The first Mayor of Hollywood

The Los Angeles neighbourhood of Hollywood has a vivid, and occasionally less than respectable, past. The Mayor of Hollywood, on the other hand, is a little known historical oddity.

For a long time, until quite recently, Hollywood was not officially a place. A collection of studies marked the boundaries of the area that became known by that name. It was these studios that elected and created the office of the first Mayor of Hollywood.

Commercially, these studios were at war with one another but they understood that their industry rested on their mutual success. So it was that they decided an official with no commitments to any particular studio would be useful for official functions, and created the Mayor of Hollywood.

The odd thing is that this position was held by three separate individuals before Hollywood officially became a place, making the original Mayor of Hollywood the only mayor whose constituency didn't exist at time of appointment.