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The advent of The advent of synchronized sound sent the picture industry reeling, as the big studios frantically re-tooled and acting careers were ruined and made overnight.
Still, the “talkies” took movies by storm. Since its initial construction as a real estate advertisement for $21,000 in 1923, the Hollywood sign has endured as one of the most recognizable landmarks in American history. Originally spelling out "Hollywoodland" and overlooking Los Angeles from the heights of Mount Lee, the sign has not only served as the nation's film and television industry's signature icon but also the site and subject of eclectic bits of show business history ranging from tragic to strange to thrilling. Suffice it to say that if the Hollywood sign could talk, it would have some stories to tell. But in the landmark's history spanning more than a century, what events and incidents have most durably stood the test of time as part of the cultural zeitgeist?
For generations, Hollywood has been notoriously littered with the shattered dreams of wide-eyed show business hopefuls who, for various reasons, fell short of realizing their lofty aspirations. Among the countless casualties in Tinsel Town's unforgiving wake was British actress Peg Entwistle. Born in 1908, Entwistle moved to New York in 1912 and began acting on Broadway at the age of 17. In 1931, she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in cinema, ultimately landing a contract with RKO and securing a role in the 1932 film Thirteen Women. But upon the film's disappointing reception by critics, and discovering that her performance failed to make the final cut, Entwistle was abruptly dropped from her studio contract.
Devastated and with little to no professional prospects on the horizon, Entwistle reached a breaking point. On September 16, 1932, she made her way to the Hollywood sign, climbed to the top of the "H," and leaped to her untimely death. Personal items, including her purse, coat, and shoe were discovered by a hiker the next day, and inside the purse was a suicide note. "I am afraid I am a coward," Entwistle wrote. "I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E." In the decades since the tragic incident, Peg Entwistle's death has attained legendary status and led to endless speculation, theories, and even assertions that her spirit haunts the Hollywood Hills. The young actress' suicide, however, would be just the first entry in a storied history of occurrences that would take place in the vicinity of Hollywood's famous landmark.ie mania to new heights, and H
According to Hollywood legend, a letter to Peg arrived the day after her death from the Beverly Hills Playhouse. She was offered the lead role in a play…about a woman driven to suicide...
