May 18, 1927: Grauman's Chinese Theatre Opens

May 18, 1927: Grauman's Chinese Theatre opens at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, three-quarters of a mile west of the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine, and 8 miles northwest of City Hall. The opening event is the premiere of The King of Kings, a silent Biblical epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring H.B. Warner as Jesus.

(The film was remade with sound and color in 1961. Warner, born in London as Henry Byron Lickfold, was not related to the Warner Brothers who founded the film studio that bears their name. He is best remembered today for playing Mr. Gower, the Bedford Falls pharmacist, in It's a Wonderful Life.)

It was built by businessman Sid Grauman as a companion piece to Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, which opened in 1922, at 6706 Hollywood Boulevard, a block to the east. Despite the fact that the Egyptian Theatre still stands, I had never heard of it until I wrote this post. The Chinese Theatre gets all the glory.

The reason is the theater's forecourt, with actors putting their handprints, footprints and autograph in cement. The 1st 2 to do it were the husband & wife team of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford.

Sometimes, when a performer is known for a particular body part, that was put in cement. Examples include John Barrymore's much-discussed profile, Jimmy Durante's nose, and one of Betty Grable's "Million Dollar Legs." Nobody had the guts to ask Jane Russell, or any other full-figured actress, to dip her assets.

Wester stars William S. Hart and Roy Rogers dipped their revolvers. Rogers' horse Trigger, Gene Autry's horse Champion, and Tom Mix's "wonder horse" Tony left their hoofprints. Silent film star Harold Lloyd left eyeglasses. Of all the performers known for smoking cigars, the only one who dipped a cigar in the cement has been Groucho Marx. More recently, Whoopi Goldberg dipped one of her dreadlocks, and Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson imprinted their characters' magic wands.

The theater has held many high-profile film premieres. In 1973, Ted Mann, owner of the Mann Theatres chain, bought the theater, and renamed it Mann's Chinese Theatre. He sold his company to Gulf + Western in 1986. Following a renovation in 2001, the Grauman's name was restored. In 2013, an actual Chinese company, electronics manufacturer TCL Corporation, bought the naming rights, and it is now named the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Next-door to it, at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, is the Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held. (The Chinese Theatre itself hosted the ceremony in 1944, 1945 and 1946.) On the other side is the Los Angeles outlet of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Across Hollywood Boulevard from it, to the south, is the Hollywood Masonic Temple, where ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live is taped; and the well-known Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Across Highland Avenue from it, to the east, is the Hollywood Wax Museum.

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May 18, 1927 was a Wednesday. This was also the day of the Bath School Bombing in Michigan. I have a separate entry for that event.

These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-6 at the Polo Grounds. Glenn Wright and Pie Traynor hit home runs for the Bucs. For the Jints, Doc Farrell homered, and Bill Terry went 3-for-3 with an RBI, but it was far from enough.

* The Brooklyn Robins, as the Dodgers were known under manager Wilbert Robinson from 1914 to 1931, lost to the Chicago Cubs, 7-4 at Ebbets Field.

* The Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (It was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.)

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-6 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at League Park in Cleveland. It was made up 2 days later, and the Indians, won, 2-1. George Uhle outpitched Waite Hoyt. Babe Ruth went 1-for-2 with 2 walks. Lou Gehrig went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago White Sox were rained out at Comiskey Park in Chicago. This one was also made up 2 days later, and the A's won, 12-5. Chick Galloway went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Al Simmons went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Eddie Collins went 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Ty Cobb, wrapping up his career with the 1st of 2 seasons with the A's, after 22 with the Tigers, went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

* And the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out in Philadelphia. This one was also made up 2 days later, but not at Baker Bowl: The usual home of the Phillies suffered a stand collapse on May 14. There were injuries, but no deaths. Since they were going to be on the road, the A's let the Phils use Shibe Park until repairs could be made.

The Reds won the opener, 6-3. Former Giants star George "High Pockets" Kelly hit a grand slam. The Phils won the nightcap, 15-2. Cy Williams went 2-for-5 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Williams would finish the season with 30 home runs, enough to lead the National League for the 4th time in his career -- but only half as many as Ruth hit in the American League.