Fascinating Facts About The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Getting a star on the highly prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame is not a mean feat and not every celebrity gets felicitated with this honor. It’s obviously an honor that everyone treasures. Many are not aware of the fact that that it’s a pretty long and tough process that one has to go through.

It was introduced as a strategy by the Chamber of Commerce in the year 1953. The idea was to market tourism. In today’s times, over 2600 famous individuals have stars in their names along with three blocks of Vine Street and 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard located in Hollywood, California. According to a recent estimation, over 10 million people pay a visit to the most popular tourist attraction in Los Angeles annually.

A Permanent Monument For The Stars From The Entertainment Industry

The stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are considered to be permanent monuments that are tokens of achievement by stars in different entertainment categories. Initially, there were four categories, namely Television, Recording, Radio, Music, and Motion Pictures, for the inductees. Later on, theatre/live performance was included in the year 1984.

Nominees are chosen among the actors, actresses, producers, directors, musicians, as well as fictional characters. Contrary to popular perception, reality television personalities are not considered for nomination. 47 percent of the stars are from the entertainment industry, 25 percent are from the television industry, 17 percent from the music industry, and 10 percent from the radio industry.

The First Star Was Of Stanley Kramer

The first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was that of Stanley Kramer that was laid on the 28^th of March, 1960. He has the credit of directing It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Judgment at Nuremberg, Inherit the Wind, and The Defiant Ones. Mickey Mouse happens to be the first fictional character to be honored with a star in the year 1978. The 17^th and the last fictional character to be honored with a star on the 22^nd of January in the year 2018 is Minnie Mouse. Other characters to get inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame are from Sesame Street and Disney.

Some Celebrities Have More Than One Star

If you think that celebs are only allowed to have a single star in their name, you are wrong. Celebs have the privilege to have more than one star. Many people have more than one star in more than one category. You will be amazed to know that over 30 people have stars in their names in three categories. Gene Autry, an iconic entertainer is one celeb who has a star in all the five existing categories. That’s indeed an achievement that hasn’t been emulated so far.

Placement of the Stars

The placement of the stars that you might have witnessed while on your visit here is not random. The most iconic personalities from the entertainment industry have their stars placed in front of the famous TCL Chinese Theatre. The Academy Award winners have their stars placed near the Dolby Theater. This is the place where the stars receive their Oscars every year. Quite a few honorees have often requested their stars to be placed according to their individual preferences.

Application Process

Receiving a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame is not just about talent. 200 nominations are received every year, but not all are granted. Often, many nominations are required before approval is granted. During the process, some of the nominees quit. Around 30 of them are approved. The nomination tends to be costly and quite extensive.

This is the reason why some of the celebs prefer not to get involved in it. Anyone and the list includes a fan as well, can nominate their favorite celebrity, but the nominated individual has to give their consent to all the conditions that are stated by the Chamber, in writing. Posthumous nominations are also accepted. However, the minimum time period that a star has been dead in five years.

Over the past few years, requests to remove stars of various stars have been received. Donald Trump, Elvis Presley, Joan Crawford, and Kevin Spacey are some of them. The Hollywood Walk of Fame has been registered as a historic hallmark and is a great tourist attraction for people across the globe.