<P> While Joanne Woodward is often singled out as the first to receive a star on the Walk of Fame, in fact there was no "first" recipient; the original stars were installed as a continuous project, with no individual ceremonies . Woodward's name was one of eight drawn at random from the original 1,558 and inscribed on eight prototype stars that were built while litigation was still holding up permanent construction . The eight prototypes were installed temporarily on the northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in August 1958 to generate publicity and to demonstrate how the Walk would eventually look . The other seven names were Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, and Ernest Torrence . Official groundbreaking took place on February 8, 1960 . On March 28, 1960, the first permanent star, director Stanley Kramer's, was completed on the easternmost end of the new Walk near the intersection of Hollywood and Gower . The Joanne Woodward legend may have originated, according to one source, because she was the first to pose with her star for photographers . </P> <P> Though the Walk was originally conceived in part to encourage redevelopment of Hollywood Boulevard, the 1960s and 1970s were periods of protracted urban decay in the Hollywood area as residents moved to suburbs . After the initial installation of approximately 1,500 stars in 1960 and 1961, eight years passed without the addition of a new star . In 1962 the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance naming the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce "the agent to advise the City" about adding names to the Walk, and the Chamber, over the following six years, devised rules, procedures, and financing methods to do so . In December 1968, Richard D. Zanuck was awarded the first star in eight years in a presentation ceremony hosted by Danny Thomas . In July 1978 the City of Los Angeles designated the Hollywood Walk of Fame a Los Angeles Historic - Cultural Monument . </P> <P> Radio personality, television producer and Chamber member Johnny Grant is generally credited with implementing the changes that resuscitated the Walk and established it as a significant tourist attraction . Beginning in 1968, he stimulated publicity and encouraged international press coverage by requiring that each recipient personally attend his or her star's unveiling ceremony . Grant later recalled that "it was tough to get people to come accept a star" until the neighborhood finally began its recovery in the 1980s . In 1980 he instituted a fee of $2,500, payable by the person or entity nominating the recipient, to fund the Walk of Fame's upkeep and minimize further taxpayer burden . The fee has increased incrementally over time; by 2002 it had reached $15,000, and stood at $30,000 in 2012 . The current (2017) fee is $40,000 . </P> <P> Grant was awarded a star in 1980 for his television work . In 2002, he received a second star in the "special" category to acknowledge his pivotal role in improving and popularizing the Walk . He was also named chairman of the Selection Committee and Honorary Mayor of Hollywood (a ceremonial position previously held by Art Linkletter and Monty Hall, among others). He remained in both offices from 1980 until his death in 2008 and hosted the great majority of unveiling ceremonies during that period . His unique special - category star, with its emblem depicting a stylized "Great Seal of the City of Hollywood", is located at the entrance to the Dolby Theatre adjacent to Johnny Grant Way . </P>

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