Ben Hollis Seeking Help From Friends, Fans For Wild Chicago Compilation

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 18, 2012 5:40PM

Long before Janet Davies and a rotating cast of correspondents played it safe uncovering Chicago's hidden gems with 190 North, Ben Hollis donned a pith helmet and took WTTW viewers on a walk on the wild side with Wild Chicago.

Hollis co-created the program with John Davies and served as its host from 1989 to 1993, a time frame considered by many to be the show's best years. (WTTW continued to produce Wild Chicago until 2003; longer-form road trips aired in 2006.) Wild Chicago proved to be hugely influential with copycat shows across the country and locally. 190 North (aka "Wild Chicago for soccer moms") is an example of the show's influence. Hollis himself tried to recreate the formula years ago with Ben Loves Chicago on WPWR-TV.

Hollis recently secured the rights to the first two seasons of Wild Chicago with the intent of producing a best-of DVD compilation, The Golden Age of Wild Chicago, Vol. 1. Doing this, of course, requires money and, like a lot of entrepreneurs, Hollis decided to take the Kickstarter/IndieGoGo route. Hollis has set a goal of $15,000 to raise by Oct. 4 and right now he's a bit off that goal, with just over $2,200 raised as of post time.

A look at the offers at various pledge points shows some value, like a download of the program for $33, two advance copies of the DVD for $125, or a Wild Chicago tour led by Hollis for $1,500.

http://www.indiegogo.com/wildchicagodvd