ACCELERATED REVIEW PROCESS - E Offce of the City Engineer Los Angcles, California To the Honorable Council NOV 0 7 2007 Of the City of Los Angeles Honorable Members: C. D. No. 13 SUBJECT: Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street - Walk of Famc Additional Name in Terrazzo Sidewalk- THE MUCHKINS RECOMMENDATIONS: A. That the City Council designate thc unnumbered location situated one sidewalk squarc northerly of and bctwcen numbered locations 53K and 53k as shown on Sheet 19 of Plan 0-13788 for the Hollywood Walk of Famc for the installation of the name of The Munchkins at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard. B. Inform the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce of the Council's action on this matter. C. That this report be adopted prior to the datc of the ceremony on November 20,2007. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT: No Gencral Fund Impact. All cost paid by permittee. TRANS MITT ALS: 1. Unnumbered communication dated October 16, 2007, from the Hollywood Historic Trust ofthe Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, biographical information and cxcerpts from the minutes of the Chamber's meeting with rccommendations. City Council - 2- C. D. No. 13 DISCUSSION: Thc Walk of Fame Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has submitted a request for insertion into the Hollywood Walk of Fame thc name of The Munchkins. The ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 11 :30 a.m. The communicant's request is in accordance with City Council action of October 18, 1978, under Council File No. 78-3949. Following the Council's action of approval, and upon proper application and payment of the required fee, an installation permit can be secured at 201 N. Figueroa Street, 3rd Floor, Counter 23. Respectfully submitted, lln,O,..~ çoLem:c~~o,-P.E. Central District Engineer Bureau of Engineering sm: Munchkins.02 (213)482-7055 cc: Construction Services Center, Counter 23 Bureau of Street Services Administration *,',,** " .lmllVWOOD WALK OF FAMi: October 16, 2007 Mr. Gary L. Moore Public Works Engineering Att: Lemuel Paco 201 N. Figueroa St., 3'd Floor, M.S. 503 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dear Mr. Moore: The Walk of Fame Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has approved the below listed name for insertion into the Hollywood Walk of Fame: THE MUNCHKNS -Category -.MOTION PICTURES) Requested star location to be 69 15 Hollywood Boulevard, north side of the street in tront of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The star for THE MUNCHKNS will be placed in the second row next to the usual row closest to the building in the second row next to the star of ROBERT ZEMECKIS (2NO ROW) and a blank square, neither have a number. The star will also be located next to those located in the original row and previously dedicated to JOHNY GRANT which is numbered 53k to the east and ZSA ZSA GABOR which is numbered 53K and faces the west. According to sheet #19 plan 13788, THE MUNCHKINS's star has no designated number. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. Thank you for your cooperation in this request. r look forward to a response from your office soon. The following materials are enclosed: THE MUNCHKINS' bio and the Board of Director's Minutes. Si~ Ana MartiJlLlIer ::iee ""sident, Media Relations ...../ ,..Míyor Antonio Villaraigosa .,/ Leron Gubler Johnny Grant Sgt. Mike Arminio Carmine Goglia Ralph Pipes Insp. R. Gladden T opher Best Michael Kantor Sally Castro Top End Const. Dan Chismire ~~~ Hollywood Chamber of Commerce " Meeting of the Board of Directors Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Board Members Present: G. Abou-Daoud, C, Armstrong, J, Briggs, H. Cochran, M, Cooper, M. Costa, K. Diehl, S. Durante, B. Farrar, B. Folb, D. Gajda, L. Goldman, J. Grant, B, Folb, R. Inouye, M. Larson, E. Lestz, C. Massie, S. O'Rourke, M, Panatier, R. Pipes, P. Robertson, F. Rosenthal, M. Schultz, D. Scott, M. Shelton, T. Smith, S. Tronsoh Board Members Absent: 0, Gallagher, S. Kay, J. Kreshek, E. Peterson, S. Smith Honorary Board Members Present: O. Arslanian, C, Baumgart . Staff Present: L. Gubler, V. Kish, T. Lindgren, A. Martinez-Holler, E. McDonald, R Silsbee Guests Present: Gilbert Smith, Nosotros Theatre Call to Order Briggs called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. Walk of Fame Report Grant read the list of recipients approved by the WaF Selection Committee for 2008. They are: MOTION PICTURES: Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett, Stan Lee, The Munchkins, Tim Robbins and The Westmores of Hollywood TELEVISION: Bill Geist, Kate Linder, Howie Mandel, Sherwood Schwart, Vince McMahon, Susan St. James, and Brian Keith (Posthumous) RECORDING: Christina Aguilera, Brooks and Dunn, Ricky Martin, Red Hot Chili Peppers and George Harrison (Posthumous) LIVE THEATRE/LIVE PERFORMANCE_ Stephen Schwart (MSP: Grant, Diehl) to approve the list of 2008 recipients. Adiourn There being no further business, Briggs adjourned the meeting at 5:30 p,m, Respectfully submitted by: Todd Lindgren + ,\I.'