(CNS) Updated Sunday July 25, 2010 - 1.36pm
The 50th anniversary of the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be celebrated Sunday with a festival including tours of Hollywood studios and theaters, a special exhibit at the Hollywood Museum and live musical performances.
"Walk the Walk" will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout Hollywood.
Four locations -- Capitol Records, Egyptian Theatre, the Hollywood & Highland Center and Montalban Theatre will showcase the five categories of stars -- motion pictures, television, recording, radio and live theatre.
A rare Sunday Walk of Fame star unveiling will be held at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Montalban Theater, 1617 N. Vine St., for the late jazz trumpeter Louis Prima.
The ceremony will include a performance by Louis Prima Jr. & The Witnesses.
Tours will be held of the Capitol Records building at 1750 N. Vine St. every half-hour from 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; the TV Guide Channel studios each half-hour from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m., with sign ups held at the Hollywood & Highland Center, 6801 Hollywood Blvd.; and the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. at noon and 3 p.m.
The public can watch the celebrity arrivals for the premiere of the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore at 4 p.m. at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
An exhibit of what is billed as hundreds of never-before seen items representing the Walk of Fame's 50th anniversary will open at 10 a.m. at the Hollywood Museum, 1660 N. Highland Ave.
Musical performances will be given at the Egyptian Theatre stage by the country, pop and rock singer Raihanna Estrada (noon-1 p.m.); the contemporary pop singer Jamie Meyer (1:15-2:15 p.m.); and the 1980s and 1990s cover band The Deloreans, performing hits from some of the Walk of Fame's most memorable artists (2:30-4:30 p.m.).
At the Capitol Records stage, Zana Mesihovic, featuring Almanova & James Brandon Lewis, will perform Balkan Roma music with rhythm and blues, soul and jazz influences from noon-1 p.m.
They will be followed by a hip hop and rhythm and blues performance by Lady Rho from 1:15-2:15 p.m., a rhythm and blues performance by B. Peace from 2:30-3:30 p.m. and the indie rock band Voxhaul Broadcast from 4-5 p.m.
More information on the festival can be found online at WalkofFame50.com.
E.M. Stuart, the volunteer president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1953, is credited with the idea of creating the Walk of Fame.
He proposed the walk that year in an effort to "maintain the glory of a community
whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.'
The first eight stars were unveiled Aug. 15, 1958 on Hollywood Boulevard at Highland Avenue to demonstrate what the Walk of Fame would be like.
The eight honorees were Olive Bordon, Ronald Coleman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedwick, Ernest Torrence and Joanne Woodward.
Construction on the walk began on Feb. 8, 1960. The first star in the new walk was laid March 28, 1960, near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Avenue, honoring movie producer-director Stanley Kramer.
The walk was dedicated Nov. 23, 1960, in conjunction with the Hollywood Christmas Parade. Construction was completed in the spring of 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
An estimated 10 million people visit the Walk of Fame each year, making it one of Southern California's most popular attractions.
"In a city that has lost so much of its past, the Hollywood Walk of Fame not only memorializes entertainment's biggest stars, the walk itself is now a part of our history and a key driver of Hollywood's turnaround,' said Councilman Eric Garcetti, whose district includes the Walk of Fame.
