Simon Fuller’s Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

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As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, bright and early this past Monday morning I headed out to Hollywood to attend the Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for American Idol creator Simon Fuller.  And I really should admit here that, while the Grim Cheaper is a die-hard fan of AI, I have never really been all that into the show.  The only reason I wanted to attend the ceremony was that Carrie Underwood was scheduled to be there and I have been absolutely DYING to get a photograph with her ever since the two of us played the “Carrie Underwater” game together on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in early April (which you can watch a clip of here).  And I have to say that the stalking gods were definitely smiling down upon me because the day turned out far better than I ever could have imagined!

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I arrived on Hollywood Boulevard at around 10 a.m., just about ninety minutes before the event was scheduled to begin, and because I got there so early I ended up securing a FABULOUS spot directly against the crowd barricade, right behind the stage.  A super-nice woman named Kat was standing next to me and the two of us wound up really hitting it off and shared many of our various stalking stories to kill time before the ceremony began.

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The first celeb to arrive on the scene was So You Think You Can Dance judge/American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe, whom I absolutely love.

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Nigel truly could not have been nicer and when I called out to him to ask for a pic, he immediately walked right on over and took a photograph with both me and Kat.  Yay!

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Ironically enough, my friend/fellow stalker Mike, from the Mike the Fanboy blog, whom for a week I had been begging to come to the ceremony with me, texted me at around 11 a.m. to say that he was going to be able to make it after all.  I ended up spotting him across the crowd right when a comedian came out to get the crowd warmed up shortly before the event got underway.  Well, the comedian saw me waving hectically trying to get Mike’s attention and assumed I was waving at a celebrity.  He immediately walked over to ask who it was I waving at and when I explained that it was “just my friend, Mike”, he began to call out “Mike, Mike, Mike!” over the loud speaker for all of Hollywood Boulevard to hear.  This went on for a good three minutes or so.  When Mike finally figured out that the comedian was speaking to him, he got incredibly embarrassed and tried to hide his face, but the comedian just wouldn’t stop.  It was absolutely hilarious and at one point even some of the people in the crowd were shouting “Mike, Mike, Mike.”  LOL

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Amazingly enough, all of the Top 13 Season 10 Idols were in attendance for the ceremony, including Casey Abrams, James Durbin, Lauren Alaina, Paul McDonald, Pia Toscana, Stefano Langone, Scotty McCreery, Ashthon Jones, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk, Karen Rodriguez, Naima Adedapo, and Thia Megia.  When they first arrived on the scene, James and Lauren started making faces at the crowd through the glass doors of Delphine Restaurant, which was being used as a holding area for the event.  James was easily the most friendly and funniest out of the bunch and, as you can see in the above photograph, was pretending to be smashed up against Delphine’s glass doors before coming outside.

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The Idols were actually first brought out at 11 a.m., thirty minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, for a meet-and-greet with the fans, which was quite unusual.  Celebrities usually wait until the end of each Walk of Fame ceremony before signing autographs and posing for pictures, but apparently the Idol kids were scheduled to rehearse for the show’s season finale immediately following the event and would not be able to stick around afterwards.

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The Idols were all SUPER nice and happily posed for as many photographs as people asked for.  I got my picture taken with James Durbin, who was my favorite this season;

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Stefano Langone;

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Pia Toscano, who is GORGEOUS in person;

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Casey Abrams;

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finalist Lauren Alaina;

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and Paul McDonald, who, when I asked for a photograph, said, “Of course!  I will stand here and take as many pictures as people want.”  SO NICE!

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Finalist Scott McCreery was also incredibly nice and happily agreed to take a second photograph with me after I majorly failed taking the first one.

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At this point I was beyond floored!  I mean, the day was already shaping up to be a huge WIN and the ceremony hadn’t even begun yet!  So, as you can imagine, I literally just about had a heart attack when my FAVORITE So You Think You Can Dance judge, Mary Murphy, walked outside!  Mary is so incredibly positive, energetic and FUN on the show that I absolutely fell in love with her during the series’ first season.  I was standing pretty far away from Mary, but as soon as she walked out I immediately started calling her name to ask her to come over for a picture and she yelled back that she would just as soon as the ceremony was over.

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Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Randy Jackson were the next celebs to arrive and, not surprisingly, they did not go up to fans to pose for photographs or sign autographs.

