HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIGHTS
The History Of
The Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign originally displayed
~ Hollywoodland ~
before it was shortened in 1945.
The Hollywood Sign
is the most famous sign
in the world and is located
on Mount Lee in Griffith Park
overlooking Hollywood.
There are many good vantage points
from the streets of Hollywood
and anyone caught hiking to
The Hollywood Sign
will be breaking the law.
The Hollywood Sign
is a trademark of
The Hollywood Chamber
Of Commerce.
Any commercial usage of the sign
requires the approval of
The Hollywood Chamber
Of Commerce.
The Hollywood Sign
was built in 1923
to read Hollywoodland,
as a publicity stratagem
to promote sales of homes
in a subdivision by the same name
along Beachwood Canyon.
The original cost was $21,000
for letters that were 30 feet wide
and 50 feet tall and studded with
4000 low wattage light bulbs.
The Hollywood Sign
was expected to last
a year and a half.
The preventative maintenance of
The Hollywood Sign
was discontinued in 1939.
Late in 1944,
The M. H. Sherman Company,
developers of the Hollywoodlands,
quit claimed to the City of Los Angeles
about 455 acres of land
adjoining Griffith Park,
acreage that included
The Hollywood Sign.
Years later in 1949,
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
entered into a contract with
The Department of Recreation and Parks
to repair and rebuild the Sign
and to remove ~ land ~
so that it would simply spell
HOLLYWOOD.
The cost was estimated to be $4,000
and since all the light bulbs
had long before been stolen,
the City Of Los Angeles
stipulated that any new illumination
would be at the sole expense of
The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce.
Twenty-nine years later in 1973,
The Cultural Heritage Board
Of The City Of Los Angeles
designated and declared
The Hollywood Sign
Los Angeles Cultural
Historical Monument #111.
In April of 1978
a fund raising campaign
was launched by
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
to rebuild The Hollywood Sign
after it had seriously deteriorated.
Donors contributed $27,700 each
to buy a replacement letter.
The actual work to rebuild
The Hollywood Sign
began in August of 1978
and was finished by
November of 1978.
Pacific Outdoor Advertising Company,
in conjunction with
Hughes Helicopters
and Heath Sign Company,
demolished the old sign
and installed the new sign
with all-steel letters in its place.
The Hollywood Sign
now stretches 450 feet
across the side of Mount Lee,
is still 50 feet tall
and weighs 450,000 pounds.
The new Hollywood Sign
was unveiled on 14 November 1978,
celebrating Hollywood's 75th Anniversary,
before a television audience of 60 million.
Primary responsibility
for the maintenance
and the preservation of
The Hollywood Sign
rests with
The Hollywood Sign Trust
and the trustees are named by
The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce
and The City Of Los Angeles.
The History Of
The Hollywood Christmas Parade
The original 1926
Santa Claus Lane Parade Float
featured Jeanette Loff,
the first actress to travel
Hollywood Boulevard with Santa.
The Hollywood Christmas Parade
~ The Santa Claus Lane Parade ~
was launched in 1926 by
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
to attract holiday shoppers
to Hollywood Boulevard
before the Christmas holidays.
Drawing over one million spectators
and millions more across the country
and around the world via television,
The Hollywood Christmas Parade
has grown to be
the largest event of its kind.
Past Grand Marshals have included ~
Gene Autry, Tony Danza, Bob Hope,
Michael Landon, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jimmy Stewart and Robert Wagner
along with thousands
of guest celebrities.
The History Of
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
To be honored with a star on
The Hollywood Walk of Fame,
the world's most famous sidewalk,
is a tribute as coveted and sought after
as any of the entertainment industry's
equally prestigious awards which include ~
The Oscar, The Emmy, The Grammy,
The Golden Mike and The Tony.
The honor recognizes
a life-long contribution
of both public and peer appreciation,
and is uniquely in a class by itself.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
is a permanent monument
of the past, as well as the present.
Envisioned in 1958
as a lasting tribute
to the innumerable personalities
who helped make Hollywood
the most famous locale in the world,
The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
continues today as a superior asset to the city,
perpetuating the aura that has made
the name Hollywood
synonymous with glamour.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
remains one of the city's
most widely seen tourist attractions.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
is administered by
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce,
and was designated, in 1978,
a Cultural Historic Landmark
by The City Of Los Angeles.