\RU I 2007 MUNCHKIN NOMINATION Nomination for "The l'unchkins", as represented by Jerry Maren, Mickey Carroll, Margaret Pellegrini, Karl Slover, Meinhardt Raabe and Clarence Swensen to be honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Tli Wi~aird of O~' has been declared as the most watched movies of all time and "The Munchkins" are among that classic film's most iconic characters The American Film Institute named "The Wizard of Oz" as one of the best films ever made and the third best musical ever, The line "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" is the American Film Institute's number 4 quote, and 'There's no place like home" is ranked as number 23, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is ranked as their number 1 song of all time. Recognized the world over, there are few people anywhere on the planet that don't know the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch and of course, the famous Munchkins! The surviving Munchkins have each had fascinating lives in and of themselves Among those still around are the original Lollipop Kid who handed the large all-day sucker to Dorothy and still sings, "We Represent the Lollipop Guild". His new book "Short & Sweet" just came out Another played four different characters, including the first trumpeter, a soldier, a sleepy headed child in the nest, and the citizen who started the anthem "We're Off to See the Wizard" and still sings a great rendition complete with tra-Ia-Ias Another still tap dances up a tornado along with the Coroner who still pronounces the Wicked Witch "not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead". His recent book is already in its third printing and he has recently been on Jimmy Kimmel and CNN, Inducting the Munchkins with a star would be a wonderful, nostalgic, family oriented, heart-warming event for all ages and we believe they embody all that is great about Hollywood; you just can't get more classic Hollywood the "The Wizard of Oz". JERRY MAREN was just eighteen when he got a telegram from Loew's Incorporated requesting his talents for "The Wizard of Oz". It guaranteed six weeks' employment, transportation, food--"the works," he says. Born on January 24, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts, Maren was originally named Gerard Marenghi, the youngest of eleven children, He took dancing lessons when he was young and aspired to be an entertainer, appearing locally in an act called "Three Steps and One Half." In November 1938, standing just three foot four, he met up with the Oz-bound group of little people in New York City and traveled by bus to California. "I don't remember much about the bus trip, except that is was long. There was a bus full of us and we all became friends. It was an experience because I'd never been around V~II..I",tho.. 11..1I..lìHlc. ..e",.lo l- ut'i.. he'nro lJ IV..1.;V con I I...Ic.ar'no.rl ......... ~ ll"lIV". \/\lo',. vv.... c-la'i ùl 1 ".in .."'.."'ifForonl ..,.. ..itio.e:..,,,.... ~nrl ..,'.. tho\/'rl u,..:J.. stiiff ..." SP\/ør~1 ........, of us little ones in a room together and we'd leave again early the next morning and the driver would travel as much as possible," he says. There, at MGM, because of his dancing abilities, he was chosen to be the middle "tough guy" of the Lollipop Guild who hands Dorothy the over- sized sucker, "I remember they had a monstrous crew on the set," Jerry says, "A man who wore tall boots would go into the pond and fix the lilies and then walk out, and the other crew members would mop up the water. When we had time, we used to sneak off and try to watch the other movies being made. We ran into everybody. i snuck over to watch 'Lady of the Tropics' with Hedy Lamarr." "The Wizard of Oz" was the first of many movies Jerry made, After Oz he went directly in a few "Our Gang" comedies and a featured role in "At the Circus" (1939), starring the Marx Brothers. (It's the one where Groucho sings "Lydia the Tattooed Lady"!) Jerry was permanently transplanted to southern California from that moment on, Maren has worked steadily in films ever since, on camera and behind the scenes as a stunt double or as a costumed character. In the late 1950's Jerry was persuaded to undergo hormonal treatments to increase his height. He worked with endocrinologists at California's Scripps Clinic who tested out some new growth hormone injections. "I started dreaming how great sports and things would be for me if I were taller," he says, but he grew only a few inches.