Community Corner
Jerry Bruckheimer's Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony is a Star-Studded Event
The producer received the 2,501st star on Monday.
Jerry Bruckheimer -- the man behind such blockbusters as "Top Gun,'' "Beverly Hills Cop'' and the "Pirates of the Caribbean'' and "National Treasure'' franchises -- received the 2,501st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today, honoring a producer whose films have generated more than $16 billion in global box office revenues.
"My lifelong dream began when I was a young boy in Michigan, and it always remained the same -- to be a filmmaker,'' Bruckheimer told the crowd at the ceremony outside the El Capitan Theatre. "It's been a long exciting journey from the streets of Detroit to the sidewalks of Hollywood, to be given a star to mark my contribution to an industry I love so much.''
Johnny Depp, who starred as Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean'' films and as Tonto in Bruckheimer's latest film, "The Lone Ranger,'' hailed him as a legend.
"Without Jerry, there would be no `Pirates,' there would be no Captain Jack,'' Depp said. "Without Jerry, there would be no `Lone Ranger,' there would be no reinvigorated Tonto. So I have a lot to thank him for. The man is a legend to me, a legend to us all, hence this congregation to celebrate him for his long-deserved star on the Walk of Fame. I for one could not be more honored to be here.''
Depp drew cheers from the crowd when he wrapped up his remarks by slipping into his Jack Sparrow voice to ask, "Where is the bloody rum?''
Bob Iger, the chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Co., whose studio made
"The Lone Ranger,'' continuing a relationship with Bruckheimer that began in 1991, also attended the ceremony, along with director Gore Verbinski, actor Jon Voight and actress Marg Helgenberger.
Today's ceremony came nine days before the release of "The Lone Ranger.''
Bruckheimer, whose films have received 41 Academy Award nominations and six Oscars, was born in Detroit on Sept. 21, 1943.
He initially made television commercials. His first movie was the 1972 Western, "The Culpepper Cattle Co.,'' on which he was an associate producer.
His first film as a full-fledged producer was the 1975 Raymond Chandler mystery, "Farewell My Lovely,'' starring Robert Mitchum.
Bruckheimer began a partnership with the late Don Simpson with the 1983 romantic drama "Flashdance.'' The duo also produced "Days of Thunder,'' "Bad Boys,'' "Dangerous Minds,'' "Crimson Tide'' and "The Rock.''
Following Simpson's death in 1996, Bruckheimer produced "Con Air,'' "Armageddon,'' "Remember the Titans,'' "Coyote Ugly,'' "Black Hawk Down'' and four "Pirates of the Caribbean'' films.
Bruckheimer turned to television producing in 1997 with the syndicated action drama "Soldier of Fortune, Inc.'' His greatest television success is the "CSI'' franchise. He also produced "The Amazing Race,'' a nine-time Emmy winner for outstanding reality-competition series, as we as ``Cold Case'' and "Without a Trace.''
He called the Walk of Fame star an "unbelievable honor'' as he rattled off the names of other honorees, such as Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock.
"I won't get too big-headed, though, because the list also includes Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and the Three Stooges,'' he said.
- City News Service
