Hollywood has a way of turning even cement into celebrity, where fame does not shine from the sky but from the sidewalk. The Hollywood Walk of Fame, that glittery strip of ambition and gum stains, promises eternal glory. Your name etched in terrazzo and brass means you have made it. Immortality gets preserved under the soles of tourists, but for a few unfortunate stars, eternity came with a chisel. In a twist that could rival a heist film, back in the early 2000s, four Hollywood Walk of Fame stars were snatched right off the glorious pavement.
1 & 2. James Stewart & Kirk Douglas (2000)
Since the first plaques were laid down in 1960, things mostly went smooth until the turn of the millennium, when the Walk started to lose more than its shine. The trouble began in 2000, when two legends of the silver screen, James Stewart and Kirk Douglas, found their celestial honors missing. Their stars had been temporarily removed for reconstruction, but somehow ended up decorating a construction worker’s home, like a strange sort of souvenir.
Luckily, they were later found, battered and broken, and had to be remade entirely. One can only imagine the conversation that followed when the construction worker’s employer found out. Maybe it involved less glamour and more unemployment paperwork.
Stewart and Douglas had been part of the Walk’s original lineup in 1960, a time when getting a star meant you had officially made it to Hollywood heaven. They probably never thought that four decades later, their plaques would be starring in a real-life crime scene. But their stolen glory must have inspired a few more performances of a similar kind.
James Stewart and Kirk Douglas. ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/n0er0ucm9O
— Sarı Zeybek (@Rumeli1923) May 24, 2024
3. Gene Autry (2000)
Soon after, the cowboy of all cowboys, Gene Autry, had one of his five stars taken. The singing rancher probably did not lose much sleep over it, because after all, when you have got four others still shining, one missing piece of sidewalk fame might feel like a dent in a saddle. His plaque, stolen during a sidewalk construction project, was eventually recovered and restored, proving you can’t keep a good cowboy or his star down for long.
Gene Autry is the only person with 5 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(One in each category) pic.twitter.com/EQl8bwFJjY— FactBuffet (@FactBuffet) September 30, 2021
4. Gregory Peck (2005)
Then came 2005, and Gregory Peck joined the list of Walk of Fame victims. Thieves made off with his plaque, and unlike the others, it never resurfaced. Somewhere, perhaps in a dimly lit garage or on a collector’s wall, Atticus Finch’s name lies hidden, far from the Hollywood Boulevard it was meant to grace. A new star was later created to take its place, because when your name is Gregory Peck, disappearing from the pavement simply is not an option.
And of course, Gregory Peck has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/D9uHwSmvpJ
— Dr. Dani Sanchez,MFA, PhD. (She/They) (@analgesicsleep) May 2, 2021
When Fame Becomes A Target On The Pavement
To be fair, when you have over 2,700 stars embedded in a public sidewalk with minimal security, temptation is bound to strike a few misguided hands. Fame may be hard-earned, but apparently, the souvenirs come easily.
It is fitting, in a way, that actors spend their lives chasing permanence in an industry built on make-believe, and even in cement, they can’t quite escape a touch of drama. For most stars, the Walk of Fame is a promise that their legacies will stay put. For a few, it is proof that in Hollywood, not even concrete can keep fame from walking away.
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