If Hollywood Chamber of Commerce leaders and late honorary mayor Johnny Grant had agreed to dig up the movie icon’s sidewalk plaque amid the furore over his comments, Brando would have become the first celebrity ever to lose his star.
Walk of Fame spokeswoman Ana Martinez tells WENN, “Many years ago Marlon Brando allegedly made some anti-Semitic remarks and people went crazy and asked us to remove his star, but the late Mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant, said, ‘If we remove a star every time a celebrity upsets people with something they allegedly say, we would have no stars.'”
She insists no star has ever been removed and that private lives and scandals are never even considered when awarding celebrities the honour.
She adds, “We vote on an entertainment value and that alone.”
Martinez also assures tourists to Los Angeles and celebrity historians that stars dug up during current repair work to the Walk of Fame will be cleaned up and returned to their spot – none will ever be removed.
She states, “When we do repairs, we keep the original brass and they’re stored. They go back to exactly the same location… These people made Hollywood history and we will never replace them.”
To date, there have been 2,480 stars placed on the Walk of Fame. Rockers Heart will be honoured with the 2,481st star later this month (Sep12).
