Hollywood Blog

The Walk of Fame in Hollywood

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Image: eatingtourists

Many stars and “non-stars” have managed to have their names placed on these 5-pointed terrazzo and brass embedded stars on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California.  These stars are supposed to represent personal achievements of people, groups, and even fictional characters related to the entertainment industry.  The site referred to as Hollywood Walk of Fame is quite popular among tourists with estimated annual visitors of 10 million.

The Walk has about 2,484 occupied stars as of November 2012.  On closer inspection of the stars, an emblem would represent in which category the artists belongs to.  There are five categories namely Motion Pictures, Broadcast Television, Audio Recording, Broadcast Radio, and Theatre/Live Performance which was the latest category added in 1984.  Special stars are also found in the Walk consisting of entities, organizations, and special honorees that have made significant contributions.

Not all known celebrities have their stars on the Walk.  The process of having a star on the Walk starts with a nomination, so unless someone or an entity nominates a personality, there will be no stars forthcoming.  The nomination also has to be accepted by the nominee including the commitment to be present during the unveiling of the star.

There are however some concerns in relation to whether some stars are in fact deserving to be included, but then that is how show business is.  Every opportunity can be used to promote a star and the Hollywood Walk of Fame has apparently not been spared from it.

It is possible for a personality to have more than one star.  The Walk is supposed to be an Entertainment Hall of Fame.  So far it looks more like a tourist attraction

Originally posted on December 2, 2012 @ 9:31 am

Where Is John Lennon’s Hollywood Star?

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Lennon_star_WOFFor many Hollywood figures, getting a star in the Walk of Fame is one of the pinnacles of their careers. Once you get a Hollywood star, you are immortalized. But what happens when your star disappears from the Walk of Fame?

This is what’s going on with Beatles front man John Lennon’s star. The other day, LAist reported that the star has gone missing:

Over the weekend LAist received an email tip regarding John Lennon’s star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. It seems that at 1750 Vine Street the spot “is covered up with a trashbag, and beneath that is an empty outline of a star,” prompting Lennon fans on the Beatlestweets site to claim the assassinated Fab Four member’s star is “missing.”

Naturally, people have been talking about what might have happened. All the conspiracy theorists out there have their own ideas, but the popular theories are:

Speculation seems to be centered on damage to the terrazzo and brass star, which was dedicated on September 30th, 1988, necessitating its full removal from the sidewalk, or its possible removal to prepare the area for the addition of Ringo Starr’s star. Starr is one of 28 celebrities who will be honored in 2010 with a place on the Walk of Fame on February 8th, kicking off the Walk’s 50th anniversary.

Both are quite plausible, aren’t they? After all, why would you leave a damaged star on the Walk? Also, as high profile as that star (and area) is, how possible is it for someone to spend time to chip away the star without anyone else noticing it? I bet we’ll be seeing a replacement soon.

Originally posted on December 23, 2009 @ 4:01 am