LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood sign has been spared from urban sprawl and will stand unobscured to welcome future actors, writers and Austrian bodybuilders, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday.
The actor-turned-politician said a $900,000 donation by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and a $500,000 matching grant capped a $12.5 million fundraising drive to protect 138 acres near the famous sign from the development of luxury estates.
Schwarzenegger called it “the Hollywood ending we hoped for.”
Hefner, who calls the sign “Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower,” put the fundraising effort over the top.
“My childhood dreams and fantasies came from the movies, and the images created in Hollywood had a major influence on my life and Playboy,” Hefner said. The Associated Press; AP photo
