Right in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre are the famous concrete footprints in the forecourt, the undisputed shrine of Hollywood that attracts tourists from all over the world. Movie stars old and new have been placing their footprints and handprints into concrete tiles ever since its 1927 opening. Like its long-lived custom of the frenzied, flashbulb-riddled red carpet premiere, stars today are still immortalized with the cement handprint tradition.
The theater’s official story, which is printed in books and souvenir programs, credits actress Norma Talmadge as having inspired the tradition when she accidentally stepped into wet the concrete.
Another origin
story came from a short interview during the September 3, 1937 Lux Radio Theatre radio broadcast of
A Star Is Born wherein Sid Grauman describes the incident:
"[It was] pure accident. I walked right into it. While we were building the theatre, I accidentally happened to step in some soft concrete. And there it was. So, I went to Mary Pickford immediately. Mary put her foot into it."
Another
footprint origin story comes from the theater's construction foreman, Jean Klossner, who claims he autographed his work after laying the cement next to the right-hand poster kiosk, planting the seeds for what would become a world-famous celebrity custom. Klossner’s autograph and handprint, dated 1927, can still be found there today.
[Norma Talmadge via]
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