When Jerry Buss gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (say what?), Johnny Grant has company. The honorary mayor of Hollywood was joined today by the real mayor of Hollywood, Antonio Villaraigosa, and by police chief Bill Bratton and former Laker Girl Paula Abdul. The morning Times advanced it and the desk sent Steve Springer to cover Monday's anointing. The Lakers are gold for the Times' website traffic, so the paper even posted an online photo gallery that opens with Paris Hilton. Springer:
His is the 2,323rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And while his illustrious predecessors all earned their place on the world-famous boulevard with glitz and glamour of their own, none arrived in quite the manner that Lakers owner Jerry Buss did Monday.He came down the street in a parade, preceded by the USC marching band.
Emerging from a car in a gold shirt and purple sweater, he walked a gauntlet of Laker Girls to reach his spot of honor.
And in his moment of tribute, Buss was surrounded by an eclectic mix of celebrities. His family and Lakers executives, coaches and current players were there. So were big names from the team's past: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, James Worthy, Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes and A.C. Green.
The blogger known as The Hollywood Liberal dropped by for a peek:
A huge crowd of rabid Laker fans was also on hand. They are getting revved up for the new Laker season which starts tomorrow night at the Staples Center downtown. The H.L. is a big Laker fan. I was there on June 19, 2000 along with Buss, Jackson, Kobe, and the late Chick Hearn, when the Lakers won their first of three consecutive championships, so there was no way I could miss this day (especially since the H.L. headquarters is right around the corner from the walk of fame) Congratulations to Dr. Jerry Buss.
