Hollywood Walk of Fame
Otis Redding is about to get a little “Respect” – to borrow the title of one of his most famous compositions – from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The late soul music legend will be honored posthumously with a star on Friday, Oct. 4, at 11:30 a.m. PT at 6150 Hollywood Blvd. Redding’s star is in the category of live theatre/live performance.
Five-time Grammy-winning producer (and previous Walk of Fame honoree) Jimmy Jam will emcee the star ceremony. Killer Mike, who won three Grammys in the rap field in February, will speak. Accepting the award will be the singer’s daughter, Karla Redding-Andrews.
“The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is honored to dedicate a star to the legendary Otis Redding, whose music continues to inspire generations,” Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies, said in a statement.
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Redding has long been regarded as one of the greatest soul singers in popular music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 1999. Three of his recordings are in the Grammy Hall of Fame – his 1965 hit “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now),” his 1967 reinvention of the 1933 pop standard “Try a Little Tenderness” and his deeply moving 1968 classic “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay.” Aretha Franklin’s classic 1967 version of “Respect,” which Redding wrote and had the initial hit with in 1965, is also in the Grammy Hall.
Redding had a volley of hits between 1964 and 1967. He even played at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. But less than six months later, on Dec. 10, 1967, he died in a plane crash in Madison, Wisc. en route to a concert. He was just 26.
The first sign that his music would live on came when “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” shot to No. 1 in early 1968 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Selling R&B Singles (as the chart was then called). Redding also had a pair of top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in the spring of 1968 – History of Otis Redding and The Dock of the Bay. In early 1969, “Dock of the Bay” won two Grammys – best rhythm & blues song and best rhythm & blues vocal performance, male.
Redding’s influence continues through the work of the Otis Redding Foundation, ran by his widow Zelma and daughter Karla Redding-Andrews, which seeks to preserve his legacy through empowering music education for all youth.
The star ceremony will be streamed live at WalkOfFame.com.
Batman has been an iconic character in comic books, TV and film for 85 years. On Thursday, Sept. 26, he’ll make history as the first superhero with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star will be at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard in front of The Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum. Michael Empric, an official Guiness World Records adjudicator, will be on hand to certify Batman’s history-making achievement.
“The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to honor our first superhero on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! The one, the only, Batman!” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Fans from around the world will be thrilled to know that Batman will have his star dedicated next to the stars of television’s Batman, Adam West, and the co-creator of Batman, Bob Kane.”
Jim Lee, DC Comics’ president, publisher, and chief creative officer, and Anne DePies, SVP & general manager, will be there, as will Steve Nissen, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president & CEO, who will emcee the event.
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Created for DC Comics by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, Batman first appeared in 1939’s Detective Comics #27. The Batman TV series, starring West and Burt Ward as Robin, debuted on ABC in January 1966. Neal Hefti’s memorable theme song to the series won a Grammy for best instrumental theme and sparked a cover battle on the Billboard Hot 100. Hefti’s original version reached No. 35, but a cover version by the sur-rock instrumental band The Marketts made No. 17.
With the help of director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton, Batman would usher in the age of the comic book movie in 1989. Danny Elfman composed and produced the score album, which reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200. Elfman’s “The Batman Theme” won a Grammy for best instrumental composition.
Prince composed and produced an album of songs “inspired by and featured in” that 1989 film, which did even better than the score album. This ushered in the era of pop soundtracks which were distinct from (and often more successful than) score albums. Prince’s album topped the Billboard 200 for six consecutive weeks and spawned a No. 1 single on the Hot 100, “Batdance.”
The soundtrack to Batman Forever in 1995 reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and spawned a No. 1 smash, Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose,” which won Grammys for both record and song of the year. Seal didn’t write the song for the film, so it wasn’t Oscar-eligible. The soundtrack also featured U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” which reached No. 16 on the Hot 100, as well as genre hits by Method Man and Offspring.
The soundtrack to Batman & Robin in 1997 also reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits by such diverse acts as Smashing Pumpkins, Jewel, R. Kelly, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Eric Benet.
Hans Zimmer composed and conducted the scores to The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), both of which reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200. Zimmer also composed and conducted the score to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which reached No. 25.
