Recent News
2012:
January 2012: The Hollywood Sign Trust launched its new website with more interactive features, photo galleries and history.
2011:
December 2011: At last count The Sign in the Movies section includes 83 movies, 25 television shows, 4 video games and 5 music videos featuring the Hollywood Sign. This area of the website is extremely popular and all sightings were sent in by fans of the Sign. If you spot the Sign, email us at info@hollywoodsign.org and we will add your find to our gallery.
November 2011: The Hollywood Sign Trust joined The Los Angeles Press Club in honoring Hugh Hefner with a lifetime achievement award.
September 2011: The Hollywood Sign Trust adds a ‘Teaching the Sign’ section to the website featuring downloadable worksheets, timelines, and fast facts of the Hollywood Sign for the classroom.
July 2011: The summer blockbuster, Friends with Benefits, features the Hollywood Sign and especially The Hollywood Sign security. The movie made sure to showcase that trespassing to the Sign is illegal and the police will ask you to leave.
February 2011: The Hollywood Sign launches a Facebook Page where local and international fans can express their love for The Sign and share their own stories about the biggest icon of movie making.
2010:
December 2010: The Hollywood community comes together for a Save the Peak Community Celebration in the parkland just below The Hollywood Sign, commemorating the historic preservation of the large land tract just west of the Sign. This festive occasion included a press conference, live music, Pink’s Hot Dogs, and one of the best views to be seen anywhere. Some of our celebrity guests included Council member Tom LaBonge, Hollywood Sign Trust Chairman Chris Baumgart, Trust for Public Land President Will Rogers, philanthropist Aileen Getty, and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
April 2010: Thirty-two years after the Sign was rebuilt, the Sign’s #1 fan, Hugh Hefner, presents the Hollywood Sign Trust with the closing gift to ‘Save the Peak,’ capping efforts to raise funds to purchase and protect the 138 acres behind the Hollywood Sign. Thanks to Mr. Hefner’s contribution, grants from The Tiffany & Co. Foundation and Aileen Getty, along with contributions from Hollywood leaders and fans around the world, the view that is inseparable from this cultural landmark will be protected. A star-studded press conference is held atop Mt. Lee, featuring remarks from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Council member Tom LaBonge, Hollywood Sign Trust Chairman Chris Baumgart, and Trust for Public Land President Will Rogers.
February 2010: The Hollywood Sign Trust joins the campaign to purchase and preserve 138 acres of Cahuenga Peak land adjacent to the Sign, which is in eminent danger of development for luxury estates. For the first time, the Trust grants official permission for the Sign to be temporarily covered by a banner. In support of fundraising efforts, The Trust for Public Land is permitted to place a banner over the Sign reading “Save The Peak.”
2009:
November 2009: By popular demand, HollywoodSign.org adds two new areas to the site: a list of appearances by the Sign in video games and music videos. Sharp-eyed Sign fans Rocco Battaglia, Randall Branam, and Marcel Pazzin discover over 15 before-unrecognized Sign appearances in film, tv, and video games to bolster the official list.
August 2009: The Sign’s security system is significantly upgraded with the newest software and hardware; the Sign is monitored 24 hours a day by City of Los Angeles security specialists. Security enhancements are a cooperative project between the City and the Hollywood Sign Trust.
April 2009 - The United States Coast Guard features the Hollywood Sign as the backdrop for a series of memorial photos honoring the Coast Guard’s fallen heroes.
April 2009 - ‘The Voice of America,’ the U.S.A.’s international broadcasting service, produced a news piece dedicated to the history, significance and maintenance of the Sign, and educating international viewers about the landmark.
March 2009 - Renner’s, the ‘Entertainment Tonight’ of Germany, airs a segment about the Sign, as it is a very important destination for German tourists. The piece covered the Sign’s fascinating history as well as the care and upkeep of the monument today.
Feb 2009 - Die Zeit, a German weekly news magazine similar to ‘Time,’ features the Hollywood Sign in its ‘Travel’ section. Just in time for the Oscars! Die Zeit is the most widely read German weekly newspaper.
Feb 2009 - Ming, China’s premier and popular lifestyle magazine, generated a feature on the Hollywood Sign, interviewing Sign trustee, Don Tillman. He detailed the nitty-gritty of maintaining and protecting this 45-foot high landmark.
2008:
Nov. 2008 - The Hollywood Sign continues its ongoing tradition of sponsoring ‘Opening Night’ at the AFI Film Festival, held at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood, with ‘Doubt,’ and cast members Meryl Streep (later nominated for Academy Award), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, etc. all hitting the red carpet. The long-time Hollywood Sign sponsorship of opening night at AFI Fest has helped grow the festival from a fledgling event into a truly world-class international film festival. A core mission of the Sign Trust is to educate the world about Hollywood’s seminal role in filmmaking and ensure it maintains its position as the epicenter of the global filmmaking world and keeps those ‘arc lights’ shining on a town that sparked the world’s love away with movies almost a century ago.
Oct. 2008 - Connie Talbot, British child star who won ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ at age six, visited the Hollywood Sign as part of her United States promotional tour. As a newly-minted star, Connie was excited to visit the international symbol of dreams coming true, the Hollywood Sign.
October 2008 - YSL features the Hollywood Sign in its glossy print advertising campaign, starring supermodel Claudia Schiffer, who took the Yves Saint Laurent baton as the face of the luxury fashion label for Spring/Summer 2009.
Sept 2008 - The U.S. Navy selects the Hollywood Sign to be featured in a segment entitled ‘America’s Landmarks,’ to be shown on military bases and ships all across the World.
Feb. 2008 - Popular PBS host Huell Howser generated a special, 1-hour look at the Hollywood Sign on his show ‘California Gold,’ delving into its rich, storied history, and significance. With special permission from the Sign Trust, Huell climbed to the base of the Sign to broadcast the piece, featuring interviews from members of the Sign Trust and amazing, new archival footage of the building of the Sign. You can view this show in its entirety here.
Jan. 2008 - 2008 represented the 30th anniversary of the historic restoration of the Sign. In 1978 it was determined that the Sign needed a total, letters-up rebuilding, and some of showbiz’s biggest names came to the financial rescue. Hugh Hefner hosted a gala fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion, where Sign letters were auctioned off individually to a diverse mix of sponsors from Alice Cooper to Gene Autry. The philanthropic campaign funded the makeover, which involved 194 tons of concrete, enamel and steel. And the Sign has been shining proudly for the three decades since…