The committees included some of the most prominent names in entertainment. Once the effort began, suggestions began pouring in to the Chamber offices — as many as names a week were submitted.
Meanwhile, the City was finalizing plans for the assessment district. Construction on the Walk was expected to begin shortly thereafter. On February 8, , construction actually began on the long-planned Walk. The first star to be laid in the new Walk was that of Stanley Kramer on March 28, , near the intersection of Hollywood and Gower. By that fall, work had progressed far enough that it was decided to dedicate the Walk on November 23, , in conjunction with the Hollywood Christmas Parade.
Stuart, as the originator of the idea, was appointed chair of the Completion Committee and planned the ceremony to mark completion of the project.
The job was not actually completed until spring , when it was finally accepted by the Board of Public Works, with the first 1, stars.
Shortly after completion, it was recognized that in order to continue the original intent of the program for the addition of more names in the vacant stars, a mechanism had to be created. On May 18, , the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that specified the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce should be the agent to advise the City in all matters pertaining to the addition of other names.
The Chamber faced three tasks in moving forward: 1 to establish a set of rules to determine the qualifications of personalities to be eligible for addition to the Walk of Fame, 2 to work out a procedure to process candidates, and 3 to develop a plan for the financing of the costs of the addition of approved names.
The task took several years, and it was not until December 11, , that another star was added. From this time forward, star ceremonies were held on a fairly regular basis. In , Charlie Chaplin was awarded a star on the Walk of Fame. Toberman, a. Hollywood, was erecting on Hollywood Boulevard. Though construction on the official Walk was set to begin shortly after the sneak peek of those first eight stars, two lawsuits prevented that from happening.
The judge ruled against them. The second came from Charlie Chaplin, Jr. The case was dismissed in , though the elder Chaplin did finally get a star in the same year he won an honorary Oscar.
After all of the delays, construction on the Walk of Fame officially began on February 8, It was installed on March 28, Of the 2,plus stars that currently make up the Walk of Fame, 47 percent of them are in the Motion Pictures category, followed by Television 24 percent , Music 17 percent , Radio 10 percent , and Live Performance less than 2 percent. In , Muhammad Ali was given a star when it was determined that boxing was indeed a form of live performance.
It takes more than just talent to be nominated for a star on the Walk of Fame—and the nomination process is no joke. Nor do they come free. Of the approximately 24 stars dedicated each year, one is given posthumously—but only if the star in question has been deceased for a minimum of five years.
The only person to have challenged this rule is Barbra Streisand , who was awarded a star in With no Babs in sight, one reporter took it upon himself to instead interview her wax figure at the nearby Hollywood Wax Museum. People who rose to fame in all types of live performance could be considered for stars. Grant also figured out how to keep the Hollywood Walk of Fame from running out of space.
The project was designed to accommodate only 2, stars, so he approved the creation of a second row of stars on the sidewalk, which would alternate with the existing stars. Once live performances were established for the Hollywood Walk of Fame in , celebrities from all lines of work were being considered as honorees. In , legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was given a star after boxing was considered by the committee as a form of live performance. And if you're hoping to find Ali's star, you won't be able to step on it because it was placed in the wall of the Dolby Theater.
His star is also the only star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame you can't step on. According to The Independent , Ali said he didn't want to be walked on by "people who have no respect for me. Ali was arguably the most entertaining boxer ever. He was famous for using poetic phrases during interviews and turning boxing matches into events the entire world wanted to watch. The legendary boxer was known for being defiant and taking a stand for his beliefs. Ali was stripped of his belt, indicted for his refusal, and found guilty.
However, his conviction was unanimously overturned by the US Supreme Court on a narrow procedural ground. In , according to Mental Floss , stars were removed from the Hollywood Walk of Fame due to construction of two subway stations on Hollywood Boulevard.
The Associated Press via Deseret News reports that each star weighs around pounds apiece. Crews moved away about ten a night until about a third of the stars on the walk at that time were removed. Cushioned crates were used to move each star, and they wouldn't be returned until , after the construction of the Red Line stations. It was indeed a strange but necessary thing to happen to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
According to the East Valley Tribune , Gregory Peck's original star was stolen in November by someone who cut the star from the sidewalk with a cement saw, apparently with no one noticing.
Peck's star had been on the Walk of Fame for more than four decades. Johnny Grant proposed a deal with the callous thief, saying: "You know now you can't sell it. This has become a worldwide story and if you'll just bring it back and leave it right here I'll forget the whole thing happened. Jimmy Stewart's and Kirk Douglas' stars were stolen five years before Peck's after being removed for construction. Their stars were later found by police in suburban South Gate.
Gene Autry's star was also stolen during a construction project. Grant said he got a call from someone who said they found the star in Iowa, but it was never returned. Peck got a new star on November 30, A new ceremony was held for Peck, and his new star was placed back on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Across the nearly 2, stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, some celebrities appear more than once. The LA Times reports that Gene Autry is the only person to be recognized in all five fields: film, TV, radio, live performance, and music. Autry was not only an entertainer but also a businessman. His obituary said: "He was enormously successful at almost anything he tried — radio, records, songwriting, television, real estate and business, as well as movies and museums.
So far, only two women share three stars: Dinah Shore and Gale Storm. Astronauts from the Apollo Moon landing of also have four stars, though they're actually round and not star-shaped. Each plaque has the names of the three astronauts from the mission: Neil A.
0コメント