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'Grauman's Chinese Theatre' is a world-famous movie theatre located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. 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''. Mann Theatres - Grauman's Chinese 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. Business - Chicago Sun-Times 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.

Contents

History

Footprints

Full List of Footprint and Handprint Ceremonies

1920's

1930's

1940's

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Culture references

At amusement parks

In video games

In music

In film

On television

In novels

References

External links

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 Theatre 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. IMDb: Academy Awards, USA
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

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 wands of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson
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."

Full List of Footprint and Handprint Ceremonies

1920's

★ Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (April 30, 1927)

★ Norma Talmadge (May 18, 1927)

★ Norma Shearer (August 1, 1927)

★ Harold Lloyd (November 21, 1927)

★ William S. Hart (November 28, 1927)

★ Tom Mix and Tony the Wonder Horse (December 12, 1927)

★ Colleen Moore (December 19, 1927)

★ Gloria Swanson (circa 1927)

★ Constance Talmadge (circa 1927)

★ Charlie Chaplin (circa January 1928)

★ Pola Negri (April 2, 1928)

★ Bebe Daniels (May 11, 1929)

★ Marion Davies (May 13, 1929)

★ Janet Gaynor (May 29, 1929)

★ Joan Crawford (September 14, 1929)

1930's

★ Ann Harding (August 30, 1930)

★ Raoul Walsh (November 14, 1930)

★ Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler (January 31, 1931)

★ Jackie Cooper (December 12, 1931)

★ Eddie Cantor (March 9, 1932)

★ Diana Wynyard (January 26, 1933)

★ The Marx Brothers (February 17, 1933)

★ Jean Harlow (September 25 and September 29, 1933)

★ Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald (December 4, 1934)

★ Shirley Temple (March 14, 1935)

★ Joe E. Brown (March 5, 1936)

★ Al Jolson (March 12, 1936)

★ Freddie Bartholomew (April 4, 1936)

★ Bing Crosby (April 8, 1936)

★ Victor McLaglen (May 25, 1936)

★ William Powell and Myrna Loy (October 20, 1936)

★ Clark Gable and Woody Van Dyke (January 20, 1937)

★ Dick Powell and Joan Blondell (February 10, 1937)

★ Fredric March (April 21, 1937)

★ May Robson (April 22, 1937)

★ Tyrone Power and Loretta Young (May 31, 1937)

★ Sonja Henie (June 28, 1937)

★ The Ritz Brothers (September 22, 1937)

★ Eleanor Powell (December 23, 1937)

★ Don Ameche (January 27, 1938)

★ Fred Astaire (February 4, 1938)

★ Deanna Durbin (February 7, 1938)

★ Alice Faye and Tony Martin (March 20, 1938)

★ Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy (July 20, 1938)

★ Jean Hersholt (October 11, 1938)

★ Mickey Rooney (October 18, 1938)

★ Nelson Eddy (December 28, 1938)

★ Ginger Rogers (September 5, 1939)

★ Judy Garland (October 10, 1939)

★ Jane Withers (November 6, 1939)

1940's

★ Linda Darnell (March 18, 1940)

★ Rosa Grauman and George Raft (March 25, 1940)

★ John Barrymore (September 5, 1940)

★ Jack Benny (January 13, 1941)

★ Carmen Miranda (March 24, 1941)

★ Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor (June 11, 1941)

★ Rudy Vallee (July 21, 1941)

★ Cecil B. DeMille (August 7, 1941)

★ The Family of Judge James K. Hardy (August 15, 1941)

★ Abbott and Costello (December 8, 1941)

★ Edward Arnold (January 6, 1942)

★ Joan Fontaine (May 26, 1942)

★ Red Skelton (June 18, 1942)

★ Greer Garson (July 23, 1942)

★ Henry Fonda, Rita Hayworth, Charles Boyer, Edward G. Robinson, and Charles Laughton (July 24, 1942)

★ Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (February 5, 1943)

★ Betty Grable (February 15, 1943)

