Pela was my first TV memory...This photo really sums up the Mod/Greaser rivalry in New Orleans back then. "Cats vs Frats!"
The John Pela Show
John Pela, holding microphone, on a steamboat-themed
set of WWL's 'The John Pela Show,' a televised new Orleans dance
program that started in 1959 as 'Saturday Hop.'
Airing every Saturday
through 1972, the show featured a different set every week to serve as a
backdrop to the cast of teens who showed up to dance to the latest pop
tunes.
Today, the series continues with a look at
"The John Pela Show."
THEN:
Elsewhere, "American Bandstand" was the TV
dance show for teens to watch in the late 1950s and into the '60s. But
in New Orleans it was all about "The John Pela Show," named after the
WWL-TV staff announcer who in 1961 took over hosting duties of the show
originally titled "Saturday Hop" -- and on whose watch the show became
must-see TV for local kids. Featuring a studio full of New Orleans
teenagers dancing to the latest pop hits, and with groovy,
era-appropriate graphics setting the mood, the live, hour long dance
party originated from the WWL studios every Saturday for some 15 years
and, once Pela took over, was consistently No. 1, both in viewers'
hearts and in the ratings books.
NOW:
In the early 1970s, Pela became WWL's radio
programmer, which left little time to prepare for the dance show. That's
when the decision was made in 1973 to pull the plug.
"People don't
realize the tedium involved," Pela said in a 1976 interview with The
Times-Picayune. "... Standing under those lights, waiting for 'the
moment of truth.' I'm probably getting older; I just didn't want to put
up with that any longer."
Pela retired from WWL in 1992 and moved over
to local PBS affiliate WLAE. He retired for good once he hit 70 and
moved to Sarasota, Fla.
TRI-via
"Saturday Hop" started around 1958 and was originally hosted by the
husband-and-wife team of Jack and Ann Elliott, who appeared on-screen as
Jack the Cat and Jackie the Kitten. They left the show in 1961 and were
replaced briefly by Bill Barry before Pela took the reins.
Before hosting "The John Pela Show," Pela appeared on the New
Orleans airwaves as a host of "Popeye and Pals" -- succeeding the
popular "Uncle Henry" Dupre -- and as the title character in the kid's
show "Captain Mercury."
Early in its run, the show's set was populated each week by students
from a different area high school. One week, when a rained-out football
game was rescheduled for Saturday -- at the same time as "The John Pela
Show" -- producers found themselves scrambling when nobody from that
week's school showed up. "That's when we made the decision to open the
show up to couples," Pela said in 1976. "That's when things went from
the sublime to the ridiculous; enormous crowds showed up."
A noteworthy moment in the show's history came about five years into
Pela's run, when longtime WWL General Manager Mike Early told Pela he
wanted to integrate the show's cast of dancers. Remembering that moment
on a 1990 episode of "The Angela Hill Show," Pela said he called up a
local priest who served a mixed congregation and asked if he knew of any
black kids who might be willing to help. He did, and just like that the
show became a party for everyone.
Every week, "The John Pela Show" featured a new set, built by WWL
production designer Juozas Bakshis and his team to reflect various
themes, such as holidays and seasons of the year, according to Dominic
Massa's book "Images of New Orleans Television."
A number of regulars often showed up to dance on the show, as well
as performers with the Hazel Romano and Tony Bevinetto dance schools,
which performed weekly choreographed numbers.
Before heading to Hollywood, local actress and comedian Rhonda Shear appeared as a dancer on "The John Pela Show."
By: Mike Scott, staff writer
Sources:The Times-Picayune archive; "Images of New Orleans Television," by Dominic Mass
Rhonda Honey Shear (born November 12, 1954) is an American
television personality, comedian, actress, and entrepreneur. She is best
known for her role as a host of the USA Network's weekend B-movie show, USA Up All Night in the 1990s. In 2001, she started an intimate apparel business that was marketed on Home Shopping Network,
with one of her most successful products being the Ahh Bra in 2010. She
is a regular participant in Tampa Bay's annual Fashion Week events.[1][2]
Shear earned titles in several beauty contests, including holding the titles of Miss Louisiana USA 1975 for Miss USA and that of Miss Louisiana for both the Miss World and the Miss International pageants.[4] Among her other titles was Queen of the Floral Trail Society. While she sported the latter title, she posed for a picture in Playboy magazine; though she was fully clothed in the photo, the organizers were opposed to her appearance and rescinded her title.[citation needed] Shear is best known for her role as a host of the USA Network's 1980s and '90s weekend B-movie show, USA Up All Night.
From 1991 to 1998, she hosted in-studio and on-location segments that
typically aired on Friday nights, replacing comedian Caroline Schlitt
(the Friday night host for the show's first few years). She also
occasionally hosted the show with her Saturday counterpart, Gilbert Gottfried,
in addition to making cameos on his edition. Her trademark manner of
speaking the show's title, by raising her voice an octave when saying
the word "Up", became a catch phrase. Shear also briefly hosted a comedy program called Spotlight Cafe on WWOR-TV in Secaucus, NJ, hosted previously by comic Judy Tenuta. Shear made two subsequent nude appearances in Playboy:
First, in their "Funny Girls" pictorial in June 1991, then in her own
pictorial titled "Rhonda Is Up All Night" in October 1993.[5] Shear also co-starred in numerous sitcoms from playing the Fonz's girlfriend on Happy Days to the sexy neighbor on Married... with Children,
before making her mark as a comedian. She then made her way into
stand-up comedy, headlining as a successful comedian in Las Vegas, Los
Angeles and New York, and eventually touring across the country with Comedy PJ Party, an on-stage slumber party featuring a number of comedians.[citation needed]
Entrepreneur career
In
2001, Shear, with her husband Van Fagan, started Shear Enterprises.
Shear began designing from her home office in 2003 with three employees,
and launched the Rhonda Shear Intimates line at HSN. Her products were picked up on shopping networks around the world, including The Shopping Channel (Canada) and Ideal World Shopping
(U.K.). Rhonda Shear Intimates has continued to grow and is now
represented in over 40 countries with over 25 employees in her St.
Petersburg, Florida offices. In 2010, Shear designed the Ahh Bra, and the product was an overnight
success. The Ahh Bra was the number-one selling bra worldwide with over
25 million sold internationally. In 2011 the company had 72 million
dollars in sales.[5] As of 2013, she has added cosmetics, swim wear, fragrance, and Boomer Hottie.[6] In 2014 a line of "intimates, athleisure and loungewear" was announced that was co-designed with Crystal Hefner, 2009 PlayboyPlaymate and wife of Hugh Hefner, to be sold through Hefner's website.[7] Shear has written a book titled Up All Night: From Hollywood Bombshell to Lingerie Mogul, Life Lessons from an Accidental Feminist, released in October 2017.[8]
Charity work
In
2011, Shear was the event chair and a sponsor for American Cancer
Society's Making Strides: Put on Your Pink Bra Event. Between speaking
engagements, creating a giant flying bra for the RedBull Flugtag, and
helping with fundraising events, Shear got the chance to meet with women
struggling in treatment or following surgery who needed bras that were
affordable, feminine, and comfortable. She was struck by their stories,
strength, and sense of community. Shear stays connected by donating
product every month to women's shelters around the country and
continuing her work nationwide with various charitable organizations
that fund research and empower women.[5]
Personal life
Shear married her childhood sweetheart Van Fagen, who works as her business partner in the Shear Enterprises.[9] They live in St. Petersburg, Florida.
