Behind the Sign
High atop Mount Lee in California sits a 450-foot long monument to the film capital of the world. Its 45-foot high and ironically pure white letters proudly proclaim "Hollywood" and can be seen from virtually anywhere in the town that is its namesake. It appears almost as a guardian angel, watching over the lost souls of Hollywood.
The landmark that fuels aspiring movie stars' dreams had humble beginnings. It was built in 1923 to advertise a real estate development in Beachwood Canyon - originally reading "Hollywoodland" - and was adorned with four to five thousand light bulbs. These were changed daily by a caretaker who lived in a small house behind one of the huge letter "L's".
After World War I, the population of Hollywood began to grow by leaps and bounds. In 1910, only five thousand people had made Hollywood their home - by 1920, there were thirty-six thousand. Upon hearing rumors of paychecks reaching up to three thousand dollars a week, aspiring actors and actresses flocked to Hollywood in hopes of becoming movie stars. This created what some refer to as the "second gold rush." The overwhelmed Hollywood Chamber of Commerce felt compelled to take out ads in newspapers reading, "Don't try to break into the movies in Hollywood. It may save disappointments. Out of 100,000 people who started at the screen's ladder of fame - ONLY FIVE REACHED THE TOP!"
On September 18, 1932, a young blue-eyed woman with blond curls who lived on Beachwood Drive - in the shadow of the "Hollywoodland" sign - told her uncle she was going to the drugstore and then to visit some friends. Instead, she walked up Mount Lee and stopped next to the sign. She spied a workman's ladder behind the giant letter "H" and began to climb it. She reached to the top and threw herself off of the enormous white letter.
The next morning, a woman anonymously called the Central Los Angeles police station and said, "I was hiking near the Hollywood sign today and near the bottom I found a woman's shoe and jacket. A little further on I noticed a purse. In it was a suicide note. I looked down the mountain and saw a body. I don't want any publicity in this matter, so I wrapped up the jacket, shoes, and purse in a bundle and laid them on the steps of the Hollywood Police Station." Then she hung up.
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