Red-carpet fun and some cool moves: Watch Tony Hawk, RuPaul, stars at the California Hall of Fame

Icons of the arts, science, sports and business came together Tuesday night in downtown Sacramento to celebrate the 13th class of stars inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

Skateboarder Tony Hawk, drag performer RuPaul and actor George Lopez were among those who walked the red carpet at the California Museum ahead of the night’s ceremonies, hosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. It was couple’s first induction since Newsom was elected last year.

Other inductees chosen this year by the couple included Olympic gold medalist Brandi Chastain, astrophysicist Dr. France A. Cordova, author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, civil rights leader the Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., chef Wolfgang Puck, winemaker Helen M. Turley and the late poet Dr. Maya Angelou.

The ten inductees joined 122 Californians previously inducted since the honor was introduced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. In order to be inducted, one must live in California for more than five years and have their accomplishments motivate others and transcend the industries they are in. The inductees were presented with “Spirit of California” medals from the Newsoms.

“Twenty-seven percent of this state is foreign born,” Newsom said. “That’s what makes California special. No other state, no other country in the world are there more opportunities than this state and that’s proved positive when you look at this California Hall of Fame.”

RuPaul, wearing a white suit and a sparkling brooch in place of a tie, called the event “lovely and beautiful.” His parents emigrated to California from Louisiana and RuPaul said he was proud to continue the spirit of trailblazing that led many people to the state.

Sacramento native and current San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead was among attendees of the event.

Angelou, who died in 2014 at 86, was posthumously honored at the ceremony. Her California story included living in Oakland in her teens and becoming San Francisco’s first black female cable car operator at 16 years before being recognized for her literary achievements like her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Her son, Guy Johnson, accepted the award on her behalf.

“As I was growing up, I really didn’t understand my mother or who she was,” Johnson said during the ceremony. “She called herself a black person in the 1950s when everyone else used ‘colored’ because they thought it was a divisive term.”

Hawk, who has defined the sport of skateboarding since the 1980s, said he was not only proud of being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a native of San Diego, he was happy to represent all the active – or ask he joked “extreme” – sports that were able to blossom and innovate in the Golden State.

“It’s a huge honor,” Hawk told The Sacramento Bee on the red carpet. “When I started skating a long time ago, it was the furthest thing from cool. It was not something you chose as a career. It’s more of an honor for me to still be doing it and being recognized for being relevant in it.”

Hawk also participated in some skating with local youth on a half-pipe that was built outside the museum for the occasion.

Lopez, who is a through-and-through Angeleno, reflected on his upbringing when asked what the honor meant to him.

“To be an only child who started writing jokes on the back of gas company envelopes, it’s not a bad life,” Lopez said. “I think in political times right now, it’s good to see a Latino doing a good thing that is positive. We are every part of this country and we should be revered.”

Chastain, who is known for scoring the game-winning goal for the United States in the 1999 World Cup, recalled her playing days in Sacramento for the California Storm in 2010.

“I am a proud former member of the Sacramento Storm women’s soccer team,” Chastain said. “I used to drive the two hours up from San Jose to play. I think the diverse inductees says a lot about who California is.”

Lawson, 91, was a key strategist and coordinator for peaceful civil rights protests in the 1960s, which led to his being expelled from Vanderbilt University although he later returned to teach there. Lawson moved to Los Angeles in 1974 and was pastor of Holman United Church until 1999.

Houston is best known for her “Farewell to Manzanar,” a memoir about her experiences as a young girl in a California internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Houston compared the racism directed against Japanese Americans to some current views on minorities.

“Today, there are all too many politicians and irresponsible media who find scapegoats to blame for the country’s problems and more and more I think, those scapegoats are immigrants,” she said.

Lopez mentioned growing up during a grape boycott by Latino farmworkers and made a reference to current immigrant labor.

“This is the greatest place politically,” he said. “This country does not run without the labor of Latinos and I would say to anybody: ‘Do not bite the hand that feeds you.’”

Cordova’s brother accepted her medal. She offered her thanks in a video from Antarctica, where she was preparing to head to the South Pole.

Cordova, who is also the director of the National Science Foundation, attended high school in the Los Angeles suburb of La Puente and went on to Stanford University. She also is a one-time chancellor of the University of California, Riverside.

Puck arguably rose to success with the opening of his Southern California restaurant Spago in 1982. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Turley is an award-winning vintner and owner of Marcassin Vineyard in Sonoma County.

This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 8:25 AM.