By Jake Tracer
dB MAGAZINE SENIOR STAFF
jtracer@media.ucla.edu
At 6613 1/2 Hollywood Blvd., among the sex and novelty shops,
east of the wax museum and tourist traps, there exists, well, a
boarded up building with a big “For Lease” sign posted
on it. The sidewalk in front of the abandoned storefront is dirty,
including the ground that houses Hugh O’Brian’s star on
the Walk of Fame.
Who?
O’Brian, most famous for playing the title role in the
1955 TV series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” and
his star usually go unnoticed, as do many, and possibly most, stars
that line the sidewalks along Hollywood Blvd. from Gower to La
Brea, and Vine Street from Yucca to Sunset. According to people
walking near O’Brian’s star, less than half of the
names in the area are recognizable.
However, just a few blocks west, closer to the corner of
Hollywood and Highland, the stars are aligned differently. There,
strings of stars sound like who’s-who lists of modern-day
celebrities. Stars for Robert Duvall, Martin Landau, Harrison Ford,
Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Martin Scorsese, Nicole Kidman,
Steven Spielberg, Susan Sarandon and Whoopi Goldberg lie together
in a row. In this area, camera flashes go as unnoticed as the
transients and street performers that line the wide sidewalks.
The average level of fame found in the names on the stars in
different spots along Hollywood Blvd. dictates the amount of foot
traffic found in those areas. in turn, some business owners in the
area believe this dichotomy affects their bottom lines. While the
stars may have been placed to benefit people by entertaining them,
they’re also being used to boost sales of plastic souvenir
items.
According to Magdy Ghopriaa, owner of Lotus Egyptian Gifts,
there are some people who come into his store because they’ve
stopped to look at Dean Martin’s star on the sidewalk
outside. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily lead to much
higher profits.
“Most come to leave,” Ghopriaa said. “Not
everyone comes to buy.”
The relationship between star and store can work both ways.
According to store manager Steve Elowitz, Paramount specifically
chose to put “The Rugrats'” star in front of
Hollywood Toys and Costumes.
“They did it because we deal with kids,” Elowitz
said. “They wouldn’t want to put “˜Rugrats’
in front of some of these other ““ well, I’m not going
to say anything bad about them.”
Store owners are not the only individuals who gain from the Walk
of Fame’s foot traffic. While begging for money, transient
Essam Alden admitted that he would probably have more success if he
were to beg in front of Jack Nicholson’s star instead of the
star commemorating Glenn Miller, a popular jazz bandleader from the
1920s and 1930s.
“Everyone would look at me,” Alden said.
Regardless of profit, the sidewalk stars are still entertaining,
or at least the ones that contain names people easily recognize
do.
Armed with their camera, Leland Pennington, a magician from
Ohio, and his wife, Ellen, said they recognized about 80 percent of
the names near Hollywood and Highland.
“We took a picture of Jackie Chan’s (star),”
Leland said. “We have a friend named Jackie, you know, and
he’s Chinese.”
“He works in a Chinese restaurant,” Ellen
immediately chimed in.
The Penningtons were in town to visit Hollywood’s Magic
Castle, and were excited about giving the picture to their friend
upon returning home.