Grauman's Chinese Theatre
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Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a world famous movie theatre located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Built in 1927 by a partnership headed by Sid Grauman, the Chinese was intended to be the world's greatest theatre. It has since become one of Southern California's most recognizable and visited landmarks and is steeped in Hollywood history, having been home to numerous premiers and two Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theatre's most famous traits are the autographed cement blocks that reside in the forecourt, which bear the signatures and markings of many of Hollywood's most revered stars and starlets.
From 1973 through 2001, the theatre was labelled the Mann's Chinese Theater, owing to the theatre's purchase by the Mann Corporation in 1973. In the wake of Mann's bankruptcy, the theatre was sold in 2000 to a partnership comprised of Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, who in 2002 re-named the theatre Grauman's Chinese.
History
Grauman's Chinese Theatre was built by a showman, Sid Grauman, who owned a one-third interest with his partners, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Howard Schenck. This theatre was built near the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the Million Dollar Theater on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. The principal architect of the Chinese Theater was Raymond M. Kennedy, of the firm Meyer and Holler.The exterior of the movie theater supposedly resembles a giant, red Chinese pagoda. The architecture features a huge Chinese dragon across the front, two stone lion-dogs guarding the main entrance, and the silhouettes of tiny dragons up and down the sides of the copper roof.
Grauman's is also famous for the collection of handprints, footprints, and autographs that nearly 200 Hollywood celebrities have imprinted in the cement of the theater's forecourt over the years.
Variations of this honored tradition are imprints of the eyeglasses of Harold Lloyd, the cigars of Groucho Marx and George Burns, the legs of Betty Grable, the fist of John Wayne, the knees of Al Jolson, the ice skating blades of Sonja Henie and the noses of Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope.
Western stars William S. Hart and Roy Rogers left imprints of their guns. The hoofprints of "Tony," the horse of Tom Mix, "Champion," the horse of Gene Autry, and "Trigger," the horse of Rogers, were left in the cement beside the prints of the stars who rode them in the movies.
The only person not associated with the movie industry to have a signature and hand print in front of the theater was Grauman's mother.
The theater opened May 18, 1927 to huge fanfare with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings, after a well publicized construction. The Chinese had cost more to build than any other theatre to date.
Sid Grauman sold his share to William Fox's Fox West Coast Theatres in 1929 but remained as the theatre's Managing Director until his death in 1950. In 1968 it was declared an historic and cultural landmark, and has undergone restoration projects in the years since then. The theater was purchased in 1973 by Ted Mann, owner of the Mann's Theater chain and husband of actress Rhonda Fleming, who renamed it Mann's Chinese Theater. As of November 9, 2001, the original name was returned to the front of the theater.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre continues as a first-run movie theater where, for the price of a ticket, a visitor can see a film in the fully renovated and restored auditorium.
Many film premieres are held at the Chinese Theatre, often attended by large throngs of celebrities.
The theatre was home to the Academy Awards between 1944 and 1946 and is adjacent to the Kodak Theater, the current home of the Awards.
In pop culture
- In the 1974 comedy spoof Blazing Saddles, a gunfight between the characters played by Cleavon Little and Harvey Korman takes place outside the theater, which is currently screening "Blazing Saddles".
- The theater is featured in a flashback of the title character's disastrous family vacation to Los Angeles in the 1995 movie Stuart Saves His Family. The children in the scene mention seeing the imprints of stars such as Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, and Sophia Loren.
- In a classic episode of I Love Lucy, Lucy and Ethel visit the theater and discover that the cement block that shows John Wayne's footprints is loose, and attempt to steal the block to take home as a souvenir. In the next episode, they meet John Wayne and try to get it replaced.
- On the Simpsons episode Beyond Blunderdome, they pass Mann's Chinese Theater which is next to Chinese Man's Theater.
- A re-creation of the theater is a central attraction at the Walt Disney World theme park, Disney-MGM Studios. The building houses The Great Movie Ride, an attraction that takes visitors through animatronic recreations of classic films.
- In Kelly Rowland's song "Stole," the theatre is mentioned in the chorus along with Marilyn Monroe.
- In 1997, the song "Mann's Chinese" was released by the alternative band Naked. The song highlights some events at the theatre, such as the premiere of Batman Returns, in addition to an underlying criticism about the shallow and vain Hollywood culture. The song was a moderate radio hit and also appeared in an episode of the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
See also
External links
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