Hollywood isn't all its cracked up to be what you would think. The TV makes it look a lot nicer than it is. With that said its certainly worth an afternoon.

You might want to look into the Sheraton Universal City. It's only a few miles up the 101 Freeway. There is lots of touristy stuff to do there and would be organized from there. I'm not sure of transportation to Hollywood but they'll have it there, or a taxi couldn't be that much.

You might want to rent a car at LAX because while we have some mass transportation here, its not like getting around in other cities. I'd bet you'll pay the price of a cheap car for a day just to get to Hollywood. Not to mention the return and if there is two of you.