Ireland’s influence on Hollywood is etched directly into its sidewalks. Many Irish-born performers earned stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking their contributions from the silent‑film era to modern television. These stars form a visible legacy of Ireland’s lasting impact on Hollywood’s story, writes Joe Cushnan.

 

Hollywood, Los Angeles is, as everyone knows, shorthand for the US movie industry, and it owes a lot to Ireland and the Irish. The Hollywood Walk of Fame, occupying much of Hollywood Boulevard and the offshoot Vine Street, records some extraordinary Irish talents. We will come to the names later, but first some history.

The area began as a citrus ranch and was named after the owner’s conversation with a Chicago resident who happened to have called her home Hollywood. The land surrounding the ranch was developed into what became a thriving business and residential community.

The first film company to establish itself there, in 1910, was called Nestor. Soon Nestor was making around three one-reel movies a week. In 1913, Cecil B. DeMille made the first feature film, The Squaw Man, followed by D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation and, a few years later, Warner Brothers launched The Jazz Singer, the first “talkie” film.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, some now-familiar names arrived in Hollywood. There were actors including James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Jean Harlow, Katherine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant and John Wayne. There were directors including William Wellman, Mervyn LeRoy, Howard Hawks, John Ford and Frank Capra. It was an era of variety and experimentation featuring gangsters, monsters, war, westerns, adventure, romance, comedy and musicals.

The recording industry, radio and television evolved and grew as the entertainment industry thrived on audience appetites for light relief during tough economic years. But it was Hollywood and the movies that excited people most.

In 1955, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce hatched a plan to revitalise the street known as Hollywood Boulevard, to bring showbusiness glory and glamour to that part of Los Angeles. After many meetings, the idea of a Hollywood Walk of Fame began to sound achievable.

Harry Sugarman is credited as the brains behind the plan. Hollywood Boulevard was to be redesigned with more powerful streetlights to attract people who wanted a pleasant nightime stroll. Large trees would feature in a new attractive landscape and the main attraction would be an avenue of concrete (literally) star-shaped landmarks to honour many of the extraordinary creative people who helped put Hollywood on the map.

The controversial part was money and who was going to pay for the installations. After much protest, the bulk of the expenditure was shouldered by property owners on the Boulevard.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own