The Hollywood Sign

Hollywood is no stranger to broken dreams and suicide. When it was shinny and new starry eyed men and women came in droves in the early 1900s to gain fame and fortune. When those dreams shattered these failed actors and would-be starlets found their fame in death. Such a symbol of Hollywood failure and tragedy became Peg Entwhistle. Her presence can still be felt today by the Hollywood sign.

The Hollywood sign is perhaps the most famous and well-known sign in the world. The sign rests on Mount Lee in Griffith Park and looms over the city of Hollywood. In 1923 the original sign was built. It was done as a publicity ploy to encourage people to purchase homes in the subdivision known as Hollywoodland located along Beachwood Canyon. One of the promoters was Mack Sennet but as all things in Hollywood the sign wasn’t meant to last forever only for a year and a half.

The sign cost $21,000 to build and each of the letters was 30ft. wide and 50 ft. high. The name was studded with light bulbs and could be seen for miles. There was a continuous problem of maintenance and vandalism and finally in 1939 maintenance of the sign was discontinued. In late 1944 the H. Sherman Company became owner of about 455 acres of land adjoining Griffith Park sign included. Finally in 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce repaired and rebuilt the sign. They took away the word land and the sign came to simply read Hollywood. Some of the letters were again replaced in the late 1970s. In August of 1978 the sign got new all-steel letters and stretches 450 feet along the side of Mount Lee and remains 50 ft. tall. The sign is and remains the symbol of Hollywood.

But our tale goes back to a dark night in September of 1932 when the Hollywood sign got its first taste of death. On this particular night Peg Entwhistle had decided that Hollywood was done with her. That fame had eluded her. She climbed the slopes of Mount Lee, scaled the heights of the letter H and jumped. Her body first flying like a bird through the air and then crashing into the ground below. She was successful the fall killed her, another Hollywood failure only 24 years old.

Peg Entwhistle was born in London, England in 1908. She came from an acting family. Her mother died while she was quite young leaving her father to raise her and her two brothers Robert and Milton. Peg’s father moved the family to New York to begin working in a local theater. Unfortunately her father got run over on Park Avenue and Robert and Milton were went to Los Angeles to live with Harold Entwhistle, their uncle. Peg took comfort in the theater. At 17 she made her acting debut in Hamlet and discovered that she was loved by audiences, critics and directors. Soon Peg had become a Broadway star and a member of the New York Theater Guild.

During the time Peg worked on Broadway she met and married a fellow actor Robert Keith who was 10 years her senior. Later she discovered that he had a son from a previous marriage who incidentally turned out later to be Brian Keith – actor of the TV show "Family Affair". Later Peg and Robert’s marriage turned bad and they divorced. Peg returned to the Broadway stage but unfortunately it was the time of the Great Depression and people could no longer afford going to the theater. Peg’s last seven New York plays bombed. While things were rough in New York Hollywood was still in the boom era. In fantasy land they were making the transition from silent films to talkies. Not many Hollywood actors could make the switch. Their voices just weren’t made for talking on the big screen and producers started looking to the New York stage for actors. So Peg packed her bags and headed for the west coast.

Arriving on the coast Peg moved into a Beachwood Canyon bungalow with her brothers and Uncle Harold. Ironically enough the house was located just under the towering sign – Hollywoodland. Peg’s first job was in a small theater working on a play called "Mad Hopes" which starred Billie Burke who later went on to become Glenda the good witch in "The Wizard of Oz". The show also had another Hollywood newcomer – Humphrey Bogart. The play failed and Peg went on to appear in a few more small productions with Billie Burke while Bogart returned to New York. Finally Peg got a short-term contract with RKO Studios. Her first small movie role was in the film "Thirteen Women". The film proved to be a disaster with the critics and after RKO did a little revamping Peg wound up with only a cameo appearance.

Things went from bad to worse and she was dropped from RKO. With no friends and no options Peg was just another pretty face in Hollywood. While she had shot to fame on Broadway she was now the lowest of the low in Hollywood. There wasn’t even enough for a fare back to New York. So arrived the fateful night in September 1932. Peg was last seen alive heading down Beachwood Canyon toward Mount Lee. Reaching the Hollywood sign she took off her coat and folded it neatly placing her purse at the bottom of the maintenance ladder leading to the letter "H". She climbed up and dived down. The following day a woman hiker in Griffith Park found Peg’s purse and coat near the ladder. Opening the purse the woman found a suicide note inside. The note simply said, "I am afraid I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago it would have saved a lot of pain….P.E." The woman hiker then returned the note to the purse and in the early hours of the morning placed the purse and coat on the steps of the Hollywood police station. It was to be two days later when authorities discovered the body of Peg Entwhistle in the brush at the bottom of Mount Lee.

Not being sure of her identity the police ran a description of the woman they had found along with the contents of the suicide note in the newspaper. The police were contacted by Uncle Harold who had been searching for his niece. It was not long after that he identified her body. There is no doubt that at times life can be quite ironical and so it was that Uncle Harold discovered a letter mailed to Peg the day before her swan dive. The letter was from the Beverly Hills Playhouse offering Peg the lead role in their next production. Making things even more tragic was that the part called for a beautiful young woman who commits suicide in the final act of the play. So do we call it fate or tragedy? Could her life have been saved?

However death was not the last act for Peg. In the years following her suicide hikers and park rangers in Griffith Park have reported sightings of a woman dressed in 1930s era clothing. She vanishes when approached. The entity is described as an attractive blond woman who appears to be very sad. It is thought that this could be the ghost of Peg. There is also the pungent scent of gardenia perfume which was known to be Peg’s trademark perfume. In 1990 a North Hollywood man and his girlfriend were walking on Beachwood Canyon trail near the Hollywood sign when their dog began to act strangely. The dog began to whine and hang back near the couple. They couldn’t understand the dog’s reaction until they saw a lady walking nearby. She was dressed in clothing from the 1930s but it being Hollywood they didn’t pay much attention. However the lady appeared to be in a daze and thinking that perhaps she was on drugs or drunk the couple steered clear of her. Suddenly she just faded away before their very eyes. They had no idea about Peg Entwhistle and were quite surprised when they found out about the story. Surely she was the lady they had seen.

Griffith Park ranger John Arbogast revealed his own encounters with the entity of Peg Entwhistle. He stated that she made her presence known usually very late at night, especially if it was foggy and always in the vicinity of the Hollywood sign. He also had smelled the scent of gardenias. Arbogast explained that the sign had alarm systems installed near it in order to keep vandals away and possible suicides looking for a way out. The alarm systems use motion detectors and lights to keep intrude away. He said that at times the alarm system’s motion detectors would detect that someone was standing within 5 feet from him only there was nobody there.

It’s so sad to think that the Hollywood sign exists as a symbol of hope but for Peg Enwhistle it appeared to be a sign of despair. Others made it to fame and fortune she could not. If only she had found that letter from the Beverly Hills Playhouse before her last desperate act….. If only… but that’s life and it isn’t always fair. However she did find fame in death and so she continues to play her role around and about the Hollywood sign.