Mirren, Joplin, Bardem to get Hollywood stars

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

Helen Mirren (L) and Javier Bardem are among the celebrities set to get their stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. AFP photo

British actress Helen Mirren, Spain’s Javier Bardem and 1970s rock icon Janis Joplin are among the celebrities set to get their stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year, organizers said June 22.

Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Jane Lynch are also among the 24 honorees for 2013, while music stars include The Backstreet Boys, Usher and Luther Vandross, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced.

“The Walk of Fame committee is proud to announce next year’s honorees whose additions to the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame will bring everlasting memories of their star power, talent, and popularity,” it said. The Chamber of Commerce meets every June to select roughly 20 honorees from hundreds of nominations. Those picked get the glory but also have to pay $30,000 for the upkeep of the stars, which line Hollywood Boulevard and nearby streets in downtown Tinseltown, drawing millions of tourists every year.

One star whose absence was noted recently was that of the singer Whitney Houston, who was found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel bathtub on Feb. 11, aged 48. Houston was selected for a star in 1995, but neither she nor her managers organized a star inauguration ceremony within five years, after which her selection expired.

Ana Martinez, spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said Houston’s family had not requested to have her Walk of Fame star nomination revived.