Chinese Theatre Handprint Ceremonies 211 images Created 3 Oct 2019
There have been many stories about the origins of the hand/footprints at the Chinese Theatre, and all but one can be dismissed as folklore. As legend has it, during construction, Sid Grauman was crossing the forecourt when suddenly confronted by his chief cement mason, Jean Klossner, who scolded him for walking in the freshly laid cement. After making peace with Klossner, Sid asked Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Norma Talmadge to immediately come to the theatre. Upon their arrival, he asked them to place their feet in the new curbstone but it was nearly dry, so the impressions were too faint. Three weeks before the completion of construction, Pickford & Fairbanks were invited back to formally place their signatures and prints in the center of the forecourt. A few days later, Sid invited Talmadge to make her impressions next to theirs. Knowing the theatre's grand opening was set for May 18, 1927, she scribbled that date above her signature.
Today, there are nearly 200 prints and autographs in the theatre's forecourt. Variations of this honored tradition are imprints of the eye glasses 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 noses of Jimmy Durante & Bob Hope, the guns of Western stars William S. Hart & Roy Rogers, the hoofprints of famous horses beside the prints of the stars who rode them, and the magic wands of Harry Potter.
During World War II the theatre discontinued installing concrete prints. The tradition later resumed in 1945 with Gene Tierney. The only person not associated with the movie industry to etch their signature and print in the concrete is Grauman's mother, Rosa.
Today, there are nearly 200 prints and autographs in the theatre's forecourt. Variations of this honored tradition are imprints of the eye glasses 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 noses of Jimmy Durante & Bob Hope, the guns of Western stars William S. Hart & Roy Rogers, the hoofprints of famous horses beside the prints of the stars who rode them, and the magic wands of Harry Potter.
During World War II the theatre discontinued installing concrete prints. The tradition later resumed in 1945 with Gene Tierney. The only person not associated with the movie industry to etch their signature and print in the concrete is Grauman's mother, Rosa.
