LP Lotion: John Lasseter Receives a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Page 1 of 6
“To be here today, to be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I just can’t believe it.” John Lasseter delivered these remarks as he received the 2,453rd star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame. The ceremony, presided over by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler took place on November 1, 2011.
There was quite a gathering in front of the historic El Capitan Theater: fans from as far away as Brazil and Japan, friends, professional colleagues, and family members including wife Nancy Lasseter, her parents, John Lasseter’s twin sister Joanna, and three of his five sons. Gubler opened the ceremony with a brief recounting of Lasseter’s biography, starting with his first publically displayed cartoon at the age of five, through his years at CalArts, and on to his success with Pixar and Disney. Gubler was especially pleased that Lasseter had been born in Hollywood, noting, “It’s not very often we get a Hollywood native.”
Pixar’s stars were out in force, as well. Making an appearance were composer Randy Newman, comedian Patton Oswalt, and actor Cheech Marin. Tributes were delivered by actors Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, and Emily Mortimer (who revealed that one of her child’s earliest spoken words was “Nemo”), as well as singer/songwriter Brad Paisley.
By far the liveliest tribute of the event was that of Don Rickles, who delivered one of his signature rants, touching on “Mickey Mouse” roles, Nancy Lasseter’s hat, Tim Allen and Tom Hanks, and working for Disney. He brought down the house with the comment, “Today as I stand and look around, I see I’m the biggest name here!” He concluded, “Good luck on your career, although I believe it’s slipping…”
The last tribute was delivered by John Ratzenberger, the actor who has the distinction of having appeared in every Pixar film. He revealed the “true” story of how he earned this distinction. It seems he was working as a tap dancer at a carnival when John Lasseter’s kindergarten class was passing through, and Ratzenbereger saved him from being crushed by a falling funnel cake stand. He concluded, “Congratulations. I’m sorry about the rest of your kindergarten class.”
Just before Lasseter took the stage, Leron Gubler presented him with a resolution from the City of Los Angeles, signed by the Mayor and head of City Council.
John Lasseter prefaced his comments by recalling a memorable family trip to Hollywood’s Chinese Theater, to see the newly released Mary Poppins. He noted, “I’ll never forget that day, walking down the sidewalk, and seeing all the stars.”
He was particularly pleased to note the location of his star, pointing out that it could have been down the street in front of Fredericks. And the El Capitan had particularly happy memories for him, as it was the site of the 1995 premiere of Toy Story, and played every subsequent Pixar film since.
Lasseter wanted to be sure to acknowledge family and friends that were present, especially the “amazing, amazing group of artists” who collaborate with him. Noting the presence of long-time colleague Ed Catmull, he marveled that this year marked the 25th anniversary of Pixar. He then added, “Probably the person that I share this star with the most, who has been with me on this journey, is my wife Nancy.”
With a catch in his voice, Lasseter continued, “There’s one last person I want to share this with. That’s my partner at Pixar, Steve Jobs. My first meeting with Steve was in early 1987. Steve had just bought Pixar in February of 1986, and it was a computer company at the time. There were only four of us doing computer animation research.”
Steadying his voice, Lasseter related details of their first meeting, in which he described the idea for a short film about a small tin toy that has a life of its own. Jobs loved the idea, and had only one request: “John, make it great.” When Tin Toy won an Academy Award, Lasseter asked, “Steve is this great enough?” “Yes.” Lasseter concluded, “Today, I share this star with Steve Jobs. He made Pixar. Without him, Pixar wouldn’t exist. Without him, all of these amazing films wouldn’t exist.”
After thanking his friends, fans, and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for this honor, Lasseter and the group made their way to unveil the star on the sidewalk. Gubler acknowledged the memory of Johnny Grant, announcing, “We hereby declare this John Lasseter Day in Hollywood!” Surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues, John Lasseter watched as his star was unveiled in a confetti shower of silver and gold stars.
Videos
Click below to play a complete video of the ceremony
