About this episode

This episode explores the history and significance of the Hollywood sign, its origins, and its cultural impact over the years.

Designed as a temporary billboard for a luxury housing development, the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign (originally spelling out ‘Hollywoodland’) was dedicated on July 13th, 1923. It was intended to last 18 months. Over a century later, it remains. Erected at cost of $21,000—about $360,000 today—and lit by 4,000 bulbs that flashed dramatically in segments (“Holly,” then “Wood,” then “Land,”), the sign fell into disrepair by the late 1970s - when an unlikely alliance of Hugh Hefner and Alice Cooper came to the rescue… In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca trace the rise of the Los Angeles suburbs from citrus groves to a filmmaking mecca; unearth the singular, diligent German immigrant who was responsible for the sign’s upkeep; and consider the glorious successor the iconic signed spawned: in Basildon… Further Reading: • ‘The Hidden History of the Hollywood Sign’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-hidden-history-of-the-hollywood-sign-180982518/ • ‘As the Hollywood sign turns 100, Los Angeles is in no mood to party’ (The Washington Post, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/11/02/hollywood-sign-los-angeles-100-years/ • ‘Archive aerial…

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