The famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California was erected in 1923 to advertise a new housing development in the hills above Hollywood. The letters were 30 feet wide and 50 feet high, and were originally studded with light bulbs. The sign was officially dedicated on July 13, 1923. It originally read "Hollywoodland" and it was left to deteriorate.
It had only been expected to last a year and a half. In 1932, actress Peg Entwistle committed suicide by jumping to her death from the letter "H". Seven years later, in 1939, official maintenance of the sign ended.
In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stepped in and offered to remove the last four letters (LAND), and repair the rest. As the City dictated that all subsequent illumination would be at the cost of the Chamber, it opted not to replace the light bulbs. In 1978, the Chamber set out to replace the intensely deteriorated sign once again. Donors paid $27,700 USD to buy replacement letters, which are all made of Australian steel, guaranteed to last for many years. The new version of the sign was unveiled live on Hollywood's 75th anniversary, 14 November, 1978, before a television audience of 60 million people. Starting November 2005, the sign was again repaired, workers stripping the letters back to their metal base and repainting them white.
The sign, located at the top of Mount Lee in Griffith Park, is now a registered trademark and cannot be used without the permission of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which also manages the venerable Walk of Fame.
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The sign is located on the southern side of Mount Lee (north of the Mulholland Highway). To get a good view you can drive north up Gower St. from Hollywood Blvd and then north along Beachwood Drive. You can get to within 100 yards of the sign. Currently, the letters are each 45 feet high and range from 31 to 39 feet wide.
The sign makes frequent appearances in establishing shots for films and television series set in or around Hollywood. The animated television series The Simpsons parodies the sign with their own giant set of white letters, spelling out "SPRINGFIELD", on the hills above the fictional town from the series.
In the film The Day After Tomorrow, the Hollywood sign is destroyed by a tornado.
In the film 1941, an alternate explanation is given to how the sign lost the letters that spell out "LAND", being destroyed by P-40 pilot "Wild Bill" Kelso (John Belushi).
In the film The Rocketeer, another alternate explanation is given to how the sign lost the letters that spell out "LAND".
In the film Shrek 2, a "FAR FAR AWAY" sign is featured, similar in appearance as Hollywood's.
In the film Super Babies 2, an immortal kid who never grows a second older has a secret lair inside the "H" in "HOLLYWOOD".
In the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dr. Evil's secret lair was in the hill behind the Hollywood sign.
The film RKO 281, set before the last four letters were removed, begins with an establishing shot of the sign, complete with those letters.
In the computer game SimCity 4 players can "purchase" the sign and place it in their game city as a landmark.
In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which is itself based on the state of California, a similar sign on a hill is present which reads "VINEWOOD", a reference to one of the game's neighborhoods.
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In the video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, based in the city of LA, the sign appears in the Bronson section of the Hollywood area. This can be seen from the game's start. Later in the game, a goal will have players destroy the sign, the pieces of which are shipped to the skatepark. The sign's letters are changed, and the new sign reads "WASTELAND".
In the video game Need for Speed: Underground 2, the setting is a city known as Bayview. There is a sign on a hill which reads "Bayview," similar to the Hollywood sign.
The video rental chain called Hollywood Video uses an image of the sign as part of its logo, including the apparent up-and-down curve of the sign. Presumably the sign could appear "normally", but only from an altitude that matches that of the sign.
On the website, LiquidGeneration.com, in a cartoon featuring the best places in Los Angeles, it is said that the last four letters were demolished by an epic tsunami. |
