The following is a free event open to the public. You can RSVP at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles website. Details below.

Event:  The Hollywood Sign: Leo Braudy in conversation with Kevin Roderick, editor and founder, L.A. Observed

Time:  Thursday, July 21, 2011 7:00 PM at the Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library

Description:  It took fifty years and more before a former real-estate billboard atop Mt. Lee became the world-wide symbol of Hollywood. How did it happen? A master interpreter of popular culture examines why the Hollywood sign is unique in the way cities show themselves to the world.

Leo Braudy is among America’s leading cultural historians and film critics. His most recent book, From Chivalry to Terrorism, was named Best of the Best by the Los Angeles Times and a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times.  Among his previous books, The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and Jean Renoir: The World of His Films was a finalist for the National Book Award.  Braudy’s writing has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, American Film, and Partisan Review. He currently is University Professor and Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature at the University of Southern California.

Kevin Roderick is a journalist, editor, blogger and author living in Los Angeles. He is the creator and publisher of LA Observed, a widely cited news website that Forbes rated as Best of the Web. He is a Contributing Writer on politics and media at Los Angeles magazine, an award-winning radio commentator, and is often asked by the media to talk about Southern California issues. Currently, he is director of the UCLA Newsroom at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Directions/Parking: Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.