List of Grauman's Chinese Theatre handprint ceremonies facts for kids
The TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, is a famous movie palace. It was originally called "Grauman's Chinese Theatre." One of its most special traditions is the handprint ceremony. Here, famous actors, directors, and other celebrities leave their handprints, footprints, and sometimes even other unique imprints in wet cement in the theater's forecourt. It's like a hall of fame right on the ground!
Sometimes, celebrities leave more than just their hands and feet. They leave imprints of objects that are special to them or their characters:
- Sonja Henie left her ice skates.
- John Barrymore imprinted the side of his face, showing off his famous "Great Profile."
- Roy Rogers had his horse Trigger's hoofprints next to his, and he also imprinted his revolver.
- Mel Brooks made a funny mark with a fake sixth finger.
- Eleanor Powell left a pair of her tap shoes.
- Jimmy Durante imprinted his nose.
- Betty Grable left an imprint of her leg.
- Julie Aigner-Clark imprinted Baby Einstein puppets.
- Cybill Shepherd imprinted Jacy's saddle shoes.
- Kath Soucie imprinted Penelope Pitstop's boots.
- Kari Wahlgren imprinted Mina Monroe's sneakers.
- Hayley Williams imprinted her black boots.
- Rogue imprinted her yellow boots.
- Kermit the Frog imprinted his banjo.
- The stars of Harry Potter – Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) – all imprinted their characters' wands!
- Harold Lloyd imprinted his eyeglasses.
- Whoopi Goldberg imprinted her dreadlock.
- Marilyn Monroe imprinted her earring.
- Groucho Marx imprinted his cigar.
- William S. Hart imprinted his revolver.
- Herbie, the famous Volkswagen Beetle car, imprinted his tires!
- Red Skelton imprinted his "Junior" character's shoes.
- Yoshiki imprinted his drumsticks.
- Sonia Manzano imprinted Maria's hi-top sneakers.
- Grey DeLisle imprinted Kitty Katswell's boots.
- Eden Sher imprinted Star Butterfly's boots.
- Hap Palmer imprinted Baby Songs VHS collection.
- Ernie imprinted his rubber duck.
- Terri Clark imprinted her cowgirl boots.
Contents
Handprints Through the Decades
Many famous people have left their mark at the Chinese Theatre over the years. Here are some of the well-known names from each decade:
1920s
Mary Pickford's impressions from April 1927.
The 1920s saw the very first ceremonies, with many silent film stars leaving their prints.
- Norma Talmadge (May 18, 1927)
- Mary Pickford (April 30, 1927)
- Douglas Fairbanks (April 30, 1927)
- Harold Lloyd (November 21, 1927)
- Tom Mix and Tony the Wonder Horse (December 12, 1927)
- Joan Crawford (September 14, 1929)
1930s
The Marx Brothers left their prints in February 1933.
Clark Gable's hand and footprints from January 1937.
The Golden Age of Hollywood brought many more stars to the theater.
- Wallace Beery (January 31, 1931)
- Marie Dressler (January 31, 1931)
- The Marx Brothers (February 17, 1933)
- Shirley Temple (March 14, 1935)
- Bing Crosby (April 8, 1936)
- William Powell and Myrna Loy (October 20, 1936)
- Clark Gable (January 20, 1937)
- Fred Astaire (February 4, 1938)
- Mickey Rooney (October 18, 1938)
- Judy Garland (October 10, 1939)
1940s
During the 1940s, more legends added their names to the famous collection.
- John Barrymore (September 5, 1940)
- Jack Benny (January 13, 1941)
- Abbott and Costello (December 8, 1941)
- Red Skelton (June 18, 1942)
- Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (February 5, 1943)
- Betty Grable (February 15, 1943)
- Gary Cooper (August 13, 1943)
- Jimmy Durante (October 31, 1945)
- Humphrey Bogart (August 21, 1946)
- James Stewart (February 13, 1948)
- Roy Rogers and Trigger (April 21, 1949)
- Gene Autry and Champion (December 23, 1949)
1950s
The 1950s continued the tradition with many iconic actors.
- John Wayne (January 25, 1950)
- Lana Turner (May 24, 1950)
- Bette Davis (November 6, 1950)
- Cary Grant (July 16, 1951)
- Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (June 26, 1953)
- Yul Brynner (March 22, 1956)
- Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and George Stevens (September 26, 1956)
1960s
New stars of the 1960s also left their mark in the cement.
- Doris Day (January 19, 1961)
- Natalie Wood (December 5, 1961)
- Charlton Heston (January 18, 1962)
- Sophia Loren (July 26, 1962)
- Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (May 25, 1963)
- Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (June 29, 1963)
- Julie Andrews (March 26, 1966)
- Steve McQueen (March 21, 1967)
- Sidney Poitier (June 23, 1967)
1970s
The 1970s brought some unique additions to the collection.
- Jack Nicholson (June 17, 1974)
- Herbie (July 11, 1977)
- Darth Vader (August 3, 1977)
- C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) (August 3, 1977)
1980s
More movie legends and even cartoon characters joined the famous forecourt in the 1980s.
