Palm Springs Walk of Stars facts for kids
The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a walk of fame in downtown Palm Springs, California, where "Golden Palm Stars", honoring various people who have lived in the greater Palm Springs area, are embedded in the sidewalk pavement. The walk includes portions of Palm Canyon Drive, Tahquitz Canyon Way, La Plaza Court and Museum Drive. Among those honored are Presidents of the United States, show business personalities, literary figures (authors, playwrights, screenwriters), pioneers and civic leaders (early settlers, tribal leaders, civic personalities), humanitarians, and Medal of Honor recipients. This listing is a selection of notable people so honored.
The Palm Springs Walk of Stars was established in 1992 by Gerhard Frenzel and Barbara Foster-Henderson. The first induction ceremony was held on February 26, 1992, and included Walk of Fame chairman Johnny Grant. The first five Golden Palm Stars were dedicated to Earle C. Strebe, William Powell, Ruby Keeler, Charles Farrell and Ralph Bellamy. In May 2017 the Walk of Stars sponsor and City of Palm Springs announced a temporary suspension of installing new stars while they reviewed the selection criteria.
Contents
Honorees
Medal of Honor recipients
Five Medal of Honor recipients from the Coachella Valley were honored during the 1999 Veterans Day holiday.
- HM1 Robert E. Bush, US Navy
- Maj. Gen. James Lewis Day, US Marine Corps
- Capt. William McGonagle, US Navy
- Albert T. Milauskas, Ophthalmologist and Philanthropist, University of Detroit Mercy
- Col. Lewis Millett, US Army
- Col. Mitchell Paige, US Marine Corps
Former Presidents
These former Presidents of the United States lived in the Palm Springs area after their retirement.
Show business
Palm Springs has been famous as a winter resort and second home community for personalities in show business. These honorees include, among others, notable actors, performers, directors, producers, and cinematographers of film, radio, stage, and television.
- Chris Alcaide
- Alexander family
- Richard Anderson
- Vic Armstrong
- William Asher
- Lauren Bacall
- Carroll Baker
- Kaye Ballard
- Malcolm Barbour
- Rona Barrett
- Gene Barry
- Ralph Bellamy
- Roberto Benigni
- Mr. Blackwell
- Frank Bogert
- Cliff Bole
- Ray Bolger
- Ernest Borgnine
- Joyce Bulifant and Roger Perry
- Lynda Carter
- Lon Chaney, Jr.
- Carol Channing
- Chevy Chase
- Cheeta, the Chimp
- Linda Christian
- Iron Eyes Cody
- John Conte
- Pierre Cossette
- Patrick Curtis
- Keisha D
- Michael Dante
- Kal David and Lauri Bono
- Beryl Davis
- Eddie Dean
- William "Bill" Demarest
- Catherine Deneuve
- Kem Dibbs
- Marlene Dietrich
- Phyllis Diller
- Morton Downey, Jr.
- Tom Dreesen
- Ellen Drew
- Denise DuBarry
- Wesley Eure
- Charlie Farrell
- Alice Faye
- Frank Ferrante
- Rhonda Fleming
- Peter Fonda
- The Four Freshmen
- Karrell Fox
- Kathy Garver
- Larry Gelbart
- Harry W. Gerstad
- Debbie Gibson
- Buddy Greco
- Earl Greenburg
- Jimmy Greenspoon
- Kathy Griffin
- Merv Griffin
- Harry Guardino
- Val Guest and
Yolande Donlan - Buddy Hackett
- Monte Hale
- Ron Hale
- Monty Hall
- George Hamilton
- Phil Harris
- Richard Harrison
- Mary Hart
- Susan Hart
- Horace Heidt
- Bob Hope
- Dolores Hope
- Lena Horne
- Clark Howard
- Huell Howser
- Rock Hudson
- Tab Hunter
- Betty Hutton
- Leo Jaffe
- Dennis James
- Herb Jeffries
- Beverly Johnson
- Al Jolson
- Charles "Buck" Jones
- Jack Jones
- James Earl Jones
- Sean Kanan
- KC and the Sunshine Band
- Howard Keel
- Ruby Keeler
- Burt Kennedy
- Udo Kier
- Dorothy Kloss
- Gail Kobe
- Art Laboe
- Alan Ladd
- Sue Carol Ladd
- Frankie Laine
- Sue Ane Langdon
- Mario Lanza
- Ruta Lee
- Andrea Leeds
- Al Lerner
- Liberace
- Hal Linden
- Roberta Linn
- Rich Little
- George Lopez
- Trini Lopez
- Sophia Loren
- Carole Cook
- Pierce Lyden
- James MacArthur
- Gavin MacLeod
- Guy Madison
- Johnny Mann
- Harpo Marx
- Susan Fleming Marx
- Michael Masser
- Ross Mathews
- Dan McGrath
- Ann Miller
- Whitey Mitchell
- Marilyn Monroe
- Montie Montana
- George Montgomery
- Gloria Monty
- Jan Murray
- George Nader
- Ricky Nelson
- Wayne Newton, Musician
- Leslie Nielsen
- Donald O'Connor
- Andrew P. Ordon, M.D.
