The fan shouting “Attaboy, Jerry!” captured the can-do spirit of Jerry Bruckheimer as the intrepid producer received a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Mr. Bruckheimer was lauded on his special day by the Chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, and the actor who sailed Mr. Bruckheimer’s Black Pearl into cinematic history, Johnny Depp. Here’s what Johnny had to say:
“Hi. (unfolding a piece of paper) So I’m going to read this thing because if I spoke it . . . (a woman interrupts, shouting ‘I love you,’ and Johnny replies, ‘Thank you. I love you, too.’) because I can’t speak in public. But let’s forget that for now. I can read in public.
“These days, the word ‘legend’ gets bandied around all too easily . . . but not here, and not today. My path was fortunate — very fortunate — enough to collide with this man some years ago, and certainly since my collaboration with Jerry, my life has never been the same. And probably won’t be, for a while, anyway. My path was . . . I thought it was a kind of quiet little path. Jerry snatched me up, and Jerry’s path is like eight superhighways stacked up to the sky, hurtling in every direction, toward that infinite horizon. He’s — well, he’s bigger than life. He’s Jerry Bruckheimer.
“Over the years of working together, Jerry’s become a dear friend, certainly, and a trusted comrade in battle. There are few people I would rather have in my corner than this man right here . . . and he’s been in my corner. There have been times in the past when I worked with Jerry where he had my back, every single time, when there were people pointing things at my back that wanted to hurt me — at least fire me. And Jerry saved me from that, as did Gore Verbinski.
“But without Jerry, there would be no Pirates, there would be no Captain Jack, there would be no revived Lone Ranger, there would be no reinvigorated Tonto. So I have a lot to thank him for. The man’s a legend to me. He’s a legend to us all — hence this congregation to celebrate him for his long-deserved star on the Walk of Fame. I, for one, could not be more honored to be here, and I’m humbled to be here. Few moments have really been merited more than this one, so let’s all celebrate the legend that is Jerry Bruckheimer.”
Johnny finished with a salute to Pirates, intoning “Where is the bloody rum? Why is the rum gone?” in his Captain Jack Sparrow voice, much to the crowd’s delight.
Photos from the ceremony are available HERE — and yes, that is Tom Cruise (who starred in Mr. Bruckheimer’s Top Gun) in a couple of the pictures.
The Zone thanks emma for sharing video of the ceremony, and bascan333 for sharing pictures. You can read more about the Walk of Fame ceremony on the Zone’s News & Views forum.
Congratulations to Jerry Bruckheimer for receiving a star on the Walk of Fame. We hope it delights you the way your films have delighted us.