollywood excess – but he made some huge gambles that paid off as well!
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Yes, he did. Best to you, John. It’s always a pleasure to read your posts.
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Altho’ from ‘my era’ I barely knew any of this till now tho’ I had seen ‘Grease’ . . . thus an interesting ‘learning experience’ rather late in life 🙂 ! Did see ‘Grease’ . . . well, the few French and Italian films reaching Australia at the time were more my ‘cup of tea’ 🙂 !
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He was responsible for some real turkeys, no doubt about that. But they guaranteed he will never be forgotten.
Best wishes, Pete.
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HI John, I’ve watched Grease several times. It’s a fantastic movie. Grease 2 wasn’t in the same ball field as the original. Still, I’m glad Alan Carr made that particular movie. I didn’t realise Michelle Phifer was in Grease 2. Now you’ve pointed it out, I can see it is her.
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Great post, John, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! Going to check out your list of the worst movies now…
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