The Hollywood Historic Trust,
a continuing, self-financing program,
maintains the quality of
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
and the historic lure
that is Hollywood.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame,
a chronological history,
encompasses five acres of bronze stars
embedded in pink terrazzo
and surrounded by
charcoal terrazzo squares.
Inside each star
is the bronze-engraved name
of each honored artist
and a distinctive emblem
identifying in which of
the five categories ~
Motion Pictures, Television, Radio,
Recording, or Live Theater ~
the recipient has been honored.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
lines both sides of Hollywood Boulevard
from Gower to La Brea,
and both sides of Vine Street,
from Yucca to Sunset.
Official groundbreaking ceremonies
were conducted on 9 February 1960
when The First Star was placed on
The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
in honor of the actress of renown
Joanne Woodward.
In sixteen months,
when construction was completed,
1,558 luminaries were forever
immortalized in the sidewalk.
Since then,
one to two stars per month
have been added and counting
the stars dedicated since then
the total passed the 2000 mark.
However, even at this rate,
it will be many years before the stars in
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
will be completely occupied,
assuring the continued presence of Hollywood
in the world media, and remaining
a highly visible and lasting tribute
to a unique municipality
and its illustrious celebrities.
The most current personalities
honored with a Star ~
Patsy Cline ~ August 03, 1999
Charley Pride ~ July 21, 1999
Harold Greene ~ July 15, 1999
Phil Collins ~ June 16, 1999
Dennis Muren ~ June 03, 1999
Alex Trebek ~ May 17, 1999
Jess Marlow ~ May 14, 1999
Jerry Moss ~ May 07, 1999
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ~ April 28, 1999
The Watson Family ~ April 22, 1999
Jane Seymour ~ April 20, 1999
Dennis Franz ~ February 19, 1999
Freddy Fender ~ February 04, 1999
Bob Newhart ~ January 06, 1999
Michelle Lee ~ November 19, 1998
Vicente Fernandez ~ November 11, 1998
James Woods ~ October 15, 1998
Alabama ~ October 06, 1998
John Fogerty ~ October 01, 1998
Keely Smith ~ September 22, 1998
Reba McEntire ~ September 18, 1998
Meryl Streep ~ September 16, 1998
Jaime Jarrin ~ September 14, 1998
Mac Davis ~ September 10, 1998
Jamie Lee Curtis ~ September 03, 1998
James Brolin ~ August 27, 1998
Wesley Snipes ~ August 21, 1998
Carlos Santana ~ August 17, 1998
Nicolas Cage ~ July 31, 1998
Robert Vaughn ~ July 27, 1998
Roy O. Disney ~ July 24, 1998
George & Ira Gershwin ~ June 04, 1998
Sonny & Cher ~ May 15, 1998
Leeza Gibbons ~ May 07, 1998
Buddy Hackett ~ March 31, 1998
Chuck Niles ~ March 05, 1998
Dick Enberg ~ February 24, 1998
Miles Davis ~ February 19, 1998
Stuart Whitman ~ February 01, 1998
Mister Rogers ~ January 08, 1998
Denver Pyle ~ December 12, 1997
Pierce Brosnan ~ December 03, 1997
Kenny G ~ November 20, 1997
Mark & Brian ~ September 25, 1997
John Lee Hooker ~ September 11, 1997
Cicely Tyson ~ August 21, 1997
Patrick Swayze ~ August 18, 1997
William Friedkin ~ August 14, 1997
Larry King ~ May 8, 1997
Ivan Reitman ~ May 5, 1997
Delores Hope ~ May 5, 1997
The Four Tops ~ April 23, 1997
Christopher Reeve ~ April 15, 1997
Rod Steiger ~ April 10, 1997
David Carradine ~ April 1, 1997
Brian Grazer ~ March 20, 1997
Don Cornelius ~ February 27, 1997
David Bowie ~ February 12, 1997
Clive Davis ~ January 28, 1997
Debbie Reynolds ~ January 13, 1997
James Brown ~ January 10, 1997
~ SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES ~
