Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2003 9:26 am
I'd always thought of the idea for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Al would be a great idea. As Dave said, the main obstacle is not the man himself or his qualifications, but the hefty price tag. Although Al may be a little embarassed and overwhelmed by such attention initially ... with him being a long time resident of La-La Land, I'm sure ultimately he'd find having his own star immensely cool. I'm sure Jon or Jay could get the necessary paperwork together easily.
For those of you curious about what needs to be done to get a star on the Walk, check out this link:
http://www.hollywoodcoc.org/walkoffame/nom_proc.html
You know, not everybody in Hollywood has a star on the Walk, though of course many do [Both Siegfried and Roy and Pat Sajak have one, for Gawd's sake!!]. You'd actually be surprised at who does NOT have one. George Lucas doesn't. Nor does Julia Roberts. Steven Spielberg himself only JUST got his star recently. And Tom Lehrer or Dr. Demento never got one either [okay, maybe that one's a surprise only to us Dementoids and Dementites...].
Now, if we are really serious about getting this Star, we REALLY need to promote it -- not just here on WOWAYF [an excellent start though it may be]. We will need to include many of the other Al fans sites. There are multiple Yahoo and MSN groups dedicated to Al. And of course, there's alt.music.weird-al, or AMWA -- which I see you've already hit, Dave. My only fear in posting there, of course, is a little four-letter-word beginning with "S" and ending with "TAN".
If there is a doubt that we could raise the money, let me give you some facts. Al fans Cid S. and Kevin C. participate annually in a fundraiser for Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles [CHLA], where Kevin does an unbelievable Al tribute show [Kevin's in this WA.com gallery pic with Al:
http://www.weirdal.com/kevnal.htm ]
Anyway, on October 15 of 2002, they posted announcements in several of the Weird Al groups on Yahoo that they wanted to present a check on behalf of Weird Al fans around the country and simply asked for donations. Many did indeed donate -- including several in this very forum. And by the date of the concert only FOUR weeks later, they had collected $372.27, plus donations of autographed pics of Dr. D and Al, which upon auction raised even more money, making a grand total of $460.27. [Sure, it's not $15,000, but it's not bad for sending out a couple of e-mails and collecting money for just over one month!!!]
Now, granted, donating for a charity and donating for a Star on the Walk of Fame are two different things. What motivates someone to donate to sick children may not motivate them to donate for a Star -- and vice versa. But what the above example DOES tell me is that Al's fans are naturally generous -- much like the man himself. They also know he is vastly underappreciated by the Hollywood community. What a perfect opportunity for his fans to rally to his side and give him the recognition -- in a very real and, yes, a very permanent and everlasting way -- he truly deserves for providing entertainment for well over 20 years.
WILL we make the goal? Dunno.
COULD we make the goal? I have no doubt we could.
And if we DO make it? I know a perfect place for his star. Right next to either Spike Jones' star or Stan Freberg's star -- they could be neighbors forever!
Okay, let's say, though, by some stretch we fall short of the goal. Or for some odd reason, the Walk of Fame committee does not approve the application. We can STILL give Al a star -- for less than 100 bucks!!! Check this out:
http://www.giftoffame.com/OrderYourStar.htm
The Corporate Version could be purchased and engraved with up to three lines, on which we could say something like, "From your dedicated and supportive fans -- you'll always be a star to us!" I think he'd be flattered -- but I think we'd ALL like to see him get the real thing!!
[squinching up my face for my best John Belushi impression]
"Nothing is over until WE decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the going gets tough ... ... ... ... the tough get going!! Who's with me? LET'S GO!! COME ON!! AAAAHAAHAAAAA!!!!"
Dr. Bluto
For those of you curious about what needs to be done to get a star on the Walk, check out this link:
http://www.hollywoodcoc.org/walkoffame/nom_proc.html
You know, not everybody in Hollywood has a star on the Walk, though of course many do [Both Siegfried and Roy and Pat Sajak have one, for Gawd's sake!!]. You'd actually be surprised at who does NOT have one. George Lucas doesn't. Nor does Julia Roberts. Steven Spielberg himself only JUST got his star recently. And Tom Lehrer or Dr. Demento never got one either [okay, maybe that one's a surprise only to us Dementoids and Dementites...].
Now, if we are really serious about getting this Star, we REALLY need to promote it -- not just here on WOWAYF [an excellent start though it may be]. We will need to include many of the other Al fans sites. There are multiple Yahoo and MSN groups dedicated to Al. And of course, there's alt.music.weird-al, or AMWA -- which I see you've already hit, Dave. My only fear in posting there, of course, is a little four-letter-word beginning with "S" and ending with "TAN".
If there is a doubt that we could raise the money, let me give you some facts. Al fans Cid S. and Kevin C. participate annually in a fundraiser for Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles [CHLA], where Kevin does an unbelievable Al tribute show [Kevin's in this WA.com gallery pic with Al:
http://www.weirdal.com/kevnal.htm ]
Anyway, on October 15 of 2002, they posted announcements in several of the Weird Al groups on Yahoo that they wanted to present a check on behalf of Weird Al fans around the country and simply asked for donations. Many did indeed donate -- including several in this very forum. And by the date of the concert only FOUR weeks later, they had collected $372.27, plus donations of autographed pics of Dr. D and Al, which upon auction raised even more money, making a grand total of $460.27. [Sure, it's not $15,000, but it's not bad for sending out a couple of e-mails and collecting money for just over one month!!!]
Now, granted, donating for a charity and donating for a Star on the Walk of Fame are two different things. What motivates someone to donate to sick children may not motivate them to donate for a Star -- and vice versa. But what the above example DOES tell me is that Al's fans are naturally generous -- much like the man himself. They also know he is vastly underappreciated by the Hollywood community. What a perfect opportunity for his fans to rally to his side and give him the recognition -- in a very real and, yes, a very permanent and everlasting way -- he truly deserves for providing entertainment for well over 20 years.
WILL we make the goal? Dunno.
COULD we make the goal? I have no doubt we could.
And if we DO make it? I know a perfect place for his star. Right next to either Spike Jones' star or Stan Freberg's star -- they could be neighbors forever!
Okay, let's say, though, by some stretch we fall short of the goal. Or for some odd reason, the Walk of Fame committee does not approve the application. We can STILL give Al a star -- for less than 100 bucks!!! Check this out:
http://www.giftoffame.com/OrderYourStar.htm
The Corporate Version could be purchased and engraved with up to three lines, on which we could say something like, "From your dedicated and supportive fans -- you'll always be a star to us!" I think he'd be flattered -- but I think we'd ALL like to see him get the real thing!!
[squinching up my face for my best John Belushi impression]
"Nothing is over until WE decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the going gets tough ... ... ... ... the tough get going!! Who's with me? LET'S GO!! COME ON!! AAAAHAAHAAAAA!!!!"
Dr. Bluto