The Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood’s tribute to the stars of yesterday and today, set into the sidewalk on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard from Gower to La Brea, and both sides of Vine Street from Yucca to Sunset.
How it began
The Walk of Fame was created in 1958 by southern California artist Oliver Weismuller, who was hired by the city to give Hollywood a “face lift.” It began with 2,500 blank stars, and 1,558 of them were awarded in the first sixteen months. The first star, for Joanne Woodward, was placed on February 9, 1960.
In the early years many honorees received several stars, one for each field they worked in. In recent decades the practice has been to honor people not yet represented, and only a handful of earlier honorees have received additional stars. About two stars have been added each month since the first rush of installations.
In 1978 the City of Los Angeles designated the Walk a Cultural/Historic Landmark. By 2005 more than 2,400 of the original stars were filled, and new stars extended the Walk west past Sycamore to La Brea Avenue, where it begins at the silver Four Ladies of Hollywood gazebo.
Star categories
Each star carries a round brass emblem showing the field being honored.
- Motion pictures1,097 stars
- Television563 stars
- Recording404 stars
- Radio238 stars
- Live theater and performance37 stars
Counts are for the stars listed in our star directory.
Who pays for a star
The Walk is maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. A new honoree must agree to attend a presentation ceremony within five years of selection, and a sponsorship fee is paid to the Trust to cover costs such as security at the ceremony. The fee was $25,000 in the early 2000s and has risen since. It is usually paid by a studio or record company as part of the publicity for a new release, and sometimes by a fan club.
Stolen stars
Four stars have been stolen from the Walk. The stars of Jimmy Stewart and Kirk Douglas were taken from a Vine Street construction site by a contractor, who was caught with the damaged stones after they had already been replaced. One of Gene Autry’s stars disappeared from another construction project and turned up in Iowa. On November 27, 2005, thieves sawed Gregory Peck’s star out of the sidewalk near Gower. Cameras now watch the Walk.
See it for yourself
Search for a star and see where it is on the map, or walk the boulevard block by block.