Celebrating 70 years of KTTV: Hollywood's Walk of Fame

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (FOX 11) - A sidewalk honoring celebrities! Who would have thought of such an idea? It was a man named E. M. Stuart who was once President of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. In touting the notion he said such a concept would help "to maintain the glory of a community whose names mean glamour--and excitement."

His idea grew from an eight-star demonstration project honoring such celebs as actors Joann Woodward and Burt Lancaster to what now is over 2,600 stars.

Over the years, KTTV has covered many of these mini-celebrations in which fans crowd the sidewalk to see someone famous being honored with a star placed in the Walk of Fame.

The first star-lined sidewalks were constructed in 1960.

"They installed 1558 stars, I think, all at once and, then it took them awhile to figure out if there should be a mechanism to add stars," the Chamber's Leron Gubler said.

They did.

Gubler says he's glad that Channel 11 has kept these unique star-unveiling ceremonies preserved in our archives.

"It's important because it's history. That's what this Walk of Fame is," he said. "It establishes a historical record of some of the greatest players in the entertainment industry in history and having that video you see a side of the stars you don't see elsewhere! Quite often they speak off the cuff. They talk about their lives…" and reactions to getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As Paula Abdul put it when she received her star, "This is a wonderful wonderful day for me. It's truly exciting. Since I was a little girl walking up and down - since I was born and raised in LA - I see these stars growing up on Hollywood Blvd. And being part of Hollywood's tradition is really an honor and I'm so grateful. This is a wonderful time in my life. This is a dream come true."