Hollywood: Three unknown truths about the “Mecca” symbol of cinema

Reference point for his city Los Angeles but also synonymous with the film industry, it is a cultural landmark, not just for California, but for all of the United States. Perched on the slopes of Mount Lee, in the Hollywood Hills area of ​​Santa Monica Mountain, the huge white lettering of the word Hollywood hides some interesting truths worth knowing.

Created as a real estate ad

By 1923, Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler had decided to invest in a luxury real estate development called Hollywood, which took advantage of Hollywood’s growing recognition as the Mecca of its industry. cinema. To promote the project, Chandler and his associates raised $ 21,000 (over $ 250,000 in current money) for approximately 13-foot-tall white capital letters mounted on telephone poles illuminated by 4,000 light bulbs. At night the sign was illuminated in four stages “Holly”, “Wood”, and “Land” and at the end the whole word “Hollywoodland”. Newspaper articles from the time show that the mark was completed in 1923. However, the exact date is disputed, according to biography.com.

An actress committed suicide in it

Although Hollywood’s most famous landmark symbolizes charm and glam, it can also represent elusive dreams. In the spring of 1932, the young actor Peg Entwistle moved from New York to Los Angeles to try her luck at the movies. Shortly afterwards, she starred in a murder mystery film, but the studio reportedly did not renew her contract selection upon completion. In September, the 24-year-old allegedly climbed a ladder to the letter “H” in Hollywood and jumped from there, ending her life. Her body was later discovered in a ravine, with several newspapers citing her failed career as the reason she committed suicide. The irony of luck? A letter was sent to her shortly before her death, giving her the lead role in a play about a young woman who commits suicide.

It acquired its current form in 1970

Despite the restoration of 1949, the Hollywood trademark began to wear out again. The third “O”, for example, fell down the slope of Mount Lee, while arsonists set fire to the bottom of the second “L”. In 1978, the founder of Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner, held a gala at his mansion, where he and eight other donors, including rock legend Alice Cooper, pledged about $ 28,000 each to fund his total replacement. After a period of three months without a license plate, construction was completed later that year. The new brand was the same size as the old one, but with structural improvements such as steel bases rather than telephone poles.