Shelley Fabares and Herman play the luv interest in MGM's luv-filled flick, Hold On!

Well, you wouldn't believe the fantastic time Herman's Hermits had in Hollywood, making their first American feature movies, When The Boys Meet The Girls, and Hold On.
      Both movies were filmed at the MGM studios in Culver City. The boys moved into a mansion in Benedict Canyon (Hollywood) that had been occupied before them by none other than THE BEATLES.
     Of course, their appearance at the MGM studios was just fab. More than 1,000 fans showed up at the studio gates, trying to swarm in to greet their heroes personally. But of course the studio couldn't allow such a mob in; they have to be strict in those big studios.
     At first, some studio officials thought this was a surprise turnout for DICK CHAMBERLAIN - he's the only young male star working there at the moment. But they soon found out the fans were clamoring for Herman's Hermits.
     Inside the studio, Herman was modest about the clamoring crowd. "We came along at just the right time," he explained. "We were the right age, recorded the right tunes. Ours are singalong songs." And he told the studio men, "You know, we don't use the term rock 'n' roll. We call it pop music."
     Another big excitement for Herman (PETER NOONE, of course) is that his parents, JOAN and DENIS NOONE, and his darling sister SUZANNE, 2, flew in from Liverpool, England, to vacation with him.
     LEK (DEREK LECKENBY, and KARL (KARL ANTHONY GREEN) and BARRY (JAN BARRY WHITWAM) and KEITH (KEITH HOPWOOD) also had their parents come in from England, and so it was a fantastic time for the fellows and their mums and dads.
     MGM officials arranged a red-carpet welcome for the parents and led them on a tour around the sets. There were several big movies and many TV series being filmed at that time, but the parents were particularly fascinated by the Western sets being used for the ROBERT HORTON series, A Man Called Shenandoah. This happened to be the favorite set of Herman and his mates too.
     It cost a lot of money to bring their parents in from England, but the lads agreed, "What's money if we can't use it make our mums and dads happy?"
     Herman, who's ordinarily quite frugal and understands the value of a dollar or a shilling, was absolutely reckless when it came to making the trip memorable for his parents and adorable Suzanne. When his mum, a vivacious brunette, discovered she had neglected to bring a warm coat with her from England, Herman sent her out to buy a mink coat! When his parents said they were dying to see the fabulous Disneyland, Herman sent them - by cab! (I'm told the cab fare came to about $300!)
     The boys had originally arrived at MGM to do some songs for the CONNIE FRANCIS movie, When The Boys Meet The Girls. Herman was chosen also to do a few dialogue scenes with Connie and HARVE PRESNELL. They did so well that Herman was brought back for a starring rold in Hold On, with Lek, Karl, Barry and Keith given supporting roles.
     Keith expressed the views of all five when he explained that it was fun making the second movie, and "The only bad part was waiting around between takes." The boys put in long hours at the studio. They worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. "Towards the end of the day, we would get pretty tired!" explained Keith.
     They were usually too tired to gallivant after studio hours, and they usually stayed around their rented pad, eating in, and sometimes having a few friends come in. One night was put aside for a party for all five sets of parents. The rest of the time the boys were pretty much on their own.
     Most of the real fun came on weekends, when the boys had rested enough to feel eager for some gadding about.

Living in Hollywood was a dream come true for Herman's Hermits. Their MGM flicks 'n' discs are from Hitsville!

     Herman's biggest charge was riding his motorbike. He couldn't drive a car because he didn't have a license (in england, you've got to be 21 to get a driver's license, and in California the minimum age for driving was just raised from 16 to 18). Herman, in his customary jeans and sweat shirt, explored the Hollywood area, stopping off at record shops to browse around for new records and to see if the group's own records were on display. (And, of course, they were!) Once he motorbiked down to lovely Malibu Beach and walked around cautiously to see if he could see any movie stars relaxing on the white sand.
     The other four, and particularly Karl, took advantage of the nice sunny days to to horseback riding in Griffith Park. One day they sneaked off to a ranch for more riding.
     But the main activity was around the magnificent house that made them feel like royalty, and where they lived along with their road manager and other aides.
     The house was guarded at the gate, of course, and no one was admitted unless his or her name was announced.
     It's a big ranch-style house, featuring wooden ceiling beams, wood paneling, huge brick fireplace in the main living room. The U-shaped house, enclosing a swimming pool, was divided into two areas - one contained six bedroom suites (each with bath, dressing room, fireplace), and other wing contained a recreation room featuring pool table, poker table, player piano and a big room called The Corral. The living room, kitchen and dining room comprised the center of the U.
     Herman, especially, was thrilled with the swimming pool. He is a very good swimmer and many times during tours, he longed to take a swim at the hotel pools or the beach, but was afraid to chance it. He knew that he would quickly attract a crowd that could turn the place into shambles. So he and his mates swam a lot, then went indoors to shoot pool.
     "Sometimes," Herman confessed, his blue eyes lighting up impishly, "we had a 'friendly fight' and threw our road manager into the pool. He likes to swim, but he didn't appreciate our throwing him into the pool because we did it when he had his clothes on!"
     Keith was perhaps the quietest of the bunch, and often curled up on a sofa to read a book he just discovered. Once he was reading the classic tale of Three Musketeers and Herman teased him, "What's that? a new group?"
     The boys went to a few movie premiers and gave a few parties at home. Herman kept hoping he could see TONY BENNETT while in Hollywood. "He's the greatest singer today," says Herman. But unfortunately, Tony wasn't around Hollywood at the time.
     Tired as the boys were, they had fun-fun around the house. They had a fine cook whipping up their favorite meals - lamb, steak, shrimps, chicken, curries - and dinner time was spiced with witty comments in their Manchester accents.
     There were two phones in the house. The numbers are unlisted, but often Herman would pick up the phone and answer in a variety of accents - Chinese, Italian, British, German. He enjoyed responding with, "Hello!. . .This is the Hollywood Mortuary!" or "You rang first, so you start talking!"
     Sometimes, when he had a free moment, Herman would go down to the house gate and sign autographs and talk to the fans. And if the crowd wasn't too big, he would give the fans a ride on his motorbike around the house grounds.
     Many times he would wear a sweat shirt sent to him by a fan. He liked two shirts, especially, because they had imprinted across the chest: "Be Nice To Me, I'm Rich" and "If No One Claims Me In 30 Days, I'm Yours."
     The boys talked enthusiastically about Hold On. The title is taken from one of the 10 songs they sing in the movie. They praised both SHELLY FABARES and SUE ANN LANGDON, their co-stars, as being wonderful girls. Sue Ann, who had also worked in When The Boys Meet The Girls, answered many of the boys' questions about ELVIS PRESLEY. (She had worked with Elvis in Frankie and Johnny.) She also amused them by telling them of her side business - manufacturing sweaters with funny sayings on them, like the ones Herman liked.
     When the boys finished their movie, they went on to Japan, where their MGM records are best sellers. Then they returned to England for a stay and then headed for their second home, good old U.S.A. to plug Hold On.
     And, oh yes - how could we forget? Herman, Lek, Karl, Barry and Keith all vow they have no special girl. Too busy, you know?
     You can write to Herman's Hermits c/o MGM, 1540 Broadway, New York, N.Y. The boys are mad about letters.