Johnny Grant

Johnny Grant (May 9, 1923 – January 9, 2008)

He was a radio personality and television producer who also served as the honorary mayor of Hollywood, in which capacity he was often present at Hollywood community functions, including the unveiling of new stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Grant joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, hosting a daily radio show in New York City for servicemen and women. During this time, he interviewed many entertainment stars who were in the city. After his discharge, he stayed in New York, working as a reporter for station WINS. Having moved to California, Grant appeared as a disc jockey on Los Angeles area radio stations KGIL (1949–50) and KMPC (1951–59). Along with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra, Grant co-hosted the first national telethon ever produced, a fundraiser to help send America's athletes to the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. In the 1950s, he appeared in several films, often portraying uncredited fictional hosts. He played "Ed Harrison," an Ed Sullivan-type TV-show host, in the 1954 film White Christmas, and the Master of Ceremonies in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It. Grant was perhaps best known for having hosted the more than 500 celebrities he inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with stars in the sidewalk. e played host to red-carpet arrivals at the Oscars, appeared in bit parts in movies and produced the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade. Grant served as a USO ambassador, joining the globe-trotting comedian Bob Hope in taking entertainers to war zones to perform for military personnel, and was the first recipient of the highest honor awarded by the USO, the United Service Organizations. Grant was also a retired major general in the California State Military Reserve, a volunteer backup and support force of the California National Guard. He had been chairman of the Los Angeles City Fire Commission, the Los Angeles County Social Service Commission, and the Burbank, California Police Commission. Grant was the only person ever to twice receive an Order of California, the state's highest honor.

On January 9, 2008, Grant was not feeling well when he had lunch with Ana Martínez-Holler, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Later that afternoon he relayed the same to his business manager, Jim Harper, stating he felt "lousy." Later that evening, Grant was found unconscious in his bed, in a 14th floor suite he lived in at the Roosevelt Hotel, by an associate. He was later pronounced dead, from natural causes, at age 84.