Origin
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce credits E. M. Stuart, its president in the early 1950s, with the original idea for creating a Walk of Fame. According to a 1953 Chamber press release, Stuart proposed the Walk as a means to “maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.” Harry Sugarman, another Chamber member and president of the Hollywood Improvement Association, receives credit in some independent accounts. A committee was formed to flesh out the idea, and an architectural firm was retained to develop specific proposals. The exact origin of the "star" concept is not certain, but the historic Hollywood Hotel, which stood for over 50 years on Hollywood Blvd. at the site now occupied by the Hollywood and Highland complex and the Kodak Theatre, painted stars on its dining room ceiling over tables favored by its most famous celebrity patrons, and that may have served as an early inspiration.Another theory involves a popular Hollywood restaurant of the era called The Tropics,whose menu featured celebrity photos framed in gold stars.
By 1955, the basic concept and general design had been agreed upon, and plans were submitted to the Los Angeles City Council. In February 1956 a prototype was unveiled that featured a caricature of a "sample" honoree (John Wayne, by some accounts) on a brown star with blue background. However, caricatures proved technically too difficult to execute in brass with the technology available at the time; and the brown and blue motif, it is said, was nixed by C. E. Toberman, the legendary real estate developer known as "Mr. Hollywood", because the colors clashed with a new building he was erecting on Hollywood Blvd.
Selection and Construction
By March, 1956 the final design and coral-and-charcoal color scheme had been approved, and between the spring of 1956 and the fall of 1957, 1,550 honorees were selected by committees representing the four branches of the entertainment industry at that time: motion pictures, television, audio recording, and radio. The committees included some of the most prominent names in entertainment, such as Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn, Jesse Lasky, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Mack Sennett and Walter Lantz.
Construction began in 1958, but two lawsuits delayed completion. The first was filed by local property owners opposed to the USD $1.25 million tax assessment levied upon them to pay for the Walk, along with new street lighting and trees; the second, by Charles Chaplin, Jr., sought damages for the exclusion of his father, whose nomination had been withdrawn due to pressure from multiple quarters (see below). In October 1959 the assessment was ruled legal and Chaplin's lawsuit was dismissed, paving the way for completion of the project.
The Joanne Woodward Myth
While it has been widely reported that Joanne Woodward was the first celebrity to receive a star on the Walk of Fame, in fact there was no "first" recipient; all of the original stars were installed simultaneously, with no individual ceremonies. Eight stars, chosen at random from the original 1,550,were built first, as "examples", while litigation was still holding up construction. They were displayed temporarily on the northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Avenue in September 1958, to generate publicity and demonstrate how the Walk would eventually look.After the official groundbreaking, on February 8, 1960,those eight stars, representing Woodward, Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, and Ernest Torrence, were installed along with the rest. The first star actually completed in its permanent location was director Stanley Kramer's, on March 28, 1960, on the easternmost end of the new Walk, near the intersection of Hollywood and Gower.
The precise origin of the Joanne Woodward legend is not clear; but by at least one account, she was the first celebrity to agree to pose with her star for photographers, and therefore was singled out in popular lore as the first awardee.
Stagnation
The 1960s and 1970s were a period of protracted urban decay in the Hollywood area. The Walk was originally conceived, in part, to encourage redevelopment of Hollywood Blvd., but the area continued its steady decline over the course of the 1960s. While the Walk of Fame Selection Committee continued to exist, eight years passed without the addition of a single new star.
Revitalization
Radio personality, television producer, and Chamber member Johnny Grant is generally credited with implementing the changes that resuscitated the Walk and established it as a significant tourist attraction. In 1968 he initiated a revival of the selection process, then created and continually reinforced public awareness by staging a presentation ceremony to unveil each new star. He further stimulated publicity and encouraged international press coverage by requiring that each recipient personally appear at his or her star's public unveiling.
Grant later recalled that until the neighborhood finally began its recovery in the 1980s, "it was tough to get people to come accept a star on the Walk of Fame." After that, regular personal appearances by well-known celebrities contributed to the area's recovery.
Grant also instituted a fee of USD $2,500 (now USD $30,000, after a series of incremental increases), payable by the person or entity nominating the recipient, to fund the Walk of Fame's upkeep and minimize further taxpayer burden. In December 1968, Richard D. Zanuck was awarded the first new star since 1960 in a presentation ceremony hosted by Danny Thomas. New stars have been added continually ever since, at the rate of 20 to 30 per year.
In 1978, the City of Los Angeles designated the Hollywood Walk of Fame a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
Grant was awarded a star in 1980 for his television work, and in 2002 he received a second star in the "special" category to acknowledge his pivotal role in improving and popularizing the Walk. He was also named chairman of the Selection Committee and Honorary Mayor of Hollywood (a ceremonial position previously held by Art Linkletter, Lawrence Welk, and others). He remained in both offices, and hosted the great majority of unveiling ceremonies, from 1980 until his death in 2008. His unique special-category star, with its emblem depicting a stylized "Great Seal of Hollywood" is located at the entrance to the Kodak Theater, adjacent to Johnny Grant Way.
Expansion
In 1984, a fifth category, “Live Theatre” was added to permit acknowledgement of contributions from the live performance branch of the entertainment industry, and a second row of stars was created on each sidewalk to alternate with the existing stars.
In 1994 the Walk of Fame was extended one block to the west on Hollywood Blvd., from Sycamore Avenue to North LaBrea Avenue (plus the short segment of Marshfield Way that connects Hollywood and La Brea), where it now ends at the silver "Four Ladies of Hollywood" gazebo (see below) and the special "Walk of Fame" star.At the same time, Sophia Loren was honored with the 2,000th star on the Walk.
RESTORATION
In 2008, a USD $4.2-million restoration of the Walk was initiated. At least 778 stars will eventually be repaired or replaced during the ongoing project because of wear and tear suffered over the years, from minor cosmetic flaws to damage severe enough to constitute a walking hazard. Simultaneously, the "Friends of Walk of Fame" program was inaugurated, whereby commercial interests may contribute funds toward the restoration effort. Absolut Vodka became the first "Friend" with a donation of USD $1 million, followed by L'Oreal with an undisclosed contribution. "Friends" are recognized with honorary stars in front of the Kodak Theatre, which ironically is among the most heavily damaged stretches of the walkway.
The project began with an evaluation of all 2,365 stars on the Walk at the time, each receiving a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F. Honorees whose stars received "F" grades, indicating the most severe damage, were Joan Collins, Peter Frampton, Dick Van Patten, Willard Waterman,Richard Boleslawski, Ellen Drew, Paul Douglas, Andrew L. Stone, Frank Crumit and Bobby Sherwood. 50 celebrities' stars received "D" grades.
The ongoing restoration project is a collaboration between the Hollywood Chamber and various Los Angeles city and county governmental offices, along with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the Metro Red Line that runs beneath the Walk, since earth movement due to the presence of the subway line is thought to be partly responsible for the damage.
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