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Walk of Fame stars not given to most deserving

By Daily Bruin Staff

May 15, 2002 9:00 p.m.

By Beverly Braga
[email protected]

One day while living the pathetic life that is mine, I had a
disturbing vision. I saw myself walking the strip mall known as
Hollywood Boulevard looking down at the Walk of Fame. Wait.
That’s not the worst part.

Instead of having my head in the clouds like a normal stargazer,
I hang my head low as I stroll over the stars of Paul Newman, Mary
Tyler Moore and Walt Disney. Then I come across one that perturbs
every optic nerve of my myopic eyes. There, embedded in the pink
and charcoal terrazzo squares, is the name David Hasselhoff. I
squint, hoping that my contacts are the wrong prescription but,
alas, David Hasselhoff indeed has a Hollywood star.

But this all must be a dream. I’ll wake up eventually.

I don’t.

It isn’t a dream. It’s a nightmare. How on earth
does Hasselhoff have a star? Yeah, I guess you could say he’s
famous, but is “Baywatch” really that great a
contribution to the entertainment world? Those of you proudly
nodding your heads should be ashamed of yourselves and you need to
hang out at Hooters a little less. I don’t care how good you
say the chicken is. “Baywatch” was an hour-long beach
boogie about babes bouncing around on the sand with not much else.
Real lifeguards aren’t even close to being that
attractive.

So how does a wannabe lifeguard who used to be cool (remember
“Knight Rider?”) end up with such an esteemed
distinction?

Every year the Walk of Fame Committee, as administered by the
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, rummages through the stacks of
nominations and selects 12 to be enshrined with a star the
following year. Perhaps the year Hasselhoff was awarded one, he was
considered the cream of the crop. I’d hate to see the names
of the nominees that were rejected.

Once you get a star, you can’t have it taken away from
you. Lucky for Hasselhoff. But that opens up the board to other
questions. Forget those that are honored with a star. What about
those that should be honored with one but haven’t been yet?
Like Jim Carrey.

Why hasn’t anyone nominated him? He’s won Golden
Globes, MTV Movie Awards, and the sought-after praise of film
critics. In time, even an Oscar will follow suit but only when the
aging Academy members decide to come to their senses. Still, Carrey
receives a minimum salary of $20 million a picture and brings joy
to millions of fans worldwide.

Okay, so maybe “Baywatch” brings worldwide joy too
but that’s only because of the bouncing beach balls and not
because of Mitch Buchannon’s fuzzy chest. Besides, Carrey is
a film and comedy icon. And at least he never starred in
“Baywatch Nights.”

Another actor worthy of a star is the Sundance Kid himself,
Robert Redford. Recently bestowed with an Honorary Oscar in this
year’s Academy Awards, not only is he a talented actor,
director and producer, but Redford also established the Sundance
Film Festival. Without the festival, independent films such as last
year’s “Memento” and “In The Bedroom”
might never have gotten the buzz and praise that they deserved.

It befuddles the mind to think someone as respected as Redford,
a man who has undoubtedly contributed so much to the Hollywood
community, can’t even get a piece of that famous Hollywood
sidewalk.

Pee-Wee Herman has a share, but not Mel Gibson. Paula Abdul and
Patrick Swayze also have some Walk of Fame realty but not Julia
Roberts or Clint Eastwood. Does any of this make sense?

Maybe there’s more to the selection process than meets the
cynical eye. After all, the committee must be doing something right
if the likes of James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, and Katherine Hepburn
are included the more than 2000 marked stars. With thousands more
still waiting to be embossed with a bronzed name, Jim Carrey could
get a star after all. And who knows, maybe they’ll give
K.I.T.T. a spot next to Hasselhoff. After all, what was Michael
Knight without his smart-talking Trans-Am?

In the meantime, I need to find better things to do than hanging
out in Hollywood and staring at the street.

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