one of those sorts of posts which may or, look you see, may not be of interest to you, the people. i dare say that what shall be on show here is already on show in other corners of the internet. but, having said (or typed) that, these are pictures what Spiros sent, which makes them rather special.
indeed, yes, Spiros has from time to time sent me any number of "special" pictures. these are usually of a nature which are decidedly not suitable to be shared here, no matter how much enthusiasm he has for whatever gentleman (normally uninformed) that he's formed a short term but mutually beneficial friendship with. with some delight i can say that there are no such concerns regarding content of that nature here.
and what we have here, then, is, or are, selective highlights from the somewhat legendary and partially well known Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
nice one Spiros, for going and seeking out for me the David Bowie star. this is quite a gesture off of him, for the Hollywood Walk Of Fame is bloody massive, so it is, to be sure. how massive? somewhere north of one mile in length, or if you are one of them metric enthusiasts just north of 2km. that's a significant area to look across for one particular star, and Spiros expended some valuable drinking time to find this one for me.
just what is the Hollywood Walk Of Fame? well, if you are unaware of it, the above picture tells you most of what you would need to know. it's a strip of fancy marble, gilded tiles on Hollywood Boulevard, resplendent with stars showcasing the name of the most celebrated of celebrities.
i, or most likely we, back in the 80s looked from the UK to the USA at this with a sense of awe and wonder. everything about it seemed ace, with big, massive mega stars being treasured in such a way. our glances were almost certainly tinged with jealousy. and why not? whilst our friends in America got to celebrate the likes of Jack Nicholson and what have you, what would we do similar? put stars down on some random street in London, emblazoned with names such as Jimmy Tarbuck and Leslie Crowther?
yes, that is the star what celebrates Chuck "Chuck" Norris. usually he would of course be associated with the class Star of Texas what he wore as a Texas Ranger in Walker Texas Ranger but this is a nice touch.
it was rare to be growing up in the 80s in the UK and encounter Chuck. most of his films were either cut to ribbons by our draconian, prudish censors, or simply refused a release. every now and then one sneaked through, though, and i was well impressed with films such as Delta Force, Invasion USA and the most smart Code Of Silence. on many instances the internet has chosen to celebrate Chuck Norris when it is not busy with Rick Astley, which is nice.
do we have anything comparable to the "Hollywood Walk Of Fame" in England, or the UK? sort of. there's a kind of "blue plaque" thing, where buildings of some significance get a round blue plaque on which something noteworthy happened. in truth there are only a few decent ones, and they are the ones which reference The Who, Bowie and Hendrix. other than that, i suppose we just dish out knighthoods and lesser honours to those we want to celebrate, rather than placing stars on the ground. the main difference, i suppose, is that a knighthood or lesser title cannot be tarnished by a tramp, vagrant or similar soiling their trousers or otherwise disgracing themselves whilst standing on it.
that there is the star in place to celebrate Alice Cooper, not to be confused with Alec Cooper or even Alice Copper. he's one of Spiros' all time favourite musical acts of all time. and why not, really. whereas, despite his lavish stage shows, he is not quite so extrovert to be on my top list, his music is absolutely boss it is, to be sure. from what i recall these days he is less music, more golf, but never mind.
just what was Spiros doing to be in the vicinity of Hollywood Boulevard to take these pictures? mostly as ever that is classified stuff, i fear. however, yes, a great deal of his reason for being there does indeed relate to the highly anticipated 42nd anniversary celebrations to commemorate the release of San Francisco by the Village People. and why not.
more stars? sure. here's one in celebration of a chap whose two biggest films i had the pleasure of re-watching earlier on this year. as early as it is in the year still.
indeed, Eddie Murphy. having watched Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop once more recently, i really do have an inclination to just watch them again. both are just that darned good, really, and a lot of the reason why they are so is the Eddie factor.
am i permitted to say who it is wearing the red shoes and who it is wearing the blue shoes in the pictures? no, i am not.
can one see things other than stars on the ground as they wander Hollywood's Walk Of Fame? with this being Hollywood, sure. look, a really smart statue.
unless i am quite mistaken, that is a super ace boss statue of Bruce Lee, the martial arts kung fu legend considered to be one of the greatest of all time. i in particular enjoyed that one movie he made where he went to that island to be in that tournament and absolutely knacked everyone.
does Spiros still engage in kung fu and other martial arts? well, kind of. he will, of course, never give up his greatest passion, which is classical, traditional Greek style man on man wrestling. but as for kicking people in the head whilst making high pitched noise and other similar kung fu moves, he really tends only to showcase this as and when a London Black Cab driver really asks for it.
the Hollywood Walk Of Fame is, of course, not to be confused with that other celebration of celebrities in the area, that one where celebrities put hands and feet in a cast and that is then all in the ground. so far as i recall that one is all happening outside something called the Chinese Theatre.
stars often turn up for, erm, stars at most unexpected times. like, for instance, the one above, in celebration of David Hasselhoff. you would assume that it was awarded for his deft, boss performances in shows such as Knight Rider or Baywatch, or for his outstanding musical career. even, maybe, for his omnipotent internet presence. but, no. The Hoff's star turned up around the time he was inadvertently cast as the "great political healer", when he unified Germany. probably.
those childhood memories of how special and glitzy these stars are is somewhat tainted with these unfiltered times we have. as it turns out, these stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame are not so much "awarded" as they are "paid for", with one simply having to pay a quite trivial US$30,000 a year ("per annum") to have one in place.
which means, in theory, absolutely any bellend or has been with enough latent royalties kicking about in their bank account, assuming their accountant has not borrowed it, could have their very own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
yes, that's the star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame for Sting, the noted Geordie. alas, there are no notes or anything near the stars, so i am unsure if he appears on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame for being the third best member of The Police, or for his celebrated cinematic career, with particular emphasis on Dune.
if it "only" costs $30,000 a year to have a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, then surely we could all club together to have a few more British legends feature. this is all the more true with what a spectacular success our economy shall presently be, which will no doubt feature a most favourable exchange rate. surely there are enough of us only too happy to commit the requisite funds to ensure that a Robin Asquith, or Macbeth era Keith Chegwin, had a star on display?
the only real risk is that, i imagine, you never can tell whose star your own star shall appear next to. it might turn out that you are in exalted company, or it might be that your star is placed next to someone that you would really rather it was not.
someone out there somewhere will wish to see this Phil Collins one, so there it is. i am quite surprised to see how shoddy this one is, what with the tip of the top star cut off to make way for a drain cover, or what is possibly something to assist wheelchair bound people, like a ramp i guess.
actually, i have just done some quick calculations. for US$30,000 you could get a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, or you could (at current market price) buy 4,385 copies of Vernon Wells in Commando on Blu Ray. or 2, 448 copies of Mad Max 2, starring Vernon Wells, also on Blu Ray.
will it ever be that i walk the Hollywood Walk Of Fame myself? it is a lovely thought. i have many most smart friends living out in the States, and it surely would be class to visit them. also, where better to smoke Marlboro Red than in America? hopefully i get there one day.
let's say that's that for this, then. as ever hopefully this has been of some interest to someone somewhere.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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