The Batman film franchise has grossed more than $6.8 billion at the global box office, making it the 10th highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
The star unveiling ceremony will be streamed live at www.walkoffame.com.
In 1990, writer/producer Glen Ballard helped Wilson Phillips land a multiplatinum debut album that spawned three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “Hold On,” “Release Me” and “You’re in Love.” On July 11, the pop trio will return the favor, speaking as Ballard gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. […]
Prince, Keith Urban and Green Day are among 36 entertainment professionals who have been selected to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Prince, who died in 2016 at age 57, will be a relatively rare posthumous induction. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, will be honored in a double ceremony.
The 2025 class was announced at a press conference held at Ovation Hollywood on Monday (June 24). Music producer Jimmy Jam and actors Joe Mantegna and Niecy Nash joined Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Steve Nissen to make the announcement. Jimmy Jam was a close associate of Prince in the early 1980s when he and partner Terry Lewis were in The Time.
This year’s inductees range in age from Fantasia, 39, to Toni Vaz, 101. Vaz was Hollywood’s first Black stuntwoman and co-founder of the NAACP Image Awards. Other older inductees are Chinese-American actress Lisa Lu, 97; film and TV actress Jane Fonda, 86; and actor/director Bill Duke, 81.
Fonda, daughter of acting legend Henry Fonda, is one of three second-generation stars being honored, along with Emilio Estevez, son of Martin Sheen; and journalist Chris Wallace, son of 60 Minutes great Mike Wallace.
Most of the inductees are American, though some hail from outside the U.S. These include English band Depeche Mode; Mexican grupera band Los Bukis; Urban, who was born in New Zealand, but is now Australian/American; Irish actor Colin Farrell; Chinese-American actress Lisa Lu; Scottish actor Alan Cumming; and retired English football player David Beckham.
The Walk of Fame selection committee, made up of past Walk of Famers, selected this year’s honorees from among hundreds of nominees on June 14. The choices were ratified by the Hollywood Chamber’s board of directors that same day.
Dates have not yet been scheduled for these star ceremonies. Recipients have two years to schedule star ceremonies from the date of selection before they expire. Upcoming star ceremonies are usually announced 10 days prior to the dedication on the official website.
Star ceremonies are streamed worldwide. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the Walk of Fame on behalf of the city of Los Angeles. Sponsors fund the star, the ceremony, and the maintenance of the world-famous attraction. Attending Walk of Fame ceremonies is free to the public. To learn more, and to find the location of stars on the Walk of Fame, visit the website.
Here are quick details about this year’s inductees into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, showing the current ages of all individuals.
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Charlie Wilson received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with collaborators like Snoop Dogg attending the ceremony honoring him.
For Charlie Wilson, the road to being an R&B legend has been a long and eventful one. Another milestone in that journey occurred on Monday (January 29) as he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 71-year-old lead singer of The Gap Band reminisced over a moment in his past when he first arrived in Los Angeles while addressing the crowd at the ceremony.
“But I was walking in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and I was trying to put my hands in the hands on the sidewalk. I was like, ‘Wow, what if I can get this one day?’, Wilson said. “Some woman walking by said, ‘That’s not impossible.’ I said, ‘But I’m talking about me.’ She said, ‘Yeah, and I’m telling you it’s not impossible. It might be improbable, but not impossible.’ And now, here it is — so many years later, and I’m getting that star on Hollywood Boulevard.”
Snoop Dogg, a frequent collaborator of Wilson’s, praised the singer for being a vault of knowledge for him. “That’s the treasure to me. because when we get in this industry, we don’t really have people who we can count on, who we can go to. We get so far in this industry that you lose contact,” said the rapper. “So, to have somebody like you to stay in my life and to be there for me and my family means the world to me, Charlie.”
Charlie Wilson underwent the highs of fame and the lows – after the success of The Gap Band, he struggled with addiction and homelessness for most of the 1990s. That decade, however, would see him revitalized through being featured on numerous tracks by Hip-Hop artists and a solo career. He’d earn 13 Grammy Award nominations, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Soul Train Icon award. Wilson also successfully overcame prostate cancer in 2008 and is now a Prostate Cancer Foundation spokesperson.
