HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Ralph Lawler stood Thursday afternoon in the same spot he stood nearly 70 years prior as an 8-year-old boy, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
Only this time, he wasn’t a kid visiting with his family from Peoria, Ill., looking at the names of celebrities and iconic figures on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This time, he was one of those iconic figures, getting presented a star after 37 years as the “Voice of the Clippers” in an experience he described as both surreal and humbling.
Lawler said despite all his dreams and aspirations, he never could’ve been bold enough to dream that someday he’d be standing where he was Thursday and receiving a star of his own.
“To think I’ve worked 30-plus years in Los Angeles is stunning, and this is the culmination of it,” Lawler said. “Having a star put here, basically forever, is very extraordinary. It’s a thrilling moment in my life. I’m not going to deflect this…this is a very special day for my entire family and me.”
Lawler couldn’t have known then, as a child, he’d be back in Los Angeles for work 15 years later, fresh out of college at Bradley University.
When Lawler visited Hollywood as a kid, the Walk of Fame was just in its early stages. But Lawler knew all the names. He said his father began his career as an usher, eventually owning a string of theaters.
“I had grown up in a motion picture theater, basically, and I knew every actor and actress that had made any movie from the beginning of the ‘talkies’ on, because my dad played all of them in his theaters,” Lawler said. “To walk these streets and see these names, and then being a disc jockey all those years, see the musical acts and the singers and bands that are mentioned here and the old radio people, it just doesn’t seem possible.”
But as Lawler unveiled his name on the star near Hollywood and Vine, whether he could believe it or not, it became reality. Lawler was honored with the 2,575th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 11:30 a.m., receiving it in the category of radio.
“I’m especially happy it’s in the radio category,” Lawler said. “I think most of the fans who showed up today think of me as a TV guy, but my roots are in radio, and I’m an old radio guy, just a small-town radio guy from Peoria, Ill. To be here, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is the greatest thrill of my professional life.”
As Lawler received the star, his friends and family came for the celebration, as well as the people whose games he’s called for years. Head coach Doc Rivers helped introduce Lawler, and Chris Paul, Sam Cassell, and a plethora of current and former coaches, broadcasters and Clippers alumni were present to watch Lawler get presented with the star.
Of course, Lawler’s wife, Jo, was right by his side.
“She’s been the wind in the sails of my ship since the very beginning,” Lawler said. “She was a Clippers season-ticket holder in San Diego when I met her, and I’m guessing that Jo has witnessed first-hand as a fan more Clippers games than anybody on the planet Earth.
Lawler said he was thrilled, honored and humbled by everyone’s presence and that even five years ago, he doesn’t think Thursday wouldn’t have ever been possible.
“This is not just an affirmation of my career,” Lawler said. “It’s an acknowledgement of the acceptance that the Clippers have gotten in the community.”
Lawler credited the job owner Steve Ballmer, Rivers and president of business operations Gillian Zucker have done since coming on board for changing the culture, and that now the city of Los Angeles can fully embrace the Clippers.
These last few years have been a joy for Lawler, who was finally able to consistently see winning basketball. After the move to Los Angeles and before the Chris Paul era, the Clippers had experienced two winning seasons, one .500 season and 24 losing ones.
“That made it real challenging to say, ‘Stay tuned, folks, you don’t want to miss this,'” Lawler said. “But we did a pretty good job of finding a way, especially the years I worked with Bill Walton, we had some really bad teams but some really good TV ratings because Bill helped me broaden my scope as a broadcaster and broaden the appeal of the show itself.”
And through all the lows, Lawler never lost his joy for covering Clippers basketball. He always said the minute he got the Clippers’ job, he wanted it to be the last one he ever had.
The only real difference for Lawler is the success makes his job simpler.
“I used to have to find the Clippers down by 15 eight minutes into the game and try to give people a reason to keep watching or listening,” Lawler said. “It wasn’t easy.”
Thanks to Rivers, Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and the current Clippers’ cast, Lawler doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.
Rivers admires how through it all, Lawler never wavered or wanted to leave. And even if Lawler enjoyed his time during the lows, Rivers knows no one appreciates what the Clippers are doing now more than their legendary broadcaster.
“When you go through bad and then you have good, you clearly appreciate it,” Rivers said. “I wasn’t joking, you can see it on the plane; when Ralph gets on the plane, you can literally see how excited he is.”
And Lawler believes he still has more years left of broadcasting to enjoy it.
“I think as long as I’m physically healthy – and at 77 going on 78, my health is remarkable good, knock on wood – it’s just hard to give up,” Lawler said. “It’s so darn much fun. My wife loves it so much, and this club is so generous in allowing her to travel with us. How can I walk away from this?”
Whenever Lawler eventually does, Rivers hopes it’ll be with a championship ring to go with his star.
“It’d be the best,” Rivers said. “That’d be the icing. It really would. Of all the guys, he should be the guy on the stage. Really. He represents this.”
