Close Encounters Walk of Fame

LOS ANGELES –– Actress Glenn Close added the 2,378th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today to her collection of honors, which also includes two Emmy and three Tony awards and five Oscar nominations.

Close said receiving the star was "a wonderful, wonderful honor" and recited a list of fellow Walk of Fame honorees, including "beloved names from my childhood" such as William Boyd, best known as the star of the Hopalong Cassidy cowboy movie serials, and Jay Silverheels, who played The Lone Ranger's sidekick Tonto.

"To be considered a star is one thing, but to be embedded in the sidewalk with life passing over us, that for me is the best part of this honor," she said.

"Five-inch heels, flip-flops, Birkenstocks, dropped ice cream cones, the odd tobacco squirt, baby carriages, roller blades, skateboards, wheelchairs –– bring it all on.

"And if there are those who are really pissed off by Patty Hewes or Alex Forrest, they can stomp on me to their heart's content," Close said, referring to her characters in the current FX series "Damages" and the 1987 film "Fatal Attraction."

"Like the Milky Way, this galaxy will expand, paying tribute to the artists who have formed the heart and soul of the world," Close said. "And I can just see it years from this moment. Someone will wander by my star, dust off my name and think `Glenn Close? Glenn Close? Oh yeah, I remember. He was good."

Michael Chiklis, who starred with Close in the FX series "The Shield," called her "one the truly great women of this world."

"She is one of the greatest artists of her generation, and in my humble estimation, she sits on the pantheon of the greatest actress who've ever lived," Chiklis said at the late-morning ceremony in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel.

The star unveiling came five days after the season premiere of "Damages," in which her portrayal of Hewes earned her an Emmy last September.

Now 61, the versatile actress received her first Emmy in 1995 for the title role in an NBC made-for-television movie, "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story," in which she portrayed the National Guard colonel who undertook a successful legal challenge to her discharge after acknowledging being a lesbian.

Close also received Emmy nominations for her roles on "The Shield"; the made-for-television movies "Sarah, Plain and Tall," "The Lion in Winter," "In the Gloaming," "Skylark" and "Something About Amelia"; and for a guest starring role on "Will & Grace."

Close won Tony Awards as best actress in a drama in a play in 1984 for "The Real Thing" and 1992 for "Death and the Maiden" and as best actress in a musical for "Sunset Boulevard" in 1995. She also received a 1980 nomination
for best featured actress in a musical for "Barnum."

Close received best supporting actress Oscar nods for her first two films –– "The World According to Garp" and "The Big Chill" -- as well as for "The Natural," and for her lead roles in"Fatal Attraction" and "Dangerous Liaisons."

Her other film credits include "Reversal of Fortune"; "Hamlet"; "101 Dalmatians" and its sequel and "Air Force One."

Contact Us