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Posh Spice, aka Victoria Beckham, showed up next, but she also did not walk over to the fan area.  I have to say that she looked absolutely STUNNING, though!

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Carrie Underwood was next on the scene and she also looked absolutely AMAZING!  Love, love, love her shoes!

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The ceremony got started right on time at 11:30 with Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler introducing Simon Fuller with a brief speech.

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American Idol host Ryan Seacrest spoke next and gave a very heartfelt speech about Simon.  Ryan stated that for once the cameras had been turned on the producer and even though he knew that Simon would be incredibly uncomfortable being the focus of so much attention, it was all incredibly well-deserved.

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Then Carrie Underwood came up and said a few brief words, thanking Simon for making all of her dreams, as well as the dreams of so many others, come true.  Then Simon spoke and thanked all of the people who had worked behind the scenes to help make Idol one of the most popular shows on television.  He said that when he first came up with the idea for the series well over a decade ago, every single network turned him down and no one in the industry seemed to be at all enthusiastic about a show centering around a singing competition.  He said it took a lot of hard work and determination to finally bring the show to fruition.  I bet those network executives who turned him down are kicking themselves black and blue right about now!  Winking smile Simon also gave a very heartfelt thank you to Idol judge Simon Cowell, who was not in attendance, but whom he said pretty much made the show was it is today.

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And with that the ceremony was over.  Ryan Seacrest was the first celeb to head over to the fan barricade to begin signing autographs and taking pictures.  Ryan was extremely nice and, as you can see in the above photograph, not nearly as short as everyone makes him out to be.  I would guess he is about 5’7” or 5’8”.

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Carrie Underwood came over next and I immediately told her that I had played the “Carrie Underwater” game with her on Ellen.  Well, let me tell you, I just about died when a look of recognition came across her face and she said, “Oh my gosh!  How are you?  I am so glad to see that you recovered from that!  Your make-up is intact today!”  (I had gotten drenched with water balloons during the game on Ellen and by the time it was over my mascara had run halfway down my face.)  Then Carrie said, “How are you enjoying your new bike?”  I absolutely could not believe that she not only remembered that my make-up had gotten ruined on the show, but also the fact that I had won a bike!!!!!  What a complete and total sweetheart!  Sigh!  Love her!

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Carrie signed a ton of autographs and took a lot of pictures with the fans in attendance.  She also signed a few guitars that people had brought along.  So incredibly cool!

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Randy Jackson came over next but he, sadly, only signed about three autographs before leaving.

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The Eight Season American Idol winner Kris Allen was also in attendance and not only was he super nice in person, but he was also SUPER cute.  Smile

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Idol’s Season Seven winner, rocker David Cook, was also there and he was also incredibly nice to the fans, and, let me tell you, people were going absolutely CRAZY over him!

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Simon Fuller also came over to the crowd, but he sadly only signed a few autographs before heading back into the W Hotel Hollywood for the ceremony after-party.

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Ever since the ceremony ended, I had been calling over to Mary Murphy, begging her to come take a picture with me, and when she was finally able to come over after doing a few press interviews, she walked up, put her arms out and gave me a HUGE hug!  What a SWEETHEART!   I love her even more now than I did before!  And with that the event was pretty much over.  Quite a day for this stalker, let me tell you!  I was pretty much walking on air for the rest of the afternoon!

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And, as I was leaving, I happened to spot Extra correspondent Terri Seymour, who, ironically enough, just so happens to be Simon Cowell’s ex-girlfriend.

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After the ceremony I met up briefly with Mike, from the Mike the Fanboy site, and was floored to learn that he was one of the very lucky few to get autographs from both JLo and Posh Spice.  Each woman only signed about five autographs the entire day, so Mike majorly scored on that one!  You can see his autographs and his fabulous photographs of the event here.  Simon Fuller’s unveiled star is pictured above.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Simon Fuller’s star on the Walk of Fame can be found directly in front of the W Hotel Hollywood, which is located at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Alec Baldwin’s Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

