The recent news of Hollywood Walk of Fame honorees for 2013 listed on Hollywood Reporter has me thinking of celeb-themed travel.  I have always wanted to visit California and see the famous sites related to the movies and the stars.  The Walk of Fame is definitely a must-see, what with the combination of many favorite celebs who are awarded a star for their talents.

Although I don’t have immediate plans for a first-time trip to California, I thought a map of the where different celebs’ Walk of Fame stars are would be great.  So I searched on iTunes and came across an app called the LAT Star Walk, by Tribune Interactive.  It  costs $2.99 and looks like a great help for navigating the star-studded pathway, so I’ll try it whenever I get out to the west coast.

Along with the app, I found two links providing the locations of many celebs’ stars.  Check out Seeing Stars or the L.A. Times to find where your favorites in movies, television, music and more are located.

Of course, as someone who loves both film and history, I’m also drawn to the yesteryear of Hollywood and the lore attached to it as well.  I watched a show on TV not long ago, focusing on the ghostly side of Hollywood.  Whether or not ghosts exist, I love to hear about which iconic people were associated with different places during their lives.  I could feel that history in midtown New York City and now I just have to take in that same  sense of old Hollywood on the west coast.  Just check out the Playbill website for a history of which film legends once performed on Broadway theatre stages.  NYC gave me a taste of Walk of Fame markers with this tribute to Helen Hayes on West 44th Street.

With so much more movie-related and other sites to see in NYC, I’m hoping to go back numerous times. I ordered a book entitled “New York: The Movie Lover’s Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York,” by Richard Alleman.  I’m waiting for the NYC movie book to arrive, but as for sunny California’s movie sites?  I have this book by William A. Gordon.

My favorite info in it, besides the film locations, are the hotels and homes associated with classic Hollywood movie stars.  Some of California’s movie-related sites I want to see include:

  • Griffith Observatory
  • Hotel Roosevelt
  • The Knickerbocker Hotel
  • The Georgian Hotel
  • Cal Neva Resort
  • Hollywood Forever Cemetery
  • The Hollywood Sign

However, Steve McQueen, one of my favorite iconic and legendary silver screen celebs from “The Blob” (1958) was filmed only about an hour away from my town.  Check out my photo / travel blog to read about my trip to Phoenixville for their annual Blobfest.