• private parties & events
Built upon a slow but sure labor of love, the Hollywood Museum (a not-for-profit corporation) in the Historic Max Factor Building arose from Dadigan’s passion for maintaining the history of Hollywood and her desire to give something back to the community. She spends more than $1,000,000 of to her own money each year sustain the museum.
Under her watchful eye, the Hollywood Museum has become the city’s preferred location for premiere parties and special events. For example, the Gable & Lombard Grand Salon on the fourth floor was the setting for InStyle Magazine’s viewing party for Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whifford’s "Clothes Off Our Back" Golden Globe Charity Auction last year.
Please contact us here to request information! [Click Here]
Parking
There is a pay lot just to the south. The museum will validate $2 worth. There are also metered spots available on Highland and all cross streets.
The Extras
The basement, devoted to Hannibal Lector’s entire cell block from "Silence of the Lambs," is available for private party rental.
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The historic Max Factor Building — Max Factor was the patriarch of the Hollywood makeup industry — has finally been restored to its original 1935 Art Deco splendor and is now the home of The Hollywood Museum, which features four floors of famous and rare props (including Hannibal Lecter’s cell), costumes (Nicole Kidman’s from "Moulin Rouge"), scripts, cameras, awards, and numerous vintage photos and posters from the television, stage, and recording industries. It’s arranged for the visitor to experience Hollywood chronologically — from the Silent Era and Golden Era to current production technology and a glimpse into the future of the industry. The museum, located across from the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex, also houses a library, a screening room, an education center, and a museum-studio gift shop.
— second floor
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| There are special sections here dedicated to major actresses. A large display of Marilyn Monroe items comes complete with huge enlargements of her famous nude Playboy pose, costumes, and memorabilia such as what may be the last check she ever signed (to her housekeeper, just before her death). |
| The Mae West collection is particularly large, including her trademark hats, “Diamond Lil” jewelry, and feathered boas. There’s even a “Mae West” life-vest, and a photo of her being presented with the inflatable preserver. Quite a few of these costumes come complete with photos taken from the films, with the actress wearing the same item of clothing, or a video monitor showing a clip from the film. The Lucille Ball display includes a large conga drum that belonged to Desi Arnaz, and a nearby monitor features a film clip of him playing a similar drum. (It would be ideal if all of the displays were identified in such a way.) |
— ground floor
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— basement
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The final trip down to the basement to see Hannibal Lector’s prison cell is almost worth the price of admission alone. One boards a room-size freight-elevator (complete with sparkle-ball, silent movies projected on the wall, and a scale model of the Eiffel Tower from "Moulin Rouge") and descends to the lower level. There one discovers not just Lector’s plexiglas cell, but the entire cell block used in the films "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon", complete with all the original furnishings and props. Even the small folding chair outside Hannibal’s cell has a story: it was the actual chair that Jodi Foster sat in when she met with Dr. Lector - it was cut to a smaller-than-normal size me make Clarisse appear smaller and more vulnerable as she faced Hannibal. And that is just some of the collection. |
— floor 1
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• collections & exhibits
View: Basement
View: Ground Floor
View: First Floor
View: Second Floor
The Hollywood Museum’s most notable special exhibits have been celebrations of the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys and Screen Actors Guild Awards that were guest-curated by Tom O’Neil and Gold Derby, a nonprofit organization that educates the public on showbiz awards.
Gold Derby presents two exhibits (film and TV awards) and public seminars per year. Its "2010 Awards Season Celebration" included costumes and props from such Oscar contenders as "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Julie & Julia" plus popular films contending for crafts awards like "Twilight: New Moon," "Star Trek" and "Transformers 2." Interspersed are costumes from past Oscar champs like "Gone with the Wind" and "Ben-Hur." Discussion of the films and their awards occurred at a seminar held at the Hollywood Museum on March 2, 2010.
In 2009, Gold Derby curated an Emmy Award-themed exhibit showcasing costumes and props from such top contenders as "Mad Men," "Dexter," "Damages" and "30 Rock." Gold Derby’s film-awards exhibit in 2009 featured costumes from Academy Award contenders "Slumdog Millionaire," "Milk," "Doubt" and "The Dark Knight." Lively discussion occurred at related seminars.
Below are photos of some costumes on display during the 2010 exhibition.