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This past Monday morning, I headed out to Downtown Hollywood to see Alec Baldwin receive the 2,433rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  For whatever reason, I typically do not attend many Walk of Fame events, but this month I found myself present at not one, but two!  As I blogged about two weeks ago, I went to Adam Sandler’s ceremony on February 1st and, because of all of the aggressive fans, figured I wouldn’t be hitting up another one for a good long time.  But then I found out that Alec Baldwin was being honored with a star on Valentine’s Day and because Jack Donaghy, the character Alec plays on 30 Rock, is one of my favorite television characters of all time, I just had to attend!  I asked my dad to come along with me, but he quickly ixnayed that idea, telling me “I wouldn’t walk across the street to see that guy!”  LOL LOL LOL  What can I say – my dad has never been one to mince words.  So, once again, I ventured out to watch the ceremony by myself.  I ended up meeting a SUPER nice fellow stalker/blogger named Pinky, from the PinkyLoveJoy blog, while I was there and spent most of my time prior to the ceremony literally drooling over her many photographs with celebrities, especially the one she had with Miss Sarah Jessica Parker.  Sigh!  So incredibly jealous!!!  Pinky is an absolutely amazing stalker and has photographs with literally everyone who is anyone in Hollywood.  And she has bundles of energy!  After spending hours at Alec’s ceremony, after which I was ready to call it a day, Pinky headed right on out to Westwood to do some stalking of the Rango premiere’s red carpet, where she got to meet and take a photograph with none other than Johnny Depp!  I’m telling you, she has the golden touch and is a far better stalker than I could ever hope to be!  Some of her magic did rub off on me, though, as I managed to snag a couple of photos with celebrities yesterday, but more on that later.

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I showed up to Alec’s ceremony at 10 a.m., about 90 minutes prior to when it was set to begin, and, amazingly enough, there were only about twenty or so fans there.  But then, all of a sudden, it was like the floodgates opened and masses and masses of people started showing up – more people than were at the Adam Sandler ceremony, actually, which absolutely shocked me.  It finally dawned on me, though, that most people had the day off from work as it was Lincoln’s birthday, which is why I think so many fans were able to attend.

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Because so few people were there when I first arrived, I managed to snag a GREAT spot directly in front of Alec’s star.

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Unfortunately, about an hour later, the media was allowed in and they set up their ginormous cameras directly in front of Pinky and me, which completely obstructed our view.  So, the two of us decided to move over to the area directly behind Alec’s star, which did not allow us a good view of the actual ceremony, but turned out to be the PERFECT place to stand as we were situated in the exact spot where all of the celebrities entered and exited the event area.  YAY!

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Alec Baldwin showed up about ten minutes before the ceremony was set to start (love it!) and immediately walked up to the fans and started signing autographs.   Alec seemed very friendly and approachable.  Sadly, he was just a little too far to the side of where I was standing for me to be able to get a picture with him.

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Also in attendance for the ceremony was Alec’s brother Stephen Baldwin;

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actress Anne Heche, who starred with Alec onstage in the 2004 revival of the play “Twentieth Century” (Anne looked absolutely amazing in person, by the way, and I absolutely fell in love with the jacket she was wearing);

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Megan Mullally, who spoke during the ceremony;

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Megan’s husband, Nick Offerman, who plays Ron Swanson on the television series Parks and Recreation;

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Jack McBrayer, who plays the belovedly daft Kenneth Parcell on 30 Rock;

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and the two commentators pictured above, whose names I cannot for the life of me remember.

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Alec’s ceremony got started right on time, with an introduction by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler.

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Then Megan Mullally gave a brief speech honoring Alec.  Unfortunately, because of where I was standing, I could not hear most of what was said, but what I did hear was incredibly funny.  She even had Alec Baldwin doubled over with laughter at one point, as you can see in the above photograph. 

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Megan explained that she first met Alec when he guest-starred as a government agent with whom her character, Karen Walker, had an affair on the hit television show Will & Grace.  She also stated that Alec got his start in soap operas, which was fortuitous considering his personal life in recent years.  Winking smile  And she informed the crowd that Alec had three beloved brothers – “Shawn, Damon, and Keenan Ivory” LOL – who all followed in his footsteps by “becoming handsome”.

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After Megan’s speech, Alec took to the stage and unfortunately I could not hear any of what he said.  Such a shame, too, as he had the fans situated at the front of the ceremony in hysterics. 

