Leno to receive Walk of Fame star

Amber Willard

BURBANK -- On the eve of celebrating his eighth year as host of NBC’s

“Tonight Show,” Jay Leno will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of

Fame.

The public ceremony will start at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at 6780

Hollywood Blvd., in front of Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum.

Leno, who was nominated for the star by NBC, chose the location on

Hollywood Boulevard near the intersection with Highland Avenue because he

was arrested there twice 20 years ago for vagrancy, said his publicist,

Dick Guttman.

“It is a surprising honor,” Guttman said of Leno’s selection. “As a

kid, he used to look at this stuff, so he knows it really means

something.”

The half-hour ceremony, which is expected to be crowded with media and

fans, will include speeches about Leno’s life and accomplishments and

some words from the comic himself.

Getting a star on the Walk of Fame is not a simple thing, said Ana

Martinez-Holler, director of publicity for the Hollywood Chamber of

Commerce. After a nomination application is submitted, a committee meets

to select about 20 people from a list of hundreds submitted each year.

The chamber board must approve the choices, which are then sent to the

Los Angeles City Council for approval.

“It’s very difficult to get in,” Martinez-Holler said.

Because it sponsored Leno, NBC will pay the requisite $15,000 fee for

the star, which includes removing the blank star at that location and

replacing it with the plaque, as well as security and staging for the

ceremony, Martinez-Holler said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Jay Leno’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

WHERE: 6780 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.

TRIVIA: Leno was arrested twice for loitering at a nearby corner.