Grauman's Chinese Theatre, located on Hollywood Boulevard, opened on May 18th 1927. It was built by Sid Grauman, in partnership with Canadian-American actress Mary Pickford, her husband actor Douglas Fairbanks and Howard Shenck.
Born in Indiana in 1879, Sid Grauman accompanied his father David to the Yukon in search of gold when he was in his teens. Although they had little success discovering gold they did realise that providing entertainment for the miners could prove to be lucrative. His father left the Yukon and when his parents had established themselves in San Francisco Sid left the Yukon to join them. Sid and his father David opened a vaudeville theatre in San Francisco. Situated on Mason Street it was called the Unique Theatre. Following the Unique Theatres increasing popularity the Grauman's opened a second Theatre known as The Lyceum which hosted vaudeville performances and also showed motion pictures. In 1906 the San Francisco earthquake destroyed both theatres. Sid reportedly pulled one of the projectors from the rubble of the destroyed theatres and acquired a huge tent from a preacher. For two years they showed films in the canvas tent. The Grauman's constructed three new cinemas in San Francisco, the New National Theatre, the Imperial and the Empress. They sold all the theatres to Adolf Zukor, the eventual owner of Paramount Pictures.
In 1903 Sid Grauman opened the Unique Theatre, famous amongst other things for being the training ground for Fatty Arbuckle, in San Jose. In 1906 the Theatre was destroyed by an earthquake and the Grauman's decided to move to Los Angeles. Initially they built Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in 1922 and it served as the venue for the premiere of Douglas Fairbank's movie Robin Hood. In 1926 Grauman and his three partners, Pickford, Fairbanks and Shenck approached LA real-estate developer, Charles E Toberman, to secure a long term lease from the actor and director, Francis X Bushman. The property at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard was the location of Bushman's mansion. In gratitude to him agreeing to forfeit the land a small plaque was erected dedicating the theatre to Bushman.
Grauman approached LA architectural firm Meyer and Holler, who had designed the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre. Robert M Kennedy was the main architect on the project. The exterior of the building was designed to represent a giant, red pagoda. The pagoda is an architectural style that took shape over many centuries in East Asia. Two authentic Ming Dynasty guardian lions are situated at the entrance of the theatre. These heavenly dogs were believed to have mythic protective powers. Small silhouettes of dragons line the sides of the elaborate copper roof and a huge Chinese dragon adorns the theatre. The Chinese dragon was believed to represent potent and auspicious powers in Chinese mythology. Many of the decorative elements were imported from China including Temple Bells and a small pagoda.
Grauman commissioned Jean Klossner to create a hard concrete floor for the forecourt of the cinema. This forecourt beacme the site of the famous footprint ceremonies. There are three stories about how this famed tradition began. The first is that Sid Grauman accidentally stood in the wet cement and thinking it was amusing quickly told Mary Pickford to do the same. The second story is that actress Norma Talmadge accidentally stood in the wet cement and the idea came from that. The third theory is that Jean Klossner signed his work and Sid Grauman developed the idea from that.
In 1929 Sid Grauman decided to retire and sell his share of the cinema to William Fox's Fox Theatre chain. Not long after his retirement Sid Grauman was coaxed back to the theatre at the insistence of Howard Hughes who wanted to premiere his film Hell's Angels at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Following that Grauman retired again but was once more encouraged back to the theatre in the capacity of managing director, a role he performed until his death in 1950. The Grauman's Chinese Theatre was declared an historical and cultural landmark in 1968. An American business man, Ted Mann purchased the Theatre in 1973 and until 2001 it was known as Mann's Chinese Theatre.
Following Mann's bankruptcy Warner Bros and Paramount Pictures acquired the Theatre. Bent Bower architects prepared a restoration plan which began in 2002. The original name Grauman's Chinese Theatre was restored. In 2007 CIM purchased the land the Theatre is situated on and in 2011 Chinese Theatres LLC, a partnership owned by nightclub owner Elie Samaha and producer Donald Kushner purchased Grauman's.
There have been many reported incidents of paranormal phenomenon in Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Staff have reported the huge curtain moving of its own volition with unidentifiable sounds coming from behind it. Many believe the disturbances to be caused by an apparition they call Fritz, thought to be a former employee who hung himself behind the screen soon after the opening of the theatre. There have been reports of strange shaped objects falling from the roof but disappearing before they can reach the ground. Lights reportedly flicker for no apparent reason. There have been reports of a feeling of foreboding felt in the downstairs ladies room.
A full male apparition has been reportedly seen in the forecourt, seemingly sad and searching for someone. Many believe that this is the ghost of murdered actor Victor Killian. Born in New Jersey in 1891, Killian was involved in vaudeville performance from eighteen years of age and became well known on Broadway. He was summoned to Hollywood in 1935 and by the end of the decade had made fifty films. Blinded in one eye in an accident while filming the John Wayne movie Reap The Wild Wind, he continued making films until he was "named" in the dreaded McCarthy Congressional hearings. Following not being able to get work and the death of his wife who he had been married to for forty six years, he returned to a lucrative television career that spanned over fifteen years. There are two stories regarding his death, one is he was killed in his home by burglars, and the other is that feeling lonely he had spoken to someone at a bar and invited them to his home. He passed Grauman's Chinese Theatre on his way and was brutally beaten to death at his home. The full bodied apparition of a sad looking man looking for something, that simply vanishes has been spotted walking around the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre on many occasions.
An amazing building with a fabulous history, Grauman's Chinese Theatre is well worth a visit. I was excited to find the foot and handprints of my favourite stars when I visited the iconic theatre.
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