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After the ceremony was over, all of the stars who were in attendance headed over to the fan area to start signing autographs – all of the stars, that is, except for Jack McBrayer, who left the premises pretty much immediately and headed into Beso Restaurant where the after-party was being held.  Jack refused to sign any autographs or take any pictures on his way out, which was highly disappointing as I absolutely LOVE him on 30 Rock.  Sadly, he did not seem at all nice or friendly.  There was a group of three teenage girls standing next to me who were HUGE fans of his who at one point yelled out to him, “Be our Valentine, Jack McBrayer!”, but he refused to look their way or even acknowledge them in any way, which I thought was pretty crappy. 

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He did give a very brief wave to the crowd on his way out, but, other than that, there was no attempt on his part to be friendly to the fans at any point during the event. 

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After Alec finished giving interviews to the press, he walked over to the crowd and spent quite a bit of time signing autographs. 

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Sadly though, he only came over to our section for a brief moment and only took one photograph – with Pinky! – so I unfortunately did not get a picture with him.  You can check out Pinky’s photograph with Alec on her blog here

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BUT Megan Mullally came over shortly thereafter and signed autographs for and took pictures with absolutely everyone who wanted one . . .

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. . . including me!  YAY!  Megan was SUPER nice and SUPER friendly and I could NOT have been more excited to meet her!  (I had to take the above photograph myself, which is why it is such an extreme close up.)

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Anne Heche came over immediately following Megan and also stopped to pose for photographs with and to sign autographs for absolutely everyone who wanted them.  She was also incredibly nice and took her time speaking with all of the fans.  I really should have taken the opportunity to ask her where she had purchased her amazingly cute coat, but I was far too nervous to actually do so!

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Nick Offerman walked over next and was easily the friendliest out of the bunch.  SUCH an incredibly nice and seemingly down-to-earth guy. 

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And even though I have never seen an episode of Parks and Recreation, I absolutely LOVE Nick now.  What a complete and total sweetheart!

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Alec’s star is pictured above. 

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On a side note – Fellow stalkers/Drew Barrymore aficionados Ashley and Anne, of the Drewseum website, got to meet up with their celebrity hero this past Friday and their story is nothing short of A-MA-ZING!  I literally could NOT tear myself away from my BlackBerry while reading it.  I HIGHLY recommend reading about their incredibly touching and memorable encounter with Drew on their website here.  LOVE IT!  LOVE IT!  LOVE IT!  

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Alec Baldwin’s Walk of Fame star can be found outside of Beso Restaurant, which is located at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Adam Sandler’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

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Last Thursday morning while in Santa Monica running some errands, my dad and I, of course, stopped into a nearby Starbucks to grab a quick latte and who should we spot while standing in line, but Robbie Hart himself, aka Mr. Adam Sandler.  He was sitting inconspicuously with his wife and youngest daughter having a quiet breakfast and, amazingly enough, no one else in the entire store seemed to recognize or even take any notice of him.  Because the place was jam-packed, I did not want to call any attention to the fact that he was there or bother him in any way,  so I did not ask for a photograph, but I did go up to him to tell him how much I appreciated his always thanking the troops while on the red carpet and at awards shows.  One of my very best friends sadly passed away while on active duty in the Navy and both my dad and my uncle served in Vietnam, so I have always been extremely appreciative of Adam’s vocal and constant support of the armed forces.  Adam was EXTREMELY sweet when I went up to him, shook my hand, introduced himself, and thanked me for coming to talk to him.  Well, needless to say, after that encounter I loved the guy even more than I had before.  So, when I found out that he would be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week, I immediately called up my dad and asked if he wanted to go to the ceremony with me.  Now, as I have mentioned many times before on this blog, my dad pretty much hates all things Hollywood, excluding, of course, David Caruso and CSI: Miami and, ironically enough, Adam Sandler.  My dad said he’d love to attend the event and we both added the date to our calendar.  Sadly though, he wasn’t feeling well yesterday morning, so I had to head out to Hollywood on my own.

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I am typically not the type of person who enjoys doing things by myself, so I was not looking forward to attending Adam’s ceremony alone, but as it turned out I had a fabulous time!  I ended up meeting a really nice gentleman who was not only a big fan of Adam’s, but of Hollywood in general and the two of us spent the entire morning talking and sharing our stalking stories.  If you are ever considering going to one of these events, but are nervous about attending alone, after today I have to say don’t sweat it at all!

