Hollywood Walk of Fame

What Is It?

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, United States, which is embedded with more than 2,000 five-pointed stars featuring the names of celebrities honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for their contributions to the entertainment industry.

The Walk of Fame runs east to west on Hollywood Boulevard from Gower Street to La Brea Avenue, and north to south on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard.

Each star consists of a terrazzo comprising a pink five-pointed star rimmed with bronze and inlaid into a charcoal square. Inside the pink star is the name of the honoree engraved in bronze, below which is a round bronze emblem indicating the category for which the honoree received the star. The emblems are:

a motion picture camera, for contribution to the film industry;

a television set, for contribution to the broadcast television industry;

a phonograph record, for contribution to the recording industry;

a radio microphone, for contribution to the broadcast radio industry; and,

twin comedy/tragedy masks, for contribution to live theater.

History

Created in 1958, the Walk of Fame has become a tribute to performers and others within show business. Honorees receive a star based on achievements in motion pictures, live theater, radio, television, and/or music. Many honorees received multiple stars during the initial phase of installation for contributions to separate categories; however, the practice in recent decades has been to honor individuals not yet represented, with only a handful of previous honorees being awarded additional stars. In 1978, the City of Los Angeles designated the Walk of Fame as a Cultural/Historic Landmark.

The original Walk of Fame had 2,500 blank stars. A total of 1,558 stars were awarded during its first sixteen months. Since then, new stars have been awarded at the rate of approximately two per month. By 1994 over 2,000 of the original stars were filled, and additional stars were added to extend the Walk west past Sycamore to La Brea Avenue, where it is now terminated by the Silver Four Ladies of Hollywood Gazebo. Locations of specific stars are not necessarily permanent, with some occasionally relocated for various reasons such as local construction.

Maintenance

The Walk of Fame is maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. In order for a person to get a star on the Walk of Fame, he or she must agree to attend a presentation ceremony within five years of selection, and a $1515,000 fee must be paid to the Trust; a 2003 FOX News story noted that the fee is typically paid by sponsors such as movie studios and record companies, as part of the publicity for a release with which the honoree is involved.

As of 2004, the total number of stars awarded is approximately 2,150.

Trivia

Joanne Woodward received the first star on the Walk of Fame on February 9, 1960.

At Hollywood and Vine a special "round star" on each of the four corners commemorates the Apollo 11 astronauts.

The only honoree to receive stars in all five categories is Gene Autry.

Stars have also been awarded to animated characters such as Mickey Mouse, costumed characters such as Big Bird, and to two dogs, Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.

Recent News

Most recently, a petition, backed by Nintendo of America was started to get characters from video games onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Currently, San Francisco's Metreon holds the Walk of Game.