It’s fitting somehow that two of Los Angeles major tourist attractions are adorned by huge statues of elephants. In the Hindu religion Ganesha, the Hindu Elephant Deity, is the god of success, destroyer of evil and obstacles, god of knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Hollywood, Mecca to all those who dream of fame and fortune on stage and screen, seems an appropriate site to situate such massive statues paying tribute to the mighty pachyderm.
The La Brea Tar Pits sport four wooly mammoths around the pond, one of whom is trapped and sinking while his family watches helplessly from the shore. Even today, at the Page Museum history is being rewritten with Project 23. Twenty-three crates of huge asphaltic deposits were unearthed when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, next to the La Brea Tar Pits extended their campus to include the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. Those 23 crates are being opened and cleaned in public view in the Fish Bowl laboratory. Zed, a rare male Columbian mammoth fossil with 10 foot tusks was also uncovered during construction at the museums.
The Babylon Court at Hollywood and Highland , site of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Kodak Theatre, sports two massive elephant statues copied from the set of D. W. Griffith’s movie Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages made in 1916.
The history of modern film making began in 1895 with the first film made for projection. From elephant graveyards, to elephant guns, from circuses to epic spectacles, elephants have found there way onto the silver screen since the beginning. Elephants made their début with “A Visit to Baby Roger” made in 1900 and starring a baby elephant in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1903 Topsy the elephant was filmed being electrocuted by Thomas Edison to demonstrate the dangers of electricity after Topsy killed three of her handlers who had been torturing her. In 1916 elephants were part of the epic splendor of “Intolerance”. In 1930 Harpo Marx shot an elephant in his pajamas. Elephants danced in pink ballet shoes in “Fantasia” (1940), flew and went on a Technicolor parade in “Dumbo”(1941). Henry Mancini composed the baby elephant walk in 1962 for “Hatari!” with John Wayne and the Simpsons introduced it to a new generation. Horton Heard a Who then Horton Heard The Who. Sigfred & Roy and Chris Angel have made elephants disappear. Mythbusters have proven that elephants are afraid of mice. From cartoons to movies, television shows to magic shows, and comedy to drama elephants have managed to capture the imagination of Hollywood for over 100 years and between the La Brea tar pits and Hollywood, elephants have been making history in Los Angeles for over 40,000 years.
The La Brea Tar Pits sport four wooly mammoths around the pond, one of whom is trapped and sinking while his family watches helplessly from the shore. Even today, at the Page Museum history is being rewritten with Project 23. Twenty-three crates of huge asphaltic deposits were unearthed when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, next to the La Brea Tar Pits extended their campus to include the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. Those 23 crates are being opened and cleaned in public view in the Fish Bowl laboratory. Zed, a rare male Columbian mammoth fossil with 10 foot tusks was also uncovered during construction at the museums.
The Babylon Court at Hollywood and Highland , site of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Kodak Theatre, sports two massive elephant statues copied from the set of D. W. Griffith’s movie Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages made in 1916.
The history of modern film making began in 1895 with the first film made for projection. From elephant graveyards, to elephant guns, from circuses to epic spectacles, elephants have found there way onto the silver screen since the beginning. Elephants made their début with “A Visit to Baby Roger” made in 1900 and starring a baby elephant in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1903 Topsy the elephant was filmed being electrocuted by Thomas Edison to demonstrate the dangers of electricity after Topsy killed three of her handlers who had been torturing her. In 1916 elephants were part of the epic splendor of “Intolerance”. In 1930 Harpo Marx shot an elephant in his pajamas. Elephants danced in pink ballet shoes in “Fantasia” (1940), flew and went on a Technicolor parade in “Dumbo”(1941). Henry Mancini composed the baby elephant walk in 1962 for “Hatari!” with John Wayne and the Simpsons introduced it to a new generation. Horton Heard a Who then Horton Heard The Who. Sigfred & Roy and Chris Angel have made elephants disappear. Mythbusters have proven that elephants are afraid of mice. From cartoons to movies, television shows to magic shows, and comedy to drama elephants have managed to capture the imagination of Hollywood for over 100 years and between the La Brea tar pits and Hollywood, elephants have been making history in Los Angeles for over 40,000 years.
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