The Definitive Poseidon Adventure FAQ

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Which Poseidoners have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Jack Albertson: 6253 Hollywood Blvd.; symbol: TV (February 28, 1977) Ernest Borgnine: 6324 Hollywood Blvd.; symbol: motion pictures (February 8, 1960) Red Buttons: 1651 Vine St.; symbol: TV (February 8, 1960) Roddy McDowall: 6632 Hollywood Blvd.; symbol: TV — Huh?! Why not motion pictures? (February 8, 1960) Leslie Nielsen: 6541 Hollywood Blvd.; symbol: motion pictures (December 9, 1988) Shelley Winters: 1752 Vine St.; symbol: motion pictures (February 8, 1960) Why did four Poseidoners get their stars on the same day? Pure chance; February 8, 1960, was the official launch date of the project, and names were chosen at random (reportedly literally drawn from a hat) from a list of some 1,550. Why doesn't Gene Hackman have a star? Or Irwin Allen? Or Stella Stevens? Or...? Because placement on the Hollywood Walk of Fame isn't the great "honor" some would like to think it is (or would like you to think it is). In fact, it's utterly meaningless. As Ellis E. Conklin wrote in the Los Angeles Daily News in 1986 (since which Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, the Beatles, and a number of other conspicuously-absent names finally got their stars): "Anyone can nominate a candidate for the Walk of Fame. If the nominating committee approves a candidate, the sponsor simply pays $3,500—" Make that $15,000 as of 2006, and $30,000 as of 2011. "— to the Hollywood Chamber, which operates the star-making machinery, and guarantees that the celebrity will attend the ceremony. ... "There are three steps to gaining a star on the Walk of Fame, ['honorary mayor' Johnny] Grant said. First, one has to be nominated. Usually the celebrity`s business manager or public relations agent sees to that, and then the sponsor must promise the committee that the star will show up for the big event. ... "Second, the one-page application must be considered by the committee when it meets every June. Finally, if the candidate gets the needed votes, a date is set for the ceremony and the ['sponsorship fee'] is turned over to the Hollywood Chamber. ... "Grant said the criteria for reeling in a star is 'professional achievement,' at least five years in the motion picture, radio, television or recording business and 'making a contribution to the community' such as performing charitable work. "How then could [Dustin] Hoffman, [Paul] Newman and [Jane] Fonda fall through the pink and charcoal terrazzo cracks?" Seriously, when Steve Guttenberg, Ryan Seacrest, John Stamos, Big Bird, Will Hays (the "Hays Code" censorship czar), John Tesh, Vanna White, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, "The Rugrats," and a handful of disc jockeys no one's ever heard of outside Los Angeles each has a star — and Gene Hackman doesn't — you know the whole thing is a farce.
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