On February 8, 1960, work began on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. “E.M. Stuart, volunteer president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, proposed building the Walk as a means to “maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.”1
As the walk was developed, committees were tasked with finding worthy candidates to be honored. Four areas were being considered: motion picture, television, recording and radio. The category of theatre/live performance was added in 1984, and sports entertainment was added in 2023.
“To generate interest in the community, eight [prototype stars] were installed temporarily on the northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in August 1958 … to demonstrate how the Walk would eventually look. The … names were Joanne Woodward, Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, and Ernest Torrence.”2
The first permanent star that was set was given to director Stanley Kramer. It was a five-point star rimmed in brass and constructed in a coral-pink terrazzo. Each star is placed at six-foot intervals on the walk that is over 1.3 miles long. Today, there are nearly 2,800 stars and the cost to get the star in place is $75,000. The celebrity doesn’t pay this, though. It is typically done through sponsorships.
Some other interesting facts are:
- Out of the 200-300 applications submitted each year, about 30 are chosen by a committee.
- The committee is made up of Walk of Fame star recipients.
- Once chosen, a nominee has two years to schedule the ceremony.
- Award ceremonies are open to the public and free to attend.
- The nominee chooses who they want to speak about them. Those speaking have two-minutes to get it said!
- Applications can be submitted for stars posthumously once the nominee has been deceased for two years.3
- Honorees whose stars have been vandalized the most are: Donald J. Trump (he holds the most vandalized pre- and post-election, giving him the top two spots), Bill Cosby, Bob Marley, and Mariah Carey. Jimmy Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Gene Autry, and Gregory Peck have all had their stars stolen.4
I do not know anyone who has a star on the Walk of Fame, nor do I know anyone with that potential. I certainly will never be called and notified with this honor. In fact, most of us will squeak through this life and get honored for nothing other than maybe a shirt that says, “Best Grandpa Ever” – a shirt and award that I happily and proudly wear.
While the lack of recognition and accolades may bother some, most Christians I know recognize that we are not serving the Lord in order to win temporal praise. We do it out of a love for the Lord, knowing that our “awards ceremony” isn’t until we are home in Heaven.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (7) So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. (8) Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
Consider another promise given in Colossians 3:23-24. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (24) Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Reward day doesn’t come until homegoing day. Runners don’t get rewards along the course of the marathon. They have to cross the finish line. If you are reading this today, that means you haven’t crossed the finish line yet so it would be ridiculous for us to think we should be rewarded.
When that day comes, what do you think we will do with those rewards? Will our Heavenly mansion come equipped with a trophy case so that we can display the rewards throughout eternity?
I have to believe we will do with our rewards what the 24 elders did in Revelation 4:4, 10-11. If you ever get discouraged, thinking that your hard work has gone unnoticed, let these verses encourage you. “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold… (10) The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
1https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/construction-begins-on-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame
2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame
3https://walkoffame.com/frequently-asked-questions/
4https://stacker.com/celebrities/25-celebrities-whose-stars-were-defaced-hollywoods-walk-fame
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