★ Monty Woolley (May 28, 1943)

★ Gary Cooper (August 13, 1943)

★ Esther Williams and Private Joe Brian (August 1, 1944)

★ Jack Oakie (February 21, 1945)

★ Jimmy Durante (October 31, 1945)

★ Sid Grauman and Gene Tierney (January 24, 1946)

★ Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison (July 8, 1946)

★ Margaret O'Brien (August 15, 1946)

★ Humphrey Bogart (August 21, 1946)

★ Louella Parsons (September 30, 1946)

★ Ray Milland (April 17, 1947)

★ Lauritz Melchior (November 17, 1947)

★ James Stewart (February 13, 1948)

★ Van Johnson (March 25, 1948)

★ George Jessel (March 1, 1949)

★ Roy Rogers and Trigger (April 21, 1949)

★ Richard Widmark and Charles Nelson (April 24, 1949)

★ Jeanne Crain (October 17, 1949)

★ Jean Hersholt (October 20, 1949)

★ Anne Baxter and Gregory Peck (December 15, 1949)

★ Gene Autry and Champion (December 23, 1949)

1950s

★ John Wayne (January 25, 1950)

★ Lana Turner (May 24, 1950)

★ Bette Davis (November 6, 1950)

★ William Lundigan (December 29, 1950)

★ Cary Grant (July 16, 1951)

★ Susan Hayward (August 10, 1951)

★ Hildegard Knef and Oskar Werner (December 13, 1951)

★ Jane Wyman (September 17, 1952)

★ Ava Gardner (October 21, 1952)

★ Clifton Webb (December 7, 1952)

★ Olivia de Havilland (December 9, 1952)

★ Adolph Zukor (January 5, 1953)

★ Ezio Pinza (January 26, 1953)

★ Donald O'Connor and mother Effie (February 25, 1953)

★ Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (June 26, 1953)

★ Jean Simmons (September 24, 1953)

★ Danny Thomas (January 26, 1954)

★ James Mason (March 30, 1954)

★ Alan Ladd (May 12, 1954)

★ Edmund Purdom (August 30, 1954)

★ Van Heflin (October 8, 1954)

★ George Murphy (November 8, 1954)

★ Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr (March 22, 1956)

★ Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and George Stevens (September 26, 1956)

★ Elmer C. Rhoden (September 16, 1958)

★ Rosalind Russell (February 19, 1959)

1960s

★ Cantinflas (December 28, 1960)

★ Doris Day (January 19, 1961)

★ Natalie Wood (December 5, 1961)

★ Charlton Heston (January 18, 1962)

★ Sophia Loren (July 26, 1962)

★ Kirk Douglas (November 1, 1962)

★ Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (May 25, 1963)

★ Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (June 29, 1963)

★ Mervyn LeRoy (October 15, 1963)

★ Hayley Mills (February 22, 1964)

★ Dean Martin (March 21, 1964)

★ Peter Sellers (June 3, 1964)

★ Debbie Reynolds (January 14, 1965)

★ Marcello Mastroianni (February 8, 1965)

★ Frank Sinatra (July 20, 1965)

★ Julie Andrews (March 26, 1966)

★ Dick Van Dyke (June 25, 1966)

★ Steve McQueen (March 21, 1967)

★ Sidney Poitier (June 23, 1967)

★ Anthony Quinn (December 21, 1968)

★ Danny Kaye (October 19, 1969)

★ Gene Kelly (November 24, 1969)

1970s

★ Francis X. Bushman (November 17, 1970)

★ Ali MacGraw (December 14, 1972)

★ KISS (February 20, 1976)

★ Jack Nicholson (June 17, 1974)

★ Tom Bradley and Ted Mann (May 18, 1977)

★ The Chinese Theatre's 50th Anniversary (May 24, 1977)

★ C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2-D2, and Darth Vader (August 3, 1977)

★ George Burns (January 25, 1979)

1980s

★ John Travolta (June 2, 1980)

★ Burt Reynolds (September 24, 1981)

