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There were several dozen dancers who appeared on HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO over the full course of its run. Some were there for only a few episodes and some possibly for only one. The core group of dancers was comprised of JUNE, MIMI, DeANN, GWEN, JACQUI, DALE, LUCILLE, SHELLEY, and then later DAWN and MARIA. These girls were there for a minimum of four episodes, and in most cases many more. DeANN and MIMI were the only two who appeared on every episode. We have included MILLIE and MARLENE on the main menu because they appeared for at least one month or more, and because they were immediately incorporated into the group of long-term core dancers. The short-term dancers on this page each appeared for less than four episodes, and were for the most part not included in core dancer routines and danced by themselves.
Dancers considered "short-term", who we can identify by name, are included on this page. This is only a start and we hope to identify more. Perhaps you can help us by naming one of the ladies on our "Mystery Dancers" page?
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CARLIE came onboard the show in the early summer of 1965. After graduating from college in Indiana during the spring of that year she was in her car and on the way to follow her dreams in California within a few weeks. Employment as a GAZZARRI followed shortly thereafter in Gazzarri's nightclub after an invitation to audition. She drifted on over to HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO to appear in three episodes as a non-core dancer. We can verify her presence on episodes # 26 and # 27 which means that the third episode was likely to be # 25 or # 28. After her short stint on the show we know that in December of 1965 she was a go-go dancer in Long Beach at a club named Gay 90s a Go Go.
In 1969 she met Gene Clark from the Byrds and married him in 1970. She met Gene at a party in P.J. Proby's house after the Byrds had played a gig at The Trip earlier that evening. The Byrds appeared on two episodes (# 30 and the last episode # 58) of HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO. CARLIE currently resides in northern California and works helping women with drug and alcohol dependency problems.
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CARLIE McCUMMINGS CLARK passed away on April 9, 2014. She leaves a legacy of charitable work and helping her fellow man that is impressive and an indication of the type of person she was. May she forever rest in peace.
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GAY SCHICKLER was another southern California girl discovered by AL BURTON during the mid-season hiring frenzy that brought in most of our mystery dancers. Her sister brought AL into the Red Dog Tavern in Reseda, California to watch her younger sibling go-go on a wooden box. A try out with OSCAR WILLIAMS then followed. Her debut on HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO was on episode # 27, and she recalls dancing on three episodes, plus ALOHA A GO-GO. From the currently available videos we can identify her on episodes # 27, # 28, and the Hawaii show. She is easy to identify because at 6' tall she is the tallest dancer to ever appear on the show (DeANN, who appeared on every episode, is 5' 10" tall). GAY ended up being the lucky recipient of the ticket to the ALOHA A GO-GO show in Hawaii made available by DALE'S departure. We get several looks at her in the following ALOHA video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSgKaZzW8yQ
At the :54 mark she is the dancer on the right in front of the Kamehameha statue. At the 2:12 mark we get a nice look at GAY, once again on the right, during the refilmed faux plane disembarkation. She is seen in the water behind the saxophone player at the 2:35 mark. When the KHJ crew flew back to LA after the taping GAY decided to stay behind for an additional week to see more of Hawaii.
After HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO she worked at Capitol Records. Following that she worked for record producer Bones Howe. Then after leaving the job market to raise a family she returned to the television industry and retired in 2010 from a position at CBS where she was a corporate controller for station acquisitions. She currently resides in southern California. There are a few photos of the auburn-haired dancer on our ALOHA page.
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JOANNA has now been identified as our former "unknown blonde 2" on the "Mystery Dancer" page. The recent (April 2018) appearance of several 1970s vintage photos has allowed us to make the connection of which we are reasonably sure. She only danced on two episodes (#31-32) which fits in with her statements concerning her tenure on the show. She was part of AL BURTON'S hiring bonanza during the summer of 1965, and why she didn't stay for more than two episodes we don't know, but it certainly was not for a lack of dancing ability or stunning looks. You can still see the black and white photos of her that we have extracted from one of the videos on our "Mystery Dancer" page.uring the summer of 1965.
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JOANNA HILL was born in Portsmouth, N.H. as JOANNA ESKIJIAN, and like most of the GAZZARRI ladies she has had a very interesting life before and after her dancing days. She started dancing at a young age and became very good, so good that at age 17 she represented New Hampshire in the Jr. Miss America Pageant and won the talent division with her tap dancing. She was also in several other pageants as a teenager and we have a photo below.
As was the case with CARLIE McCUMMINGS, JOANNA found the lure of southern California more attractive than the cold northern winters, leading her to move there and start a job with a Hollywood law firm. In 1963 she landed a spot as an extra in the Elvis movie "Roustabout''". Nights would find her dancing in the Sunset Strip clubs, and it was here that she was discovered by a Gazzarri nightclub scout and hired as a dancer for the club in 1963. She was later picked from the pool of club dancers to dance on at least one episode as a GAZZARRI on HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO.
The same month that HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO ended production (February 1966), she met Max Baer, Jr. of ""The Beverly Hillbillies" fame. They then married five months later. During this time she took up flying and earned her pilot's license. Her marriage to Max lasted five years and after the split she moved to Beverly Hills and became George Burns' neighbor. JOANNA immersed herself in the Hollywood scene and besides George became friends with Doris Day, Jack Benny, and Jimmy Stewart amongst others. She and George were often seen together at many Hollywood functions.
By the mid-1970's she was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the Hollywood scene. She sold her Hollywood mansion and moved to Atlanta, where she met her current husband. They planned and built a 15,000 square foot house on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, where they lived for many years. JOANNA has always had an interest in vintage fashions and today she owns an enormous collection of dresses, shoes, and hats. The hat collection alone numbers over 2,000 and has its own room complete with display cases.
JOANNA remains very active on Hilton Head, often wearing her vintage outfits to charitable functions, and she is also an animal lover, volunteering her time at the local animal shelters.
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JOANNA entered several pageants as a teenager while she was living in New Hampshire. The Miss New England Pageant was one of them and the photo above shows her on August 19, 1959 with the other finalists. Left to right are: Sally Ann Friedman, Miss New England 1959 Marjory Jane Macleod, Dianne Lipson, Carolyn Ann Kumant, and JOANNA. There were a total of 23 contestants so she did very well making it to the final five.
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The photo above shows Max and JOANNA at an awards show in Los Angeles. JOANNA appeared in several episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies" as an extra with her husband Max.
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JOANNA was well connected with the Hollywood stars which comes as no surprise since she was once married to one. The two photos below were taken in May 1977.
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The next lot of photos shown below of JOANNA were taken in South Carolina within the last several years and show that she has not lost her beauty and sense of style.
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