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While a fairly huge crowd did accumulate for Adam’s ceremony, there were not nearly as many people there as I had assumed would be.  I would say that there were about 150 people in attendance, with a large group standing on the roof of the W Hollywood Hotel (pictured above).  The ceremony was actually set up much differently than Kyra Sedgwick’s ceremony which I attended back in June of 2009.  During Kyra’s event, fans were only allowed to stand on one side of the podium, but for Adam’s we were allowed to stand along all four sides of it.  I ended up snagging a spot directly next to the stage, which was absolutely INCREDIBLE.  It was literally the PERFECT, PRIMO spot and allowed me an amazing unobstructed view of the ceremony.

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The event started right on time (yay!) with Adam arriving on the scene promptly at 11:30.  On his way to the stage, he stopped to have his picture taken with some of the policemen on duty and a few of the fans in attendance.

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His two little girls (pictured above) and his wife were also there . . .

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as were Henry Winkler (aka The Fonz!) and Kevin James;

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and David Spade.

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David Spade actually went over to the crowd to take pictures and sign autographs at the start of the event, but he was pretty far away from where I was standing and because I did not want to lose my primo spot, I did not try to get a photo with him. 

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Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler opened up the ceremony by introducing Adam and welcoming him to the stage, along with his two daughters who absolutely refused to leave their father’s side.  It was really cute to watch.

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Then Henry Winkler came onstage to honor Adam with a speech.

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Henry said that his first encounter with Adam was when he mentioned him in 1994’s comedy hit “The Chanukah Song”.  Adam later asked him to play the role of Coach Klein in 1998’s The Waterboy and the two have since acted together in several movies, including Little Nicky, Click, and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.  Henry called Adam one the “kindest souls in show business” and I honestly believe that to be true.  Henry also informed the crowd that his own star was located directly across the street from Adam’s, in front of the historic Pantages theatre.

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Kevin James spoke next and called Adam “the man who is responsible for employing everyone in this town” and he said he was honoring him in one of the best ways he knew how, by wearing slacks to the ceremony which he would “not do for just anybody”.  Winking smile

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Then Leron Gubler took the stage again and presented Adam with a certificate and the plaque pictured above and officially declared the day “Adam Sandler Day” in Hollywood.

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Adam then made a brief speech, during which a tour bus drove by to whom Adam yelled out, “Hey you guys, how are you all doing?”  So cute!

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Adam said he could not believe he was standing there receiving such an honor as it is not something he ever thought would happen.  At one point during his speech, his youngest daughter Sunny tugged on his leg and asked to be picked up. 

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Sunny then grabbed the microphone and yelled out “I love my daddy!”  His other daughter Sadie then immediately walked up, stood on her tip toes, and announced into the mic, “I love my daddy!”  The two girls then went back and forth for a few minutes, each proclaiming their love for their “daddy” and then for their “mommy”.  It was a very cute moment which culminated with Adam saying, “I love you, too, more than anything in the world!”  He then thanked his wife and said he was most grateful for his career because it led him to her, which I thought was incredibly sweet.

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Adam’s star was then unveiled and the group posed behind it for the many members of the media who were in attendance.  As you can see in the above photographs, I unfortunately did not have the best view for that portion of the ceremony.

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After the ceremony, while Adam was speaking to the press, the man I had been hanging out with called Henry Winkler over for an autograph.  Henry only signed the one photo, though (pictured above) and then said that he did not have time for anything else as he had to do interviews.  And while he seemed nice enough, after the interviews were finished being taped, he did not go up to anyone else in the crowd and, as far as I know, did not sign any other autographs or take any photographs with fans.  Sad smile

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Adam Sandler, on the other hand, signed a huge number of autographs, but unfortunately the fans were being EXTREMELY aggressive and were pushing and shoving to get closer to him, so I kind of stayed in the background and did not end up getting a photograph with him.  One of the journalists who was covering the event, though, said that Adam was one of the nicest celebrities he had ever met and that he wouldn’t be surprised if the actor stayed around as long as necessary to give autographs to everyone who attended the ceremony.

