Bet you can’t tell which Harrison Ford star on the Walk of Fame is Han Solo’s
And you’ll probably have a tough time telling which one is the ‘real’ Michael Jackson’s too.
You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognize, some that you’ve hardly even heard of…
- Ray Davies
You have not heard of Harrison Ford.
You would not be able to pick him out of a line-up.
No matter how big a cinefile you are, you cannot name one movie he has been in.
And yet he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame right in front of Musso and Frank’s famous restaurant because of his performances in film.
Every day, people take pictures next to his star on Hollywood Blvd. and say Han Solo! and Indiana Jones!, but Harrison Ford has never heard of those people.
Harrison Ford was walking in front of his home in Glendale and teenage girl hit him with the car she was driving and he never recovered.
He died in 1957.
About a mile away on Vine, fans of Michael Jackson moonwalk next to a star with his name and proclaim that Billie Jean was not their lover.
Rest in peace, Michael, they’ll say while stepping on Partridge Family matriarch Shirley Jones’ star.
But Michael Jackson is not dead.
He’s 86 years old and living in L.A.
[Update: he died today at 87 years old]
Sharp-eyed fans of the Walk of Fame — and long time Angelenos — know about both Michael Jacksons. One was known for the Thriller dance; but the other graced the airwaves on KABC radio for three decades and provided a thoughtful, intellectual conversation on the talk station’s AM dial.
Which is why Michael Jackson, the local radio host’s star, has a microphone on it.
And the King of Pop has a star with a record on it.
Now while that simplifies the unrelated Jacksons… to confuse things is this curveball — there are five categories one can get a star for:
Radio, Movies, Music, Television and Theater/Live Performances
And you can get stars for multiple categories.
Bob Hope, Tony Martin, Roy Rogers, and Mickey Rooney have four different stars.
Gene Autry is the only Hollywood legend with a star in each category.
Which brings us to the confusion about Harrison Ford.
Harrison Ford is the only name that has two stars in the same category.
As you might have guessed by now, Han Solo’s Ford is one of them. His star is near the entrance to the Dolby Theater on Hollywood Blvd.
The lesser-known Ford’s was a silent movie actor nearly 100 years ago, and his star is located on the same side of Hollywood Blvd as Dr. Jones’, but just a few blocks east.
Ana Martinez, VP of Media Relations of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, acknowledged that there is no way to tell the difference between the two Harrison Fords by just looking at the stars on the sidewalk.
In fact, with a devilish laugh she wanted to make it even more confusing when the more modern Ford received his star in 2003.
“I wanted to put the new Harrison Ford next to the old Harrison Ford,” she giggled. “But I said no because I thought [the public] would get confused as it is.”
Don’t feel badly if you took your picture next to the wrong Harrison Ford. According to Martinez, you’re not alone. Years before there was two Ford stars, the more famous one thought he already had one.
“Even he was confused because someone asked him, ‘Hey Harrison, when are you going to getting a star?’ And he said, ‘Oh, I already have one!’”
The Day The King of Pop Died
On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died tragically. Fans flocked to Hollywood Blvd. to mourn and pay respects to the Grammy-winning singer and pop icon.
And yes, some of them laid flowers at the star of the radio interviewer.
Martinez was holed up at the actual star because there were soooo many fans leaving flowers and gifts and memorabilia, she felt the best thing to do was to help organize the scene.
“It was madness at the Chinese Theater where his star is,” she remembered.
“I mean, it was like two or three days,” she recalled. “The LAPD and the property security helped us set up an area. They barricaded a rectangular open space for people to place their memorabilia. It was constant lines and lines of people waiting to pay tribute to him.”
Martinez said the impromptu tribute to the King of Pop at his star was unlike anything that she has seen in her 35 years of working for the Walk of Fame. Lucille Ball and David Bowie’s stars received a lot of attention when they passed away, she noted.
In the summer of 2018, ABC aired a controversial two-hour special called “The Last Days of Michael Jackson,” which was criticized by fans and the media alike.
Unfortunately it also stirred up ill feelings among some who felt the need to destroy his star on the walk of fame.
The vandals accidentally tried to destroy the star on Vine, which as we now know is a tribute to the radio broadcaster.
The singer’s daughter, Paris, took care of the radio host’s damaged star.
“I wish my life was non-stop Hollywood movie show
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die”
- Ray Davies
