Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame, Hollywood, California

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a connected sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, which is embedded with more than 2,000 five-pointed stars featuring the names of celebrities honored 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.

Created in 1958, the Walk of Fame has become a tribute to artists working within the entertainment industry, both in front and behind the cameras, stages, microphones, recording studios, etc. Honorees receive a star based on career and lifetime achievements in motion pictures, live theatre, radio, television, and/or music, as well as their charitable and civic contributions.

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.

The original construction of the Walk of Fame had 2,500 blank stars. Joanne Woodward received the first star on the Walk of Fame on February 9, 1960. A total of 1,558 stars were awarded over the following sixteen months. Since then, new stars have been added 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. As of 2004, the total number of stars awarded is approximately 2,150.

Many honorees have received multiple stars for contributions to separate categories. The only honoree to receive stars in all five categories was Gene Autry. The spectrum of celebrities who have received stars ranges from the most well-known movie stars to local radio deejays. At Hollywood and Vine a special "round star" commemorates the Apollo 11 astronauts. 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.

In 1978, the City of Los Angeles designated the Walk of Fame as a Cultural/Historic Landmark.

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, an application must be filed and a $15,000 fee must be payed to the Trust. Around 200-300 applications are sent each year, and a committee decides which nominees get their star (around 20-24 each year).