The Walk of Fame Selection Committee announced the list of 30 honorees—which also includes iconic R&B group Kool & The Gang, super-producer Pharrell.
“We know that the new selections represent the best of the entertainment industry and will be a great addition to the Walk of Fame for both the Hollywood community and fans from around the world who visit Hollywood every year,” Maureen Schultz, Chair of the Walk of Fame selection committee, said in a statement.
Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy are among the 30 honorees selected to receive a star on Hollywood’s the Walk of Fame in 2015, the Walk of Fame Selection Committee announced last Thursday morning.
Jennifer Garner, Peter Jackson, Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Rudd and Christoph Waltz join funnyman Ferrell in those from the motion pictures category receiving stars.
Screenwriter and novelist Raymond Chandler, who died in 1959, and Batman creator Bob Kane, who died in 1998, will be given their stars posthumously.
From the television category, “The Simpsons” producer James L. Brooks, producer and director Ken Ehrlich, celebrity chef Bobby Flay, “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, “The Good Wife’s” Julianna Margulies, “NCIS: Los Angeles” star Chris O’Donnell, “Big Bang Theory” genius Jim Parsons, former “Saturday Night Live” favorite Amy Poehler, talkshow host Kelly Ripa and “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara will receive stars for their work.
Songwriter and remixer Lukasz ‘Dr. Luke’ Gottwald, R&B funk music group Kool & The Gang, rapper Pitbull, Al Schmitt and producer-turned-singer Pharrell Williams will receive stars as well.
Kristin Chenoweth, Dick Gregory and Ennio Morricone were selected to receive stars for their live performances on stage or in the theatre.
Los Angeles radio host Larry Elder will also receive a star, being the only one from the radio category to do so. Snoopy, a childhood cartoon favorite, will even receive a star on the Walk for his memorable appearances in the “Peanuts” specials.
The Walk of Fame Selection Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce selected the honorees at a meeting held on June 16. Of these 30 ceremonies planned for the recipients, approximately 24 of them will be broadcasted to a worldwide audience.
How to Get a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Pay a $30,000 sponsorship fee, for starters
since its launch in 1960, a who’s-who’s of who’s made it in American entertainment. But unlike, say, the Oscars or the Emmys, the standards for inclusion are kept under tight wraps. So what, exactly, does it take to get one of these coveted pink terrazzo marble stars?
1. Produce something iconic. -In theory, anyone can apply for a star—all it takes is mailing an application and a fee to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. But submissions won’t even be considered if the candidate isn’t accomplished. “It’s a tourist attraction,” says Martinez. “We want the tourists to come to Hollywood to see their favorite stars.” (And the people working behind-the-scenes to create their favorite entertainment, like directors, producers and Publicists'.) As Di Bona puts it, “A star lets [fans] say thanks. Thank you for making my life happier or better.”
More specifically, that means that star candidates have to be famous for at least five years, and have, as Di Bona puts it, “unchallengeable” expertise in what the Chamber deems a core entertainment category—television, movies, radio, live theatre and music. Reality and Internet stars are notably excluded. As one Chamber rep famously said about Kim Kardashian, “She needs to get a real acting job then come to us.”
2. Promise that you want one.
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All star applications must include a written statement from the star candidate, confirming that
a) they want a star and
b) they will attend the unveiling ceremony if their application is accepted. That’s a main reason why A-listers like Julia Roberts and Dustin Hoffman don’t appear on the Walk of Fame—they’re not interested.
3. Raise $30,000.
All star applications carry a $30,000 sponsorship fee. Half goes to the Hollywood Historic Trust, which maintains the Walk of Fame. The rest funds the creation of the star itself—breaking up the blank existing square and replacing it with a new one, printing the replica plaque honorees can take home, hiring photographers, security, and anything else related to the ceremony.
Typically the recording label or movie studio will foot the bill. But in some cases, the money has been raised by stars’ devoted fans. “Liza Minnelli’s fan club raised money by showing her movies at somebody’s house and having bake sales,” “Dean Stockwell was into recycling, so his fans did it by recycling.”
4. Wow the selection committee.
Every June, a select group of Hollywood bigwigs meets to review sponsors’ applications—including, most crucially, the star biographies submitted by their personal managers. This is the place to tout key details about awards won, records sold, philanthropic work, and anything else that might sway opinions.
There are six members on the selection committee, all of whom are appointed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and can serve a maximum of two two-year terms. Stars’ applications are good for two years, but they can reapply as many times as they want.
5. Fight for prime real estate.
Historically, the most coveted star placement has been in front of Hollywood Boulevard’s Roosevelt Hotel (where Julio Iglesias, Meryl Streep, Holly Hunter, and Joan Rivers reside) and the Hollywood and Highland shopping center (Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon). Now that the Walk of Fame is so big, however, celebrities should consider themselves lucky to get a spot outside the W Hotel, which actually has enough room to accommodate large crowds.
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Of course, most of these placements aren’t controlled by the stars themselves. It was Martinez, for example, who put Farrah Fawcett’s in front of George’s Hair Salon in 1995, “because she was so famous for her hair,” she says. Kiefer Sutherland’s, meanwhile, was placed at 7024 Hollywood Boulevard—a nod to his TV show
24. Roger Moore, also known as 007, has a star at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.
But if a star is big enough, he or she may be able to make demands: Muhammad Ali, for example, did not want people stepping on his star, so it was placed on the wall of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center.
Oh, and Clint Eastwood, if you’re interested, a special place is being reserved for you. “There’s one spot left in front of the Chinese Theatre and we’re saving it,” says Martinez. “He’s been approved, but he never set a date [for the ceremony].”
6. Throw a massive party.
Each star is unveiled in a grand ceremony, attended by the stars’ fans and other celebrities. The events typically attract about 600 people—unless the candidate is a Latin music star or a boy-band member, whose fans turn out in droves. The one for mariachi singer Vicente Fernandez drew 4,000 people, the largest crowd ever. J-Lo’s was also on the higher end, boasting 1,100 attendees.
These days, Martinez regularly gets bombarded with emails, tweets, and phone calls from boy band fans—so much so that she’s designated a special “corner” for boy band stars on Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea and Sycamore Avenues.
7. Remain on your best behavior. (Or don’t!)
When Oscar-winner Marlon Brando came under fire for making anti-Semitic remarks about Jewish people in Hollywood, some said the Godfather actor did not deserve a star anymore. But the late Johnny Grant, former chairman of the Hollywood Walk of Fame committee and the honorary mayor of Tinseltown, argued that celebrities get stars solely on the basis of career merit. After all, as Grant put it (according to Martinez), if stars were pulled up every time a famous person said something stupid, “we would have no stars left.”
Sheila Raye Charles is one of the singer’s 12 children and she too went down the path of addiction for years before finally experiencing recovery.She is traveling to a number of venues including churches and prisons across the country to speak about her experiences with addiction while singing and performing some of Ray Charles’ music as well. Sheila is now living a more successful sober life after recovering from her issues of drug abuse.
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