Grauman's Chinese Theatre

The historic Hollywood mecca.

Interior of the Theater.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a worldwide-famous movie theatre located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California in the United States of America. The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922. Built over 18 months beginning in January 1926 by a partnership headed by Sid Grauman, the theater opened May 18, 1927 with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings. It has since become one of Southern California's most well known landmarks and is steeped in Hollywood lore, having been home to numerous premieres, birthday parties, corporate junkets and two Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theater'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 known as Mann's Chinese Theatre, owing to its acquisition by Mann Theatres in 1973. In the wake of Mann's bankruptcy, the Chinese, along with the other Mann properties, was sold in 2000 to a partnership comprising Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, who also acquired the Mann brand name. In 2002 the original name was restored to the cinema palace, although the other theatres in the attached Hollywood and Highland mall retain and continue to operate under the name Mann's Chinese 6 Theatre.

History

Grauman's Chinese Theatre was financed 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 by the famed Meyer and Holler Construction Company 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, along with Jean Klossner, Foreman, who later became known as "Mr. Footprint", performing the footprint ceremonies from 1927 thru 1962.

Sid Grauman sold his share to William Fox's Fox Theatre in 1929 but remained as the theatre's Managing Director until his death in 1950.

In 1968 it was declared a historic and cultural landmark, and has undergone restoration projects in the years since then. The theatre was purchased in 1973 by Ted Mann, owner of the Mann Theatres chain and husband of actress Rhonda Fleming, who renamed it Mann's Chinese Theatre. As of November 9, 2001, the original name was returned to the front of the theatre. To the dismay of many fans of historic architecture, the free-standing ticket booth was removed, along with the left and right neon marquees--but their absence brings the theatre back closer to its original state. The auditorium has recently been completely restored along with much of the exterior, however, the wear and tear on the physical structure has been so pronounced, that over the years some of the external decor has been removed, rather than repaired.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre continues to serve the public as a normal first-run movie theatre. Many film premieres are held at the Chinese Theatre, often attended by large throngs of celebrities.

The theatre was home to the 1944, 1945, and 1946 Academy Awards ceremonies and is adjacent to the Kodak Theatre, the Awards' current home.

The exterior of the movie theatre is meant to resemble 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.

Footprints

File:GraumansMyrnaLoy.jpg

Many older entries contain personal messages to Sid Grauman, such as Myrna Loy's 1936 contribution. Loy's first job was as a dancer at the theater in the 1920s.

There are nearly 200 Hollywood celebrity handprints, footprints, and autographs in the cement of the theater's forecourt. While many urban legends exist on the beginning of the cement handprints, the real story is that when Mr. Klossner, the chief foreman, was finished with the construction of the forecourt, he knelt down by the right-side poster frame and placed his right hand print in the wet cement along with his initials, "J.W.K.", which are still there in 2007.

Steve McQueen's hand and foot prints

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, the noses of Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope, and the "wand-prints" of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, stars of the Harry Potter film series.

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.

During World War II the theater discontinued installing cement handprints and footprints. The tradition resumed after the war in 1945 with Gene Tierney, her star was on the rise at the time with Laura and the release of Leave Her to Heaven.

The only person not associated with the movie industry to have a signature and hand print in front of the theatre is Grauman's mother. Additionally, Charles Nelson, the winner of a "Talent Quest," had his handprints and footprints embedded in the "Forecourt of the Stars."

Pop Culture

Mann's Chinese Theater (below the miniature of Griffith Park)

Jack Nicholson's prints from 1974

• A miniature replica of Grauman's Chinese Theater made of LEGO bricks is located at Legoland California as Mann's Chinese Theater.
• The theatre is in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and is the centerpiece for a mission where the player must escort, then kidnap a celebrity.
• In 1972, The Kinks recorded the song "Celluloid Heroes" and refer to Hollywood Boulevard and the concrete signatures of 7 movie stars at Grauman's.
• In the 1974 comedy spoof Blazing Saddles, a gunfight between the characters played by Cleavon Little and Harvey Korman takes place outside the theatre, which is depicted as screening the finished film.
• In a classic episode of I Love Lucy, Lucy and Ethel visit the theatre 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 Theatre. It is next to Chinese Man's Theatre, which is noticeably more dilapidated.
• In the Futurama episode, "That's Lobstertainment", the theatre appears in the 31st century as "Loew's Gaddafi's Mann's Grauman's Chinese Theatre."
• In Kelly Rowland's song "Stole", the theater 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 Chinese, 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.
• Grauman's Chinese Theatre is also featured on the Hollywood level of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land.
• The song "Walter Reed" from the album Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 by Michael Penn contains the lyrics, "I've had my fill of palm trees and lighting up Grauman's Chinese. Tell me now what more do you need, take me to Walter Reed tonight" The contrast presented by these lines suggests that the song title refers not to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but instead to the Walter Reade Theater in New York City.
• In an episode of the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies the hillbillies perform the "public service" of filling in the footprints, handprints, writing, and even legprints that various "vandals" put in the sidewalk outside the theatre.
• In the recent novel Three Days to Never by Tim Powers, the footprint slab made by Charlie Chaplin in 1928 forms part of a time machine built by Albert Einstein and his daughter. In fact, as in the novel, the Chaplin slab was removed from in front of the theater in the 1950s, when accusations of communism turned much public opinion against the actor, and was moved to a family member's home in Eagle Rock and buried in the back yard where they remain today.
• In the Robert Zemeckis film Forrest Gump, the Chinese Theatre can be seen during Jenny's hippie days, playing the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which, in real life, is Tom Hanks' favorite film.
• In the animated movie Cats Don't Dance, the theater is featured on Danny's arrival in Hollywood, and also is the setting at the priemere of Darla's film.
• Extreme walker, Lucy Craig recently attempted to break the record for the longest time spent walking. Her route commenced from Grauman's Chinese Theatre, however the record attemped was halted due to dehydration.
• In an episode of the TV cartoon The Fairly Oddparents, The Crimson Chin lands on his buttocks right in the wet cement of the sidewalk in front of the theater. He then signs his name in the wet cement, just like many real actors had done before.
• An exact replica of the Chinese Theatre acted as the centerpiece and architectural icon of the Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida from its opening in 1989 until 2001. At that time a giant Sorcerer's Hat was erected in front of the theatre, effectively blocking the view of the theatre from the street, and replacing it as the park's official icon. This is apparently due to a licencing and copyright disagreement between the theater's current owners and Disney. It is still there, however, and continues to serve as the entrance to the park's centerpiece attraction, The Great Movie Ride.
• The newest people to have left their mark at the theatre include Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, of the Harry Potter movies, who left prints of their hands, feet, and wands on July 8, 2007.
• Star Wars premired at this theatre on May 25, 1977.
• Also featured in the movie Rush Hour.
• In one The Fairly OddParents episode, there is a theater called Dan's Chinese theater, an obvious reference to Grauman's Chinese Theater.

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References

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External links

• Grauman's Chinese Theater official website
• Clickable Map of star handprints & footprints
• Map and list of celebrity handprints
• Amazing photos of Footprint Ceremonies
• Sid Grauman's Chinese Theater (Historic Photos)