Planet Hollywood

Planet Hollywood, a theme restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Demi Moore.

It was a brainchild of Robert Earl. The stars received stock options at rock bottom price in exchange for their endorsement, thus they could be billed as legal owners.

When the restaurant opened in London, England, Schwarzengger, Stallone and Willis appeared on Michael Aspel's talk show to promote the restaurant. Aspel commented this was the "dream line up" for a talk show, but after the show aired admitted he felt "ashamed" by what was merely an advertisement for Planet Hollywood.

In April 1996, Planet Hollywood went public. The company has gone bankrupt twice. Its share price reached all time high of $32 on the first day of trading and went down to less than $1 by 1999. When Planet Hollywood went international, stores opened up in major cities such as Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, London, Toronto (closed in 2006) and other cities throughout the world.