What rocks or rots, tanks or titillates
in Richmond? Here's our weekly take on R-town.
Christmas in October: So the Bravo network
e-mailed The Times-Dispatch in June to ask about
Richmond's annual Tacky Christmas Lights Tour.
Seems someone at Bravo caught up with Barry "Mad
Dog" Gottlieb, who in the late '80s formally
identified the trend (on its way to tradition) with
his Tacky Xmas Decoration Contest and Grand Highly
Illuminated House Tour.
Gottlieb, who's now a Left Coaster, is trying to
whip the San Francisco Bay area into dazzling shape
while remaining an ambassador for the lights he left
behind. (See maddogproductions.com/xmas.htm for more
on that.)
Anywho, our favorite mad man -- er, Mad Dog -- referred
the network to the T-D, whose 15th annual Tacky Christmas
Lights Tour list ran in December. So we've offered
some photos of highly illuminated Richmond homes
and a few of our favorite tacky tales for possible
use on "Great Things About the Holidays."
The four-hour show is scheduled to premiere in October,
then repeat during the holiday season. Stay tuned
to see if Richmond is featured ... or if we lose
out to the cutting-room floor.
Mad Dog's in-person interview was conducted at the
home of Dr. Elmo of Elmo and Patsy, the duo that
gave the world "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."
Now that's good TV.
Got news? E-mail flair@timesdispatch.com; mention
Eye on R-Town in subject line.
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