Josh Epstein

Hollywood American Legion Post 43

World War I veterans in Los Angeles who worked in the motion picture business chartered the Hollywood Post in 1919 with the goals of service to the community, state, and nation and to help their fellow veterans suffering badly from the effects of the Great War. Classic Hollywood luminaries—veterans and nonveteran supporters—like C.B. DeMille, Adolph Menjou, Walter Long, and Mary Pickford were all instrumental in getting the post on its feet in the early days, when they met in a small church on the corner of Hollywood & Vine. Over the years, Post members have included the likes of Clark Gable, Gene Autry, Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons, Ronald Reagan, Charlton Heston, Stan Lee, and many more showbiz figures. Post 43 and its members have been a central part of civic, business, and social life in Los Angeles for nearly 100 years. The Hollywood Legion Stadium was a boxing venue run by Legion veterans that ran fight programs for decades, entertaining the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Humphrey Bogart. Today, the stadium building on El Centro and Hollywood Boulevard still stands, still owned by the veterans of Post 43, under a long-term lease to LA Fitness.