Arts & Entertainment

5 Stars Are Born

The U. City Loop's Walk of Fame glows larger

By Byron Kerman 

Once again the time has come to embed the sidewalks of the University City Loop with stars to honor the famous and kind-of-famous who are connected to the Gateway City area. Joe Edwards' St. Louis Walk of Fame inducts five new members on Sunday, and the lucky immortals are:

Fontella Bass (b. 1940): Her song "Rescue Me" was a 1965 No. 4 hit on the pop charts. She was born and raised in St. Louis and returned here in 1972 to raise her family. She's still making music, both in local churches and on her albums, including the 1995 Grammy-nominated No Ways Tired.

Walker Evans (b. 1903): The groundbreaking photographer, born at 4468 McPherson Ave., was the co-creator of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a book chronicling the struggles of Southern farmers during the Depression. The artist had the first solo photography exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Rogers Hornsby (b. 1896): The highest batting average of the 1900s belongs to the Rajah, who clubbed .424 in 1924 and is considered the greatest right-handed hitter ever. His .358 lifetime average is a National League record. "I don't like to sound egotistical," he once said, "but every time I stepped up to the plate with a bat in my hands, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the pitcher."

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (b. 1962): The East St. Louis native is considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. She earned six Olympic medals in track-and-field events and went on to open an eponymous youth center in East St. Louis.

William Tecumseh Sherman (b. 1820): The Civil War general captured Atlanta in 1864 and led the "March to the Sea," a scorched-earth campaign intended to debilitate the Southern war machine. "War is hell," was his famous statement. Sherman settled in St. Louis in 1851 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

These five latest inductees bring the total to 90, and we have to wonder if they're running out of sidewalk. Walk of Fame member Robert Guillaume, star of Sports Night and Benson, delivers a keynote address to open the free ceremony.

The St. Louis Walk of Fame induction ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. May 21 with a ragtime and Dixieland jazz concert in front of Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd. Call 727-STAR for more information.