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Sadly though, the whole thing got just a bit too crazy with people swarming Adam (he is somewhere in the middle of the mass frenzy pictured above) and he was, sadly, not able to stick around for very long.  And even though I did not get a photograph with him as I had hoped, the event was still extremely fun to attend!  If you happen to find yourself in the Hollywood area on the day of a star ceremony, I honestly cannot more highly recommend attending!

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Adam’s unveiled star is pictured above.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Adam Sandler’s Walk of Fame star can be found at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard, directly in front of the W Hollywood Hotel, in Hollywood.  You can find out about upcoming Walk of Fame ceremonies and other celebrity events on the Upcoming Celebrity Events page of my blog.

Kyra Sedgwick’s Walk Of Fame Star Ceremony

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I found out a few weeks ago that Kyra Sedgwick would be receiving the 2,384th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the morning of Monday, June 8th.  So, I immediately called up my good friend Blaze and asked him if he wanted to join me in watching the ceremony.   He, of course, said yes, so today the two of us made our way out to Hollywood to watch Kyra receive her star.  And, even though  I had already seen the entire Closer  cast in person, I was still SUPER excited to attend this event because ever since Footloose  came out, I have absolutely LOVED me some Kevin Bacon.  🙂

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Kyra’s ceremony was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., and unlike Hugh Jackman’s Hand and Footprint Ceremony, this event actually started on time.  🙂  Amazingly enough, for some reason there weren’t that many people in attendance.  I’d say about forty-five fans and another fifty reporters and photographers were there.  Because there weren’t a lot of people in the audience, we were able to stand fairly close to the stage area, which I was thrilled about.  Up until just around 11:25, that is, when security guards led all of the media people into the area directly in front of the fans, completely blocking everyone’s view.  It was SUCH a bummer.  To make matters worse, many of the press photographers pulled out stepladders to stand on and propped their cameras up on huge tripods!  UGH.   So, even though I was standing right in the front row, I didn’t have the best view.  🙁  I have no idea why bleachers were not set up for the event, as this definitely would have rectified the situation.  Note to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce – next time you have an event like this, invest in bleachers!  LOL 

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Right at 11:30 a.m. on the nose, Kyra Sedgwick and husband Kevin Bacon arrived and the event got underway.  Kyra looked absolutely adorable and I just about died over her salmon-colored dress.  I have got to get me one of those!!!!   What I was most impressed with, though, were her arms!!!!  I couldn’t take my eyes off of them the entire time!  As you can see in the above photograph, they are absolutely rock-hard!  Not bad for a 44-year-old mother of two!!!  I am so jealous!  I mean, I’m 31 and have no children and my arms don’t look nearly as good as hers!  LOL  Anyway, Kyra was introduced by  Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler, who gave us a brief background on Kyra and her career as an actress.  One of the many tid-bits of information he told us was that, contrary to popular belief, Kyra was actually born in Manhattan, not the South, and yes, her Closer  accent is a fake.  🙂

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After Leron’s introduction, Lee Daniels, who produced the 2004 movie  The Woodsman, which starred Kyra and her husband, got up to say a few words.  And when I say “a few words”, I literally mean a few words. LOL  I think the guy had maybe two sentences to say about Kyra.  It was kind of disappointing.  If you’re going to get up on a stage to honor someone during an awards ceremony, I’m of the opinion that you should spend a little bit of time writing your speech.  Brief and to the point is nice, but so is saying something meaningful.  LOL  All Lee basically said was that while working with Kyra on The Woodsman, she had taught him to “live in the moment”.   To quote Chelsea Lately, “What . . . a douchebag!!”  LOL 

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Next up was Kyra’s Closer  co-star, and my fave actor from the show, G.W. Bailey.  G.W. gave a FABULOUS – and absolutely hilarious – speech about Kyra and their experiences starring together on The Closer.  He started off his speech by listing the questions he most commonly gets asked about Kyra – such as is her accent real (no), is she really that tiny in person (yes!), is her hair real (yes), do she and Kevin Bacon really love each other that much (absolutely!), and what is she really like in person.  In answer to that last question, G.W. had this to say, “Kyra is a mix of Mary Poppins and Cruella DeVil.  If you come to the set on time and know your lines, she’s a spoonful of sugar.  If you come to the set late and haven’t done your homework, she’ll skin you alive and make a jacket out of you.  But then she’ll feel bad and end up giving the jacket to the homeless.”  LOL  I absolutely LOVED that quote, as one of my biggest pet peeves in acting class is lazy actors who don’t do their homework and don’t memorize their lines!!!!  You go, Kyra!  🙂