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Moving down to the second floor, you’ll find: |
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| There are special sections here dedicated to major actresses. A large display of Marilyn Monroe items comes complete with huge enlargements of her famous nude Playboy pose, costumes, and memorabilia such as what may be the last check she ever signed (to her housekeeper, just before her death). | |||||||||
| The Mae West collection is particularly large, including her trademark hats, “Diamond Lil” jewelry, and feathered boas. There’s even a “Mae West” life-vest, and a photo of her being presented with the inflatable preserver. Quite a few of these costumes come complete with photos taken from the films, with the actress wearing the same item of clothing, or a video monitor showing a clip from the film. The Lucille Ball display includes a large conga drum that belonged to Desi Arnaz, and a nearby monitor features a film clip of him playing a similar drum. (It would be ideal if all of the displays were identified in such a way.) | |||||||||
| On the ground floor, in addition to the Max Factor rooms, you will also find: | |||||||||
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The final trip down to the basement to see Hannibal Lector’s prison cell is almost worth the price of admission alone. One boards a room-size freight-elevator (complete with sparkle-ball, silent movies projected on the wall, and a scale model of the Eiffel Tower from "Moulin Rouge") and descends to the lower level. There one discovers not just Lector’s plexiglas cell, but the entire cell block used in the films "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon", complete with all the original furnishings and props. Even the small folding chair outside Hannibal’s cell has a story: it was the actual chair that Jodi Foster sat in when she met with Dr. Lector - it was cut to a smaller-than-normal size me make Clarisse appear smaller and more vulnerable as she faced Hannibal. And that is just some of the collection. |
• directions
From San Diego Take the 5 North to 101 North Exit Highland Ave - Left Head West about 1/2 mile. Turn left on Highland Ave. The Hollywood Museum is 1/2 block South of Highland Ave. From San Fernando Valley Take the 101 Fwy South Exit Highland Ave - Right Head West about 1/2 mile. Turn left on Highland Ave. The Hollywood Museum is 1/2 block South of Highland Ave. From Downtown Los Angeles Take the 101 Fwy North Exit Highland Ave - Left Head West about 1/2 mile. Turn left on Highland Ave. The Hollywood Museum is 1/2 block South of Highland Ave. From Santa Monica Take the 10 Fwy East To the 110 Fwy North The the 101 Fwy North Exit Highland Ave - Left Head West about 1/2 mile. Turn left on Highland Ave. The Hollywood Museum is 1/2 block South of Highland Ave. PARKING Available parking is located adjacent to The Hollywood Museum. All museum visitors will receive a reduced parking rate validation while attending the museum.
• testimonials
"I hope members of the film community will contribute their resources and support to this long overdue endeavor." - Francis Ford Coppola, Director and Producer |
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"The Hollywood Museum provides current and future generations an opportunity to observe, appreciate and enjoy those early halcyon days of Tinseltown." - Johnny Grant, Honorary Mayor of Hollywood |
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"Hollywood should be so happy to have a world class motion picture museum right where it should be…in Hollywood." - Dino and Martha de Laurentis, Producers |
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"we were simply knocked out!" - Alice and Leonard Maltin, Writer, Television and Movie Commmentator |
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"I’m so glad my costumes and memorabilia now have a permanent place for posterity." - Shirley MacLaine, Actress |
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"A magnificent job of collecting! You have truly restored old Hollywood." - Diane E. Watson, United States Congresswoman |
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"Donelles Hollywood Museum, like her spirit, is appropriately at the very heart of our Hollywood." - John P. Connolly, National President, AFTRA |
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"The Hollywood Museum is dedicated to the preservation of Hollywood History." - Donelle Dadigan, President and Founder |
• contact
Phone: For more information, call (323) 464-7776. Parking: There is a paid parking lot on the south side of the museum. Validation at the museum will take $2 off the cost of parking. Admission Price: $15 for adults. $12 for seniors and students with ID. $5 for children under 5. Hours: Open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 AM to 5 PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
• walk of fame
The Hollywood Museum is located just steps away from the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Explore the Museum and locate your favorite stars along this most famous street in the world The Walk of Fame runs east to west on Hollywood Boulevard from Gower Avenue to La Brea Avenue and north to south on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard. The Walk of Fame is nearly a three and a half (3 1/2) mile round trip walk. Locations of specific stars are permanent, except when occasionally relocated for nearby construction or other reasons. To be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is considered to be as sought after as the Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. Each star consists of a pink terrazzo five-pointed star rimmed with bronze and inlaid into a charcoal square. Inside the pink star is the name of the honoree inlaid in bronze, below which is a round bronze emblem indicating the category for which the honoree received the star. The emblems are: * Motion picture camera for contribution to the film industry * Television set for contribution to the broadcast television industry * Phonograph record for contribution to the recording industry * Radio microphone for contribution to the broadcast radio industry * Twin comedy/tragedy masks for contribution to live theater 
There are a few exceptions. Disneyland’s star has an emblem of a building, and honorary mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant’s star depicts the Great Seal of Hollywood. Former Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley has a star depicting the seal of the city of Los Angeles. Also, the crew of the Apollo XI mission are named in four identical moons at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Nominations are submitted annually by May 31, and the Walk of Fame committee meets the following month to pick the next year’s group of honorees. Star ceremonies are open to the public and formerly were led by honorary Hollywood mayor Johnny Grant prior to his death in 2008.
