"Hurray for Hollywood"! We really enjoyed "Tinseltown" and all the glitz and hype that goes with it. For several days we took part in many of the tourist attractions and it was lots of fun. Driving and parking our truck in that area was a challenge, but we managed.
The first day was busy. We started with a tour of the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards take place. It was great to learn what really happens on award night. The red carpet is actually on the street of Hollywood Blvd and continues up the walkway and stairs into the theater. Only stars nominated for awards are allowed to ascend the long stairway and enter the 2nd floor of the theater. Unfortunately, the theater is undergoing renovation for a Cirque du Soleil show, so when we walked into the actual theater, where the ceremony takes place, instead of the red seats, we were faced with draping plastic over the seats and stage! Guess our timing wasn't perfect! We did find out when the stars win awards, they don't just go backstage to talk to the press, but are put in a freight elevator, and whisked to the Renaissance Hotel next door where the press is waiting.
Later that day, we toured the Hollywood Museum which is in the famous "Max Factor" building. There were the blond, brown, and redhead rooms, where the stars had their makeup done. Each room had special lighting to compliment the coloring of the stars. Max is the one that convinced Lucille Ball to become a redhead after he saw her in his special lighting. There were also tons of star photos and artifacts there, including Cary Grant's Rolls Royce, and a special Marilyn Monroe exhibit, with her nude photos taken for Playboy. Art took a special interest in that display!!!!!!!
Yes, we did take a tour of the stars homes, which included driving through Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, Rodeo Drive, and Mulholland Drive. There were at least 40 homes pointed out to us, and we were snapping all kinds of pictures, to find out later we could only remember who owned a few of the houses! Oh well! If any of you are interested, the "Spelling" mansion is for sale for 150 million, reduced from 250 million!
The second day, we were able to take a tour of Paramount Studios. Paramount started in 1912, and is the only studio that remains in the Hollywood area. There is so much movie and TV history there, and many of the original buildings still remain. We saw the buildings that use to house the big stars, such as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn, in between takes. They were more like small apartments. Now, the dressing rooms are in trailers around the lot! We went on a tram and saw some of the back lots and sound stages, including the famous New York City back lot. Each sound stage has a plaque with the movies and TV shows that have been filmed there. At one time Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz owned Paramount and "I Love Lucy" was filmed there, as well as their other productions. One of the parking lots in the studio is walled and painted blue and includes a large screen on one side, painted to look like the sky. The cars are removed when needed, and it is filled with water. This is where many water scenes were and are still filmed, including Charlton Heston parting the waters of the Red Sea in the "Ten Commandments". Talk about Hollywood magic! In our pictures you will see where Art and I tried out for remakes of "Psycho" and "The Godfather". We are still waiting to hear if we got the parts. Art was also able to have a good conversation with Jack Nicholson, who we happened to bump into!
No Hollywood visit would be complete without a trip to Grauman's Chinese Theater, which happens to be next to the Kodak Theater. It sounds corny, but it was so much fun to see the cement footprints and handprints of the stars, as well as prints of other things, such as Jimmy Durante's nose! We were told the tradition began when Sid Grauman, the founder of the theater, accidently walked through some wet cement in front of the theater. Being the creative person he was, he came up with the idea of asking the stars to participate in this, and it became a tradition. Douglas Fairbanks was the first star asked. To qualify for a square of cement, your movie has to premier at Grauman's. Only 6 cement squares are added each year.
"Stars" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame began in 1960 with the first star being awarded to Joanne Woodward; the "Walk" now goes on for over a mile. In order to qualify for this, you have to be approved by a board for talent and philanthropy and also give the city of LA $25,000! You can actually qualify for 5 stars-one for film, TV, radio, music, and theater. Only Gene Autry has gotten all 5 stars.
P.S. Our star pictures were taken in Madame Trussard's Wax Museum. It was fantastic and a majority of the figures looked like the real people!
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