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Schwarzenegger, Shriver name new California Hall of Fame inductees
By Kevin Yamamura - kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published 5:35 am PDT Thursday, May 29, 2008
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3
Between Dave Brubeck's piano jazz, Quincy Jones' musical repertoire and Alice Waters' inventive cuisine, the California Hall of Fame can throw one heck of a party.
Especially considering actor Jack Nicholson will have a front-row seat.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver on Wednesday announced the third class of California Hall of Fame inductees, which includes legends as varied as actress-activist Jane Fonda, author Theodor Geisel ("Dr. Seuss") and two-time Nobelist Linus Pauling. Also making the cut were sculptor Robert Graham, fitness guru Jack LaLanne, photographer Dorothea Lange, architect Julia Morgan and former Gov. Leland Stanford.
The new inductees will enter the Hall of Fame on Dec. 10 at the California Museum in Sacramento, and all living nominees must agree to attend as a condition of their induction. After the ceremony, the museum will display artifacts from their lives.
Officials at the California Arts Council and the California Museum selected the Hall of Fame class, with consultation from historians such as former state Librarian Kevin Starr. Schwarzenegger and Shriver, who spearheaded the Hall of Fame idea, approved the final decisions.
When the California Hall of Fame began in 2006, Starr compiled a list of about 180 historical figures he thought worthy.
"For instance, the state was different because Leland Stanford helped organize the railroad, was governor during the Civil War and established Stanford University," Starr said.
Fonda is perhaps the most controversial pick. The two-time Oscar winner still rankles some Americans for her trip to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1972, an anti-war protest that earned her the nickname "Hanoi Jane." She later said that sitting on an anti-aircraft gun was "the largest lapse of judgment that I can even imagine."
"It would have been more appropriate to name to the California Hall of Fame someone from California who won the Medal of Honor than someone who undermined our troops in a foreign war," said Mike Spence, president of the conservative California Republican Assembly. "The governor put Hollywood in front of heroism by making this kind of pick."
Starr acknowledged that Hall of Fame picks always invite debate, particularly the contemporary choices.
"Personally, I don't share her politics," Starr said, "but I think each person should be judged by the total arc of his or her career."
About the writer:
- Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548.
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