A Star-Crossed Walkway : Fading Avenue Still Lures Fans, Celebrities

By the time sidewalk cleaner John Beane gets to work, the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame is a ghostly place. A police helicopter hovers over darkened streets, where the neon lights no longer glimmer, and the officers on midnight patrol appear to outnumber pedestrians.

Boarding his small cleanup truck in a corner parking lot, Beane remarks that his job sometimes gives him the creeps. Each narrow passageway along his six-hour route is likely to hide someone strange or dangerous, Beane explains, quickly straightening his 6-foot, 2-inch frame as if to send a warning to predators.

But as Beane slowly navigates his black-and-orange cleaner down the famous walk--spraying jets of cold water over the petrified chewing gum on Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle and accumulated dirt on Michael Jackson--it isn’t the danger he talks about as much as the futility of the job.

“You have to readjust your attitude,” said Beane, scanning the long line of brass stars. “Because an hour or two after you leave, it looks like you haven’t been here.”

Like the fabled community it celebrates, the Walk of Fame, which turns 25 next month, is a frustrating place. On one hand it remains famous enough to draw big-name inductees and hordes of tourists. On the other, its cracked and littered facade serves as one of the most telling reminders of the continuing hard times in Hollywood.

For that and other reasons, the 25th anniversary has not received much of a Hollywood-style buildup. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which usually plays up anniversaries, has no plans for a formal Walk of Fame commemoration. Some Hollywood boosters maintain that, with the shabby condition of the walk, there is no cause for celebration.

“We are all rather disappointed in the maintenance of the Walk of Fame,” said Robert Hansen, president of Frederick’s of Hollywood. “It’s an unfortunate thing that . . . with the tremendous interest in Hollywood, the sidewalk itself is not maintained properly. . . . It’s getting to the point where, more than a cleaning, it needs a major rejuvenation.”

Despite Hollywood Boulevard’s deterioration, star dedications for celebrities continue to draw international media attention, perhaps fueling the misconception that the walk is a glamorous place. Michael Kellerman, owner of Hollywood Fantasy Tours, said visitors from outside California are shocked by the deterioration of the sidewalk but still get excited about seeing the stars of their favorite celebrities. Some believe that many of the entertainers are buried under the walk, Kellerman added.

“People see this thing on television shows, on the news, etc. . . . and it becomes very special to them,” he said. “A lot of people come out here specifically looking for stars on the boulevard. . . .

“It is something of a disappointment, but these people are satisfied with very little. They’ll take the sizzle instead of the steak. To stand where Michael Jackson stood when he got his star gives them a little titillation.”

Indeed, many tourists seem pleased just to find a familiar name to pose with for a snapshot as they step off tour buses. Chamber President Bill Welsh, who received his own star in 1980, pointed out that the walk remains one of Hollywood’s greatest drawing cards. “It isn’t just a bunch of terrazzo and bronze set into the sidewalk,” Welsh said. “I think people would be very upset if we changed the Walk of Fame.”

Because of its aged look and the numerous film pioneers commemorated there, many people assume that the Walk of Fame dates to the early days of motion pictures. The idea actually arose in the mid-1950s when Hollywood businessmen were looking for a way to capture the aura of filmdom for tourists.

$1 Million Started It

Harry Sugarman, who was president of the Hollywood Improvement Assn., is credited with suggesting the Walk of Fame. Under his direction, a Hollywood assesment district was formed and more than $1 million was raised from area merchants. By early 1960, 2,300 charcoal terrazzo squares with coral terrazzo stars outlined in brass had been laid along Hollywood Boulevard from Gower to Sycamore streets and along Vine Street.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held Feb. 9, 1960, and 1,558 stars’ names were unveiled. An average of one new star per month has been added since. Chamber officials estimate that they can continue dedicating stars for 50 years before running out of space.

Welsh maintains that celebrities still consider it a great honor to be inducted into the Walk of Fame, pointing out that the chamber receives about 150 applications each year for the 12 to 15 spots it awards.