• about us
World’s Largest Exhibition of Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia
on View at the Hollywood Museum June 1 – Aug. 31
Glamorous dresses and jewelry worn by Marilyn Monroe plus her personal film scripts for "Niagara," "There’s No Business Like Show Business" and "How to Marry a Millionaire" are among the 250 items on display in the largest exhibition of Marilyn memorabilia ever assembled — "Marilyn Remembered: An Intimate Look at the Legend." The exhibit opens June 1 – Marilyn’s 84th birthday – and continues to Aug. 31 at the Hollywood Museum in the historic Max Factor Building.
The exhibition combines the museum’s private collection of Marilyn memorabilia with the collections of Scott Fortner, Greg Schriener, Lois Banner, Brian Johns, Jill Adams and Heidi Hansen. On view will be the dress Marilyn wore on the USO tour during her honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio as well as costumes she donned in "Gentleman Prefer Blondes," "How to Marry a Millionaire," "Niagara," "The Prince and the Showgirl," "Let’s Make Love" and "There’s No Business Like Show Business."
The exhibit also showcases the full-length beaver coat given to her by third husband Arthur Miller, the evening cape she wore to the New York premiere of "East of Eden" and the green silk Pucci blouse she donned in the last photos taken of Marilyn before her death. From her death scene, the exhibit includes an empty pill bottle discovered on her bedside table.
"This exhibit offers the best chance ever to get to know Marilyn Monroe intimately," says museum president and founder Donelle Dadigan. "It includes some of her most glamorous possessions like the white fox fur muff she wore to the premiere of ‘How to Marry a Millionaire,’ but there’s a special emphasis on displaying the personal items that reveal the real, everyday Marilyn up close. You can see the film and gossip magazines she liked to read, her makeup accessories, eyedrops, telephone bill, her SAG card, her University High School year book and even an invoice from her psychiatrist.
"We display the furniture from her last home in Brentwood, including the refrigerator she painted blue when she felt quite blue herself one lonely Hollywood night," Dadigan adds.
See Costumes from ‘Glee,’ ‘Twilight: New Moon,’ ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie,’ ‘High School Musical 2′ and ‘The Hurt Locker’
The Hollywood Museum now features costumes from the hit TV show "Glee." Also on view is Miley Cyrus‘ white and blue dress from "Hannah Montanta: The Movie" plus Rob Pattinson’s, Kristen Stewart’s and Taylor Lautner’s costumes from "Twilight: New Moon." Also on view: outfits from "High School Musical 2," including Zac Efron’s prom tuxedo and his basketball jersey and blue jeans.
Oscar season is over, but many costumes from Gold Derby’s exhibition of awards-winning films can still be seen, including uniforms of the bomb-defusing team in "The Hurt Locker," which won best picture at the Academy Awards. The museum continues to feature displays of other items from Gold Derby’s past Emmy Awards exhibitions like James Gandolfini’s and Edie Falco’s outfits from "The Sopranos."
Also see the dresses worn by Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls" (winner, best musical/comedy picture at the Golden Globes). See items from "The Sopranos," "Harry Potter," "Baywatch," "Oceans 11," "Sweeney Todd," "Gone with the Wind," "I Love Lucy." Also — Rocky’s boxing gloves, Marilyn Monroe’s dresses, Elvis Presley’s favorite bathrobe, Indiana Jones’ whip, Pamela Anderson’s "Baywatch" swimsuit, Cary Grant’s Rolls-Royce, the shark seen in "Jaws," the church pews from "The Exorcist," Tom Cruise’s eyeball-switcher from "Minority Report" (and the eyeballs), Nicole Kidman’s’ sexy outfits and swing from "Moulin Rouge!"
IF YOU DARE: Visit Hannibal Lecter’s jail cell from "The Silence of the Lambs." It’s in our basement — along with other shocking items in the Hollywood Museum’s Chamber of Horrors. Go face to face with the masks of Jason and Mike Myers from the "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween" movie series and see up close the corpses, mummies and masks from Boris Karloff’s, Lon Chaney Jr. and Brendan Fraser’s "The Mummy" films. Get cozy with the Dead Man in the Basement from "Hell Night." See the guillotine and severed heads from "Quills." See costumes worn by Vampira and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark plus Sarah Michelle Gellar’s "corpse" fished out of the lake in "I Know What You Did Last Summer."
