A global symbol of the cinema industry is now 100 years old. Hollywood Letters, on the heights of Los Angeles, celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday.
The nine legendary letters were lit up for the occasion, something that had not happened for decades. Over the years in the City of Angels, the sign has become almost more famous than the movie stars.
A suicide in 1932 from the letter H
The nine letters have been, throughout their history, the stars of a multitude of films and series set in “LA”, and were many times destroyed with special effects as if to symbolize the risk of disappearance of cinema and America. The sign has also been the site of real tragedies such as when British actress Peg Entwistle committed suicide by jumping from the top of the letter H in 1932.
The sign, a must-see for any tourist in Los Angeles, is as famous as its history is little-known: erected in 1923, it was originally made up of 13 letters, “HOLLYWOODLAND”, intended to promote a new residential district. The gigantic advertising billboard, whose thousands of bulbs then light up in turn on a regular basis to draw attention to the houses built below, has established itself as an emblem thanks to the growth of the film industry .
However, the letters were almost destroyed. In the 1940s, residents asked the city to remove the sign whose H was damaged by the wind. But the city decided to repair the sign and, in 1949, removed the “LAND” to keep “HOLLYWOOD” as we know it today.
New steel letters
After three decades of scorching sun and bad weather, the 15 meter high wooden letters are once again in a sorry state. The first O shrunk to a tiny U and the last one collapsed. Enter Alice Cooper, a founding father of shock rock, who leads a campaign to restore the brand to its glory by donating $28,000. Eight other people, including actor Gene Autry, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and singer Andy Williams, are each sponsoring a letter.
The new letters are a little lower but made of steel and therefore more resistant. They’ve been pampered ever since: The Hollywood Sign Trust (HST), which manages the sign, said last year that renovating the letters for their 100th anniversary required nearly 1,500 gallons of paint and primer. .
Their illumination on Friday was exceptional because the sign is not lit at night due to nearby homes. But according to Jeff Zarrinnam, the president of the HST, the sign could light up again: “We have very important sporting events coming to Los Angeles, like the Football World Cup, the Olympic Games (in 2028), so These are the types of events we would probably want to light the panel for. »