H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D

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BBC Radio 4 - H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D

David Willis celebrates the centenary of the Hollywood sign.

Marking the centenary of the Hollywood sign, David Willis tells the story of its survival against the odds.

In 1923, a property developer, put up a series of 45 feet high letters on the scrubby hillside of Mount Lee, a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.  It was there to advertise plots for sale in the newly- developed Hollywoodland estate.

It was only supposed to stay up for 18 months, but quickly became a local landmark. In 1949, the last four letters were removed, and though it has fallen into disrepair on several occasions, the Hollywood sign has survived to celebrate its centenary.

In film, the sign has been shattered by earthquakes, blasted by aliens, eviscerated by robots and bombarded by flying sharks, and has starred alongside Charlton Heston, James Dean, Justin Timberlake, Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson and Mr Bean.

The BBC's man in Hollywood, David Willis, tells the story of the sign that has attracted speculators and sinners, the hurt and the hopeful, the lost and the lonely.

We hear the sad tale of Welsh born actress Peg Entwistle, who threw herself off the “H” in 1932, and the unlikely hero who saved an “O” from collapse, Alice Cooper, describes why the sign means so much to him.

Producer: Jeremy Neumark Jones
Executive Producer: David Prest
Additional research: Oliver Morris
Original Music by Theo Whitworth
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