- William T. Orr
- Colonel Tom Parker
- Charlie Pasarell
- "Papa" John Phillips
- Mary Pickford
- Eileen ("Mike") and Robert ("Bob") Pollock
- Diana "Mousie" Powell (née Lewis)
- William Powell
- Elvis Presley
- Victoria Principal
- Frankie Randall
- Della Reese
- Debbie Reynolds
- Jody Reynolds
- Buddy Rich
- The Ritz Brothers
- Pat Rizzo
- Charles "Buddy" Rogers
- Ginger Rogers
- Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
- Mickey Rooney
- Sandler and Young
- John Schlesinger
- Ettore Scola
- Randolph Scott
- Ken Seeley
- Dinah Shore
- Del Shores
- Ginny Simms
- Barbara Sinatra
- Frank Sinatra
- Frank Sinatra Jr.
- Nancy Sinatra
- Keely Smith
- Elke Sommer
- Randy Sparks and The New Christy Minstrels
- Robert Stack
- Susan Stafford
- Connie Stevens
- Larry Storch
- Alvin Taylor
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Judy Tenuta
- Ruth Terry
- Richard Thorpe and Jerry Thorpe
- Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner
- Bill Torrance
- Don Tosti
- Jerry Vale
- Rudy Vallée
- Mamie Van Doren
- Dick Van Patten
- Lisa Vanderpump
- Ken Venturi
- Russell Wade
- Lindsay Wagner
- Fred Waring
- Dionne Warwick
- Jerry Weintraub
- Adam West
- Natalie Wood
- Jane Wyman
- Loretta Young
Pioneers, civic leaders, and other contributors
Early pioneers and other contributors to the community are also honored.
- William F. "Bill" Austin – founder of Starkey Laboratories and philanthropist
- John Bianchi – manufacturer of leather goods, National Guard Major General
- Annette Bloch – philanthropist and author
- Sonny Bono – comedian, singer, actor, former mayor, and congressman.
- Timothy Ray Bradley, Jr. – WBO and WBC boxing champion
- Michael Bush – 2007 NFL Draft American football Player
- Pierre Cardin – Fashion company
- Jim Casey - American businessman
- Michael Costello – fashion designer
- Larry and Jo Ann Davis – civic leaders
- Velma Wayne Dawson – puppet maker and puppeteer, donor to the College of the Desert
- Sir Alfred J. DiMora – luxury car manufacturer
- President Dwight Eisenhower - American military officer
- Arthur Elrod - Designer
- Barbara Foster – civic leader and spouse of Mayor Foster
- William "Bill" Foster – mayor of Palm Springs
- Helene Galen – philanthropist
- Melvin Haber – author and host
- Earl and Miriam Hoover – philanthropists
- Hugh M. Kaptur – Mid-Century modern architect
- Michael McCarthy – Merrill Lynch executive, AMEX and NYSE governor, community leader
- Richard Milanovich – chairman of the Agua Caliente Band
- Raymond Moore – tennis player and ATP Tour developer
- Chester and Patricia Moorten – established the Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium
- Jim Murray – Los Angeles Times sportswriter, established the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation
- Richard Neutra – architect
- Ron Oden – mayor of Palm Springs
- Arnold Palmer – golfer and restaurateur
- Charlie Pasarell – tennis player and director of the BNP Paribas Open
- George S. Patton – World War II general
- Darryl Ponicsan
- Jennette Rockefeller – socialite and former First Lady of Arkansas
- José Julio Sarria
- Earle C. Strebe – businessman
- Sidney Williams
Literary
These honorees include authors, playwrights, screenwriters, singers, composers and musicians.
- Truman Capote – author
- James Casey – philanthropist
- Steve Chase - the director of the Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability
- Carol Connors – singer, wrote lyrics to Rocky theme song "Gonna Fly Now"
- David Lee - Co-writer, producer of The Jeffersons, Cheers, Wings & Frasier
- Bill Feingold - Columnist
- Albert Frey – architect
- Ruth Gibson – singer, songwriter, musician, and talent agent
- R. C. Gorman – the "Picasso" of Native American art
- Harry Grey – creator of "'Noodles' Aaronson"
- Ted Grouya – musical composer
- Lalo Guerrero – guitarist, song writer and labor activist
- Earle Hagen – composer
- Moya and Joe Henderson – author (Moya)
- A. Quincy Jones – architect
- Terri Ketover - Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce
- Stanley Kramer - American film director and producer
- William Krisel – architect
- Frederick Loewe – musical composer
- Andrew Neiderman – novelist
- Sidney Sheldon – author
- Julius Shulman – photographer
- Frank Sinatra, Jr. – singer, songwriter and conductor
- Billy Steinberg – songwriter
- Ed Thrasher – photographer and art director
- Dionne Warwick - Musician
- Donald Wexler – architect
- Paul R. Williams - American architect
- E. Stewart Williams – architect