Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 5, 1993 TAG: 9301050093
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB POOL LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD LENGTH: Medium
ARTISAN IS THE REAL STAR MAKER
He's the one guy in Hollywood you can believe if he says, "Baby, I'm gonna make you a star!"That's because Bill Paternostro has produced nearly 400 of them since taking his first stroll down Hollywood Boulevard in the early 1970s.
Paternostro, 64, is the terrazzo artisan who makes the 3-foot-wide sidewalk stars for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In a town where a star's staying power can be measured in months, his are unique.
"These things ought to last forever," he said, tapping his toe on Marilyn Monroe the other day.
Among his more recent creations was a star for actress Stefanie Powers, who received the honor Nov. 25.
It can take years for a Hollywood celebrity to win a spot on the Walk of Fame. Nominations made through the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce are screened annually by a secret committee, which only approves about 24 a year.
It takes Paternostro about 2 1/2 days to make a star once the committee's selection is made.
He starts by chipping up one of the blank pink stars from the sidewalk, which was constructed of black terrazzo concrete 32 years ago.
In the empty spot, he glues down a welded strip of brass letters that spell out the celebrity's name. Below the letters, he carefully centers a six-inch brass emblem that signifies the performer's field: movies, recordings, radio or television.
Then he fills the star-shaped hole with thick, pink-colored concrete that has been laced with tiny marble chips. When the concrete hardens, Paternostro smoothes it with a grinder and polishes and seals it.
The letters and emblem are produced at a foundry in nearby La Mirada, Calif., Paternostro said. He tries to salvage and reuse the original brass outline from the blank star; if it is damaged, he makes a new one.
The cost of making the star and staging the unveiling ceremony is covered by a $5,000 fee that honorees are assessed. As part of the deal, celebrities must promise to appear at the ceremony.
But the jovial Paternostro is a star himself when he works on the Walk of Fame.
He banters with tourists and offers them souvenir terrazzo chips from the dug-up blank star. He lets tourists photograph themselves holding his tools over freshly poured stars. He poses himself for visitors such as Liesel Heyns, 26, of South Africa.
"It's lovely," Heyns said of Paternostro's work, quickly praising Powers as well. "She's very well known in South Africa," Heyns said.
Paternostro said that he sometimes returns for the ceremonies, which attract crowds of fans and television cameras.
"My favorite was Julie Andrews," he said. "I enjoyed that one. I like her singing and her performances in movies. I came back for Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton, too."
He has cringed at some unveilings, however. Those are the ones where the names were misspelled.
"Artie Shaw, Melvyn Douglas, Don Haggerty . . . they weren't caught until the ceremony. Later we had to come back and change them," Paternostro said, grinning sheepishly.
For that reason he double-checked Stefanie Powers' name with Walk of Fame coordinator Ana Martinez-Holler before cementing it down.
And he corrected a tourist who glanced at the brass letters and asked just who "Stevie Powers" was.
The actress, who has appeared in more than 25 movies, is best known for her role in the TV series "Hart to Hart," Paternostro said.
Tourists often ask if they can buy a star with their own name on it, he said. And boulevard shopkeepers sometimes request one for their doorway with their store's name on it.
No way, Paternostro tells them.
"I've never even made one for myself with my own name on it," he said.
There may be no need to ever do that, either. Paternostro is training his 36-year-old son, David, to follow in his sidewalk footsteps.
There are another 200 blank stars to fill. And that should cement the Paternostro name's fame.