Applications for Walk of Fame stardom are screened by a committee headed by entertainment reporter Johnny Grant. Welsh said the names of the other committee members are not publicized because of fear that they would receive pressure from applicants and their supporters.

An applicant is judged on his standing within the profession--motion pictures, television, recording, radio or live theater--and his record of commitment to the community, Welsh said. Once an applicant is selected, his supporters must pay $3,000 for the cost of the star and the honoree must agree to appear at the dedication, unless, of course, the award is given posthumously.

The requirement that the honorees appear helps explain why the Beatles, one of the biggest recording acts of all time, don’t have a star. (Capitol Records wanted to put a Beatles star in front of its Hollywood headquarters last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group’s arrival in America, but the surviving members of the group would not attend.) Welsh contends that the stargazing part of the ceremony, in which fans are guaranteed a glimpse of the inductee, is vital.

“If they refuse to attend, they’re not going to get a star,” Welsh said flatly. “All that shows is that they don’t care enough about the honor and about their fans to come.”

Actor Leonard Nimoy, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” television series and movies, received the first star of 1985. Nimoy said the unveiling had a great impact on him.

Tough Road for Nimoy

Getting recognition was tough at the beginning of his career, said Nimoy, recalling how his name was written in chalk on his first dressing room. “When I graduated to the point where I was doing a television series, it was a big deal to have my name painted on a parking space,” Nimoy added. “Now here we are in concrete and brass, so the feelings are pretty strong.”

Ted Knight of the television series “Too Close for Comfort” is scheduled to receive a star Wednesday. Knight, who won two Emmys for his work on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” said the star has greater meaning than most awards.

“It’s an honor,” Knight said. “It has more permanence than an Emmy, which turns out to make a great doorstop. Here you’re implanted for posterity in the mosaic of fine concrete. Of course, it’s still just three feet from the gutter.”

Worry for Dunphy

Like many inductees, Knight is expected to attract a crowd. The November induction of Michael Jackson drew more than 5,000 people, the biggest crowd in Walk of Fame history. The second largest gathered in 1982 for the induction of Jackson’s mentor, singer Diana Ross. Radio personality Rick Dees and the Three Stooges, the comedy team that received a star posthumously, also drew crowds.

Last year’s induction of KABC television anchorman Jerry Dunphy had one of the smallest crowds in Walk of Fame history, according to chamber publicist Monique Moss, who explained that Dunphy’s ceremony was intentionally underplayed because the anchorman recently had been shot and his assailant was at large.

Moss said the people chosen to receive a star have shown a surprising amount of interest in where their star in placed. The area in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre in the 6900 block of Hollywood Boulevard is the most popular spot. Other choice locations are in front of Pantages Theatre and the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Some celebrities have asked to be placed near the stars of friends or relatives, Moss said, adding that others request locations that have personal meaning, like a spot in front of an old cafe they might have frequented.

But for all the hoopla and concern about where their stars are placed, celebrities have not been known to pay much attention to the area after induction.

Several of the newer stars already have smudges and stains. Others have cracked or there are pieces missing. Another problem is stars with phony markings, like the one at the corner of Vine and Yucca streets drawn with a felt-tip pen and memorializing O. Eduardo Alfonzo.

Volunteers Polish Stars

Kellerman of Hollywood Fantasy Tours said that a group of 140 people still meets on the walk about once a month to polish favorite stars. Otherwise, the job belongs to sidewalk cleaner Beane. His boss, Kenneth Handman of Specialty Maintenance Co., concurred that keeping the walk free of debris is surprisingly difficult.

“When we bid the job we thought that the washing would be the most time-consuming part,” Handman said. “But we underestimated how serious the gum thing is, especially when it happens to land on one of the stars.”

Still, Handman says he’s happy his firm won the $42,000-a-year job because of the fame it brings within the maintenance business.

“When the job became available we wanted it and we bid lower than the other contractors to make sure we would get it,” Handman said. “It is quite prestigious as far as this industry is concerned.”