★ Rhonda Fleming (September 28, 1981)

★ Sylvester Stallone (June 29, 1983)

★ George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (May 16, 1984)

★ Donald Duck and Clarence Nash (May 21, 1984)

★ Clint Eastwood (August 21, 1984)

★ Mickey Rooney (February 18, 1986)

★ Eddie Murphy and Hollywood's 100th Anniversary (May 14, 1987)

1990s

★ Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, George Takei, and Walter Koenig (December 5, 1991)

★ Harrison Ford (June 4, 1992)

★ Michael Keaton (June 15, 1992)

★ Tom Cruise (June 15, 1992)

★ Mel Gibson (August 23, 1993)

★ Arnold Schwarzenegger (July 15, 1994)

★ Meryl Streep (September 25, 1994)

★ Whoopi Goldberg (February 2, 1995)

★ Bruce Willis (May 18, 1995)

★ Steven Seagal (July 10, 1995)

★ Jim Carrey (November 1, 1995)

★ Johnny Grant (May 13, 1997)

★ Robert Zemeckis (July 8, 1997)

★ Michael Douglas (September 10, 1997)

★ Al Pacino (October 16, 1997)

★ Denzel Washington (January 15, 1998)

★ Walter Matthau (April 2, 1998)

★ Warren Beatty (May 21, 1998)

★ Danny Glover (July 7, 1998)

★ Tom Hanks (July 23, 1998)

★ Robin Williams (December 22, 1998)

★ Susan Sarandon (January 11, 1999)

★ William F. "Bill" Hertz (March 18, 1999)

★ Ron Howard (March 23, 1999)

★ Sean Connery (April 13, 1999)

★ Richard Gere (July 26, 1999)

★ Terry Semel and Bob Daly (September 30, 1999)

2000s

★ Anthony Hopkins (January 11, 2001)

★ Nicolas Cage (August 14, 2001)

★ Martin Lawrence (November 19, 2001)

★ John Woo (May 21, 2002)

★ Morgan Freeman (June 5, 2002)

★ Christopher Walken (October 8, 2004)

★ Jack Valenti (December 6, 2004)

★ Sherry Lansing (February 16, 2005)

★ Adam Sandler (May 17, 2005)

★ Johnny Depp (September 16, 2005)

★ Samuel L. Jackson (January 30, 2006)

★ Kevin Costner (September 6, 2006)

★ Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint (July 7, 2007)

★ Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Jerry Weintraub

Culture references

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

Jack Nicholson's prints from 1974

At amusement parks

★ A miniature replica of Grauman's Chinese Theater made of LEGO bricks is located at Legoland California as Mann's Chinese Theater.

★ 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.

In video games

★ The theatre is in '', and is the centerpiece for a mission where the player must escort, then kidnap a celebrity.

★ Grauman's Chinese Theatre is also featured on the Hollywood level of ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land.

In music

★ 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 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''.

★ 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 film

★ 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 the Robert Zemeckis film ''Forrest Gump'', the Chinese Theatre can be seen during Jenny's hippie days, playing the Stanley Kubrick film '', 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.

★ Star Wars premired at this theatre on May 25, 1977. R2-D2, C-3PO and Darth Vader's footprints are also there.

★ As a publicity stunt for the movie ''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo'', the first "star car" Herbie the Love Bug had his tire prints embedded in the cement but they are no longer there.

★ Also featured in the movie Rush Hour.

★ Also featured in the 1998 movie Mighty Joe Young.

★ Aerial view of the theatre is shown in the movie "The Godfather", just before Tom Hagen's visit to the director to get Johnny Fontane a part in the movie.

On television

★ 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 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 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.

★ In one The Fairly OddParents episode, there is a theater called ''Dan's'' Chinese theater, an obvious reference to Grauman's Chinese Theater. In another episode the Crimson Chin hits the sign ''Chinese'', and the letters fall down so it's readed ''Dan's'' Chin theater.

In novels

★ In the 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.

References

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)