“I’m still here to be able to tell my story and be able to dance and sing and have a good time on the stage,” said Wilson. “All the things I’ve ever prayed for, they all came to pass. I really sort of am Superman — I’m faster than all of the speeding bullets that came after me.”
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To audience chants of “we want the funk; we gotta have that funk,” George “Dr. Funkenstein” Clinton received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His star, the 2769th, is located at 6752 Hollywood Blvd. in front of the Musicians Institute. Speaking at the ceremony on Friday (Jan. 19) were Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and songwriter Janie Bradford.
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As the mastermind behind the legendary bands Parliament/Funkadelic, Clinton steered the way across the cosmos to such classics as “(I Wanna) Testify,” “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up),” “Star Child (Mothership Connection),” “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk),” “Flash Light,” “Aqua Boogie,” “One Nation Under a Groove,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep” and “Atomic Dog.” Along the way, Clinton also influenced a diverse range of artists from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Kendrick Lamar.
Acknowledging all the members of his bands over the years, Clinton said, “Lots of them are here, lots of them not. But for all of them I say thanks and I’m blessed to be representing a bunch of funky mothers. Thank you, Hollywood!”
Here are some additional soundbites from Clinton’s star ceremony:
Clinton: Noting to audience laughter that he was going to read his speech “because I’m so emotional and ain’t no way in hell I’m going to remember all this s—,” the newly minted Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee called it an “honor to receive a star alongside the many notables from the world of entertainment. The old fans and new fans who let the music move their souls; you all know who I’m talking about [because] I’ve always said it’s the people who make the funk. [Also] thank you to the Omega Psi Phi fraternity] brothers who adopted ‘Atomic Dog’ as their national anthem and keeping it relevant for over 40 years. Damn! 40 years. Now as we drop the star, let it be a symbol not just for George Clinton but for the power of the funk, the power of unity of one nation under a groove. This acknowledgement does not mark a destination or even a pause because we’re still going forward. I was encouraged by [artists] like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, De La Soul, 2Pac, Kendrick Lamar, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers and all those who said funk inspired them. They used the DNA of funk and that inspired me to go on in my fight for musical rights — thank you, Ben Crump — and not just for me but for all [artists’] rights that have been mishandled.”
Kiedis: “Welcome to the corner of Hollywood & George,” joked the RHCP shared that he first learned about George Clinton when a fellow student at Los Angeles’ Fairfax High brought Parliament’s Chocolate City album to school for show and tell. Years later in 1985, the Peppers released their Clinton-produced album Freaky Styley. “For me personally, George became an instant friend, teacher, mentor, a father figure, a co-conspirator, instigator. I love George Clinton with all my heart,” Kiedis concluded before leading the audience in a singalong of a “small spiritual hymn” as he warbled the chorus to “P. Funk”: “Make my funk the P-Funk / I wants my funk uncut …”
Crump: “Now more than ever in the world, we need music that brings us all together. And nobody’s music brings us all together quite like this brother’s brings us together — one nation under a groove. This brother got brothers and sisters all across the globe coming together through the Mothership Connection. He got people in Europe, Australia, Africa and North America walking around in daytime with a flashlight looking for the P-Funk. That’s why we celebrate the one and only, the iconic George Clinton: the father of funk music, Dr. Funkenstein himself.”
Bradford: Looking back at the ’70s heyday of Funkadelic, Bradford pointed out that Clinton “announced his retirement in 2018 and today in 2024, George [at 82] is still working [touring, readying three recording projects and painting]. “My kids think I’m cool because I know George Clinton. I think I am blessed that he is my friend and I am his. Congratulations, George!”
Gwen Stefani was honored with a much-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday morning (Oct. 19), and she celebrated the honor alongside her three sons and husband Blake Shelton. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The country superstar gave a swoon-worthy speech during the ceremony, […]
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The late Chadwick Boseman will be among the group of honorees to get their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year, including the iconic producer Dr. Dre.