The Hollywood Museum also features costumes and memorabilia from films and TV shows starring Antonio Banderas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, Joan Crawford, Bob Hope and many more!
The Hollywood Museum is located in the historica Max Factor Building where the cosmetics pioneer made showbiz’s beauty queens glamorous. Visit the private beauty salons where Marilyn Monroe became a blonde and Max Factor transformed Lucille Ball into a redhead!
The
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The Hollywood Museum is housed in the world famous historic Max Factor Building, where Max Factor, wizard of movie make-up worked his magic on motin picture stars since 1935. The lobby, has been restired to its original grandeur. A polished Art Deco gem - a white & rose-colored oasis of lavish marble, recreated historic chandeliers, pastel hues, antique furniture, trompe l’eouille, faux finishes with 22kt. gold and silver leafing. On the ground floor, you’ll find many original displays from the old Max Factor Make-Up Studio.
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The Hollywood Museum Museum features four floors of exhibits (two floors above the lobby and a basement below), offering more than 35,000 square feet of exhibit space. To put that in perspective, it is seven times the size of the nearby Guinness World of Record Museum (5,200 square feet), almost four times the size of the neighboring Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum (10,000 square feet), and five times larger than the Warner Bros Museum (at 7,000 square feet). Yet that still isn’t really room enough to do justice to the thousands of items on exhibit here!
Relax, the museum is a self-guided tour, so you can spend as long as you like admiring any exhibit.
The ground floor is made up of the historic Lobby, plus Max Factor’s restored make-up rooms, a vintage B&W photo gallery featuring more than 1000 B&W photos. Cary Grant’s Rolls Royce, Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park, a tribute to Judy Garland and the "Red Shoes"!
The second and third floors are devoted exclusively to costumes worn by famous stars in famous films, corresponding props, photos, memorabilia and posters. wealth of Hollywood memorabilia, ranging from the earliest Technicolor film ever shot, to a Roman bed from "Gladiator", to the dog from "There’s something about Mary" to the gold Cadillac from "Dreamgirls".
Don’t forget to visit the Lower Level - what once was a bowling alley and speakeasy during Prohibition days is now where we house "all things creepy and scary"! Walk down the same jail cell corridor that Jodie Foster walked in "Silence of the Lambs". See Hannibals cell and a fantastic array of props from the film including Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s mask!
Taken floor by floor, here are just some of the highlights of the many exhibits:- Click Here
NEWS
You’re not afraid of Halloween because you don’t believe that monsters and ghosts are real?
Then get face to face with the masks of Jason and Mike Myers from the "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween" movie series, sit in the haunted church pews from "The Exorcist" and — if you dare — visit Hannibal Lecter’s dark jail from "Silence of the Lambs."
Those are among the real (and really scary) items from Hollywood’s greatest horror films — including "Sweeney Todd," "The Mummy," "Jaws," "Hell Night" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" — in the new "Chamber of Horrors" attraction that opens on Wednesday, Oct. 15, to celebrate Halloween at The Hollywood Museum in the historic
“Our new Chamber of Horrors is the latest attraction to join the list of must-visit Los Angeles Halloween haunts," says Donelle Dadigan, museum president and founder. "We invite the public to experience this entertaining, spine-tingling attraction featuring original memorabilia from the 1930s to present day featuring favorite horror-themed motion pictures and television,” stated Dadigan. “But beware! Don’t be shocked if there’s a surprise visit by Hannibal Lecter or Michael Myers!”
The attraction begins in the depths of the
Other highlights: Sarah Michelle Gellar’s "corpse" fished out of the lake in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," the original costume worn by famed Hollywood personality Vampira, the costume and props worn by TV’s sexiest horror host – “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark,” the original Dead Man in the Basement from “Hell Night,” guillotine and the severed heads from “Quills,” plus much more including corpses, mummies and masks from Boris Karloff’s, Lon Chaney Jr. and Brendan Fraser’s “The Mummy” films.
During the museum’s hours of operation, the 12 most popular horror films from Blue Underground (www.blue-underground.com,
“HALLOWEEN CHAMBER OF HORRORS AT THE HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM
WHERE: The
WHEN: 10 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday
Opens Wednesday, October 15 and ends November 2, 2008
PRICE: $15 for adults; $12 for seniors and students under 21; $5 for children under 5.
