The stars, the first of which were permanently installed in 1960, are monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, producers, directors, theatrical/musical groups, fictional characters, and others.

The Hollywood Chamber collects fees from chosen celebrities or their sponsors (currently $75,000) which fund the creation and installation of the star, as well as maintenance of the Walk of Fame.

Below the inscription, in the lower half of the star field, a round inlaid brass emblem indicates the category within the entertainment industry of the honoree's contributions.

Between the spring of 1956 and the fall of 1957, 1,558 honorees were selected by committees representing the four major branches of the entertainment industry at that time: motion pictures, television, audio recording, and radio.

The committees met at the Brown Derby restaurant,[39] and they included such prominent names as Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn, Jesse L. Lasky, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Mack Sennett, and Walter Lantz.

[30] The other seven names were Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, and Ernest Torrence.

[51] Radio personality, television producer, and Chamber member Johnny Grant is generally credited with implementing the changes that resuscitated the Walk and established it as a significant tourist attraction.

[49] In 1980, Grant instituted a fee of $2,500 (equivalent to $9,245 in 2023), payable by the person or entity nominating the recipient, to fund the Walk of Fame's upkeep and minimize further taxpayer burden.

His unique special-category star, with its emblem depicting a stylized "Great Seal of the City of Hollywood",[58] is located at the entrance to the Dolby Theatre adjacent to Johnny Grant Way.

[65] In 2008, a long-term restoration project began with an evaluation of all 2,365 stars on the Walk at the time, each receiving a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F. Honorees whose stars received F grades, indicating the most severe damage, were Joan Collins, Peter Frampton, Dick Van Patten, Paul Douglas, Andrew L. Stone, Willard Waterman, Richard Boleslavsky, Ellen Drew, Frank Crumit, and Bobby Sherwood.

[26] The program has received some criticism; Alana Semuels of the Los Angeles Times described it as "just the latest corporate attempt to buy some good buzz", and quoted a brand strategist who said, "I think Johnny Grant would roll over in his grave".

[26] Los Angeles introduced the "Heart of Hollywood Master Plan", which promotes the idea of closing Hollywood Boulevard to traffic and creating a pedestrian zone from La Brea Avenue to Highland Avenue, citing an increase in pedestrian traffic including tourism, weekly movie premieres[68] and award shows closures, including ten days for the Academy Award ceremony at the Dolby Theatre.

[69][70] In June 2019, the city of Los Angeles commissioned Gensler Architects to provide a master plan for a $4 million renovation to improve and "update the streetscape concept" for the Walk of Fame.

Phase two is planned for 2024 and will include closing down the boulevard to two lanes, adding landscaping with shade trees and five public plazas made up of art deco designed street pavers and kiosks.

However, in 1999, in response to intensifying charges of secrecy in the selection process, the Chamber disclosed the members' names: Johnny Grant, the longtime chair and representative of the television category; Earl Lestz, president of Paramount Studio Group (motion pictures); Stan Spero, retired manager with broadcast stations KMPC and KABC (radio); Kate Nelson, owner of the Palace Theatre (live performance); and Mary Lou Dudas, vice president of A&M Records (recording industry).

[96][97] Thirty-three honorees, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore, Gale Storm, Danny Kaye, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Jack Benny have stars in three categories.

[129] The committee's Chaplin difficulties reportedly contributed to its decision in 1978 against awarding a star to Paul Robeson, the controversial opera singer, actor, athlete, writer, lawyer, and social activist.

[130] The resulting outcry from the entertainment industry, civic circles, local and national politicians, and many other quarters was so intense that the decision was reversed and Robeson was awarded a star in 1979.

[141][142] For 28 years, the star intended to honor Mauritz Stiller, the Helsinki-born pioneer of Swedish film who brought Greta Garbo to the United States, read "Maurice Diller", possibly due to mistranscription of verbal dictation.

[148] Monty Woolley, the veteran film and stage actor best known for The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) and the line "Time flies when you're having fun", is officially listed in the motion picture category,[149] but his star on the Walk of Fame bears the television emblem.

[161] Closed circuit surveillance cameras have been installed on the stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and Vine Street in an effort to discourage mischievous activities.

[179] In August 2018, the West Hollywood City Council unanimously passed a resolution requesting permanent removal of the star due to repeated vandalism, according to Mayor John Duran.

[180] Activist groups have also called for the removal of stars honoring individuals whose public and professional lives have become controversial, including Trump, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, and Brett Ratner.

[185] The sculpture, popularly known as The Four Ladies of Hollywood, was commissioned by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency Art Program as a tribute to the multi-ethnic women of the entertainment industry.

[186] The installation consists of a square stainless steel Art Deco-style structure or gazebo, with an arched roof supporting a circular dome that is topped by a central obelisk with descending neon block letters spelling "Hollywood" on each of its four sides.

[188] Independent writer and film producer Gail Choice called it a fitting tribute to a group of pioneering and courageous women who "carried a tremendous burden on their feminine shoulders".

"[189] Hardwicke contended that critics had missed the "humor and symbolism" of the structure, which "embraces and pokes fun at the glamour, the polished metallic male form of the Oscar, and the pastiche of styles and dreams that pervades Tinseltown.

[191] Others show their support in other ways; the star awarded to Julio Iglesias, for example, is kept in "pristine condition [by] a devoted band of elderly women [who] scrub and polish it once a month".

[191] The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has adopted the tradition of placing flower wreaths at the stars of newly deceased awardees; for example, Bette Davis in 1989,[192] Katharine Hepburn in 2003, and Jackie Cooper in 2011.

[193] The stars of other deceased celebrities, such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Farrah Fawcett, Elizabeth Taylor,[194] Charles Aznavour,[195] Richard Pryor,[196] Ricardo Montalbán, James Doohan, Frank Sinatra,[197][198] Robin Williams,[199] Joan Rivers,[200] George Harrison,[201] Aretha Franklin,[202] Stan Lee,[203] and Betty White[204] have become impromptu memorial and vigil sites as well, and some continue to receive anniversary remembrances.