The Hollywood Walk of Fame is the 5.6 km walk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles, California, which brings the stars of silver screen to their knees and glance at the memento of their achievements smiling up at them from the floor. Created in 1958 as a unique and enduring homage to our favourite movie stars, the star-studded sidewalks currently feature about 2500 stars, with about 25 new ones added each year. However, the Hollywood Walk of Fame has a lot more gossip and amusing facts associated with it than Hollywood itself!
1. The star on the Wall
Perhaps this star defies the very concept of “Walk of Fame”, because this star was installed on the wall of the Kodak Theatre Entertainment complex, instead of being embedded into the sidewalk as is customarily done. It was installed in honour of the great boxing champion Muhammad Ali, after the release of the movie Ali, in 2002. He did not want his star to be stepped on by people who have no respect for him.
2. Not what it seems
Basketball legend Magic Johnson is one of the many sportsmen to be included into the “Walk of Fame”. Surprisingly, it was not because of his great live action in the basketball court, but for a popular chain of cinemas in Hollywood which he owned. It became almost sort of a joke following this event, that other sportsmen too will receive a similar honour just for owning some theatre popcorn supply chain!
3. Star Fiction
Well, not just real actors, but even some very popular of the fictional characters have been given a star too. Though the trend began with Mickey Mouse, receiving his star in 1978, other characters who have joined in the Walk include Bugs Bunny, Kermit the Frog, Donald Duck, Tinker Bell, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek, and The Simpsons. Godzilla was the first fictional monster to receive a star in 2004, for “Godzilla: Final Wars”.
4. It is easy to confuse
If I told you that I like Tom, it is actually pretty easy to get confused whether I am talking about Tom Cruise or Tom Sawyer. There are a number of stars which share not just a common surname but sometimes an exactly identical name too, though they may belong from completely different fields of entertainment. The surname “Williams” can be found on fifteen different stars, while there are two Harrison Fords, two Robin Williams and two Michael Jacksons, to name but a few!
5. All are not movie stars
If you thought that you need to be a movie star or a performer of some entertaining art, then take a look at the star of former LA Mayor Tom Bradley. Not just he, even the LAPD has a star! The crew members of the Apollo 11 space mission were also inducted into the “Walk of Fame” with a plaque at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Even corporations like the lingerie firm Victoria’s Secret or the baseball team The LA Dodgers have received theirs stars too!