- John Travolta (June 2, 1980)
- Burt Reynolds (September 24, 1981)
- Sylvester Stallone (June 29, 1983)
- George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (May 16, 1984)
- Donald Duck and Clarence Nash (May 21, 1984)
- Clint Eastwood (August 21, 1984)
- Eddie Murphy (May 14, 1987)
1990s
The 1990s saw many big action and comedy stars leave their prints.
- Cast of Star Trek (December 5, 1991), including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Nichelle Nichols.
- Harrison Ford (June 3, 1992)
- Tom Cruise (June 28, 1993)
- Mel Gibson (August 23, 1993)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (July 15, 1994)
- Meryl Streep (September 25, 1994)
- Whoopi Goldberg (February 2, 1995)
- Bruce Willis (May 18, 1995)
- Jim Carrey (November 1, 1995)
- Jackie Chan (January 5, 1997)
- Michael Douglas (September 10, 1997)
- Al Pacino (October 16, 1997)
- Denzel Washington (January 15, 1998)
- Tom Hanks (July 23, 1998)
- Robin Williams (December 22, 1998)
- Sean Connery (April 13, 1999)
2000s
Many popular stars from the 2000s added their handprints.
- Anthony Hopkins (January 11, 2001)
- Nicolas Cage (August 14, 2001)
- Morgan Freeman (June 5, 2002)
- Adam Sandler (May 17, 2005)
- Johnny Depp (September 16, 2005)
- Samuel L. Jackson (January 30, 2006)
- Kevin Costner (September 6, 2006)
- Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon (June 5, 2007)
- Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint (July 9, 2007)
- Will Smith (December 10, 2007)
- Hugh Jackman (April 21, 2009)
- Robert Downey Jr. (December 7, 2009)
2010s
The 2010s continued to welcome many new and established stars.
- Jerry Bruckheimer (May 17, 2010)
- Cher (November 18, 2010)
- Helen Mirren (March 28, 2011)
- Jennifer Aniston (July 7, 2011)
- Alvin and the Chipmunks (November 1, 2011)
- Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner (November 3, 2011)
- The Smurfs (December 13, 2011)
- Michael Jackson (January 26, 2012)
- Robert De Niro (February 4, 2013)
- Jane Fonda (April 27, 2013)
- Jackie Chan (June 6, 2013)
- Sandra Bullock (September 25, 2013)
- Emma Thompson (November 7, 2013)
- John Goodman (November 14, 2013)
- Ben Stiller (December 3, 2013)
- Ford Mustang (December 5, 2013)
- Jerry Lewis (April 12, 2014)
- Melissa McCarthy (July 2, 2014)
- Mel Brooks (September 8, 2014)
- Dwayne Johnson (May 19, 2015)
- Katy Perry (September 8, 2015)
- Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth (October 31, 2015)
- Quentin Tarantino (January 5, 2016)
- Francis Ford Coppola (April 29, 2016)
- Tim Burton (September 8, 2016)
- Jessica Chastain (November 3, 2016)
- Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling (December 7, 2016)
- Jeff Bridges (January 6, 2017)
- Stan Lee (July 18, 2017)
- Mariah Carey (November 1, 2017)
- Carrie Fisher (May 24, 2018)
- Pitbull (December 14, 2018)
- Billy Crystal (April 12, 2019)
- The cast of Avengers: Endgame (April 23, 2019), including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and Scarlett Johansson.
- The cast of The Big Bang Theory (May 1, 2019), including Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, and Kaley Cuoco.
- Keanu Reeves (May 14, 2019)
- Kevin Hart (December 10, 2019)
2020s
The tradition continues with new stars in the 2020s.
- Patrick Stewart (January 13, 2020)
- Regina King (October 28, 2021)
- Lily Tomlin (April 22, 2022)
- The Smashing Pumpkins (May 12, 2022)
- Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and Riley Keough (June 21, 2022)
- Diane Keaton (August 11, 2022)
- Jamie Lee Curtis (October 13, 2022)
- James Cameron and Jon Landau (January 12, 2023)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (September 7, 2023)
- Yoshiki (September 14, 2023)
- James Hong (February 24, 2024)
- Jodie Foster (April 19, 2024)
Without Handprints in the Forecourt
In recent years, some ceremonies have taken place, but the handprints were not placed in the main forecourt. These include:
- Kobe Bryant (February 19, 2011)
- Uggie (June 25, 2012)
- Britney Spears, Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, and L.A. Reid (September 12, 2012)
- Leo the Lion (January 22, 2014)
- Optimus Prime (September 30, 2014)
Images for kids
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Joan Crawford's impressions. September 1929.
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Myrna Loy's 1936 contribution.
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Carmen Miranda's imprint ceremony, March 24, 1941.
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Red Skelton's imprint ceremony, June 18, 1942.
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Cecil B. DeMille's square. August 1941.
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List of Grauman's Chinese Theatre handprint ceremonies Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.