39th ‘Occasional’ Pasadena Doo Dah Parade This Sunday

John Scott Finnell of Snotty Scotty and the Hankies. – Photo by Terry Miller

By Terry Miller

The annual eccentricity that is Doo Dah returns to east Pasadena Sunday Nov. 20 at 11 a.m. This year’s truly harebrained parade will be dedicated to the memory of a genuinely silly and much adored musician, Snotty Scotty who passed away recently after a brave battle with cancer.

Snotty and his Hankies were [will be forever] the Doo Dah House Band and led off the parade in style every year since its inception … What exactly will happen this year remains to be seen but indubitably will tickle your funny-bone and pay homage to the late John Snotty Scotty Finnell.

To many, Snotty Scotty was indeed the Czar of Doo Dah, although another newspaper [which shall remain nameless] also recently used the term in homage to Tom Coston, Executive Director of Light Bringer – the enquiring minds behind the world’s greatest parade parody which is Doo Dah!

(Perhaps we could call Tom Coston the ‘King of Doo Dah, and occasional Tsar.’ But then, Tom is not an autocratic ruler by any means.)

When the news of Snotty Scotty’s death hit the streets, reaction was quick.

“I never even thought about a world without Snotty Scotty and the Hankies. It’s kind of surreal actually,” Sue Behrens said just days after John Snotty Scotty Finnell passed.

“Scott was the life of the party (of Doo Dah). He is sort of an inventor of Doo Dah in the sense of the spirit and longevity of it. He was probably playing in the background at Chromos Bar when the whole idea was concocted. He was in every single parade, leading it, singing it. I just was thinking about what I need to bring to queen tryouts … how will we decorate Scotty’s microphone this year? He loved oxymoron’s. My heart sunk again when I remembered he wouldn’t be there this time around. Or ever again. It’s a huge loss for all of us,” Patricia Hurley, Managing Director of Light Bringer … one of the brilliant the minds behind Doo Dah.

Tom Coston, President of Light Bringer Project had this to say about Snotty Scotty:

“Snotty Scotty chose his own path in life and certainly marched to the beat of a different drummer…What could more be more aligned with Doo Dah where he was our heart and soul? He led the Hankies in each and every Doo Dah Parade. Snotty Scotty made us feel like we lived in a real town and not just another city. He and the Hankies were the soundtrack of our Parade, if not the soundtrack to Pasadena for decades! And not to overuse a tried and true cliché, but…he did it his his way, didn’t he?”

Longtime drummer, Tom Berhens spoke with us on the phone Monday and was obviously deeply emotional about a man with whom he had played since the ’80s.

“I can’t imagine a world without Snotty Scotty …”

Despite the collective sadness of Snotty Scotty’s untimely passing, the show must go on … and the superb, nutty satire and political rhetoric this year will undoubtedly (hopefully) dictate the one block stretch of Colorado where the maniacal magic happens.

John Snotty Scotty Finnell would not have wanted it any other way. The cast of characters walking the street this year will perhaps bring to mind a live version of The Rocky Horror Show crossed with Monty Python and perhaps a dash of Mardi-Gras.

If you’ve not witnessed a Doo Dah Parade, you’ve not lived. [Doo Dah] truly is one of joy, laughter and parody. Something we rightly need that after 18 months of politicians and the electorate attacking each other from every angle. Doo Dah is about diversity, music, and unity. There are no rules (expect those enforced by Pasadena PD) and everyone always has a good time.

The after party will be an American Legion Post 280 on 179 N. Vinedo. The parade starts at Vinedo and Colorado. This is the definitive, original parade. Leading off the parade this year will be Meg Cole who is this year’s Doo Dah Queen.

Cole, known Queen Ruby Chard, was selected during the recent tryouts held at the American Legion on Vinedo Avenue. Cole combines her interests to front an ecology-themed band, Ruby Chard and the Funguys, and is no stranger to Doo Dah. She has been part of the parade since its first incarnation in 1978. Last year, she was second runner-up.

At the parade look for regulars Count Smokula, the Swami from El Monte, Triplet Queens, Sabrina the Stimulus Package, Candy From Strangers, Mimi MarGO-GO, Mama “J,” and Miss Boy Frances among other characters of ill repute.

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