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G.W. called Kyra one of the most giving actresses he has ever worked with and said that the cast nicknamed her “Mama” early on because of the way she takes care of everyone.  I was actually an extra on The Closer a few months back and was able to witness firsthand how Kyra takes care of her crew.  At one point while I was there, Kyra held up filming for a few minutes in order to write out a grocery list of cold remedies and medications before sending someone out to pick them up for a make up artist who was feeling under the weather.  She is definitely a “Mama”.  🙂   G.W.’s speech was so sweet that he ended up making Kyra cry.  So cute!

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Next up was Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, who ironically enough is the son of The Closer’s  consulting producer Gil Garcetti, who presented Kyra with a Hollywood Walk of Fame plaque.

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Then Kyra came to the podium to make a speech.  She announced at the very beginning that her speech would be brief due to the fact that her feet were already hurting from standing up for such a long time. 🙂  Kyra said that she wanted to be an actress since the age of 12, when she landed a role in a school production of Fiddler on the Roof.  She said that acting in that production made her “soul dance” and she knew at that moment that she never wanted to do anything else.

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But the best part of Kyra’s speech was when a Hollywood tour bus drove by!!!!   The tourists on board went absolutely crazy, so, Kyra stopped her speech and said hello to them using her Brenda Leigh Johnson accent!   LOL LOL LOL  Only in L.A.!  🙂

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Then, Kyra’s star was unveiled.  But, unfortunately, thanks to the press standing in the way, fans see couldn’t see it at all.  🙁  Such a bummer!!!   Kyra seemed absolutely thrilled to be receiving her star, though, and it made me tear up to think how special it must be to be honored as an actress in that way.   🙂

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Kyra was also given a plaque with a replica of her star on it.  Oh, how I want one of those!!!!!!!  With my own name on it, of course!!!!  🙂

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Then, the press asked if Kevin Bacon would come onstage and I just about died!!  During most of the ceremony, Kevin had been standing in the audience laying low.  I am pretty sure he didn’t want to steal any of his wife’s thunder during the event, so he just remained on the sidelines the entire time.  I had been trying to snap a photograph of him throughout the ENTIRE ceremony, but for some reason could just not get a good shot.  So, when he finally came onstage, I was FLOORED!  KB is still a total cutie after all these years and I could not have been more excited to see him in person.  🙂     

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Also on hand to celebrate with Kyra were her Closer castmates Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett,  Anthony John Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Phillip P. Keene, and Jonathan Del Arco, along with series consulting producer Gil Garcetti.

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Also in attendance was series creator James Duff. 

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After the ceremony was over, all of the stars – including Kyra and Kevin – came out into the audience to sign autographs and take photographs with the fans.  And I could not have been more excited!!!!!!   So, of course, I just had to ask my two favorite actors from the show for a pic – G.W. Bailey,

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and Anthony John Denison.  Unfortunately, I was using my dad’s huge paparazzi style camera at the event, and Blaze couldn’t figure out how to zoom out to take the above photograph.  LOL LOL LOL  Can you say “extreme close-up”??  Oh well, at least I got a pic.  🙂

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I so wanted to take a picture with KB, but, unfortunately, wasn’t standing near him when he came out into the audience.  But I did manage to snap the above pic of him as he was walking to his car. Sigh!!!!

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About an hour after the ceremony, I returned to see Kyra’s star unveiled, at last.  🙂

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As you can see in the above photograph, because it’s brand new, Kyra’s star is much shinier than any of the others on Hollywood Boulevard. 

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Kyra’s star is right next to husband Kevin Bacon’s, which makes them the only married couple in history to have side by side stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  🙂

If you find yourself in the Hollywood area during a Walk of Fame Star Ceremony, I HIGHLY recommend attending one!  I had an absolute blast seeing all of the stars, listening to the speeches, and being a part of a historic Hollywood event!   It was definitely a better experience for me than the Hand and Footprint Ceremony and I am so thankful that I got to be a part of it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Kyra Sedgwick’s star is located in front of Cinespace Nightclub, which is located at 6356 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.