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50 free Hollywood Sign trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Hollywood Sign trivia is the story of an advertisement that refused to die. Erected in 1923 to sell lots in the Hollywoodland development, lit by 4,000 bulbs and meant to last eighteen months, it outlived its housing scheme, lost an actress from the top of its H, lost its H altogether in 1944, lost LAND in 1949, and finally collapsed into 'HuLLYWO D' before nine celebrities paid $27,700 a letter to rebuild it in steel in 1978. This quiz covers the origins with Harry Chandler and Mack Sennett, the sign's dimensions then and now, Peg Entwistle's 1932 death, the Chamber of Commerce rescue, the donor behind every letter (Alice Cooper bought an O for Groucho), Mount Lee and the first Los Angeles TV station, the Save the Peak campaign that Hugh Hefner closed out, the pranks from HOLLYWEED to RAMS HOUSE, why the city owns the sign but the Chamber owns the word, GPS wars with Beachwood Canyon residents, and the imitations from Springfield to Wellywood. Easy questions suit anyone who has seen an establishing shot; the expert tier is for LA history buffs. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the sign, Mount Lee and Peg Entwistle, and the supporting sentence is attached to each question.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What did the sign originally spell out when it was erected in 1923?
HOLLYWOODLAND
It advertised a new housing development in the hills; 'LAND' was removed in 1949.
Q 02The sign was originally put up as an advertisement for what?
A real estate development
Developers Woodruff and Shoults promised 'a superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills'.
Q 03On which mountain does the Hollywood Sign stand?
Mount Lee
It sits on the southern slope in Griffith Park, above Beachwood Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Q 04How tall were the original 1923 letters?
50 feet
The 1978 replacement letters are slightly shorter, at 44 to 45 feet.
Q 05Roughly how many light bulbs studded the original sign?
4,000
It flashed 'HOLLY', 'WOOD' and 'LAND' in turn, then all together, with a searchlight below.
Q 06How were the sign's telephone-pole supports carried up the steepest final stretch of hillside?
By mules
The last 70 metres or so were too steep for the tractor that hauled materials up the rest of the way.
Q 07How much did the original sign cost to build in 1923?
$21,000
That is roughly $400,000 in 2025 money; the 1978 rebuild cost about $250,000.
Q 08How long was the sign intended to stand when it was dedicated in July 1923?
About a year and a half
The rise of the film industry made it too famous to take down.
Q 09Which firm, owned by Thomas Fisk Goff, built the original letters?
Crescent
He designed white block letters 30 feet wide and 50 feet high.
Q 10Which Los Angeles Times publisher was among the developers behind the 1923 housing scheme?
Harry Chandler
He also had a hand in Mulholland Drive, Dana Point and vast tracts of the San Fernando Valley.
Q 11Which silent-film pioneer's unbuilt hilltop mansion explains the flattened summit of Mount Lee?
Mack Sennett
He was one of the developers, and sold the land when his fortunes faded after the silent era.
Q 12Mount Lee is named after Don Lee, who was what?
A car dealer and radio station owner
His network founded W6XAO, the first television station in Los Angeles, on the summit in 1939.
Q 13Which actress died in September 1932 by jumping from the top of the sign's letter H?
Peg Entwistle
She was 24 and had appeared in only one film, Thirteen Women, released after her death.
Q 21The Y of the rebuilt sign was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in honour of which magazine founder?
Hugh Hefner
Hefner had hosted a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion; decades later he gave the final $900,000 to Save the Peak.
Q 22Which founder of a used-car price guide paid for the first L in 1978?
Les Kelley of Kelley Blue Book
The H was paid for by Terrence Donnelly, publisher of the Hollywood Independent.
Q 23How tall are the letters of the Hollywood Sign as rebuilt in steel in 1978?
About 45 feet
They range from 31 to 39 feet wide and are steel on concrete footings; the whole sign weighs over 200 tons.
Q 14In which country was the actress who died jumping from the H born?
Wales
Born in Port Talbot, she made her name on Broadway, where a young Bette Davis saw her and resolved to become an actress.
Q 15Which future star saw the doomed actress in Ibsen's The Wild Duck and vowed to be just like her?
Bette Davis
Davis later played the same role, Hedvig, and called Entwistle her inspiration.
Q 16Why was the sign's lighting switched off around 1933?
The new owners found it too expensive
The sign then deteriorated for years; the H was destroyed in early 1944.
Q 17In what year were the letters LAND removed, leaving HOLLYWOOD?
1949
Residents had called it an eyesore; the Chamber of Commerce agreed to repair it if it spelled the district rather than the housing scheme.
Q 18After a windstorm in February 1978, what did the battered sign appear to read?
HuLLYWO D
The first O had splintered into a lowercase u and the third O had fallen down completely.
Q 19How much did each of the nine donors pay to sponsor a letter of the 1978 rebuild?
$27,700
The total of about $250,000 bought steel letters on concrete footings, unveiled on a CBS special in November 1978.
Q 20Which singer paid for the third O of the sign in 1978, in memory of Groucho Marx?
Alice Cooper
Andy Williams paid for the W and Gene Autry for an L.
Q 24Who owns the physical Hollywood Sign?
The City of Los Angeles
The Chamber holds a trademark on a stylised HOLLYWOOD wordmark for merchandise, but not on the landmark itself.
Q 25Which nine-volunteer body, formed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1978, maintains the landmark?
The Hollywood Sign Trust
Its nine volunteers have installed surveillance cameras, repainted the letters and thrown its anniversary parties.
Q 26What did the sign say for five days in 1987 to promote the launch of a new TV network?
FOX
The same year the second L was covered to read HOLYWOOD for Pope John Paul II's visit.
Q 27What was the sign altered to read by Daniel Finegood in January 1976, and again on New Year's Day 2017?
HOLLYWEED
Both stunts followed the loosening of California's cannabis laws.
Q 28In 1987 the sign briefly read OLLYWOOD as a protest about whom?
Oliver North
It objected to the perceived hero-worship of North during the Iran-Contra hearings.
Q 29Students of which school altered the Hollywood sign to spell its name on its 1987 centennial?
Caltech
Midshipmen had covered it with GO NAVY, with permission, for the 1983 Army-Navy game.
Q 30Which presidential candidate's supporters briefly changed the sign to PEROTWOOD in 1992?
Ross Perot
Two years earlier it had been altered to read OIL WAR in protest at the Gulf War.