George Gard “Buddy” DeSylva was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs he founded Capitol Records.

DeSylva was born in New York City, but grew up in California and attended the University of Southern California. His father, Aloysius J. De Sylva, was better known to American audiences as the Portuguese-born actor, Hal De Forrest.

DeSylva’s first successful songs were those used by Al Jolson on Broadway in the 1918 +Sinbad production, which included “I’ll Say She Does”. Soon thereafter he met Jolson and in 1918 the pair went to New York and DeSylva began working as a songwriter at Tin Pan Alley. In the early 1920s DeSylva frequently worked with composer George Gershwin. Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday set in Harlem, which is widely regarded as a forerunner to Porgy and Bess ten years later.

In 1925, DeSylva became one third of the songwriting team with lyricist Lew Brown and composer Ray Henderson, one of the top Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the era. The writing and publishing partnership continued until 1930, producing a string of feel-good hits and the perennial Broadway favorite Good News. The popularity of this team was so great that Gershwin’s mother supposedly chided her sons for not being able to write the sort of hits turned out by the trio. The 1956 Hollywood film The Best Things in Life Are Free, starring Gordon MacRae, depicting the De Sylva, Brown and Henderson collaboration.

Buddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the 1960s television series, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones.

He was born Christian Rudolph Ebsen, Jr. in Belleville, Illinois. His father, Christian Rudolph Ebsen, Sr., was Danish and his mother, Frances, was Latvian. He was reared in Belleville until the age of ten, when his family moved to Palm Beach County, Florida. After a brief stay, Ebsen and his family, in 1920, relocated to Orlando, Florida. Ebsen and his sisters learned to dance at the dance studio his father operated in Orlando.

He graduated from Orlando High School in 1926. Initially interested in a medical career, Ebsen attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, from 1926 to 1927, and then Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, from 1927 to 1928. Family financial problems caused by the collapse of the Florida land boom forced him to leave college at the age of twenty.

Ebsen left Orlando in the summer of 1928 to try his luck as a dancer. When he arrived in New York, he had $26.75 in his pocket, equal to $ today. He and his sister Vilma Ebsen formed an act and performed in supper clubs and in vaudeville — they were known as “The Baby Astaires”. On Broadway they appeared as members of the chorus in Whoopee, Flying Colors and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1934. A rave review from Walter Winchell, who saw them perform in Atlantic City, led to a booking at the Palace Theatre, the pinnacle of the vaudeville world.

Burton Stephen “Burt” Lancaster was an American film actor, noted for his athletic physique, distinctive smile and, later, his willingness to play roles that went against his initial “tough guy” image. Initially dismissed as “Mr Muscles and Teeth”, in the late 1950s Lancaster abandoned his “all-American” image and gradually came to be regarded as one of the best actors of his generation.

Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once, for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance, and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz and Atlantic City. His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in 1950s Hollywood, making movies such as Marty, Trapeze , and Sweet Smell of Success. Lancaster also ventured in directing, with two films: The Kentuckian and The Midnight Man. Lancaster was born in New York City, at his parents’ home at 209 East 106th Street, between Second and Third Avenues?today the site of Benjamin Franklin Plaza. Lancaster was the son of Elizabeth and James Henry Lancaster, who was a postman. Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class Irish origin, with Lancaster’s grandparents having been immigrants to the U.S. from Belfast and descendants of English immigrants to Ireland. Lancaster’s family believed themselves to be related to Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts; their surname originates from 11th century French immigrants to England with the surname “de Lancastre”. Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending the DeWitt Clinton High School. Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, where he was a basketball star, his mother was dead of a cerebral hemorrhage. Lancaster was accepted into New York University with an athletics scholarship, but would drop out to focus on his first career choice.

See the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony announcement
 

Award-winning country recording artists Brooks & Dunn were honored with the 2,367th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Leron Gubler, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, presided over the ceremony.
Guests included Dr. Phil McGraw and Robin McGraw.
7021 Hollywood Boulevard on August 4, 2008.

BIOGRAPHY

Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo, consisting of singer-songwriters Kix Brooks (born Leon Eric Brooks III, May 12, 1955 in Shreveport, Louisiana) and Ronnie Dunn (born Ronald Gene Dunn, June 1, 1953 in Coleman, Texas). Both Brooks and Dunn had worked as singer-songwriters before the duo's formation, charting singles of their own in the 1980s before releasing their first album as a duo in 1991.

Brooks & Dunn were an immediate success, with their first four singles all reaching the top of the Billboard country music chart. Their debut album, Brand New Man, became a sales blockbuster, now RIAA-certified for sales of six million copies. Brooks & Dunn have remained a dynamic force in country music, releasing more than 40 singles, twenty-three of which have reached number one on the country charts, including such hits as "Boot Scootin' Boogie," "My Maria," "Only in America," and "Play Something Country." Their album discography includes two greatest-hits compilations, a Christmas collection, and ten studio albums – most recently, Cowboy Town.

The best-selling country duo of all time, Brooks & Dunn have sold more than 30 million albums. They have more than 80 industry awards to their credit, including two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. Brooks & Dunn are also the most awarded act in Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association history, collectively named Entertainer of the Year four times by the ACM and CMA.

The duo has consistently remained among country music's most popular touring acts, a testament both to their showmanship and to their status as one of the true bedrock artists of contemporary country music. They recently took their show to Australia for the first time, attracting sellout crowds throughout their stay. This summer, they are on tour for a string of nearly 20 dates in the U.S. and Canada with music icons, ZZ Top.

Besides their busy schedules, Brooks & Dunn still find the time to work on philanthropic projects with groups such as the Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude Children's Hospital, and Country in the Rockies – an annual event in support of the Frances Williams Preston laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. In 2007, Brooks & Dunn were recognized for their many charitable works when they were presented with the Academy of Country Music/Home Depot Humanitarian Award.