There is no doubt that Robert Redford is a Hollywood legend. But if you’re waiting for him to be celebrated on the Hollywood Walk of Fame anytime soon, we have bad news for you: It likely won’t happen anytime, soon, if ever. Redford has been in the business for decades, with his acting credits beginning in the early ’60s with various television appearances, before making it to the big screen in movies like Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, The Way We Were, Barefoot In The Park, and dozens more. As of 2021, he’s still active as a director, producer, and actor.
Quite frankly, he’s one of those actors who is almost synonymous of the heyday of mid-century Hollywood, yet his name is oddly absent on the iconic Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, from Gower to La Brea and on Vine Street from Sunset to Yucca. So what gives?
Robert Redford might not want the hassle
Robert Redford has never spoken publicly about his missing star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but there are a few possible reasons why his name isn’t among the 2,600 other stars on the legendary walkway. This is the thing about the Hollywood Walk of Fame that no one ever really talks about: first, an actor has to be nominated by someone and their team has to sign off on the nomination. Then, once nominated, it’s up to the star to set the date for the ceremony, up to five years after the nomination. Afterwards, the star has to pay $50,000 to solidify their spot, with the organization saying that the cost goes to the creation of the star and ongoing maintenance.
Given his celebrity, it seems odd that Redford would never be nominated. Therefore, it’s possible that he has and just hasn’t agreed to set a time or possibly doesn’t want to cough up the hefty sum for a little name recognition. Everyone knows who Redford is, so it may be that he just doesn’t see the point of it all. Stars can also be nominated posthumously after a five year waiting period, so his family or estate might decide to nominate him one day after his death, but that’s sort of a grim thing to look forward to.
As it is now, Redford is actually in good company when it comes to stars without a star on the L.A. sidewalk.
There are tons of big names missing from the Walk of Fame
Given that you have to agree to be nominated and also pay thousands of dollars to get on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it’s sort of a flex not to have one. Robert Redford isn’t the only other big-name star whose name is missing from the walkway. Other stars, like Prince, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, George Lucas, Diane Keaton, Carrie Fisher, Michael Keaton, and many other stars that need literally no introduction don’t have a star on the boulevard. Some, like Roberts and Eastwood, notoriously turned the opportunity down. The others, including Redford, might simply have enough on their plate professionally and personally to worry about being enshrined in the middle of the street.
It’d be one thing if it was free or some sort of honor, but really, it seems like the Hollywood Walk of Fame just doesn’t do it for some stars.
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