1st stars to be unveiled during Pittsburgh Walk of Fame induction ceremony
Hollywood is officially coming to the 412.
The Pittsburgh Walk of Fame will induct its first class of 10 honorees this month, each receiving their own star.
The ceremony is open to the public, and it will take place Oct. 20 at the Strip District Terminal. The installation will feature a narrative plaque embedded in the sidewalk along Smallman Street.
Smallman Street will be closed to traffic that Monday from 17th to 21st streets for the festivities.
The inaugural honorees are:
- George Benson, a famed jazz musician born in the city’s Hill District
- Nellie Bly, a pioneering investigative journalist, who was born in Armstrong County
- Andrew Carnegie, the industrialist and philanthropist who led the expansion of the steel industry in the late 19th century
- Rachel Carson, a conservationist and writer, who was born in Springdale
- Roberto Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates legend, who also is remembered for his humanitarian efforts
- Michael Keaton, the Oscar-nominated actor who has played Batman, Birdman and Beetlejuice
- Fred Rogers, who was born and raised in Latrobe and hosted the iconic children’s TV show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”
- Jonas Salk, who led the University of Pittsburgh medical research team that developed the polio vaccine
- Andy Warhol, who was raised in Oakland and is considered among the most important artists of the 20th century
- August Wilson, a Hill District native and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright best known for plays chronicling the experiences of America’s Black community
Keaton is expected to appear in person to accept the honor.
Nancy Polinsky Johnson, the project’s founder and executive director, previously told TribLive that more than 250 Western Pennsylvania icons had been nominated in the first round.
To be selected for a star, nominees must have been born in or spent their formative or creative years in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington or Westmoreland counties. Their contributions must have had a national impact.
Johnson anticipates adding 10 people each year for the next three years before slowing the pace to about three per year.
Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania. A Murrysville native, she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State. She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com.
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