How the Hollywood Sign Went From Temporary Billboard to Symbol of America's Showbiz Capital

Its iconic letters stand among the most successful branding ever

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Peg Entwistle had come 3,000 miles just to have her heart broken.

It was 1932, and the promising stage actress from New York had come to Hollywood to break into the movies. But after weeks of auditions, the phone hadn’t rung. That was when a highly distraught Entwistle found herself up behind the Hollywood sign, climbing a maintenance ladder behind the 50-foot letter “H.” And when she reached the top, Entwistle threw herself off.

The tragic story of “The Hollywood Sign Girl” remains a cautionary tale for the thousands who still flock to Tinseltown in hopes of a career in front of the camera.

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This story first appeared in the Nov. 13, 2017, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.