1. Walking on Sunshine
The world famous Walk Of Fame runs for a total of 1.3 miles (east to west) on Hollywood Boulevard in LA. It is one of Hollywood's most popular tourist attractions with an approximate 10m visitors per year (although how it's decided who's visiting the stars and who's just stepping on them is not clear).
2. Gloss & Glamour
The Walk of Fame started life in 1956, with Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce president EM Stuart proposing it “maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.”
3. Five-Star
As of December 2013, there are a grand total of 2,514 stars on the Walk Of Fame. Each coral pink, five-point star is rimmed with brass, with the name of the recipient printed above one of five associated emblems: Motion Pictures, Broadcast TV, Audio Recording/Music, Radio or Theatre/Live Performance. They are spaced at six-foot intervals.
4. Movies > Theatre
Almost half of the stars awarded have been for performers associated with movies, with 47% falling in the Motion Pictures category. Less than 2% of inductees were awarded their stars for services relating to theatre.
5. Victoria Who?
There are some inductees to the Walk of Fame who don't belong in any category. For example, former LA Mayor Tom Bradley has a star. The LAPD has a star. The crew members of the Apollo 11 space mission have a plaque at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Even corporations can get in on the game: lingerie firm Victoria's Secret have a star, as do baseball team The LA Dodgers.
6. First Among Equals
There was no 'first' star on the Walk of Fame. From the initial allocation of 1,558 nominees, eight were laid while legal troubles were holding up construction of the rest. It is often wrongly stated that actress Joanne Woodward was the first person to receive her star, but she shared the honour with the likes of Olive Borden and Louise Fazenda. Yeah, us neither.
7. The Cost of Fame
The Walk of Fame hasn't always been a tourist attraction. No new stars were added between 1960-1968 as the area was largely abandoned for the suburbs. However, following a revitalisation, it was agreed that stars nominated must attend the ceremony in person and pay a small fee to cover the costs of upkeep. As of 2012, the price of a star was $30,000.
8. Ungrateful Ingrates
Since 1968, some 40 ingrates have turned down their chance to appear on the Walk of Fame, including Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood and George Clooney. The only entertainer who had their star inducted without appearing at their ceremony was Barbra Streisand in 1976 (although she did find time to pop along when hubby James Brolin received his star in 1998).
9. The Greatest
Muhammad Ali was given a star on the Walk of Fame after it was successfully argued that boxing constituted a 'live performance'. The showman's star is the only one set in a vertical surface (on the wall of the Dolby Theater) as Ali requested no one be able to walk all over him.
10. Chain Reaction
Another sportsman to be inducted is basketball legend Magic Johnson, included not because of his 'live performances' but because he owned a popular chain of cinemas in Hollywood. It was joked at the time by Chamber member Johnny Grant that "people will want Orville Redenbacher next as his popcorn is in all the theatres.”
11. Re-Writing Wrongs
Even though the stars are set in stone, they contain plenty of mistakes.Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus was inducted as 'Julia Luis Dreyfus', while Dick Van Dyke's surname was printed as 'Vandyke'. Film and TV actor Don Haggerty's first name was set as 'Dan', which caused confusion when, some years later, another TV actor named Dan Haggerty was also inducted. Oh, and Swedish film pioneer Mauritz Stiller was listed as "Maurice Diller" for 28 years. These errors were eventually recitified.
12.King Wrong
Some mistakes, however, remain. According to the Walk of Fame, the legendary director of King Kong was "Meriam" C Cooper and not Merian. TV anchor Larry King's name is paired with the emblem for movies, while musical actress Carmen Miranda appears to be under the TV category instead of Motion Pictures. Those stars aren't cheap to replace, you know.
13. Seeing Double
There are several duplicates of common names and not so common names. Walk the Boulevard long enough and you'll find two Harrison Fords – not just the Star Wars actor but a silent film star from the 1920s too.
14. Man in the Mirror
Shortly after pop star Michael Jackson's death in 2009, fans flocked to his star on the Walk Of Fame and left bundles of flowers and led candlelit vigils – even though it belonged to someone else. Jacko does have a star (on Hollywood Boulevard) but the one on Vine belongs to an American talk show host of the same name, who said of his star in 2009: "I am willingly loaning it to [Michael Jackson] and, if it would bring him back, he can have it."
15. Scrubs Up Nice
Jacko isn't the only entertainer whose star has turned into a shrine. According to one source, the star belonging to singer Julio Iglesias is kept in pristine condition by "a devoted band of elderly women [who] scrub and polish it once a month."
16. Triumph of the Trap
Charlie Chaplin's induction to the Walk of Fame caused controversy due to his left-leaning political views. He was nominated for inclusion in the original selection in 1956, but was excluded due to his connection to the White Slavery furore of the time (Chaplin was later exonerated). It wasn't until 1972 that Charlie Chaplin's star was finally set in stone, the same year he won an Honorary Academy Award.
17. The Brightest Star of All
It is not unheard of for stars to have more than one spot on the Walk of Fame, provided they excel in the categories set forth. Only one man has a star in all five categories – singing cowboy Gene Autry. Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney and Roy Rogers are among the handful of personalities of who have four stars to their name, while 33 people – including Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra – have three individual stars.
18. Gone to the Dogs
Several fictional characters have stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Kermit the Frog and Big Bird were both deemed worthy, as was Godzilla. Canine actors Lassie and Rin Tin Tin both have their own stars too. Good dogs.
19. Barry-More
The most successful Hollywood family to feature on the Walk Of Fame is the Barrymore clan, with no less than six family members included: John, Lionel (who has two), Ethel, Sidney Drew, John Drew and bringing up the rear, plain old Drew Barrymore.
20. Surname Not Required
There are 13 inductees who are so famous, they are known only by one name. Watch out for Parkyakarkus, Cantinflas, Houdini, Liberace, Mako, Meiklejohn, Paderewski, Roseanne, Sabu, Shakira, Slash, Sting, and Thalía. Still no love for Madonna – that Die Another Day cameo must have really hurt her chances.
21. Two-For-One
The youngest recipients of a star on the Walk of Fame are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who were just 18 when they received the esteemed honour (which they definitely, totally, 100% deserve). Theirs is also the only star to be shared by twins.
Light-fingered crooks have attempted to steal stars from the Walk of Fame several times. Those belonging to James Stewart and Kirk Douglas were nicked during their relocation in 2000, but were later found at the home of a construction worker, who was arrested. One of Gene Autry's five stars went missing and was never recovered, and Gregory Peck's star was forcibly removed by crooks with a concrete saw in 2005, never to be seen again.
The original plan was to match the inductee's name with a small brass caricature of the star beneath their name. After John Wayne's prototype came out not looking very much like John Wayne, the ideas was dropped and the emblems were drafted in. The original colour scheme of blue and brown was also ditched after it clashed with a nearby building.
23. When is The Duke not The Duke?
The original plan was to match the inductee's name with a small brass caricature of the star beneath their name. After John Wayne's prototype came out not looking very much like John Wayne, the ideas was dropped and the emblems were drafted in. The original colour scheme of blue and brown was also ditched after it clashed with a nearby building.
24. Presidential Star
Ronald Reagan is the only American President to have a star on the Walk Of Fame. George W Bush must be fuming his fine work in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 wasn't enough to get him on the shortlist.
25. Ooh Behave!
Some stars are situated in specific locations for an added kick of humour. Roger Moore's star is at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard, while the star belonging to Austin Powers actor Mike Myers is situated outside a sex shop called The International Love Boutique. Shagadelic, as they say.
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