ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 18, 1996 TAG: 9612180026
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The People Column
Patrick Stewart, who travels past stars in the movies, now has one of his own on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Stewart unveiled his star to cheers and ``live long and prosper'' hand signs from the crowd of 300 outside the Galaxy theater complex Monday.
Stewart played Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise on the syndicated TV series ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and reprises the role in the new movie ``Star Trek: First Contact.''
``My history here on Hollywood Boulevard is over 100 years old,'' said Stewart, who was thrilled that his star was near that of a fellow Brit, comedian Stan Laurel.
Stewart explained that his grandfather was a stage carpenter and his grandmother cared for the children of stage workers, including the young Laurel.
``Being on the same block as Stan Laurel is unbearably exciting and almost too much of an honor,'' he said.
* * *
One of the best ways to wade through the holiday hype and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas is with music, pop-gospel singer Amy Grant says.
``Something inside me wants to say, `Bar the doors. We're inside. Now let's create a moment where we can allow ourselves to feel the holiness and the wonder of all the stuff we're rushing around trying to pay tribute to,''' she told The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.
``I think you do that with hair-raising, beautiful performances,'' she said.
Grant will sing at her annual Nashville Christmas concert today with Vince Gill, Gary Chapman, Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans.
LENGTH: Short : 39 linesby CNB