Why did Bruce Springsteen reject his Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Any artist’s arrival on The Hollywood Walk of Fame tends to mean they have become too iconic for words. After making one’s mark on their creative medium, becoming etched in stone on the ground that built the idea of stardom is an accolade that not many people take lightly. Then again, not everyone is meant to have their stars on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, either, and Bruce Springsteen wasn’t quite ready.
While many actors, musicians and artists have been asked to receive a star on the Walk of Fame, just as many have politely declined the offer, not wanting to be a part of the Hollywood machine. Though some people might take a bold stance against the establishment by turning it down, Bruce Springsteen did the most logical refusal imaginable: he just didn’t show up.
In hindsight, ‘The Boss’ seemed destined to have his own star in Hollywood. From his humble beginnings hiding on the backstreets of New Jersey, Springsteen’s habit of painting pictures in his songs has left its mark on American culture, never mind just the Hollywood circuit. When going through the process, Springsteen got a fairly long way down in the induction process, with his name passing through every voter on the committee.
Springsteen changed the Walk of Fame’s policy
When talking about his no-show for the ceremony, vice president Ana Martinez talked about enacting a new policy, telling Today, “I call this my ‘Bruce Springsteen policy’. Ever since then, we have celebrities sign off, or their management, and say they’re OK with it, and they’ll be participating in the event once it has been scheduled if they are selected”.
Although Springsteen would have been more than welcome to put his name down as part of the allure of Hollywood, that was never what it was about anyway. For most of his career, Springsteen’s life was about talking about the common man’s struggles on albums like Born in the USA, and perhaps having a star devoted to him became too much of a spectacle to be taken seriously anymore.
Springsteen wasn’t even the only rock musician to turn down the opportunity. Years after his potential induction in 1989, Prince also had the chance to get a star on the Walk of Fame but opted out of it. Some actors have even opted out, with Clint Eastwood refusing a star despite a place on the road still being reserved for him. Then again, Martinez did let slip some of the details behind the financial aspect of the Walk of Fame, claiming that it costs roughly $50,000 to get the star approved, with 60% of that going to The Hollywood Historic Trust.
Seeing how some of Springsteen’s songs were about the simple pleasures of living outside of the confines of Hollywood, there’s a good chance that he doesn’t see himself in those terms. Other rock legends like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones might have grown up in the Hollywood that Springsteen idolised, but as far he’s concerned, rock and roll is more about getting the job done at every show rather than a bunch of trophies.