On Monday (June 26th), the Walk of Fame Selection Panel for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced their Class of 2024 whose members will be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame. Boseman, who succumbed to colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43, will posthumously receive that honor as part of the group nominated from the Motion Pictures category. Late musical icon Otis Redding will also get a star after being nominated for the Live Theatre/Live Performance category with actress Jane Krakowski.
Dr. Dre will also be receiving a star after being nominated from the Recording category along with Glen Ballard, Toni Braxton, Def Leppard, Charles Fox, Sammy Hagar, Brandy Norwood, Darius Rucker, and Gwen Stefani. Veteran radio host and media personality Angie Martinez will also get a star as the lone nominee from the Radio category.
“The Selection Committee which is made up of fellow Walk of Famers, carefully hand-picks a group of honorees each year that represent various genres of the entertainment world,” Walk of Fame Chair Ellen K said in the announcement statement. “The Committee did an amazing job choosing these very talented people.” There are no dates announced yet for any ceremonies.
The rest of the honorees from the film category are veteran actress and recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Chris Meledandri, Chris Pine, and Christina Ricci along with Gal Gadot and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. The television category nominated Ken Jeong, Eugene Levy, Mario Lopez, Jim Nantz, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Michael Schur, Kerry Washington, and Gordo y La Flaca co-hosts Raúl De Molina and Lili Estefan. Tennis legend Billie Jean King and Carl Weathers will be honored from the Sports Entertainment category.
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Hip-Hop is about to add another name to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. It has been confirmed that 2Pac will finally receive his star.
As per HipHopDX the late great will be getting one of the most prestigious decorations an entertainer can receive. Earlier this week Variety Magazine revealed that the All Eyez On Me rapper will receive the star posthumously at a ceremony slated for Wednesday, June 7. The event will be hosted by California radio personality Big Boy and Pac’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur will receive the honor on her brother’s behalf. It will be the 2,758th star in the iconic walkway. Naturally the organization instantly received some criticism that the honor was long overdue to which they responded saying “2Pac was selected in 2013, and we have been waiting for his family/estate to set a date.”
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in Harlem, New York City in 1971 and would get his entry into the music business as a dancer and roadie for Digital Underground. He would soon leave the group to pursue his own solo career. In 1991 he released his first album 2Pacalypse Now. Within the next five years he curated some of hist most influential works including Me Against The World and All Eyez On Me. After leaving a Mike Tyson boxing match on September 7, 1996 at the MGM Grand he was shot multiple times in a drive by shooting. His murder has never been officially solved by police.
2Pac is considered one of the genre’s most influential talents ever and is often cited as an inspiration by today’s biggest stars.
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The Rose That Grew From Concrete is finally receiving his own sidewalk honor: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On June 7, legendary rapper, poet and actor Tupac Shakur will receive his star in the recording category during a public ceremony at 6212 Hollywood Blvd.
“Tupac Shakur was a rapper, actor, activist, poet, and revolutionary,” says Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “This iconic artist has continued to be part of the zeitgeist for decades after his passing and will continue to be an important cultural figure for many years to come. Surely, as one of L.A.’s own, Tupac’s star will be added to the list of most visited stars.”
Born in New York City but spending his formative years in California, Shakur is revered as a West Coast legend and a cited inspiration to artists across the globe, including Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, J. Cole, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and countless others.
At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet. In his early career, Shakur was known as MC New York before taking on the moniker 2Pac during his time with rap group Digital Underground.
As a solo artist, Shakur released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991 via Interscope Records. He went on to share three more albums before his fatal shooting at age 25 — all of which charted on the Billboard 200, with All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World topping the chart. Following his death, six posthumous studio albums were released through Amaru Entertainment, started by Shakur’s mother, and Interscope Records.
Both All Eyez on Me and Shakur’s greatest-hits collection are RIAA-certified diamond, surpassing the 10-million mark. In 2017, the rap icon was the first solo hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As an actor, Shakur starred in films including Juice, Poetic Justice, Above The Rim, Gridlock’d and Gang Related.
The Walk of Fame star unveiling will be hosted by L.A. radio host Big Boy and guest speakers will include director Allen Hughes (Hulu documentary series Dear Mama), writer Jamal Joseph and Tupac’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, who will accept the star.
The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. PT and will stream live here.