If you were to guess the company that would be the top employer in Hollywood I’m pretty sure that the first companies that would come to mind would be all related to the entertainment industry. If you take a look at the official list of the top employers in Hollywood you wouldn’t be that wrong since a huge percentage on the top 20 list do belong in the entertainment industry. You’ll be surprised though to find out that the number one spot actual belongs to the health care industry. Other industries that seem to be thriving in Hollywood include the tourism industry (hotels) and retail companies (Home Depot and Farmers Market).

So if you do want to move to Tinseltown but are pretty reluctant since you do not have any aspirations to be a part of the entertainment industry, whether as a writer or actor, you can brush your fears away as long as you have career aspirations related to health care and tourist industry. Oh, this also applies to you if you are business savvy.

Top 5 Employers in Hollywood

Kaiser Permanente Hospital
4747 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
5,530 employees

Paramount Pictures
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90027
5,000 employees

Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
3,800 employees

Universal Studios, Inc.
100 Universal City
Plaza Universal City, CA 91608
3,800 employees

Sunset Gower Studios
1430 N. Gower, Box 21
Hollywood, CA 90028
3,000

The Oscars is one of Hollywood’s most important award ceremonies. Any Hollywood buff worth his collection of movie posters should know as much about it as possible. Test your knowledge of the Oscars with this quiz.

Preparing for a trip to Hollywood? Get a sneak peak with audio books that you can download into your iPod or laptop. These one-minute vignettes can give you an insight on the city’s colorful history. Very educational and full of trivia you may not hear on a standard tour.

Test your knowledge of Hollywood history with this fun quiz. Too easy? Try this one. At least you know you’ll score points if you ever see this category on Jeopardy!

It looks harmless. Even boring. Just an office building, with names of production companies, which don’t even leave much impact to the average tourist.

Until they know the story behind the street.

8439 Sunset Boulevard, now called Piazze del Sol, used to be the site of Hollywood’s most exclusive brothel, called “House of Francis.” People would go here for a different kind of networking, and whatever happened behind its doors stayed behind those doors.

Today there are still brothels, but they are typically held in private houses.

Want to get into the Hollywood industry? or just interested in knowing what it’s like behind the scenes — the drama, the intrigue, the million-dollar deals?

Then look at this
list of books about the real Hollywood and how to survive in it.

The list includes advice for those who want entertainment careers to social and historical commentaries.

What do Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, the Marx Brothers, Clara Bow, Tallulah Bankhead, and Humphrey Bogart have in common?

These Hollywood stars were all residents of the apartment called Garden of Allah, which stood on Sunset and Crescent Heights. This was right in front of Schwab’s Pharmacy, and due to the location and prestigious residents, was a Hollywood hub. Celebrities gathered here for parties, lunches, private and very exclusive get-togethers. Get an invitation to the Garden of Allah, and you know you’ve arrived.

Unfortunately the apartment was torn down, a tragedy that Joni Mitchell sung about in her song “Big Yellow Taxi”: paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.

Welcome to the home of the Academy Awards
(and the American Idol grand finale) — the Kodak Theater.

It’s a huge place (big enough for 3,400 people, and features the deepest stage in the US at 120 feet wide and 75 feet deep). It comes with a huge price tag, too. It cost nearly $95 million to build, and another $75 million for Kodak to earn the rights to give it its name.
Well the cost isn’t surprising, considering the people who go there expect the star treatment because they are… stars. The VIP seats are even equipped with gizmos that let order drinks.

This is the world’s most famous theater — and a must-see for any Hollywood tourist.
It was first opened in 1927, and since then, it’s been visited by millions of people. There are plans to improve its facilities and turn it into a state of the art entertainment complex. Some are even lobbying to make it the permanent home of the Academy Awards.

Until that happens, guests are already happy to look at the handprints outside, especially since there’s no charge. You can also watch some of Hollywood’s first motion pictures. (The sound quality is incredible, and the screen really makes you think that you’re jumping into another era.)

True Hollywood trivia addicts can look at the full list of handprint ceremonies or even buy the book.

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Sam Goldwyn is one of the key players in Hollywood History. He established many of the major studios — including paramount, MGM, and United Artists. He produced several films, including classics like “Guys And Dolls” and “Wuthering HEights” and worked with directors like Billy Wilder, and Ford, and actors like Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Brando.

Goldwyn epitomized the success of the Hollywood dream, rising from poverty as an uneducated Jewish immigrant to one of the industry’s movers and shakers. He had a quirky sense of humor.
and is credited with phrases like, “Gentlemen, include me out” and “a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”

In 1946, he also said: “Hollywood pays too much attention on star value and not enough on entertainment value.” So true!